Chelsea FC: A Letter To Roman Abramovich
By Lee Fraser
Dear Roman,
Please accept my apologies if addressing you as Roman instead of Mr Abramovich seems a bit too familiar but I’m not alone in considering you as one of us, one of the Chelsea FC family.
I’m writing this letter in an open format in the hope that you will be made aware of it and the respect that you command amongst the millions of fans of OUR club.
I am not an astute businessman. I am not a successful entrepreneur. I am however like you, a fan. I am one of the millions that are affected by your decisions, not so much financially, but emotionally, we are equal.
When we lose we both hurt. We both rage at perceived injustices against OUR club. We both celebrate wildly when we win. The mood of both our families is affected by the results of the previous 90 minutes OUR players have achieved on the pitch.
I know we are not alone in these emotions, and there is another person who shares our pain and happiness just as much as us, and that person is Jose Mourinho.
Jose Mourinho, your employee, your manager is very much like us. He “gets” Chelsea FC, he understands us, he loves us, indeed as he has declared, he is one of us.
In this era football is of course a business.
In days gone by it didn’t matter if a team went through a slump in form. It didn’t matter if a club was trophy-less for a season because the financial demands weren’t as great. These days it has all changed. Money demands success, success brings more money, more money demands even more success, and the so the vicious circle continues.
In the midst of this vicious circle there is one commodity that all too frequently gets overlooked: loyalty.
Loyalty (as I’m sure you are all too aware) is a rarity in football. Loyalty to the club, loyalty to the owner’s principles, and loyalty to the fans.
In business it is similar, but with one major difference when it comes to the elite performers. If a top trader starts making some bad decisions after years of success, successful businesses make allowances, whether it be with a leave of absence so that the star can recharge their batteries, or by offering emotional support. In short, an elite performer will be supported, not sacked.
In the above scenario I am of course referring to Jose Mourinho.
Jose IS Chelsea FC’s elite performer when it comes to managers. The stats alone support this with an impressive seven trophies in five and a half years of combined service.
During Jose’s absence:
The other eight managers achieved six trophies in five and a half years.
OUR club became known as the rich managers graveyard for five and a half years.
OUR club became known as a place for managers to earn quick mega money, and with the players at their disposal, potentially boost their personal CV.
OUR club became a laughing stock when we even had to hire the loathsome interim manager Rafa Benitez. Benitez, the man who hated Chelsea FC, took your money and used OUR players, and OUR club as a stepping stone to what he considered a bigger and better job.
THAT HURT.
As a fan that must have hurt you too. As a business owner you did what had to be done in the short term to achieve the long term goal of success.
Everyone makes mistakes, it’s what defines us as human beings. Without mistakes we wouldn’t appreciate the good things we do achieve.
I’m sure that Chelsea FC’s transfer targets during this close season weren’t what we ended up with.
I’m sure that nobody at Chelsea FC envisaged the scenario where at least two of our top performing players from last season would be allowed to start this season overweight and unfit.
There’s no doubt that Jose has made mistakes and I’m sure in private Jose admits those mistakes, as we all do. Let’s face it, none of us go shouting from the rooftops about them, but successful people reflect in private and learn from those very mistakes.
Jose Mourinho is a successful manager.
Passionate? Yes.
Contentious? Yes.
Outspoken? Yes.
Annoying? Yes.
However, above all else I have seen the effect that Jose Mourinho has on us as fans.
He unites us.
What other club could take thousands of fans on a wet Tuesday night to Stoke City after the poor start that we have endured to the season? What other club’s fans would respond to the team going a goal down by chanting their manager’s name continuously in a show of support? What other club’s fans would applaud their team and manager off the pitch after yet another disappointing defeat?
That is the Jose effect.
Chelsea FC are extremely privileged to be in the position of having you as a passionate owner, Jose as a passionate manager, and John Terry as a passionate captain. I cannot think of any other club in the world where the 3 people fans mostly connect with are all so equally passionate about their club.
Surely it makes excellent business and footballing sense to ensure that the three most successful people in the history of OUR club stay strong and loyal to each other and ride out this “perfect storm” that we are temporarily going through.
I will end this with a reminder of how just 5 months ago we all celebrated together on the streets of West London with a couple of pictures I took at the time.
Scenes like this will come again. The millions of Chelsea FC fans worldwide believe that, we know that you believe it too, and pray that you believe Jose Mourinho is still the right man to achieve the success we all so desperately crave.
Yours Sincerely on behalf of the world wide Chelsea Family,
Lee Fraser.
Next: Chelsea FC Fall To Stoke City: Four Things We Learned