COME ON ROMAN:
DON’T TURF CHELSEA
OUT OF THE BRIDGE!
Frank Worrall reporting
SINCE he took control of Chelsea in 2003, I have been one of Roman Abramovich’s biggest fans. The money and efforts the Russian oligarch has put in at Stamford Bridge have transformed Chelsea from a club with great potential on and off the field into big-time winners and genuine footballing heavyweights within the world game. From hopefuls into champions, from a team who could hope to finish in the top five, into a team who are now dismayed if they don’t finish the absolute top of the pile. From a team who dreamed of winning the Premier League to a team who now win it regularly – and a team who now hope to complete the set for their owner by bringing home the Champions League this season.
Yes, Roman Abramovich deserves total credit for what he has done with Chelsea Football Club and is rightly lauded by the majority of Blues fans.
But this week Roman did something that I cannot agree with; something that I, for once, do not feel I can lend him my support over; something that troubles me. It could even well turn out to be the something that brings Roman into conflict for the first time with his previously adoring army of Chelsea fans.
For Roman has put into motion a move to buy the freehold for the land on which Stamford Bridge is built. The freehold is owned by a collective of 12,000 fans – and under the terms of the 1999 deal which sold it to them, the team cannot keep its name if it moves to a new stadium.
So, why would Roman want to now buy the freehold off them unless he planned to move to a new stadium? There can be no other reason. He needs the freehold to free up the name so that he can sell off the Bridge and build a new home for the club at one of three suggested locations…Earls Court, Battersea Power Station or White City.
The argument goes that the new stadium would house at least 60,000 fans and would have much improved facilities and transport links than the Bridge. It would enable Chelsea to become a true European heavy-hitter of a club. OK, the capacity would be increased (from the current 41,800 at the Bridge) but would the facilities and links really be that much better? You telling me that it would be much easier to negotiate through the congestion the one-way nightmare system of Earls Court brings, or over the bridge to Battersea, or the torturous trek to White City?
And isn’t the truth that, as we have already pointed out, Chelsea are one of the real European heavyweight clubs NOW – even while based at the Bridge?
No, my feeling is that Chelsea are doing quite nicely at Stamford Bridge, thank you very much. And surely there must be some way of increasing ground capacity there – surely with all his roubles, Roman can get some genius of a surveyor to draw up plans that enable a couple of stands to be rebuilt so that the capacity could increase by, say 10,000 – which would take it to 51,800? Plans that would please the fans, the council, the locals and everyone who has a say on the issue?
I know that when the freehold was bought by the Chelsea fans in 1999 – the so-called Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) – the key reason for it was to protect the land from property developers. There is a line of argument that suggests Roman is now planning to buy it so he can make a killing from those very same developers. That the prime land would bring in a tidy penny as it would make a base for a very nice housing development. That he can finally get back some of the masses of money he has put into the club.
I am not accusing or suggesting that Roman’s move last week to buy the freehold was motivated by that potential outcome. All I would say here is that he should step back, take a breather and listen to what Chelsea fans are saying. That he should keep the club at the Bridge and redevelop there; that by doing so he would be maintaining the traditions and history of one of Britain’s most famous clubs.
The CPO now has three weeks to decide whether to sell their shares – and the freehold – to Roman. But from the fans I have spoken to over the last week, the message seems loud and clear – ‘We want to stay at the Bridge’.
Chelsea have called an extraordinary meeting of the CPO for October 27 to vote on the proposal to sell their shares back to the club. If you are a Chelsea fan and feel strongly about this going through – and the consequent possibility that your club could be playing at a new home one day, NOW is the time to make your voice heard to the club via the supporters’ groups and websites.
And if you are reading this Roman, have a rethink. You are still a hero to Chelsea fans – and you can remain one, and go down in history as one if you do the right thing. The ball is in your court as they say…
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