Chelsea's controversial Stamford Bridge change was made without communication with the fans, it has been revealed.
The Blues host Premier League champions Liverpool in an evening kick-off on Saturday, in what will be a third home game in a row following a defeat to Brighton and a 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica.
But the club have made a significant alteration on home matchdays which has not gone down well.
When a goal is scored by the home side at the Bridge, it is regularly met by the deafening noise of metal boards being smacked by those in the Matthew Harding Stand.
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Yet there was additional noise when Enzo Fernandez scored against Brighton, in the form of goal music.
The Fratellis’ 2006 song 'Chelsea Dagger', with obvious links to the Blues, was blared out over the PA system for all to hear.
In the Bundesliga, goal music is incredibly popular - to the point that only one out of 18 teams do not use it when they find the net.
And while it is a big thing in American sports, with Chelsea Dagger used by NHL hockey outfit the Chicago Blackhawks, it does not tend to translate well to English football.
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The goal music was trialled in pre-season but was introduced without communication with supporters despite previous collaboration.
“Chelsea Supporters Trust initially flagged it to the club immediately upon hearing it at one of the pre-season friendlies back in August, and the club asked us to be patient and to see how this trial went," Dominic Rosso, vice chair of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, told The Athletic.
"The number of people who are now opposing it is growing in numbers."
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He added: “At times when you want to be celebrating with your team, music comes in and takes that over.
“The slapping of the boards at Stamford Bridge has become synonymous with those big goals, those last-minute victories. And with the goal music, that’s just not going to be heard.”
A petition to put an end to the goal music has garnered more than 1,500 signatures, while the Brighton loss also featured a smoke machine as players exited the tunnel and entered the pitch.
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In 2023, the Football Supporters’ Association conducted a survey which found that one in five fans deemed goal music to have a positive impact on atmosphere.
Real Madrid, arguably the biggest club in the world, always play 'Hala Madrid y Nada Mas' when they score.
But Richard Weekes from Chelsea supporters’ group We Are The Shed (WATS) believes it doesn't fit well into English football and Premier League culture - even if he acknowledges his club's atmosphere struggles.
"That’s the only point which doesn’t have any issue with noise because people cheer, and then people sing, and the whole ground is involved in that," Weekes stated on goal music being brought in.
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“So goal music isn’t going to solve any atmosphere problem. The problem lies on either side of those goals, to try to get the noise going.”
As per the The Athletic, who cited an anonymous source at the club, Chelsea are experimenting with ways in which to "enhance the match atmosphere and attract the next generation of fans while still respecting tradition".
But the signs are there to indicate that many die-hard fans strongly opposite goal music as one of the features.
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League
Josh Lawless