Chelsea went down to hopeless Crystal Palace on Saturday in a defeat that can be laid entirely at the feet of the hapless CFC board.
While Antonio Conte has far too much class to be an ‘I told you so` kinda guy, if anyone deserves the right to use that phrase liberally it`s him; Saturday`s horrible Chelsea performance against a side already destined for relegation was an object lesson in what happens when people in suits think they are smarter than world-class football people.
It`s no new news that The Don doesn`t fancy Mitchy Batshuayi; the Belgian striker`s aimless performance at Palace, where striker-101 stuff like holding up the ball or making runs seemed entirely alien to him, showed precisely why that’s so.
Several commentators this morning expressed amazement that the CFC board didn`t pay the million or so extra necessary to add Llorente precisely because of his excellence at hold-up play.
In the end this CFC board has made a crystal clear statement of principle: even the smallest financial savings are preferable to wins.
One eminent member of the ex-strikers` club, Ian Wright, echoed many of the Chelsea faithful in suggesting that on this evidence we were crazy to let Tammy Abraham go.
Hear hear.
While assuring matters up front may have been The Don`s main summer aim, close behind that was his unwillingness to let Matic go and the desire to shore up midfield; the massive hole left in the middle of the park by N`Golo Kante`s absence again put the board`s buffoonery centre stage.
We can say what we like about the former Chelsea manager and the current Man City manager, but there can be no doubt Antonio Conte is glancing both ruefully and enviously up north at what happens when big clubs empower big managers.
It`s only October but, in Premiership terms, second place already seems the absolute best on offer for this Chelsea squad.
Yes, there are CFC backroom-spun stories maintaining that the owner is anxious to give The Don the players he needs going forward, but surely there isn’t a single supporter who harbours anything but a feeling of too little too late.
What, we`re going to splurge in the notoriously tricky and inflated January window? Seriously? So what happened in summer? Answers on a postcard?
Alongside the Loch Ness monster and the Bermuda triangle, why the clowns on the Chelsea board are allowed to shatter the momentum of every single brilliantly successful manager the season after his biggest success remains one of life`s enduring and unhinging mysteries.