Roman to stick by Carlo's side

[Rambo 1,729]

Roman Abramovich ready to stick by Carlo Ancelotti as Chelsea seek to end slump against Bolton

Roman Abramovich has broken off from preparing for a lavish New Year's Eve party in the Caribbean to reiterate to the Chelsea board that he intends to stick with Carlo Ancelotti as the club's manager.

Clearly that situation will change if results continue to deteriorate but there is a growing determination, in contrast to their past behaviour, that Ancelotti needs further support and remains the right man for the job at Chelsea.

The board held a discussion in the wake of Monday's crushing 3-1 defeat away to Arsenal to canvass opinion on the state of the team and Ancelotti's own performance but there was no discussion over the manager's future.

Those talks continued on Tuesday and messages have been relayed to Ancelotti that Abramovich has not changed from the position he laid out to the Italian when the pair met for two hours in London in the wake of the Champions League defeat to Marseille this month.

Then the Russian billionaire insisted that he not only wanted Ancelotti to carry on but accepted that he needed to support him in the transfer market and, it is understood, also acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the manner of the sacking of Ray Wilkins as assistant manager.

Abramovich is not expected to attend Wednesday night's home match against Bolton Wanderers as he gets ready for Friday's party at his estate in St Barts but he will probably watch the match and will receive a briefing from his trusted lieutenant, and key Chelsea director, Eugene Tenenbaum.

Not a direct quote but take it for what it is folks

Telegraph

[Term-X 7,891]

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Yeah, saw this by the Press Association via BBC Gossip. Least I expect though, like TX and various other members have said, no point in firing him now.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

We're currently in exactly the same stage as we were when we went through the end of Scolari's reign. Sacking the manager is a short-term solution and just avoids this inevitable period of transition for another couple of years.

[True_Blue 469]

Roman is just a Legend,he has done wonders for the club.Some will say he made some mistakes but he is only human and the fact that he cares about the club and the fans is good enough for me.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Roman is just a Legend,he has done wonders for the club.Some will say he made some mistakes but he is only human and the fact that he cares about the club and the fans is good enough for me.

Exactly. At least he hasn't left us with huge debts by taking out loans in our name, or taking funds out the club for personal gains. (Glazers & Hicks/Gillette)

[Madmax 9,219]

He's got more sense than people are willing to give him credit for.

[Kostas 1,468]

Confirms my theory about CA's relationship with Abramovich.

That part about Wilkins is very interesting but I'd rather have some quotes before believing it.

[ZanSnake 1,211]

I see Roman aat Chelsea for a very long stay, he has brought success into this club and has done what was needed. He has made some mistakes, but like John Wooden said:

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.