Is it possible that Roman Abramovich hates us?
Roman Abramovich
I feel like a mobster’s wife, or daughter. Carmela Soprano’s near relative Christopher was smothered to death by her husband Tony for ‘disrespect’ and she should have reacted. Her fondness of the things that her marriage to the mafia boss brought her overpowered her concern at the means by which they were obtained. Disassociating Meadow hid her own shame in a law degree.
Roberto Di Matteo was not a drug-addicted second cousin. He was – he is – beloved and we cannot recall a single tangible moment where he disappointed us (and a red card in a draw against Man United doesn’t count). We were encountering a very minor blip. It wasn’t much more than a fortnight ago that we were top of the league. Yet our tactless Russian oligarch ended the manager’s life as easily as he had once granted it.
It is this act of betrayal that awakens me from my stoicism. I have witnessed heroic, trophy-lifting figures of our past shunted aside with a smelly wad of rubles – the Wilkins’, Mourinhos, Coles and Ancelottis and I said nothing. His funds allowed us to illegally tap up numerous sought-after players, inflate our captain’s ego to frightening levels and turn an incredible lead striker for the most scintillating international side around into George Weah’s ‘mate’ Ali Dia.
Roman Abramovich “purchased” our club partly as a means to build his own profile and avoid consideration for the long terms of imprisonment that his peers were being sentenced to in icy Moscow courtrooms. He doesn’t concern himself over history, loyalty, legacies and the DNA of our club. Where was he when we were a horde of spiteful hooligans?
Was he anywhere to be seen when Vinnie Jones silenced the Anfield crowd with a thunderous game-winning drive? Does he recall Di Matteo hanging his shot over Ben Roberts at Wembley, forty seconds into the Cup Final? Of course not. Eddie Newton for the second? He couldn’t give a flying соитие. Robbie toiled for eighteen months to return to the pitch in a blue shirt after having his leg nearly obliterated against some Swiss minnows. He came back a decade later and he did what no other of those pricey executives could – he won us the big-eared cup.
By recruiting the Madrilenien waiter, still sporting a ridiculous goatee, Roman is demonstrating that the Chelsea fans do not affect his thinking whatsoever. Rafa Benitez has mocked us and previously declared his unwillingness to go anywhere near our managerial seat. He is actually enemy.
A poll of Chelsea supporters (that remember the Zenith Data Systems Cup victory), asking for their suggestions, would have left Benitez, in such a list, ranked way below every other manager in the world, senior Al-Qaeda members, most soap villains and the phenomenon of bad breath itself. I personally would rather have let the youngest, dimmest ballboy decide the match tactics and had the alternating colour of the elephant faeces at the zoo determine whether Fernando Torres is allowed to continue his comedy act up front.
Eight managers in nine years (without including caretaker stints) is not a sign of an uncompromising demand for success; it is a psychological delinquency. Emperor Roman is punishing Mediterranean men for his father’s early passing. These professionals, with years of intimate knowledge of directing formations, in their being unable to adequately accommodate “pass for Shevchenko, he win us game” are put up for sacrifice. The millions of pounds he is spending on compensation payments alone could have been spent on a hitman to better manipulate the system. His emotional satisfaction at making these guillotine-dropping phonecalls would surely reveal a great deal, as would the revelations in his divorce settlement papers – did he force Olga or Irina to don a particular ill-fitting but over-priced frock on all occasions?
Roman once stormed into our dressing room at half-time to senselessly steal the team-talk from ‘The Special One’, having Andrii Shevchenko translate his bucolic tactical orders. It is always about him winning. The spirit of our club is an invisible entity to him. He won’t sit with us or talk so we can hear him. He disbelieves in us.
Sometimes I hark back to the seemingly simpler days of Ken Bates (a man who could handle a beard), but then I recall how even he dealt so insolently with Bobby Campbell, Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli – the former being transferred to the position of the Chairman’s personal assistant once relieved of managerial duties! A trawl through pre-Bates ownership will reveal the dastardly anti-football morals displayed by even our founding family, the Mears. There are significant reasons why we adored Matthew Harding and not just because he pissed in the same urinals as us.
It’s too soon after the teary, exquisite night in Munich to permit the majority of Blues fanatics to weigh up feelings about Abramovich’s hold over our badge, but I for one have had enough. Being a billionaire’s plaything was often orgasmic and we have dazzling silverware sprawled around us, as we never would have dreamed. He deserves our thanks for the incredible highs his deviously gotten gains have brought us. It’s time to think about giving the club back though. It shouldn’t be right that I point my gaze at Glasgow Rangers and dream of being demoted to the almost amateur leagues just so the fat flies will disperse. Financial fairplay rules, our first profitable year and the hysterical chuckles of a Benfica chairman that sold us David Luiz are surely signs that we are ready to be let go of.
We are Matthew Harding’s Blue Army and we’ll be here long after the orphan’s boredom has triumphed.
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9 Responses to Is it possible that Roman Abramovich hates us?
At last, some one actually throw up the truth. This is the most disgracefull appointment roman has ever done. So disappointing that some chelsea fans actually support this discision so bad.Compare chelsea of AVB To chelsea of RDM and you’ll know he RDM is tactically inept… I love rdm. Lets see how torres is goin 2 change…
Some of the comments here are plain sickening the mad Russian may have given us success but at what cost ? Its almost like we’ve sold our souls to the devil,he has shown that he has no values and the fact that hes accountable to himself worries me more being an orphan I’m sure he relied only on himself and his rubber ducks (gourlay ,emanelo etc) success should not be a win at all cost endeavour but of building value in the long term all those fans who have joined the mad russian in his attempt to ruin our beloved club shame on you!
I have been following Chelsea since 1967 so have seen good and bad times… I can safely say that the best times I have seen was after Roman came to the club. These last 8 years have been unbeleivable. I might not agree withl his decisions but he is a winner and glad to be on his boat.. With regard di Matteo, definitely he is a legend and will always be but I beleive he was not the best choice for Chelsea. I would have loved Capello to be here at the begining of this seaso. Benitez…. don’t really like him but beleive he is a good coach and if the results come will get to like him…. Re Guardjola… well not sure he will be a good choice. At Barcelona he had a gem called Messi……
I agree 1000% with this article.
Board disposing of Cfc Heros like dirty underwear, its betraying all the club stands for.
Besides what he achieved, RDM was a great role model for our club.
Last chance saloon now for Fernando.
Rubbish article…even after our most loved coach..Jose was sacked we still moved on…Robbie was our legend…but was tactically inept..wen it mattered most…d danger signs..we’re der during d pre season..n hightened during dat night in Monaco..d 3:0 bashing in turin..was a defeat so bad to take…d squad for this past few weeks has looked so predictable…n listless…true blues..the press does not like #CFC…and would do anything to turn us against ourselves and the manager…with Roman…we have won a lot…he May be ruthless..but results..av shown his methods av worked..let’s support our club..n keep the blue flag flying
Never have I read such puerile nonsense. Written in such an immature manner. Yes Robero DiMatteo was and always will be a hero to us. However he is tactically inept. We have shipped in far to many goals this season because football is not just about expansive attacking play.
Benitez maybe hated for all sorts of reasons, and he may be called the fat Spanish Waiter. However he is now our fat Spanish waiter and believe it or not I believe he will make us a seriously hard team to beat because he is a thoroughly accomplished coach. He might even teach the team the way to release the rather one dimensional Torres the balls he thrives on. We have some really good players in all positions and when we get past the way that that Roberto was so unceremoniously dismissed, we might actually realise that we can expect to operate as a cohesive unit under Benitez.
As for Roman Abramovich, yes he is ruthless, yes he seems to treat people as disposable items. However they all get paid off handsomely. So no one ever loses out. We have won many trophies in lithe last few years, because of Abramovich’s millions and I like all of the Chelsea fans wish we could find a manager he sticks with. However he is driven to find a manager who can give us the type of football he craves. I for one think that we could do a whole load worse that employing Benitez.
Trust me Benitez is on a mission to prove a point. He is partisan as are all of us. Maybe the comments he made perviously were to wind us up. I have no truck with that. It’s the games that are played at the top. Lets hope he delivers for Us now.
Remember guys – ‘ never boo a blue’ And like it or not that’s what Benitez now is and Abramovitch’s always has been.
he is given us more than any manager could, stop being ungrateful, his decisions have all worked in the past… what an utterly disrespectful comment to someone that evidently loves the club to pieces and is desperate to see it succeed
My sentiments exactly!
I have tickets for Fulham and Sunderland but can not envisage myself at either game watching the team being led by Benitez? Even Bates did not sink as low as Abramovich as he did not employ George Graham as manager when the fans feelings were voiced against him as vociferously as they were last season against Benitez.
I feel empty and am truly questioning just what I support?
The final blow is yet to come though as I believe Abramovich’s covert takeover of the CPO will be the final nail.
Football fans get a raw deal anyway with other businesses unable to get away with what football clubs do! They do it because the fans are allegedly loyal and supporting a team is a vocation. When I don’t like the way something is run or presented I will not buy it or tolerate it in my life. This is where i find myself with Chelsea, after 40+ years of following blindly I can’t do it anymore! I like the success but do not like the way the club is run & I will no longer sell my soul to the devil for a football match! Benitez was the final straw for me as we all know about the sign that is still up in Liverpool’s training ground. I refuse to have anything to do with him: end of story.