Following yesterday’s rejection of Chelsea’s proposal to acquire the freehold of Stamford Bridge from Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), it is recognised that there has to be a constructive dialogue between the club and fans to reach a mutually acceptable outcome.
Following yesterday’s rejection of Chelsea’s proposal to acquire the freehold of Stamford Bridge from Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), it is recognised that there has to be a constructive dialogue between the club and fans to reach a mutually acceptable outcome.
This was confirmed by Tim Rolls, of the Say No CPO campaign who said: ‘This is a vindication of the work put in by a large number of people, and demonstrates the strength of feeling among true Chelsea supporters regarding the future of the club. Going forward there will clearly need to be a dialogue with the club, and we hope this can be conducted in a constructive manner.’
There are some broader and specific lessons to be learnt from these events. Owners who invest substantially in a club might feel that they have done enough if they turn up with a large enough wedge and spend it in a way that brings success on the pitch. However, clubs are not commodities and they need to build trust with fans.
The way in which this episode was handled at Chelsea – certainly with too much speed and not enough information – served to upset and mobilise a formerly dormant group of fans. The CPO are not trying to squeeze more money or benefits out of the club, they want to be reassured that a move away from Stamford Bridge is the best solution for the future. The devil is in so far absent detail.
Oliver Kay makes some good points in The Times this morning: ‘Every Chelsea supporter knows that Abramovich is a wonderful sugar daddy, but, even after eight years, none can say with any certainty that he has any real head for the football business. There has never been any real sense of strategy at the club. It still runs on whims, whether in relation to hiring or firing coaches, playing the transfer market or the pursuit of financial self-sufficiency, which is approached with all the discipline of a binge-eating crash dieter.’
He continues, ‘Abramovich has treated Chelsea like a toy and the supporters have loved it. But now is the time for him to show how he intends to treat it henceforth as an important sporting institution.’