I preferred Chelsea FC before Roman arrived !

[Badboy 1,526]

I know we are a much better side then what we were but i really preferred it when we were a top 6 side. Since Roman arrived we have lost something, it seems that we are not Chelsea fc the family club anymore we have lost so much tradition and its not nice. I am not as passionate as what i used to be for the club, i am still a supporter but i am not as much a supporter as what i used to be. I don't attend half the games as what i used to and its all down to the fact that Chelsea FC has lost its sole in my opinion. Chelsea Fc has lost its connection with the fans since Roman arrived and that is a fact you only have to speak to the older fans who attended games in the 80's. What is your opinion ?

[Kieran. 6,317]

I only started supporting the club a few years before Roman came, so I don't really know what it's like without Roman.

[Tomo 21,733]

Completely different era's.

Although i guess before Roman we had loads more players we idolise than we do now (IE Zola, Di Matteo, Poyet). Has any one bar Lampard, Terry and to a lesser extent Drogba and Cech came close to touching them group in terms of fans affection?

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Supported through both eras.

Very unfair claim to make imo. But each to their own..

[warnie_666 1,081]

Each to his own.

I prefer to see the club compete with the Europe's elite

[Blue Armour 4,287]

I know we are a much better side then what we were but i really preferred it when we were a top 6 side. Since Roman arrived we have lost something, it seems that we are not Chelsea fc the family club anymore we have lost so much tradition and its not nice. I am not as passionate as what i used to be for the club, i am still a supporter but i am not as much a supporter as what i used to be. I don't attend half the games as what i used to and its all down to the fact that Chelsea FC has lost its sole in my opinion. Chelsea Fc has lost its connection with the fans since Roman arrived and that is a fact you only have to speak to the older fans who attended games in the 80's. What is your opinion ?

I don't get it...why should it matter to you? If you love the club so much, why should it change?

Owners will keep coming and going, the administration will keep changing, the club may easily get relegated or just as easily become an object of attraction, but the spirit of the club lives on in the current and future generations of the fans...

I take it you are afraid of the glory hunters coming in and ruining the atmosphere, but their presence will not and should not ruin the mood of the true fans. If it does happen, the true fans will have only themselves to blame for not protecting and spreading the spirit of the club to the next set of fans....

[Spike 12,049]

Completely different era's.

Although i guess before Roman we had loads more players we idolise than we do now (IE Zola, Di Matteo, Poyet). Has any one bar Lampard, Terry and to a lesser extent Drogba and Cech came close to touching them group in terms of fans affection?

I think we would have loved those players regardless of what Era they played in.

On another noteI really liked Carvalho and Ballack.

[BlueSunshine 672]

I know we are a much better side then what we were but i really preferred it when we were a top 6 side. Since Roman arrived we have lost something, it seems that we are not Chelsea fc the family club anymore we have lost so much tradition and its not nice. I am not as passionate as what i used to be for the club, i am still a supporter but i am not as much a supporter as what i used to be. I don't attend half the games as what i used to and its all down to the fact that Chelsea FC has lost its sole in my opinion. Chelsea Fc has lost its connection with the fans since Roman arrived and that is a fact you only have to speak to the older fans who attended games in the 80's. What is your opinion ?

Completely agree.Call me crazy but i was even more proud of being a Chelsea fan back then than i am now,despite all the titles we have won the past few years.

It has to do also with all those plastic fans that appeared out of nowhere since Roman took over.Unfortunately success comes with a price.

[Madmax 9,219]

I prefer Chelsea FC.

[Spike 12,049]

I prefer Chelsea FC.

Exactly, who cares about owners or eras? Chelsea is still Chelsea

[Igi26 346]

I prefer Chelsea FC.

Word.

[Waterfall 893]

No offence, but if you feel like the club has lost its sole that made you a fan in the first place, why do you still support them? It actually sounds like you are becoming the plastic fan. Like Blue Armour said, the glory hunters shouldn't really matter to the true fan (whatever that is). If it's the atmosphere you are looking for, perhaps you should start supporting a second club. If you became a fan simply because of the proximity to the stadium, well, the club's still playing at Stamford Bridge and probably will continue to for some time.

[bluephoenix 1,126]

it so happened that I started supporting Chelsea fc from the start of Roman era... so can't comment but still I just love this club...can't imagine a life without Chelsea fc (and I am not exaggerating )

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I can definitely see what you're saying Badboy. Its a difficult topic to discuss though.

I love the club, always have and always will. But I absolutely know what you mean, before the Abramovich era we had loyal players who wanted to be at the club and were determined to make us into a big club; classy, elegant players like Zola, Desailly, di Matteo, LeBoeuf, Petrescu et al. and there was a special atmosphere, a real raw passion from the players, great levels of commitment and desire, which was amazing to see, and is certainly what endeared me to the club when I was a youngster.

Nowadays, I don't quite get the same feeling - let's be frank, if it wasn't for the wage packet, who would still be at the club? Football is now a mercenary's game, previously it was a gentleman's sport. The last generation of Chelsea FC was a period of success with a squad of gentleman, who were sincere, loyal, honest and dedicated not only to the club, but also the fans. People are kidding themselves if they think the same of players like Lampard, Terry, Drogba and so on... they are only loyal to their wallets. The Zola Generation was so special because not only did we play some incredible football, but because it was a special period for us; we'd gone through a transition and suddenly we were a British footballing power, regularly playing in Europe. In 1998/99 we only finished four points from winning the title! What a dream that was, after comfortable mid-table finishes throughout the early 90s that was just something utterly ridiculous for Chelsea supporters to comprehend. Potential trophies weren't expected, and perhaps that made our trophy wins just as, perhaps even more special than our more recent victories.

However under Villas-Boas there has certainly been a great demonstration of commitment to the cause and that has only increased the pride I have to call myself a Chelsea supporter - but I absolutely see where you're coming from. The success has made some of us greedy, perhaps even arrogant, and in fairness after the success we have had, you could argue that it is definitely hard to keep grounded after all this success! We will look back on this era with a great sense of pride in 30 years' time and say "I was alive" at that point - but there definitely a chivalrous charm to the Chelsea side pre-Abramovich; perhaps even a naivety that we were totally unaware of what could come in the near future. The thing I miss the most is the Stamford Bridge atmosphere. Before we won those two back-to-back titles, we definitely had one of the best atmospheres in the country. What a fucking noise we used to make in the Shed!!

Either way, I love this club and I am eternally grateful for what Abramovich has done, and I am proud to call myself a Blue.

[Badboy 1,526]

I could not have put it better Alex. The thing is people seem to think that we were shit before Roman arrived, we were a good side we were the equivalent of a modern day Tottenham, we had some players in that side that would walk into this team. We should of won the league in 1998-1999 it was only for a special treble winning side that stopped us but the football we played in that season was just mind blowing. The atmosphere has gone because the real supporters don't go anymore like Oxfordblues, we don't have that many real supporters anymore. If Roman had not taken over then most of our foreign fan base would not even consider Chelsea. This is not to attack some of the people on this forum who live elsewhere but that is a fact, Man utd had a monopoly on foreign support before Roman arrived ! All of a sudden we have people travelling from Malaysia to watch games at the bridge... that would never of happened before Roman arrived.

[Blue Armour 4,287]

I can definitely see what you're saying Badboy. Its a difficult topic to discuss though.

I love the club, always have and always will. But I absolutely know what you mean, before the Abramovich era we had loyal players who wanted to be at the club and were determined to make us into a big club; classy, elegant players like Zola, Desailly, di Matteo, LeBoeuf, Petrescu et al. and there was a special atmosphere, a real raw passion from the players, great levels of commitment and desire, which was amazing to see, and is certainly what endeared me to the club when I was a youngster.

Nowadays, I don't quite get the same feeling - let's be frank, if it wasn't for the wage packet, who would still be at the club? Football is now a mercenary's game, previously it was a gentleman's sport. The last generation of Chelsea FC was a period of success with a squad of gentleman, who were sincere, loyal, honest and dedicated not only to the club, but also the fans. People are kidding themselves if they think the same of players like Lampard, Terry, Drogba and so on... they are only loyal to their wallets. The Zola Generation was so special because not only did we play some incredible football, but because it was a special period for us; we'd gone through a transition and suddenly we were a British footballing power, regularly playing in Europe. In 1998/99 we only finished four points from winning the title! What a dream that was, after comfortable mid-table finishes throughout the early 90s that was just something utterly ridiculous for Chelsea supporters to comprehend. Potential trophies weren't expected, and perhaps that made our trophy wins just as, perhaps even more special than our more recent victories.

However under Villas-Boas there has certainly been a great demonstration of commitment to the cause and that has only increased the pride I have to call myself a Chelsea supporter - but I absolutely see where you're coming from. The success has made some of us greedy, perhaps even arrogant, and in fairness after the success we have had, you could argue that it is definitely hard to keep grounded after all this success! We will look back on this era with a great sense of pride in 30 years' time and say "I was alive" at that point - but there definitely a chivalrous charm to the Chelsea side pre-Abramovich; perhaps even a naivety that we were totally unaware of what could come in the near future. The thing I miss the most is the Stamford Bridge atmosphere. Before we won those two back-to-back titles, we definitely had one of the best atmospheres in the country. What a fucking noise we used to make in the Shed!!

Either way, I love this club and I am eternally grateful for what Abramovich has done, and I am proud to call myself a Blue.

That feeling I can understand. But don't you get a similar feeling for a certain group of players who are desperate to win a first ever champions league in blue colors? Now I'm not talking up our chances or anything, but I think that's also exciting in its own way...

Some of my most emotional moments for the club have been during our defeats in this tournament, during which I have felt a greater sense of attachment towards the club and its squad. The club got into this tournament on its own merit,no doubt, but some of the our most memorable moments from the club's history in European competitions have been during Roman's era....

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I could not have put it better Alex. The thing is people seem to think that we were shit before Roman arrived, we were a good side we were the equivalent of a modern day Tottenham, we had some players in that side that would walk into this team. We should of won the league in 1998-1999 it was only for a special treble winning side that stopped us but the football we played in that season was just mind blowing. The atmosphere has gone because the real supporters don't go anymore like Oxfordblues, we don't have that many real supporters anymore. If Roman had not taken over then most of our foreign fan base would not even consider Chelsea. This is not to attack some of the people on this forum who live elsewhere but that is a fact, Man utd had a monopoly on foreign support before Roman arrived ! All of a sudden we have people travelling from Malaysia to watch games at the bridge... that would never of happened before Roman arrived.

Very eloquently put BB, totally agree. The global brand has increased our fan base which is of course a great thing but this has had negative effects; ie. we now have a lot of bourgeoisie people who sit in the crowd and don't contribute to an atmosphere.

That feeling I can understand. But don't you get a similar feeling for a certain group of players who are desperate to win a first ever champions league in blue colors? Now I'm not talking up our chances or anything, but I think that's also exciting in its own way...

Some of my most emotional moments for the club have been during our defeats in this tournament, during which I have felt a greater sense of attachment towards the club and its squad. The club got into this tournament on its own merit,no doubt, but some of the our most memorable moments from the club's history in European competitions have been during Roman's era....

That's a fair point, but Badboy is referring to the atmosphere around the club. Before Abramovich came we were a club for the fans. Now we're a business for the profits.

[Blue Armour 4,287]

That's a fair point, but Badboy is referring to the atmosphere around the club. Before Abramovich came we were a club for the fans. Now we're a business for the profits.

Yeah, this trend (because of commercialization) is happening not only in football...I suppose the native fans are being driven away by the rising ticket prices and honestly I don't see the situation changing the way things stand....

I suppose a larger stadium and lesser prices might resolve that,... but again... the stadium isn't something I want to talk about at the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, because history and tradition is something I value as well......