Roman Abramovich’s move to step aside at Chelsea highlights the issue of omnipotent foreign owners in the English gameAs the old romantic saying almost goes: if you love something, let stewardship and care of it go – naturally, while retaining possession of all the relevant deeds and liquid assets. The news that Roman Abramovich is apparently giving up day-to-day control of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation has been interpreted in wildly different ways which, with the benefit of a little reflection, seems to have been the entire point of the exercise.For some it is the ultimate sacrificial act of devotion: Abramovich’s way of insulating the club he adores from the threat of sanction, censure, even seizure....
Chelsea’s Carabao Cup defeat by Liverpool marked the start of an unclear future in their post-Abramovich eraAs Kepa Arrizabalaga’s losing penalty kick soared high into the dark Wembley skies, still rising, some said, as it cleared Wembley Park tube station, the mass of Liverpool fans behind the goal produced a vast barrelling cheer, bodies tumbling, flares turning the night red.For the Chelsea end, relieved from glorious distraction of an apparently never-ending penalty shootout, the immediate future seems less clear. Continue reading...
The energy of football’s outrage over the Super League has been heartening, but were the clubs only posturing after all?As the sun dipped below the roof-line of Stamford Bridge something strange began to happen. The birds flew backwards through the sky, the cats barked, the trees turned a tangerine hue, and Roman Abramovich became, at a stroke, the protector of the people’s game, enemy of the elites, the oligarch of the masses.What world is this we have now entered? How far have we travelled through the looking glass? What powerful hallucinogenic drugs have been administered to lead us in the space of three days to a place where the hordes of football supporters on the Fulham Road can proclaim English...
Manager’s points return of just 50.98% and muddled planning has left playing legend looking vulnerable to the sack The good news for Frank Lampard is that it’s not as bad as José Mourinho’s second spell, but that’s the only good news. Sunday’s 3-1 humbling to Manchester City means Chelsea have taken 26 points from 17 games this season, 50.98% of the points available. Mourinho, in 2015-16, was on 31.25% when the axe fell.But in terms of final seasons, 50.98 is worse than Andre Villas-Boas, worse than Mourinho first time around, worse than Antonio Conte, worse than Carlo Ancelotti, worse than Maurizio Sarri, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Robert Di Matteo and Claudio Ranieri. If the corridors of Cobham hiss with intrigue, there...
As Roman Abramovich racks up his 1,000th game, the Russian’s favourite player, now manager, faces José Mourinho’s Spurs with the owner’s support – but knowing he is hard to satisfySunday’s game against Tottenham will be Roman Abramovich’s 1,000th as Chelsea owner. There probably won’t be a cake. Nor should we expect much in the way of a lavish presentation, given that the supreme leader himself hasn’t been glimpsed at a home game in two and a half years. And yet as Abramovich watches on from afar – presumably from his Moscow palace, surrounded by objets d’art and luxury snacks – he may reflect that this is a curiously appropriate fixture to mark the occasion. It is, after all, a meeting...