Chelsea FC And The Battle Of Stamford Bridge

The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place on 25th September 1066.

The new battle of Stamford Bridge starts today, 30th June 2015.

In 1066 it was held on the fields of Yorkshire.

In 2015 it is being held in the East Stand in London, SW6.

In 1066 the battle looked like this:

“Arbo – Battle of Stamford Bridge (1870)” by Peter Nicolai Arbo – Own work (Illustratedjc). Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. /

In 2015 it will look like this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3143769/Chelsea-owner-Roman-Abramovich-unveil-Stamford-Bridge-expansion-plans-club-aim-increase-capacity-60-000.html /

In 1066 the Viking invaders were defeated by the English King Harold Godwinson (King Harold).

In 2015 the local football team led by their own Roman Abramovich will take on the local residents.

In 1066 the Battle of Stamford Bridge was widely recognised as the end of the Viking age in the UK.

In 2015 it is hoped that the Battle of Stamford Bridge will be the end of the local residents’ fight to stop Chelsea FC’s expansion.

So there’s not much riding on the 3 day consultation period that starts today at Stamford Bridge then!

More from The Pride of London

The background for this modern day battle goes back decades, back to the era of the previous Commander In Chief Ken Bates. Bates lost all his feuds with the residents, the killer blow being a rare plant that our Ken wasn’t allowed to crush with his foot! In a previous blogging life (February 2014) I mentioned this infamous plant and the need to expand Stamford Bridge.

This need to expand Chelsea’s current home, or move completely, has been one of Roman Abramovich’s key points in fully reaching his goal of transforming the Blues into a true giant in world football. Indeed Ken Bates was acutely aware of the same dilemma before him, that is the need to be self-supporting financially.

Various locations have been extensively researched over the recent years, including the Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital site, an area of wasteland that is called White City, and Battersea Power Station. All of these for varying reasons have been dismissed and Roman has now finally decided there’s no place like home!

The Battersea Power Station idea had Chelsea FC (as reported by The Daily Mail) and fans alike drooling at the prospect of playing on a pitch with the iconic towers as the backdrop!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2163169/Chelsea-images-Battersea-Power-Station-stadium.html /

Financial Fair Play rules resulted in Arsenal stagnating in terms of results on the pitch after their stadium expansion due to the costs involved (or that’s the excuse given by Gooners). However, with the recent announcement of the apparent relaxing of those same rules it now looks as though Chelsea FC have picked the right moment to get serious about their plans.

The potential cost is being estimated at £500 million as a starting point. That’s the equivalent of 10 David Luiz’s, not bad at all really when thought of that way!

Credit to: Lee Fraser /

Roman Abramovich has gathered his generals together to draw up the battle plans. Leading experts in stadium architecture, planning strategists, railway and transportation specialists, and structural engineers have all been rounded up to make this a reality.