Roman Abramovich Thread

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

1 hour ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I'd add the attempt to secure Rudiger to a new contract to that too. Probably Azpilicueta as well. We need all the stability we can get at the moment and whilst he's no longer in his prime in a big game situation I'd still rather have Azpi in the back 3 currently over Trev.

Rudi has also become a big personality in the squad.

1 hour ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I'd also add to the working with the CPO to extend to the foregoing of the outstanding loan too.

Good point. As I said, earlier in this thread probably, I wish Roman had forgiven the debt while he could. To be fair though I'm not really sure that he ever wanted to.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

I'd tie down Christensen too if he isn't already convinced to leave. 

The links between Chris and Barca seem too strong, and too consistent, to be wrong. Looks like he may well have put pen to paper already.

[Superblue 6,331]

12 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Rudi has also become a big personality in the squad.

Good point. As I said, earlier in this thread probably, I wish Roman had forgiven the debt while he could. To be fair though I'm not really sure that he ever wanted to.

Yeah I think you're right that relationship was always strained.

If there are positive's to take from it though 

(1) The CPO showed its strength and power to resist someone as rich and powerful as Roman. It should serve as a warning to any new owner to work with the CPO and not against.

(2) The hard work has been done by Roman. Dealing with the CPO and seeing their stance, and the work done on planning for how a stadium could possibly be redeveloped or rebuilt on the Stamford Bridge site. You'd like to think despite relations being strained during that time, it will hopefully lay a groundwork for a new owner to have a more positive relationship working alongside the CPO.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

2 hours ago, Pizy said:

Help us Boehly-Wan Kenobi. You’re our only hope.

😂

Long, long ago, when Star Wars had just been released I refused to go and see it for the simple reason that everyone else was. This was despite the fact that my girlfriend had been trying to persuade me to see it with her. At the end of a night out in central London she spotted a late night screening so we went. Once I heard Ben Kenobi's name I just kept whisper-singing into her ear: -

Wan Ben Kenobi

There's Obi Wan Ben Kenobi

Wan Ben Keno-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-bi

There's Obi Wan Ben Keno-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-bi

 

She later turned out to be the mother of our children. Girl clearly had a high tolerance for football mad idiots. 🙂

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by OhForAGreavsie

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

1 hour ago, Superblue_1986 said:

Perhaps with new ownership comes a bit more longer term planning in the transfer market. The right player isn't available? Ok let's keep our powder dry and work with what we have instead of buying an alternative

Amen to this.

[Vesper 27,282]

5 hours ago, Pizy said:

With those racist comments from one of the Rickett’s family member in the last I wonder if we’d instantly see fan protests if he wins the bidding. That would be hugely embarrassing to them…

Chelsea supporters group slam ‘universally disdained’ bid from the Ricketts family

https://metro.co.uk/2022/03/21/Chelsea-supporters-group-slam-universally-disdained-prospective-owners-16317185/

The Ricketts family donated $1million to help Donald Trump get elected (Pictures: Getty)

The Ricketts family’s bid to buy Chelsea is gathering pace but faces significant backlash from a supporters group who claim their ownership would betray the values of the club.

Prospective bidders had until Friday evening to submit their offers to US merchant bank Raine, who are overseeing the sale of the west London club on behalf of Roman Abramovich.

Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family, along with another US bid from a consortium led by Todd Boehly, have become the frontrunners to win ownership of Chelsea, with over a dozen viable offers set to be whittled down to a shortlist of around three.

The Ricketts family aren’t exactly popular owners of the Cubs (Picture: Getty)

According to the Evening Standard, the Ricketts family are increasingly confident of being on that shortlist and Tom Ricketts has already held talks with the MP for Chelsea and Fulham, Greg Hands.

They are due to head to the UK in the coming days for face-to-face talks with fan groups and Chelsea Pitch Owners PLC to outline their vision, while their redevelopment of Wrigley Field is seen as a big positive – particularly as they plan to rebuild Stamford Bridge.

But Brian Wolff, head of the Chelsea Chicago Supporters Club, has warned against letting the Ricketts family take over, citing the troubles and controversies that came with the redevelopment of Wrigley Field as well as the political leanings of the family.

‘As the Head of Chelsea Chicago Supporters Club, and the Chelsea Fans’ Forum Overseas Representative, I’ve had a unique position hearing what supporters in Chicago and worldwide have said regarding the Ricketts family’s bid for Chelsea,’ he wrote.

‘I can report the vast majority of opinion has been of universal disdain.

‘The Ricketts’ political donations, fundraising and support for candidates who do not share the inclusive views of Chelsea Football Club and its supporters are wholly inconsistent with 19 years of fantastic work done by the club and the Chelsea Foundation, most notably as a leader in committing to a living wage and efforts to protect and promote equality for BAME and LGBTQ+ communities.

‘Their ownership of Chicago Cubs baseball and redevelopment of Wrigley Field raises serious doubts whether they will build upon the club’s success on the pitch, and also the continued existence of the Chelsea Pitch Owners and the goal to keep Chelsea Football Club playing at Stamford Bridge at our forever home.

‘On behalf of countless supporters worldwide, I urge you to reject their bid for ownership of Chelsea Football Club in favour of others who will commit to not only building upon the last two decades of investment in players and infrastructure, but equally important, the investment in supporters and the values we hold dear.’

Back in 2020, Tom Ricketts was openly booed by disgruntled Cubs fans at an annual convention, while prior to the redevelopment of Wrigley Park the owners threatened to move away from the iconic stadium if their plans for a larger scoreboard and additional signage were not approved.

Meanwhile, the heads of the Ricketts family, Joe and Marlene, donated $1million to a pro-Donald Trump Super PAC to help him get elected in 2016, while son Todd was the chief fundraiser for Trump’s re-election campaign – though all three had initially been never-Trumper Republicans.

Emails from Joe Ricketts also resurfaced last week in which he described Muslims as ‘the enemy’, with the Daily Mail reporting that a number of players are uncomfortable with the prospect of the family taking over.

MORE : Nick Candy ‘significantly increases’ bid to buy Chelsea after initial offer of over £2bn

MORE : Football Association plan to sell tickets to Chelsea fans for FA Cup semi-final

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[bigbluewillie 1,805]

I want Centricus😜

[DDA 9,570]

So The Ricketts are on of the favourites but yet couldn't run a bath when it comes to American Football? 

Fantastic.

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

I am almost certain the shortlist will be one of the following

1.     Ricketts/Griffin  -   Boehly/Wyss/goldstein/Clearlake capital     -     Coe/Broughton     -     Candy/Korean lot

 

2.   As above but swap Candy for Centricus and possibly add an unknown bidder

 

Still think Boehly wins, 99.9% certain of it

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

The issue with the Griffin bid is this, people like CFCDaily on twitter are really going after him and digging up his unpleasant remarks from the past, but they forget the father is not involved in the bid. At all. It's his son[s]

The cubs may not be well run, but they'll have Ken Griffin backing them here, and he has deep deep pockets.  Easier to run a club with huge financial ability... Do i want them? Not really.  Will i care if they take over? Meh, might be a bit wishing it was someone else, but talk of protests and that shit by the likes of CFCDaily and them, is fucking ridiculous

Edited March 22, 2022 by ChelseaFanUK

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

12 minutes ago, DDA said:

So The Ricketts are on of the favourites but yet couldn't run a bath when it comes to American Football? 

Fantastic.

They must know they're shortlisted IMO as why else would the father be wanting to come visit the Chelsea supporters trust and CPO?

 

Would make no sense unless they knew something before the public and media

[Fulham Broadway 16,386]

Shortlist to be drawn up today.

Have a feeling we will be a US franchise. Go Super Blue Bears !

[Fulham Broadway 16,386]

MARTIN SAMUEL: It's money first, glory second for the US owners circling Chelsea (just ask United and Arsenal)… 

[Superblue 6,331]

5 hours ago, ChelseaFanUK said:

The issue with the Griffin bid is this, people like CFCDaily on twitter are really going after him and digging up his unpleasant remarks from the past, but they forget the father is not involved in the bid. At all. It's his son[s]

The cubs may not be well run, but they'll have Ken Griffin backing them here, and he has deep deep pockets.  Easier to run a club with huge financial ability... Do i want them? Not really.  Will i care if they take over? Meh, might be a bit wishing it was someone else, but talk of protests and that shit by the likes of CFCDaily and them, is fucking ridiculous

We're all going to have our own preferences but essentially we have to trust the Raine Group and potentially Roman or his trusted aides to choose who is the most suitable owner to take our football club on.

@OhForAGreavsieset out a great list yesterday of things which should really be 'base' requirements for new owners. 

Anybody who is prepared to guarantee something along these lines I'm willing to give a chance to.

Anyone buying off Roman is going to find it incredibly tough in my opinion to win over the fans. However there should be some initial goodwill from just getting us out of these sanctions, especially with the season run-in and the potential to still get our hands on a couple of trophies. Whomever it is that gets us just needs to run with that goodwill and momentum.

[Superblue 6,331]

1 hour ago, Fulham Broadway said:

MARTIN SAMUEL: It's money first, glory second for the US owners circling Chelsea (just ask United and Arsenal)… 

The issues that United and Arsenal have found are nothing to do with money in my opinion, it's management.

The Glazer's and Kroenke's shouldn't need to be regularly present at games or at the forefront of the club. Not many football owners are. We haven't done too bad despite Roman barely turning up to watch a game in the last 4 - 5 years. But Roman put a structure of people in place to run the club well in his absence. 

This is what Arsenal and United have lacked.

Arsenal's net transfer spend over the last 5 seasons is over £100m more than ours and United's is well over double. They do spend money, they just haven't spent it well. Arsenal are starting to show some signs of buying what are turning out to be some decent players alongside some good young academy players, and rightly or wrongly they've given full backing to the manager to make decisions on his squad and transfers. Some big names have been bombed out in the last couple of years that they haven't been afraid to write off to be fair to them.

I've mentioned previously, for the sum we're looking like being purchased for, I just cannot see how a new owner won't be prepared to continue investing in the club and squad to keep us competitive and challenging for trophies. A drop off could cause a significant impact to the club's value. What is important is when we do spend money, spending it well and getting the right people and players in. We ourselves are guilty just like United and Arsenal of wasting a lot of money on player transfers but our management structure and squad are both better as a starting point.

[Blues Forever 1,232]

21 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

The issues that United and Arsenal have found are nothing to do with money in my opinion, it's management.

The Glazer's and Kroenke's shouldn't need to be regularly present at games or at the forefront of the club. Not many football owners are. We haven't done too bad despite Roman barely turning up to watch a game in the last 4 - 5 years. But Roman put a structure of people in place to run the club well in his absence. 

This is what Arsenal and United have lacked.

Arsenal's net transfer spend over the last 5 seasons is over £100m more than ours and United's is well over double. They do spend money, they just haven't spent it well. Arsenal are starting to show some signs of buying what are turning out to be some decent players alongside some good young academy players, and rightly or wrongly they've given full backing to the manager to make decisions on his squad and transfers. Some big names have been bombed out in the last couple of years that they haven't been afraid to write off to be fair to them.

I've mentioned previously, for the sum we're looking like being purchased for, I just cannot see how a new owner won't be prepared to continue investing in the club and squad to keep us competitive and challenging for trophies. A drop off could cause a significant impact to the club's value. What is important is when we do spend money, spending it well and getting the right people and players in. We ourselves are guilty just like United and Arsenal of wasting a lot of money on player transfers but our management structure and squad are both better as a starting point.

The Glazers issue are poor management, no investment, using United money to pay their debt and dividend. Kroenke is also a bit similar although he doesn't take money from Arsenal.

[ZAPHOD2319 3,868]

26 minutes ago, Blues Forever said:

The Glazers issue are poor management, no investment, using United money to pay their debt and dividend. Kroenke is also a bit similar although he doesn't take money from Arsenal.

Kroenke is married to the woman who inherited WalMart. He delegates everything as far as management to all the sports teams he owns, which is over 10 major teams right now. He collects sports franchises.