Upsetter

Well the club have withdrawn their request to play the Boro tie behind closed doors. And more importantly, breaking news on Sky is: ‘Ukraine latest as President Zelenskyy says "pretty good" peace talks were held - and hints he could drop ambition to join NATO’ God I hope this is the beginning of the end of the war/conflict/invasion, call it what you will.

I copied the story from another Chelsea site, but you’re right. I should have said “if this is true”. Peter Bonetti’s memorial was initially planned to take place not long after his death, but was delayed due to the pandemic. And so a new date was set, for this forthcoming Friday. Hopefully this time round it’ll take place as planned. Latest on the official site is that “The event is free of charge and will go off sale on Thursday 17 March at 5pm”, and are available to season ticket holders only. Peter Bonetti Memorial Friday 18 March Turnstiles open at 1pm Event starts at 2.15pm

Sorry, I’m f**king speechless.

Spitty Carragher: “I’m a big fan of the traditional elite, Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal.” Says it all really. How dare we burst their shiny red bubble.

Looked a penalty to me. Not exactly nailed on, I’ve seen far more blatant fouls not given. So we can write that one off as some you win, some you don’t. But the Kai Havertz elbow was never a sending off. He didn’t “smash his elbow into Burn’s face”, he wasn’t even looking at him, no way was it deliberate. It was an honest attempt by both players to go for the ball, and could very easily have resulted in Havertz being accidentally struck by Burn. As for the goal, it was truly a thing of beauty, one (as the saying goes), that will live in the memory a long time. Oh and generally, the Geordies put in a thuggish, spoiler of a performance, not unexpectedly given where they are in the table, and that they’re basically sh*te, but not easy to play against, even more so with the amount of times their players threw themselves to the ground at every given opportunity.

Far too early to write him off. Still only 22 years old, played a total of 25 times (though I could be wrong) for the club. Needs to be given time to learn from his mistakes, and to develop as a footballer.

Shockingly fair comments from Garth Crooks, of all people: Chelsea managed a gutsy win in testing circumstances…. Antonio Rudiger: Under normal circumstances a win at home against Newcastle United by the European champions, regardless of the Geordie resurgence, would not have required special mention. However in the current climate I thought this was an outstanding performance by Chelsea who have been thrown into turmoil by government sanctions imposed on them. Rudiger is one of their key players who is out of contract at the end of the season, with the club now unable to renegotiate his contract due to the sanctions. You would never have known by the passion, determination and sheer enthusiasm of his performance. Looking at the attitude of the players and manager after the match one or two might still hang around regardless of their contractual situation. Read more about this extraordinary situation unfolding at Chelsea in the Crooks of the Matter below. Did you know? Rudiger has made more headed clearances (36) and won more aerial duels (48) than any other Chelsea player in the Premier League this season. The Crooks of the Matter I find myself, and for the third consecutive week, writing about the fortunes of Chelsea Football Club and its owner. The truth of the matter is no-one actually knows their fortunes anymore, particularly since Her Majesty's Government imposed sanctions on the club. The sanctions have left Chelsea unable to sell matchday tickets, merchandise, or renegotiate contracts due to the new measures. It has also left supporters unable to attend games unless they are season ticket holders. No transfers in or out will have a big impact on the club as this could allow some of their best players to leave Stamford Bridge having not renewed their contracts. These sanctions were supposed to hurt Roman Abramovich, who has now lost a £3bn asset and £1.5bn in loans. But it has also hurt a football club's ability to operate. The players might be loaded and can wait until the club is sold in order to be paid and for the club to renew its financial activities but there will be people on their payroll who can't. This will cause massive uncertainty for all the club's employees, however glorified they might be, not least the manager Thomas Tuchel. The German seems to have been thrust into the glare and appears to be the only articulate voice at the club prepared to say anything remotely coherent on this matter at all. I'm sure it was never the government's intention to hurt the innocent parties in this particular matter, and they would say they are doing it so money can't be taken out of or made for Chelsea by one of Vladimir Putin's known associates as part of a so-called cultural war. It's right and proper that individuals should be made accountable for their actions and, where appropriate, even their relationships. But this issue here is about Abramovich and not Chelsea Football Club, and I'm not sure the licence they have been granted does enough to protect the club as a cultural asset - as it was supposed to do.

Referee David Coote In February 2020, Coote was the video assistant referee for the match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. During the game, Giovani Lo Celso committed a serious foul when he stamped on Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta. On reviewing the incident, Coote deemed the foul not worthy of a red card and Lo Celso escaped a sending off. Coote would later admit to having erred and stated he should have recommended a red card for Lo Celso.[4] And in 2017 he was suspended just before the start of the season following allegations of misconduct. I think that’s what you’d call previous.

Cuddly Ken in the Daily Fail (copied from another site, in case you’re wondering) 'The fact that you can't buy a match programme must mean that Putin is s****** himself': Former Chelsea owner Ken Bates slams sanctions imposed on the club as he claims 'it is the ordinary people who are suffering' Ken Bates has never been one to mince words and the former Chelsea owner is forthright in his condemnation of the Government sanctions imposed on the club. While the outspoken former football executive agrees with the decision to freeze the most famous of Roman Abramovichs assets, Bates is furious that Chelsea fans and staff have been forced to suffer too, with tickets sales frozen, club facilities shut and jobs said to be at risk. He cannot fathom what meaningful impact such measures could exert on Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The fact that you cant buy a Chelsea match programme must mean that Putin is s*****g himself and all the ordinary people of Moscow are hiding in their cellars because they cant see a Chelsea match on TV, Bates said, speaking from his home in Monte Carlo. As usual it is the ordinary people who are suffering. Youve probably got people working at Chelsea saying do they have a job? What is their future? Do they have security? And fans at Chelsea. What have they got to do with Putin bombing maternity hospitals in Ukraine? Instead weve got all these regulations, which just get some good headlines. "England takes firm action against Russia." If we are trying to help Ukraine we should be doing things that are meaningful. Bates famously bought Chelsea for a £1 in 1982 before selling to Abramovich 19 years later in a deal reported to be worth around £140million. Instead weve got all these regulations, which just get some good headlines. "England takes firm action against Russia." If we are trying to help Ukraine we should be doing things that are meaningful. Bates famously bought Chelsea for a £1 in 1982 before selling to Abramovich 19 years later in a deal reported to be worth around £140million. Abramovich had grown rich after acquiring state-owned assets following the break-up of the Soviet Union and was close to Putin, then serving his first term as president, but the source of his wealth was scarcely investigated in the UK at the time. Selling it to a Russian was the same as selling to anybody else, Bates says. It was no different in those days. The dealings I had with him were always straightforward and simple. What is his response to the oligarchs asset-freeze? I dont feel sympathy for him. Why should I? Hes worth £7-8billion. But he can only eat steak and chips twice a day, same as me. When he goes to his grave, his shroud wont have any pockets in it. The Government has said it will allow the club to be sold despite the sanctions on Abramovich. Potential bidders who want to expand Stamford Bridge will run into the same problem that the current owner has faced. The brainchild of Bates during his time in charge, the Chelsea Pitch Owners group own the leasehold to Stamford Bridge and the club name, giving them the power of veto on any proposed venue move. Bates is proud that he empowered the fans with an idea inspired by an enterprising Irishman he had heard about. The Irish are all over the world and they get sentimental about the "old sod". This guy bought four acres of land north of Dublin. Sold it off in square foot pieces. 100 quid each or whatever. Then he went around the world, saying have a piece of the old sod. I thought what a bloody clever idea. Ill do the same with Chelsea. But the lawyer rang me up and said Ken if you do that youre trading in land. Youll probably get charged VAT. And youve got to pay registration. So then I came up with the idea of forming a company, the Chelsea pitch owners. I gave them a 999-year lease on the pitch. And I made a rule no matter how many shares you own you only have one vote. I also gave them the name Chelsea Football Club and I said you can only use that name if you play at Stamford Bridge. So the fans own the name and the pitch. Stamford Bridge is probably the most valuable piece of land in London. But it belongs to the club. Thats my legacy. With no apologies for not providing a link to that f**king rag.

Ah yes, remember when they said that Tottenham would overtake us on points after they’d played all their games in hand? Well here we are, having both played 27 games, Tottenham are on 45 points, while Chelsea are on 56. Which by my reckoning means that Tottenham have f**ked it right up. Again. They don’t call them Spursy for nothing, you know!

More here, from the Telegraph: By Ben Rumsby 12 March 2022 â 12:09pm Roman Abramovich has been disqualified by the Premier League from owning Chelsea after being sanctioned by the Government over Russias invasion of Ukraine. As revealed by Telegraph Sport, the worlds richest league announced the news on Saturday, forcing him to follow through with his promise to sell the club. Abramovichs disqualification came two days after the Government granted a licence allowing Chelsea to continue operating while Abramovich remained sanctioned. That licence was amended on Saturday, almost doubling the amount they were allowed to spend on matchday costs from £500,000 to £900,000. The Premier League said in a statement: "Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK Government, the Premier League board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club. "The boards decision does not impact on the clubs ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the Government which expires on 31 May 2022." The Premier League confirmed the disqualification of an owner would normally trigger a sale of their shareholding.

This is the title track of the first Leroy Smart album I bought. I’ve still got it on a dodgy old cassette tape, but recently upgraded to the 2on1 CD.

The Legend speaks.

The lyrics of this song are as true as ever, and every bit as appropriate For anyone who’s managed to miss the point, here’s the last verse: 'N' if you can find a Afghan rebel That the Moscow bullets missed Ask him what he thinks of voting Communist... ...Ask the Dalai Lama in the hills of Tibet, How many monks did the Chinese get? In a war-torn swamp stop any mercenary, 'N' check the British bullets in his armoury Que? Sandinista!

April 28th 1984, on the pitch celebrating promotion after beating Leeds 5-0. Might well have been posted before, but I’ve just noticed I’m in this one.

Oh for f**ks’s sakes.

I’d wipe my arse with the Daily Mail, but I’d be scared of catching something.

That’s what I said.. er no, ok. The top half was a cut and paste job, nicked from elsewhere. Liked it so much, I didn’t bother to check!

Fighting administration, done that Being relegated, done that (three times) Playing in empty stadium, done that. Being under a transfer embargo, done that. No money to pay players or staff, Done that Being hated by everyone, Still Doing that. Winning it all DONE THAT And that’s on top of the numerous firsts, and the countless achievements that, no matter how hard they try, they can’t take away from us. They cannot rewrite our 117 years of history. f**k ‘em all.

And now this, from The Times: Oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich, may not be sanctioned for months - The Times Russian oligarchs such as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich may not be sanctioned for months, after the government was unable to build a case against them, The Times says. The Foreign Office and the National Crime Agency have not been able to prove that there are "reasonable grounds" against the Russian businessmen, and have been unable to link their finances to the Putin government. According to the paper, officials tried to build a case against Abramovich in 2018, but was told that the government could be sued for millions if decisions were made on a flawed basis.

An unusually positive perspective from football365, and a nice counterbalance to the Henry Winters and the Chris Bryants of this world: Abramovich the scapegoat Does anyone actually read the news or analysis before wading in on punishing Chelsea and Roman for the war in the Ukraine? Did he have corrupt and morally dubious business practices? Yes, no doubt. He bought shares from workers after the collapse of the USSR at lower than market value but for more money than most of the workers had ever seen, at a time they didn’t know if they would keep their jobs and salaries were never paid on time. He bribed politicians for access, which was standard practice for politicians and police to be corrupt. At the time UK visitors were advised that trumped up charges by the police was common practice and to keep spare cash to pay off the police. So based on today’s standard he was corrupt, but at the time in Russia is was seen as normal. Now, going onto what he has done since, he left Russia, and moved most of his assets out of the country. Settled in the UK for the most part until we removed his visa and he became an Israeli citizen due to his Jewish background. He is also one of the few Russians trying to help the Ukraine negotiate with Russia after the Ukrainians reached out to him through the Jewish community. PS going to someone’s birthday party in 1999 doesn’t make you chums. Rich (not actually a Roman spokesperson and can’t speak a word of Russian) And from a Liverpool fan on the same page: Why is everyone going in on Chelsea? First I’d like to prefix this mail by stating I’m a Liverpool fan from the city of Liverpool, I say this because my view seems to be a lot different to my brethren. Why is everybody going in on Chelsea? I know I should see it as an opportunity to stick the boot in too but I honestly hate it. Chelsea as a football club haven’t decided to invade Ukraine have they? Abramovich wasn’t on Putins war council when they decided to invade. Chelsea and it’s owner have nothing to do with the war in Ukraine so why are the snowflakes saying they won’t watch Chelsea anymore “because Ukraine”? This attitude is indicative of the times we’re currently in, this cancel culture nonsense that has no room for facts or nuance just optics. Just watch the footy lads, it’s there to take your mind of the horrors of war, not exacerbate it. MickT Liverpool

Face it, their first goal was a fluke. Reece Burke’s goal was seriously Gilzean-esque. He simply isn’t that good. Going ahead so soon gee’d them up, and put us on the back foot. Sarr’s error gifted them their second - in his defence he’s only 23, has played a lot better, and may come good yet. Or not, as the case may be. Otherwise, for much of the game we were as dominant as expected, even with the seriously risky scratch side that started the game. Shocked to see Lukaku and Werner both scoring In the same match. Cue cliche about confidence booster etc etc etc. Biggest plus of the night was Reece James. Saul was my man of the match but how much have we missed Reece James?

Remember Kalinka? If we do get sold to a US consortium, somehow I don’t see us singing the Star Spangled Banner. Roman Abramovich, best owner in the world

In which case we’ll have to make better use of the academy! Which has to be infinitely preferable to the way we’ve been spunking massive amounts of dosh on the likes of Lukaku and Werner, going back to Torres and beyond. An efficient scouting system wouldn’t hurt either.