Hello good people, hope all’s good with y’all… I must kick off with a quick word about the sale of Chelsea FC.
I know you were all hoping that the club would be punished so hard that the end of two decades of trophy dominance would be over.
Sorry, like I’ve been saying, the destruction of Chelsea was never going to happen. All the doomsday predictions were written and spoken about simply to gain clicks and views.
Yes, it’s complex and no, all the financial details aren’t settled, but the UK government knows that Chelsea as a club have nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.
Roman Abramovich is simply a high-profile symbolic piece of bullying to show how “tough” Boris Johnson is. Because actually he (and Nato) are scared sh!tless to confront the Russians militarily. So there’s no way they’d take down a British institution like Chelsea.
Rather just use it and then let it come to life again. And boy does it appear like it will… what a good deal!
Firstly, and most importantly, they’ve instituted an “anti-Glazer” clause in the takeover contract. This means that Todd Boehly, an American businessman who is one of the people responsible for the rise of the LA Dodgers, and his directors cannot receive dividends from the club for 10 years.
They’ve also had to commit £1.75bn over the next 10 years for development of the academy, women’s team, stadium development, community projects and players.
As much as Abramovich isn’t the most wholesome of characters and his wealth was built on corrupt deals, he’s been the best possible owner (in the money era) and has made sure that the success he made possible at Chelsea will continue.
The Blues have an FA Cup final and top-four finish to fight for, but I’m glad we’re at the back end of the season.
Clean the slate, start fresh, give coach Thomas Tuchel the opportunity to build a team with his own choice of players.
Back to the Glazers and Saturday’s capitulation bears testament to where Manchester United are as a club.
There’s poison seeping out of that sh!tty old stadium, from the owners draining cash, from the coaches who have zero respect, and from the players who haven’t got the decency to sidestep the politics and put some f*****g pride in wearing that famous red shirt.
If ever there was a time to illustrate the term “toxic” it’s now and its Old Trafford.
As discussed before, my belief is that the era of era’s is done.
With Newcastle the latest addition to the current set of big- money clubs there’s simply too many contenders for any one side to dominate relentlessly.
Erik Ten Hag may do well, he’ll probably be supported with signings, but the return to the Alex Ferguson glory days is highly unlikely.
Talking about glory, how are all you quad fantasists doing? I kept warning you, hold down the big-boy banter. It can all come crashing down as the pressure ramps up!
Tonight Stevie G will be in the unenviable position of trying to help City win the league. Then on Thursday, points will be dropped somewhere in the North London race for Champions League football.
That’s all before Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley… The Tuchel v Klopp showdown. Stay safe people, chat next week, bye byeee.