There's a familiar ritual whenever Chelsea struggle in midseason -- and make no mistake about it, seven points out of a possible 24 in their past eight Premier League outings is a massive tailspin -- and it centres around an impatient Roman Abramovich, surrounded by a virtual (possibly Zoom or, more likely, Telegram-based) court of agents, advisers and friends-of-friends, worthy of "Game of Thrones," pushing potential replacements and the urgency of change.
It feels like a plausible trope because Chelsea (not counting Steve Holland or Ray Wilkins and their one-and-done stints) have made 13 managerial changes since Roman Abramovich acquired the club in 2003.