Throughout Chelsea’s torment, the club hierarchy has remained unified in its belief that Carlo Ancelotti should remain at the helm.
The Blues have previously been stung by mid-term managerial shuffling's and Roman Abramovich - minus a recognised incumbent and without the inclination to part more of his fortune on compensation packages - has stood by the under fire Italian.
Whilst in no immediate danger of the Abramovich axe, the FA Cup defeat to Everton has once again further exaggerated the depths to which last season’s double winners have fallen since last term.
The surrendering of the cup means Chelsea have now almost certainly lost both of the honours they so impressively collected last campaign, and by the time they next resume Premier League duties, they could be five points adrift of the Champions League chasers with Manchester’s United and City offering two of their next three fixtures.
More pertinently, questions as to how and why Chelsea find themselves in this predicament invariably lead back to Ancelotti. These inquisitions are now reflective and reactive, the inevitable upcoming proactive posers will be orientated around weather Ancelotti has the capabilities to revive his team.
On another day, things could have been different. The post-match press praise has been lavished upon the Toffees but in truth, they brought little to the party.
Endeavours aside, David Moyes’s side did nothing more than what most sides seem to find the norm against Chelsea these days - stifle them. Even still, the Londoners should have had a penalty and still forged numerous goalscoring opportunities, which could have rendered Leighton Baines’s late strike redundant.
But, had Chelsea progressed and kept themselves off the back pages for another week, would the situation Ancelotti be any different?
The groundhog day scenario since November has been a questionable combination of a chronic lack of width, pace and invention from a side who have scored just 26 league goals in their last 21 outings.
In their two previous scoreless league encounters with Liverpool and Fulham, Chelsea mustered around 40 shots on goal, without many to memory troubling the opposition goalkeeper.
It appears nigh on everyone has just about sussed Chelsea out. Their narrow midfield supplemented by a narrow front three congeal the game into a scrappy mess in centre field - effectively helping the other side out by constricting their creative forces into controllable areas.
These are obvious flaws which have obvious solutions, yet Ancelotti appears reticent to change. As time dribbled on during normal time at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, the former Milan coach stood motionless on the touchline; no gesticulating or galvanising of the troops as he resembled a captain solemnly going down with his ship.
As time and again the Blues tried to shoehorn their way through a resilient Everton, the groans of discontent rolling down from the terraces were unified in their wishes for width.
Yet, after seeing his side go goalless for three successive ninety minute’s - Ancelotti only summoned Nicolas Anelka to the plot at the start of extra time. The Frenchman subsequently created Frank Lampard’s opener after some neat wing play and cross from the by-line.
For all of their sins, the Chelsea squad are a resolute bunch and in the wake of the Mourinho and Scolari sackings, the side rallied themselves to various positions which eventually put a silver lining round the clouds.
Similar resolve is needed here from all parties to take the bare minimum from a barren season.
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