It got too expensive for me this season. I let me season ticket go having held it for a long time. Over the years I had gone from the MHL to the MHU to the Shed Upper and had a great seat with a good mate in row 5. Fair play to the box office when it came to deadline day a fella rang me up and asked if I wanted to change my mind and renew, but nothing lasts for ever and I have some different priorities right now. I realise I am lucky in that a good number of my friends and people I have go to know over the years, still have STs and I can normally get a seat off someone when I want to go. I was born close to the ground and like Hemel Blue my old dad took me as a very young kid in the mid 60's. I started going regularly on my own in the mid 70's, home and away, and a couple of my mates who I went with in those days still have STs and go regularly today.
It's stating the obvious to say that CFC and footbal in general are worlds apart to the team and game I grew up with. Some of it better, some of it worse. Having endured the sh*te years when being an avid Chelsea fan living in the gooner and Tottenham heartlands was literally torture on a daily basis, I feel blessed to have been there and seen us win practically everything and to have become one of the biggest clubs in the world. Last season really wounded me though. I felt the club was losing its soul and I had never felt more disconnected from the Chelsea I loved. Not through the Mear's sellout, not through the battle with Marler Estates, not through the crap years. Roman's actions did me in; the sacking of Di Matteo, the blatant favouritism shown to Torres and, the appointment of the FSW a personality I truly detest. For me it was all too much and I gave away my Europa League Final ticket. I was that demotivated with the direction Roman had taken us I just didn't want to go and truthfully, would have been happy to have seen Abramovich walk away then. Thankfully, he appears to have finally learnt and the reappointment of Jose, (he should never gone first time around), and Torres taking a back seat makes me think/hope Roman is prepared to admit he made some huge, huge mistakes and is now showing a bit of patience and leaving it to someone who knows the game much better than he ever will.
So, with the FSW gone, the return of Jose, and Roman being more hands off, I have feel we are turning a corner and I have regained some of my faith and passion but money and other priorities mean I can't go to SW6 as often as did. As I said, nothing lasts forever.