It’s the close season for Chelsea FC. Those in charge are allowing the media to set the agenda while they sit on their hands, hopefully contemplating a change of manager, new players and a replacement technical director for the long-departed Michael Emenalo.
The conjecture and speculation around Chelsea FC is reaching fever pitch. There have been issues around player contracts and the possibility of Antonio Conte leaving since Chelsea opened the season with a 3-2 loss at home to Burnley. The mere fact the Italian is still the manager points to an unusual set of circumstances, even for Chelsea.
Unfortunately for Blues fans, It’s very difficult to glean any actual facts from a club so cloaked in secrecy. Many claim to know, but very few actually do. A look at Chelsea’s official website gives nothing away, either. The first team squad have had very few mentions during recent days. The concentration has been the women’s side, the academy and those taking part in the World Cup.
We do know something has occurred surrounding Roman Abramovich’s investor visa renewal. He currently has no access to the United Kingdom, at least not as a Russian. As a result, he has taken up Israeli citizenship. On Thursday, the club announced in a very brief statement that Chelsea’s new stadium development was on hold. That’s about all we know. The rest is hearsay.
For some fans, that last piece of news was good news. Football supporters cherish “their home ground.” In recent seasons Arsenal and West Ham have had their issues following moves to new stadia. Former managing director Christian Purslow also believes retaining Stamford Bridge in its current state will benefit the club, at least in the short term.
"They have decided to bite the bullet and say this is not the right time to pursue this project. I was not surprised at all. Concentrate their resources on the playing side of Chelsea and I think Chelsea fans will be delighted that that is the priority for the foreseeable future. – BBC"
Despite the widely held belief Chelsea buy their titles, that has not been the case for quite some time. The money the club did not invest in the playing structure could have contributed to Stamford Bridge 2.0. That new ground was expected to cost around £1 billion in construction costs, and would increase the capacity by a half.
With so much money floating around the game of football, particularly in the Premier League, the extra 20,000 seats would yield very little for Abramovich. In simple terms, if a seat cost £60, and the person sitting in it spent £10 inside the ground, the extra revenue would be £1.4 million per game. With a maximum of 25 home games per season every year, Abramovich’s coffers would swell by one Michy Batshuayi (£35 million). In 28 years, he would recoup his outlay based on capacity alone.
If Purslow is right and Chelsea do invest in the playing squad, it can only be good for the club. Judging by last season, there is quite a bit of work to do. Of course, if the media really do believe the Chelsea board are sitting on their hands watching the wheels fall off a small part of Roman Abramovich’s empire, they will be sadly mistaken.
Roman Abramovich will not be letting the Chelsea faithful down any time soon. That said, some would quite happily see Abramovich leave the club. He’s not everybody’s cup of tea. For the majority, though, the Oligarch the world loves to hate may be absent at the moment, but when the next season begins, he’ll be back.
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Many saw Chelsea FC as the rich man’s toy, discarded at the first sign of trouble. However, that has never been the case… yet. Abramovich may be too hands-on in some ways and too controlling in others, but he undoubtedly cares. With so much “fake news” around the club, that is one true fact Chelsea fans can cling to as the UK government attempt to test just how Blue his blood really is.