Ranieri on Bridge of an unhappy ship

Hapoel are not the only lowly side that hapless Chelsea have fallen victim to. And the fans' patience is wearing thin

Two hours after Chelsea's hapless display against Hapoel Tel Aviv, long after all the actors of Thursday's farce had driven off without passing through the obligatory "Uefa Mixed Zone" to face the media, a few disgruntled fans remained outside the players' entrance. Some were hoping to grab the odd autograph; most, however, were after one particular head. "Do you know what the Chelsea manager looks like?" asked one of the supporters to a small group of policemen. "You should do," he continued, "because Claudio Ranieri is the world's second most wanted man."

In the light of recent events, such thoughts are distastefully out of proportion. In the small world of Chelsea Village, though, patience is running thin with the Italian. Significantly, the odds of him being the 22nd managerial casualty have now been revised from 10-1 to 4-1. To lose once to lowly European opponents is forgivable, particularly as Ranieri had only just taken over from Gianluca Vialli when Chelsea were defeated by St Gallen last season. But to falter twice smacks of carelessness. True, they played the first leg in Israel without six of their regular first-teamers, but there can be no excuses for Thursday's débâcle.

Worse than the 1-1 draw, and 3-1 aggregate defeat, was the performance. As ever with Chelsea, the weaker the opponent, the poorer the showing. Even the decent home crowd of 28,433 were silenced by their 3,000 Israeli counterparts. In the press box, which was short of the man from the Mirror because the club had objected to a piece written that morning, there was barely a dry eye to be found by full-time, as the Tel Aviv reporters shed a tear of joy and the majority of their English colleagues tried to control their hysterical laughter. Harsh but somehow fair.

It is difficult to sympathise with Chelsea's current plight. Had they dealt with the situation more thoughtfully, the club would probably be in the third round of the Uefa Cup and the papers would be focusing on Leeds' lucky escape against the European debutants Troyes. Instead, by allowing the players to decide whether or not to travel for the first leg, the management dug themselves into a hole.

Colin Hutchinson, the club's managing director, had said that anyone who decided not to board the plane for Tel Aviv would be forgiven immediately and allowed to rejoin the group. Two days later, Ken Bates, the chairman, laid the blame for the first-leg defeat squarely at the door of the six missing players. "They will have to live with their actions," he said. That may seem unfair, but if Emmanuel Petit really was shopping at Harrods that day, there can be little sympathy for the Frenchman.

Victories, of course, are a quick way to repair damage. But since the away leg in Israel, Chelsea have managed only three draws. The first, a goalless affair against Leeds United, will be remembered only for the Graeme Le Saux horror tackle on Danny Mills. Last Sunday, Chelsea travelled to lowly Derby County and were so outplayed in the first half that they might have been three down by the break. In the event, they were, but only in terms of personnel, as Ranieri had to make three half-time substitutions before Chelsea were able to salvage a point.

And then there was Thursday. Ranieri cannot shoulder all the blame for the display, but questions must be asked of his managerial skills if he is having to replace three players during each interval. Either he is getting his tactics wrong or his players are not performing for him. Neither option suggests a happy ship, and you wonder how long the Italian can survive the current malaise. The crisis is all the more serious because the club are paying most of their players exorbitant wages and require top European football to sustain debts of more than £50m. Not that Hutchinson seems perturbed: "Claudio has our full backing," he said. "We are satisfied with the progress we have made under him so far. We knew when he came that he had a rebuilding job to do. We have said consitently that it would take time to turn the team around."

Notions of the Champions' League seem very distant,. The immediate focus must be today's visit of Ipswich, a club who until they rediscovered their form on Thursday in Helsingborg, might have been relatively easy pickings. Not now, and the fear for Ranieri must be that his troops have lost the stomach for a fight. "The spirit is excellent and all my players are very together," Ranieri stressed. But, then, he also said that his team had performed "brilliantly" in securing a draw against a team who were fifth in the Israeli League.

The wheels may not have come off the Chelsea machine quite yet, but the nuts have clearly been loosened. On Thursday, Mario Stanic, Boudewijn Zenden and Petit – three players who would not be miscast in a World XI – were replaced at half-time, and most of the team seemed to have the blues. Only Mark Bosnich, who kept them in the game for 88 minutes in Tel Aviv, and Gianfranco Zola, who gave them hope on Thursday, have emerged with any credit.

Most worrying for Ranieri is the fact that only Zola – who is 35 – can provide the team with any real invention. He played only 45 minutes on Thursday, but emphasised yet again why he remains the key to Chelsea's faltering season. Of the signings this summer, only that of Petit looks shrewd business. William Gallas, who was at fault for the Hapoel goal at Stamford Bridge which effectively killed the tie, has failed to justify his £6.5m price tag. So, too, has Frank Lampard, who is struggling with the responsibility of playing for a big club. Zenden, meanwhile, is a luxury signing: someone who might finish off opponents but rarely does the initial damage.

All is not yet lost. Chelsea remain difficult to beat at Stamford Bridge and are more resolute than in recent years on their domestic travels. But spirit and focus will need to improve greatly if the George Graham rumour mill is to be stopped early. At least Ranieri will not be faced with the near impossible task of persuading his players to travel to Moscow in the next round of the Uefa Cup. Russia in winter would be bad enough, but the shopping in the capital is said to be terrible.