The Chelsea Model

It has been a tumultuous week for Chelsea fans. The sacking of fan favourite and legend Roberto Di Matteo, the hiring of arch nemesis Rafael Benitez, the expected departure of Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard come May and now the passing of club legend Dave Sexton who delivered us only our 2nd major trophy in a memorable FA Cup win at Old Trafford 42 years ago.

I have been extremely vocal in expressing my discontent for the sacking of RDM, probably even moreso than when Gullit, Ranieri (although inevitable and understandable), Mourinho and Ancelotti were sacked. As much as it pained me to see the aforementioned leave one thing we cannot forget is we'd be virtually in the abyss but for Roman Abramovich. Not only did he save us from certain administration and possible liquidation he has leant us hundreds of millions of pounds (free of interest and payback) and it's thanks to that investment we are enduring the most successful period in out history. Abramovich is not as purile as some quarters would have people believe, he is a genuine fan of the club, his loyalty to the cause shouldn't even be a topic for discussion as far as I'm concerned. To him, Chelsea are the biggest and best club in the world. We as Chelsea fans will never forget the mediocre days but just because we've settled for being average in the past it doesn't mean we have to now. Abramovich and his cronies have treated some Chelsea legends badly, there is no doubt about that but there is this fallacy amongst Chelsea fans that this is a new thing. Chelsea fans of over 10-15 years must have forgotten how Ken Bates treated the late Matthew Harding, Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli. Let's be honest if Bates could have afforded to do so Ranieri would have been long gone before Roman had even set eyes on him. The only difference being that when discontent was expressed at the potential appointment of George Graham, Bates listened whereas Roman didn't regarding Benitez. But as livid as I am, if Benitez is gone in May and Mourinho or a genuinely good manager (that fits the club well) comes in time will pass and I can look beyond it.

The anti-Abramovich/Chelsea contingent have been quick to swoop in and claim Chelsea are "badly run" and "sacking managers every season isn't the way to having sustained success". Is it? I am not for one second vindicating Abramovich's methods (well maybe I am in a sense) but nobody can deny it has worked. Since 2005 no team has won more major trophies than Chelsea. I'm a big fan of David Moyes but ask yourself what he has won as Everton manager? Where is the pressure? Everton work on a tight budget and that is understandable but they are a massive club, they should not be effectively starting every season in November (up until this season) suffering home defeats to relegation fodder. Would this slow-starting mentality have been allowed to develop if his head was on the line? Similarly at Arsenal, what have they won in the last 7/8 years or so? Almost every season we see Arsenal start seasons well and then collapse in late February. Would this have happened if there wasn't so much complacency regarding his position as Arsenal manager? Arsenal fans are quick to point to the spending of Chelsea and City but nobody can deny up until 2011 they had teams more than capable of winning the league, their 07/08 team still ranks as the best to have never won the league in my opinion. Real Madrid make Chelsea's managerial post look long term, if you don't do well you are out. Managers have been sacked at Real Madrid for winning the Champions League (Jupp Heynckes in 1998) and La Liga titles (Fabio Capello in 2007). Mourinho and Guardiola are the two most sought after managers in world football, have either ever held down a post long term? Their mission is to do a job and move on whilst at their peak.

In England there is an egocentric belief that every club must be run like Manchester United and that they are the benchmark and holy grail for every club in English football. What did they win last season? They have a chance of winning the Premier League title but this current United side is arguably the least equipped ever to win the Champions League. Why should every club have the same manager for X amount of years. If Stoke fans are happy to watch Tony Pulis and his approach to football every week, year on year that's up to them but if I were a Stoke fan I wouldn't pay money to watch that brand of football, sooner or later their fans will get fed up of having to lump the ball up to Crouch and cling on to 1-0 home wins against the likes of Fulham and QPR whilst seeing the likes of Swansea/Norwich stay up by playing expansive/positive football. It has taken English Football years to realise we are light years behind Spain, Holland, Germany and even Italy in terms of ideas and philosophy, only when the dinosaurs of football are gone (Ferguson, Allardyce and Wenger) will people wake up and realise maybe Chelsea aren't so "badly run" after all.

Chelsea have been accused of "lacking stability". We've had the same nucleus of players for nigh on 8 years now, there is a familiarity at Chelsea. JT may be hated outside of this football club but anybody with a shred of impartiality can see he has been an essential figure for club and country. Cech has been at the club 8 years, JT 18 years, Lampard 11 years, Cole 6 years, and up until recently we've always had people at the club who are Chelsea and get this club. Whether it be RDM, Ray Wilkins, Steve Clarke, Graeme Le Saux, Dennis Wise or whoever. JT has been Chelsea captain since 2004, in that time Arsenal have been through several, as have Spurs and even United. That in my eyes is stability, it's no less significant than having the same manager. We've had the same owner for nearly 10 years now, can Liverpool or United say the same? Fundamentally the best model is a the model that wins most, so is United's model "better"? No. The fact is the football culture has changed since the 80s, the financial rewards for success are far larger now then aver before. If Ferguson's replacement doesn't (at least) get United in the top 4 or challenging for trophies in his first 18 months he'll be gone, just like any Chelsea manager would.

I'm not justifying the hiring and firing of all of our managers, just simply offering another (minority) point of view rather than the same old recycled views that go around the media and therefore football fans alike.

RDM Out, Benitez In

Like most Chelsea fans (and football fans in general) I think everybody acknowledged RDM wasn't Roman's man, hence the reluctance to offer him the full time post in the Summer. The aforementioned therefore made the sacking of RDM inevitable. I am explicity referring to him as "RDM" because he was one of us, unlike "Benitez" (who I will come onto later). One of the first things RDM said when interviewed shortly after the Carling Cup QF draw is "Leeds & Chelsea have a bit of history".  Any Chelsea fan worth their salt knows about the history between Leeds however but in case newer fans aren't aware this is one of the oldest  inter-city rivalries in English Football, one that can be dated back to the 60s and reached a climax during the 1970 FA Cup Final. To this day Leeds still sing about Chelsea. Unlike the media constructed fallacy that is the Chelsea v QPR "rivalry", Chelsea v Leeds is genuine and RDM knew this, he was "proper" Chelsea and spent more time communicating with Chelsea fans than the likes of Gourlay and Buck ever will. RDM has class and quite frankly deserves a lot better than Chelsea, I wish him all the best and can't thank him enough for providing me with 2 of the 3 best memories I've had as a Chelsea fan.

I became a fan of the club in the 1994/95 season so haven't seen the dark days of the 2nd division, but where the memory of the 1997 FA Cup Final and RDM's goal will forever be in Chelsea folklore. I've always said that Chelsea as a club are misunderstood. Amongst all the media lies regarding our fanbase there simply isn't a better supported club in the UK given the relative lack of success the club has had (up until recently). Chelsea is a club with a traditional fanbase and mainly local or with other genuine roots or connections to the club, very much similar to Spurs, West Ham, Millwall and Crystal Palace in that aspect, a club with a proud and passionate fanbase. RDM walks out of a Chelsea a legend and with his head held high. RDM is up there with a small echelon of managers that have won the Champions League, a competition that the likes of Wenger and AVB could only dream of winning.

If the sacking of RDM didn't leave some with a sour taste in the mouth, the appointment of Rafael Benitez certainly did. It's difficult for me to talk about Benitez with any objectivity because I loathe the man with a passion, Liverpool fans say the same with Mourinho but they can't question his managerial pedigree as we can with Rafa. Fact is, they'd have him managing their club tomorrow if they could.

Many ask, "why do you hate Benitez?" "It's not that bad, he's a decent manager". It's difficult to understand why we hate him so much unless you are a Chelsea fan. The man had a borderline obsession with Chelsea Football Club and Mourinho to the point where we were accustomed to his inane ramblings about us and the constant attack on our fanbase and players. Benitez has however come out and justified this and to be fair to him I see where he is coming from. I can forgive, but sure as hell don't expect me to forget. The plastic flag jibes will remain with me forever.

Fundamentally my real hatred for Benitez is his demanour as well as the fact I think he is a fraud of a manager. But for the mass spending at Chelsea, I believe his managerial ineptitude would have been exposed long before it was. The ridiculously high turnover of players, vast amounts of money wasted on useless players to name a few. The fact is Benitez won 2 major trophies at Liverpool, both of which were through scandalous refereeing in semi finals vs Chelsea and inexplicable opposition capitulation in respective finals. I'm sure many will remember the "Ghost Goal" that was awarded to Liverpool in that Champions League Semi which was a complete guess and based on opinion, no different to what you'd see on your Strictly Come Dancing or Come Dine With Me show. Istanbul which was the biggest fluke in football and but for a mini miracle Milan could and should have been 5-0 up at half time. The people that claim Chelsea's CL was a fluke seem quick to erase that Liverpool 04/05 CL win from their memories, that win bought Benitez another 5 years by itself as the legions of Liverpool fans deluded themselves into thinking he was a messiah. That was nothing compared to the 2006 cup win though, whereby in the semi final a perfectly legit Chelsea goal was disallowed by none other than Graham Poll as well as as an inexplicable free kick awarded against Ricky Carvalho for a "foul" on a Liverpool player which led to their first goal. It was a game that besides the first 25-30 minutes Chelsea dominated throughout its entirety. The final of course against newly promoted West Ham where a hit and hope shot from Gerrard with the last kick of the game conspired to fly into the bottom corner leaving Shaka Hislop dumbfounded, then of course they go on to "win" another trophy on a penalty shoot out. Even his success in Spain was largely... sorry completely down to Real Madrid and Barcelona's collapse (financial in case of the latter).

Will I go to a Chelsea game under Benitez? No. I won't be up at 6am in that virtual waiting room and give away hard earned money to the board that mocked the fans in the first place by appointing him as manager. I was there at St Andrews midweek and it could not have been made clearer that Benitez was not wanted at the club in any capacity. For me it's a matter of principle. When I go to support Chelsea, I go to give it my all. I can't physically do that with Benitez. Perhaps I'll feel differently and regret it when we take on fierce rivals West Ham United a week tomorrow but it just wouldn't feel right going to Chelsea and having this empty feeling inside of me as I do right now. Even when Gullit, Vialli, Ranieri and Mourinho although in a state of shock/depression my passion for the club never waned, right now it has and probably will do as long as Benitez is manager. I can't say I've ever liked Liverpool but my hatred of that club intensified whilst he was manager there and plummeted as he left. Coincidence? I think not.