Chelsea failed to send The Blues fafithful home happy after the final home game of the season at Stamford Bridge - Chelsea could only draw 0-0 against relegated-haunted Norwich City
Instead Boos greeted the Chelsea players as this turgid display ended and it was deserved.
While not favourites to win the Premier League, Chelsea could, with one match remaining still have a say in the destination of the title had they defeated an ordinary but dogged Norwich City.
The visitors' fans cheered at the end as if they had already escaped relegation, but they are still favourites to follow Fulham and Cardiff City in the Championship next season.
Neither side had enough guile or finishing prowess to do anything other huff and puff and hope the other side made a mistake.
Neither did and the fact that more than half the Chelsea fans failed to stay and cheer the players on the traditional last home game of the season lap of honour spoke volumes as to how they felt their season had ended up - miserable and trophy-less.
However there was no apparent hang-over from the devastating Champions League semi-final loss on Wednesday to Atletico Madrid in the early stages of the match with Andre Schurrle the first to threaten Norwich City's goal, on three minutes, but John Ruddy did well to thwart the wide man's shot.
Demba Ba was furious with referee Neil Swarbrick a minute later when the striker was elbowed by Michael Turner in an off-the-ball incident in the Norwich penalty area.
Ciry had a justified claim for a penalty on 11 minutes when Martin Olsson ran onto a Bradley Johnson through ball. Olsson escaped the clutches of Ashley Cole and poked the ball forward, but the in-running John Terry brought the Swedish midfielder down.
Terry almost put Chelsea ahead on 22 minutes when he got a clear site of Schurrle's corner and arrowed a powerful header downwards towards goal. But Ruddy was equal to the task and smothered the ball.
If it wasn't Ruddy himself halting Chelsea's relentless charge towards goal, it was his left upright, when on 31 minutes, a defence splitting forward pass by Nemanja Matic found Schurrle racing towards goal. The German cut in and caressed a curling low right-footer that eluded Ruddy's dive but ricocheted off his post before being cleared.
Schurrle then popped up on the right two minutes later and showed his two-footedness with a powerful left-foot strike from just outside the Norwich area. Ruddy got down low, to his left, to snatch the ball.
Norwich's forrays I to Cheksea final third were infrequent but full of opportunity when they did get that far forward.
Bradley Johnson had a deflected effort, four minutes before the break, inch wide of Mark Schwarzer's goal.
With Jose Mourinho the first out for the second half sitting in his dugout p, face like thunder.
He did however have time in the changing room to remove ineffectual Frank Lampard and Mohamed Salah for David Luiz and and Eden Hazard. Luiz's first touch was to see a venomous right-footer from the edge of the penalty area smack off the Norwich cross bar three minutes after the restart.
The Blues had their shout for a penalty ignored by Swarbrick on 53 minutes when Schurrle looked to have being brought down from a clumsy challenge from Alexander Tettey.
Swarbrick got it perfectly right five minutes later when Hazard fell into Ryan Bennett after the Belgian midfielder zigzagged his way through the Norwich defence. Branislav Ivanovic for a yellow card for his protest.
Gary Cahill produced a wonderful last-ditch tackle to prevent Robert Snodgrass from getting his shot away after he sliced through the Chelsea rearguard on 71 minutes.
Mourinho's last throw of the die in the last home match of the season saw the introduction of Fernando Torres for midfielder Matic a minute later.
If Norwich are to escape replete on then it would be in due part to the excellent form of Ruddy, who, with 11 minutes left brilliant dived low to his right to prevent a mazy run and shot by Hazard.
That was as good as it got.
Norwich suddenly realised late on that they needed the three points but were simple not good enough to penetrate a Chelsea side on their feet and desperate to go home.
Next up for the Blues is a season-ending encounter with relegated Cardiff City in South Wales next Sunday.
Teams: Chelsea, Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Cole, Lampard, Schurrle, Salah, Ba, Matic, Willian, Cahill, Terry
Subs, Hilario, Luiz, Torres, van Ginkel, Hazard, Eto'o, Kalas,
Norwich City, Ruddy, Martin, Whittaker, Johnson Turner, Snodgrass, Howson, Elmander, Olsson, Bennett, Tettey
Subs, Bunn, Bassong, Wolfswinkel, Fer, Hopper, Bennett, Redmond
Referee, Neil Swarbrick