This week I thought I would talk about something very close to my own heart, something that has a hold on my mood and can both make and ruin my weekends; namely, Chelsea Football Club.
Everyone is talking about Chelsea at the moment, and in sport, when everyone is talking about you, it’s rarely a good thing. The word ‘crisis’ has been banded about a lot this season. Arsenal have been in ‘crisis’, Blackburn have been in ‘crisis’, some would probably even go as far as to apply the word to Barcelona as they sit second in La Liga behind Mourinho’s Real Madrid. The word, however, is definitely most appropriate when assigned to Chelsea. They sit fifth in the Premier League, 3-1 behind to Napoli going into the second-leg of the Champions League round of 16 and face a tricky replay away to Birmingham to progress in the FA Cup. Without a win in five, it is fair to say that little is going right for AVB’s men right now, nor has it been this whole season.
There has been so much talk recently about Abramovich, Villas-Boas, the players and even, god-forbid, Rafa Benitez, but what seems to have been ignored is what the fans think, and where the current situation puts them.
Obviously I don’t mean this in terms of their support for the club, that is a marriage that should never be broken, but it is a strange situation for them in that it has been a long time since Chelsea have been this poor, and they’re not really used to it anymore.
There have been the inevitable calls for the return of our saviour Jose from Spain, whilst some want rid of Villas-Boas whatever the cost, but I believe what really needs to be done at the club, what appears the only viable and indeed most sensible option, is to keep AVB and lose Chelsea’s heroes.
It is a sorry fact that the club will simply not progress whilst both remain, and this is why many fans, including myself, find themselves in the uncomfortable situation of realising that the players who have given us so much joy and so much silverware over recent years may have to be packed off elsewhere.
I’m not just talking about the Maloudas and Bosingwas either, it looks as if it is the Frank Lampards, Didier Drogbas and maybe even Ashley Coles and John Terrys that may have to leave in order for AVB to make the club progress. It is clear that they do not share the new manager’s philosophy, and if he is to succeed, he is going to have to build his own squad not far off from scratch.
All I can say is that I hope these Chelsea ‘legends’ are not disposed of in the same way we say Alex and Anelka leave the club; to exile them like that would be an extremely poor piece of judgement from the manager and one which would certainly turn fans against him, if they weren’t already.
For once, Roman Abramovich appears to be backing his manager, and that means that the Chelsea fans are going to have to do the same if they want to taste glory once again, even if it is at the expense of our Stamford Bridge favourites.