Calum McFarlane is highly regarded at Chelsea but has been subject to jibes about his lack of experience as well as conspiracy theories.
Those who know the 38-year-old say he has found aspects of the sudden limelight difficult, particularly during a period of anger among Chelsea supporters.
McFarlane has tried to avoid showing too much of his personality publicly, although an exception came after he led the Blues to Sunday's FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds. He spoke with emotion, describing it as “the best day of my career by an absolute mile” because his family support Chelsea, while Reece James pushed him forward to receive applause from the fans after the match.
At other times, he has looked to defend himself from criticism.
One social media video questions his and his staff's links to influential Chelsea recruiter Joe Shields, accusing them of benefiting from "nepotism". It has been viewed more than 600,000 times.
The video does not mention that McFarlane worked at Fulham, Crystal Palace and Norwegian club Tromso, who were playing in the Europa League when they promoted him to first-team coach. A family illness later saw him return to London to work closer to home at the Kinetic Foundation in his native south London, an organisation for whom Shields is wrongly said to have worked.
McFarlane returned to the professional game a few years later at Manchester City’s academy, working alongside Shields and academy director Glenn van der Kraan. They brought him and his assistants Harry Hudson and Dan Hogan to Chelsea this summer, with McFarlane joining from Southampton under-21s.
However, their collective lack of a Uefa Pro Licence – the highest coaching qualification – has been criticised in further social media posts and videos. It has also been noted that others within the academy, including youth mentor and legend John Terry, hold the qualification.
Questions remain about the academy more broadly, following the departures of long-serving figures Neil Bath and Jim Fraser and the introduction of a new vision.
The new leadership has, however, made a strong start, becoming the first English club since Manchester City in 2023 to win both the under-21 and under-18 league titles in the same season.
