ICYMI – an interesting article by Simon Kuper of the Financial Times on how Roman Abramovich runs Chelsea FC:

http://8by8mag.com/into-the-mystic/

Very interesting article, I enjoyed the insight into Roman's decision-making process and mindset .

Very interesting read, thanks for posting.

Great article, well worth a read. Thanks for sharing.

Great read , thank you

Really enjoyed reading that.

I must save that last paragraph for the next time someone tells me we'll go bust if Roman walked away, I've never seen it worded as well as that.

Great read!

so it was rio who drove him to airport? I thought graeme souness came out and claimed he's the one who did it and what about considering spurs before chelsea rumor?

 

On another side of the story, the one where roman, sort of, teamed up with putin against berezovsky, well it's like that kind of russian mafia movie lol.. did he really kill himself btw? kind of sad..

Russia is such a wild place. I don't have a hard time believing anything crazy that comes from that country.

Edited July 17, 201610 yr by evissy

Fascinating article! Thanks for linking it.

Great article and is somewhat contradictory to how he is perceived in the media, and opposition fans. I think he is the best owner in world football, and we've been lucky to have him.

V interesting, must keep in mind 2nd to last paragraph.

This kind of puts paid all those stories about Roman walking in after games and reading them the riot act. 

Best owner ever. Fact.

This is the bit I love ramming down the throats of other bitter fans...
It shows that the legacy of Roman is that our club is safe for the foreseeable future, and if his son takes over (who is as much a fan as any of us having known nothing else football wise) beyond that.
And ditto with JM7's comment.

''Doomsayers used to talk about what would happen to Chelsea once he checked out. The implication was that his heirs might ask Chelsea to repay the money he had put into the club, whereupon Chelsea would be in deep trouble.

That wouldn’t be true today. For one thing, Abramovich has lodged the debt of about  £1 billion that club owes him with Chelsea’s holding company Fordstam Ltd. The money is repayable at 18 months’ notice. If Abramovich or his heirs ever demanded repayment, Chelsea could simply declare Fordstam bankrupt and create a new debt-free holding company for the club—a common dodge in football.''

I like to think you're not 'proper Chels' until you've lobbed a stick of celery at someone.

Nice article

I definitely gained more respect to Roman after reading that. Looking back at those expensive flops we had, he was just too keen to push the club to the next level. It's no different from the fans talking up sell 10 players and spend 200M for upgrade in the rumours forum. He's a real fan, and he's making changes as he sees it, of course he got it wrong a few times, but so what? Unlike some owners, who just want make money through investment. 

I would rather have Roman and his perceived impulsivity than an investment goon like Arsenal or Liverpool's mobs who are focused on business.

Great article, I'd have to question the sources on some of the finer details, but nonetheless a very very interesting insight. 

in answer to the question, with a lot of passion going by this last night lol

 

https://twitter.com/SaulGattuso/status/765270117903134720

Edited August 16, 20169 yr by enigma

Haven't always agreed with his decisions in the past, but the man's love and passion for the club cannot be questioned. He's a true supporter!

Ah but he'll soon get bored when the novelty wears off.

Ah but he'll soon get bored when the novelty wears off.

 

oh yeah, that'll probably be when he's injected that £500 million (of his own money by the way) into the new stadium. what a plastic owner. 

Totally BS with him flying in the helicopter around London and not knowing stadium near his house in Knightsbridge was Chelsea. This man knew London perfectly well back then.

Also he bought Chelsea for more than what stated in this article.