![Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich with supporters on the South Stand instead of sitting in his personal Box [Times Online]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_CP2fnIn3TNOcDopvtveetRJkVl5S6NX5Mh0OyXw1-5G8xZ0wbuBgMxmrRmSS4nDLTl95mmi4HkwzKA-FHEAJGJLeFKfbsw2au3YciRKnBNRQbBUNaJPbBFnbf1hVCQBvAEd2Q/s320/ilrusso.jpg)
Shevchenko, the first out of the dressing room after full-time, headed straight to the airport for a flight to Milan, where he celebrated his 31st birthday. His heart appears to be there, not in London. Roman Abramovich surveyed all from a seat high in the Shed End. The club's owner eschewed the security of his executive box and bodyguards to sit, together with the director Eugene Tenenbaum, alongside supporters of all shapes and sizes, seemingly to try to more accurately gauge the mood. "He did it at Lazio in the Champions League [in 2003] and I think he has done it one or two other times," said Bruce Buck, the chairman. "He is a fan and he would like to be with the fans. I don't think it was anything philosophical or deep-thinking". Abramovich buried his head in his hands when Shevchenko was substituted, smiled when a boy showed him his Ronaldinho No10 shirt and, after Drogba's sending-off, he witnessed the outpouring of anger and frustration. One fan threw down his shirt and delivered an expletive-fuelled tirade. Grant has got it all to do.
3 commenti:
Il russo dovrebbe mettersi una mano sul cuore. E fare una telefonata al Presidente, che dovrebbe mettersene una sul portafoglio. A gennaio c'è un bel mercato di riparazione, per mettere le pezze all'ultimo scempio estivo. Sarebbe un bel regalo di Natale, per tutti.
IT'S GOOD TO TALK, ROMAN
02/10/2007, Chelsea fans' growing unease with Roman Abramovich is vividly captured in a passionate letter sent to the club's owner last week. Fearful of their benefactor losing interest, Blues supporters remain cautious about displaying public dissent towards Abramovich, but the missive reveals the depths of private concerns.
As the letter makes abundantly clear, Abramovich needs to rebuild relations with supporters. The billionaire was sneered at in some quarters for sitting amongst ordinary fans in the Shed on Saturday, yet at least he is not hiding in his executive box.
The next sensible step for the Russian must be to attend a supporters' meeting to explain his strategy for Chelsea, particularly relating to the controversial departure of Jose Mourinho and the bizarre appointment of Avram Grant. If Steve Clarke, the popular coach, decides to follow Mourinho out of the Bridge, Abramovich faces even more criticism.
The main worries about Abramovich's stewardship are contained in the letter from a group of Chelsea season ticket-holders, demanding answers to the following questions about Grant: "Why have you employed a replacement who:
1, Doesn't have any coaching badges?
2, Has no experience of managing in a premier European league?
3, Hasn't managed a team in the Champions League?
4, During his tenure of managing teams in Israel played defensive formations of 4-5-1.
"You, [chairman] Bruce Buck and [chief executive] Peter Kenyon all allude to being Chelsea fans but can I ask you:
1, Have you stood on freezing cold terraces in the 1980s at Luton watching Chelsea lose 4-0?
2, Have you been herded into pens at the cattle market in Nottingham before seeing them scrape a 1-1 draw at Notts County in the snow?
3, Have you stood in the rain at Selhurst Park watching them get a draw in the Zenith Data Systems Cup?
4, Have you endured 30-odd years of achieving nothing in any league or cup competition?"
In the letter, written by Jonathan Leeson, a fan since the Seventies, Abramovich is also taken to task for puzzling over "why ageing footballers such as Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko can't perform and wondering why Chelsea slip down the league and become the laughing stock of English and European football".
In a concluding paragraph that will have heads nodding in approval all round the Bridge, the letter finishes: "Chelsea is in my blood and I will be at Stamford Bridge long after all of you have gone. I feel sorry for you – you will never have the passion and love for this club that we have."
Abramovich must realise he is merely the custodian of Chelsea Football Club, rather than an all-powerful oligarch who can interfere in the manager's domain as if it were some foreman's office at an obscure aluminium factory. This is Chelsea, a famous name in football, and a vital force in the lives of many. A Letter to Abramovich must be absorbed by the Russian.
Rebuilding the owner-fans relationship is a two-way process. The decent-minded masses of Blues fans also have a responsibility: reining in the excesses of a poisonous minority. Before kick-off at Manchester United on Sept 23, Chelsea fans were milling around the away section concourse, eating, drinking and chatting. The usual stuff.
Then, to the horror of most present, a handful of bigots launched into an anti-semitic chant about Abramovich. According to one supporter present, "it was to the tune of 'Spurs are on their way to Wembley' and referred to Auschwitz.
I have been to Auschwitz three times (when England played Poland at nearby Katowice) and it is the most evil place on earth. Chelsea fans have a legitimate grievance with Abramovich over Mourinho's exit, but such abuse clearly crosses the line. Chelsea officials are also monitoring some unpleasant web traffic about Abramovich and may take action.
On Saturday, Buck used his programme notes to appeal for an "immediate" halt to taunts about the Israeli Grant "which could be viewed as racist or anti-semitic".
Buck, a chairman with a conscience, should be praised for tackling the issue, and also for trying to explain (however unconvincingly) recent machinations at the Bridge, but really it is Abramovich's voice that needs to be heard. The Russian has been quiet for too long. Chelsea fans deserve answers.
da: sport.telegraph.co.uk
Good words.
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