They came to bury Rafa Benitez, but in the end, the fans made their views known, but it was all a bit of a damp squib.
Under fire interim boss Rafa Benitez oversaw his charge win 1-0 against dour WBA at Stamford bridge, but this was no vintage, championship- winning performance.
Chelsea won 1-0 thanks to a first-half strike by Demba Ba but the main taking point was supposed to be the fans's reaction to interim boss Rafa Benitez midweek rant.
There were supposed to be mass fan dissent, a plethora of anti-Benitez banners and a white hot atmosphere - in truth it was, like the match a bit of a damp squib.
Apathy from the players seemed to infect the crowd.
They tried at the beginning - it took two minutes before the fans decided to shout abuse against Benitez.
There was abuse hurled at Benitez,that much cannot be denied, but to suggest it was sustained wold be wrong.
However when it did occurs, Benitez could not be left in any doubt - there could be no denying he never heard it.
As for the game, the Blues's midfielder Oscar should have buried a free shot on goal, from six-yards out, after just four minutes. He latched onto a right-wing cross from Demba Ba, but casually stuck towards goal. The effort was limp and the ball fell gleefully into the palms of goalkeeper Ben Foster.
Up at the other end, two minutes later, Peter Cech produced a brilliant tip over the bar from a fierce 30-yard free kick from Steven Reid .
Oscar again, should have put the under-fire Londoners into the lead, but Mata's perfectly executed cross was met feebly on the head of Oscar, again straight into the hands of Foster.
That happened seconds before the now obligatory chant for disposed Roberto Di Matteo on 16 minutes.
A defensive lapse between Foster and centre-back Liam Ridgwell, almost allowed Eden Hazard to nip in, but a last-gasp clearance saved the day for the Baggies.
A defected David Luiz free-kick was expertly saved by Foster for a corner on 28 minutes. From the resultant kick, the ball was fed to Oscar who sent in a deep cross to the WBA far post. Luiz was on hand to nod the ball back onto the six-yard box where Ba was waiting to tuck home a simple right-footer.
It was the Senegal striker's second league goal of the season for the Blues and his first in his last eight league appearances.
The remainder of the half was much in the same vein, WBA content to sit back with the Blues trying as hard as they could to break the opposition down.
There were no changes at half time, but the action, such as it was, was just the same.
Hazard thought he had won a penalty on 59 minutes when he fell under the challenge from Jonas Olsson, but referee Kevin Friend rightly played on as the defender simply proved stronger in the shoulder challenge stakes.
WBA boss and ex-Chelsea defender Steve Clarke made his first substitution a minute later, bringing on Peter Odemwingie for Marc-Antoine Fortune.
On 67 minutes, the Stamford Bridge crowd sang out the name of Jose Mourinho and other assorted colourful songs directed at Benitez.
Oscar, could and should have had a hat-trick in this game, so clear were the chances afforded to him that he wasted.
The third was with 12 minutes to go, when Ba headed down to the in-running Brazil midfielder. He produced a volley from just inside the WBA penalty area but of insufficient pace or direction to worry Foster who gobbled the effort up into his midriff.
Benitez made his first change two minutes lasted replacing Hazard for Victor Moses.
Odemwingie, up until now anonymous produced a wonderful 25-yard free-kick on 84 minutes which Cech did well to put away for a corner. From the resultant kick, Cech was forced to tip away a wayward header from his right-back Cesar Azpilicueta as the visitors looked the more dangerous side.
Fernando Torres entered the fray with three minutes to go, replacing Ba.
But it was the visitors who finished the stronger, but on this occasion, the Blues hung on for the win and three vital Premier League points.
Teams: Cech, Ivanovic, Cole, Luiz, Ramires, Lampard, Mata,Oscar, Hazard, Azpilicueta , Ba.
Subs: Turnbull, Torres, Mikel, Moses, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand
WBA: Foster, Reid, Olsson, Yacob, Ridgewell, Morrison, Long, Dorrans, Mulumbu, McAuley, Fortune.
Subs: Myhill, Rosenberg, Thomas, Odemwingie, Jones, Tamas, Brown