27 minutes ago, F1905 said:

There will be a bigger fan zone down my local ,the nags head I would suspect !

When they have had fan zones in the past at Wembley, it is usually designed for kids with things like face painting and music. Most people still drink in pubs anyway rather than going to the fan zones!

Strikes me that this statement is a bit late. It mentions an alternative to travelling to Baku but by now those going will have made travel arrangements. I wasn't aware of reports of Thomas Cook facing financial difficulties.

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2019/05/24/chelsea-statement-on-baku?cardIndex=0-0

We sympathise with the problems our supporters face organising travel to Azerbaijan for the game, and would like to reassure fans that alongside Arsenal and our travel partners at Thomas Cook Sport, we have looked at various options to help them get to Baku.

Unfortunately, a number of factors outside the club’s control have made organisation a complicated and challenging process. This includes the location of the final being 2,500 miles from London, a lack of available charter aircraft and transport infrastructure which limited the number of flights able to arrive in Baku around the final.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) and local authorities in Baku have informed UEFA they have organised an alternative option for supporters of both clubs to reach Baku, which would mean flying to Tbilisi (in neighbouring Georgia) and then using ground transportation from Tbilisi to Baku. We are grateful to the LOC for offering this option, and while we acknowledge it may prove to be cheaper than flying to Baku, it is not a straightforward journey and there will be no stewarding or the regular supporter safety measures on board train travel from Tbilisi to Baku. It is not an option that the club feels it can endorse as a satisfactory alternative travel route for supporters still wishing to travel to Baku.

There is also information in circulation regarding a new charter flight offer from the LOC. We wish to make clear that there are many uncertainties around the viability of this suggested flight, which include no guarantee that a minimum number would have to be met in order for the flight to operate, supporters of the two clubs will not be separated and the offer currently appears only slightly cheaper than the existing supporter charter flights with Thomas Cook Sport, so does not represent a great saving.

Supporters may be aware of reports of financial difficulties affecting Thomas Cook. We have been assured that Thomas Cook is operating business as usual and we see no threat to our supporters’ flights to and from Azerbaijan next week, which are ATOL protected regardless.

We will continue to work with all relevant organisations to try to ensure satisfactory travel arrangements for those Chelsea supporters able to attend. Please do not travel if you have not purchased a ticket.

The latest Foreign Office travel advice for the region includes important information to help supporters have a safe and enjoyable visit to Baku.

Chelsea supporters who have bought tickets for the final through the club and have submitted a travel declaration form will, as is standard for our European away games, be sent further advice and information.

For those not travelling, please be aware that Stamford Bridge will not be hosting a beamback screening of the match. We are unable to do so due to a large event taking place at the stadium that has been in the diary for some time.

 

Edited May 24, 20197 yr by Boyne

It's getting to the point where I'm just hoping for no more injuries. I don't think there's a single positive story around this game.

 

Our club is a shambles. This is another example of why Man City’s version of rich overseas benefactors is going to ultimately be a lot more successful than ours. We can’t even do PR well. They’ve probably left Sarri to make his own way there. I wonder if it will be Roman’s first game of the season? Expect he’ll have no difficulties if he can be arsed going.

On 23/05/2019 at 13:55, coco said:

We have sent back 4000 of 6000 allocated tickets, Le arse have sent back 2000 of 6000 allocation. 

Well done Chelsea fans for telling Uefa what Arsenal fans wanted to say.

Is this in protest or because travel plans would be overbearing on most, either way this is what happens when you hold a European final in pretty much Iran 

23 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Rumours this morning that the stadium could be only half full. 

Embarrassing for UEFA that a major final won't be played to a capacity crowd because of their decision to play in such a stupid location. 

Not that they'll accept any blame of course. 

They will probably fine us. 

1 hour ago, dkw said:

They will probably fine us. 

Or add to the transfer ban 

Piss poor statement from the club on the official website; it pales in comparison to the statement from the supporters trust which was a lot more hard hitting, and a true reflection of how Chelsea fans, and the football world feel about such a ridiculous scenario. 

The club statement appears to me as an afterthought which they felt they had to write, with the main priority being not to upset Uefa. It's a whole lot of waffle without really saying anything at all. A lot of "we understand" and absolutely no "this is what we are going to do about it" 

There is a lot the club could do if they put their hand in their pockets and offered subsidise packages for the supporters going. It would actually be a drop in the ocean if you consider the sort of figures we would be talking here stacked up against the return for reaching the final. But instead, they teamed up with Thomas Cook to rip fans off by charging just shy of a grand for a return flight. 

This entire fixture, and everything associated with it is disgusting, shameful, and embarrassing. A sad and telling reflection of where football is in 2019. 

Edited May 25, 20197 yr by mclovin83

@mclovin83 spot on with your post. Agree that the club statement is piss poor compared to that made by the Supporters Trust. I like your comment about the club not wishing to upset UEFA especially with the debate etc around the transfer club. Why the club can't subsidise travel etc is beyond. I reckon that football clubs have no idea how some fans have to consider financies I.e. paying for games against other demands on their money. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the club could have extended the deadline for renewing season tickets. It's not as if Chelsea is short of money.

5 minutes ago, Boyne said:

@mclovin83 spot on with your post. Agree that the club statement is piss poor compared to that made by the Supporters Trust. I like your comment about the club not wishing to upset UEFA especially with the debate etc around the transfer club. Why the club can't subsidise travel etc is beyond. I reckon that football clubs have no idea how some fans have to consider financies I.e. paying for games against other demands on their money. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the club could have extended the deadline for renewing season tickets. It's not as if Chelsea is short of money.

Yeah, the whole thing stinks. 

If Chelsea were to make a 50% contribution for the travel costs of the 2000 (or so) fans who bought tickets, it would be circa £1M. 

The anticipated revenue of a club who reaches the Europa League final is around £40M I understand. 

Like I say, there is plenty they could do if they wanted to. 

I completely understand the anger about the club not subsidising travel to Baku, but there is another side to this. UEFA is to blame for picking such an absurd location for the final. The only way to get them to learn from this is embarressing them with a half empty stadium. If clubs step in to pick up the financial pieces caused by such atrrocious decisions, UEfA won"t hesitate to repeat their mistake, knowing clubs are picking up the bill.

Either way, fans lose.

And teaming up with Thomas Cook who are on the verge of bankruptcy, after their shares collapsed last week, yet are still selling holidays to the masses 

Is it just me that can’t get excited for this game? It’s been too long since we last played probably. We deserve better than this competition but, can’t lose to f**king Arsenal ?

Kanté out of the final.

So we have no CHO, RLC, Rudi and now Kante.

I remember the last time we played a European final with countless absentees...

23 hours ago, Valerie said:

I completely understand the anger about the club not subsidising travel to Baku, but there is another side to this. UEFA is to blame for picking such an absurd location for the final. The only way to get them to learn from this is embarressing them with a half empty stadium. If clubs step in to pick up the financial pieces caused by such atrrocious decisions, UEfA won"t hesitate to repeat their mistake, knowing clubs are picking up the bill.

Either way, fans lose.

Agreed. It's a slippery slope as then Uefa can just keep sending finals to ridiculous venues

3 minutes ago, JMaher94 said:

Kanté out of the final.

So we have no CHO, RLC, Rudi and now Kante.

I remember the last time we played a European final with countless absentees...

No, tell me it isn't true. 

On 24/05/2019 at 14:29, Skinnedy said:

It's getting to the point where I'm just hoping for no more injuries. I don't think there's a single positive story around this game.

 

https://www.joe.co.uk/sport/ngolo-kante-to-miss-europa-league-final-with-knee-injury-232983

Sorry buddy

We are pretty low on midfield options now ... Jorginho, Kovacic and Barkley are going to be the three starters, and then we'd have to choose between Danny Drinkwater, Conor Gallagher and George McEachran for the bench options (and maybe Ampadu if he is fit).

Edited May 26, 20197 yr by Sexyfootball

30 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

We are pretty low on midfield options now ... Jorginho, Kovacic and Barkley are going to be the three starters, and then we'd have to choose between Danny Drinkwater, Conor Gallagher and George McEachran for the bench options (and maybe Ampadu if he is fit).

LMFAO at the thought of Drinkwater playing... I really hate the way sarri has ostracized Cahill and Drinkwater this season..  especially drinkwater, like honestly what can kovacic do that drinkwater cant

No midfielders on the bench, what a disaster. We can just hope in the best performance of the season for Barkley and Kovacic 

2 hours ago, The Don Antonio said:

LMFAO at the thought of Drinkwater playing... I really hate the way sarri has ostracized Cahill and Drinkwater this season..  especially drinkwater, like honestly what can kovacic do that drinkwater cant

well, driblle for start ...

35 minutes ago, mojo said:

well, driblle for start ...

Makes up for it with goals . Kovacic hasnt scored a freaking goal all season

7 hours ago, JMaher94 said:

Kanté out of the final.

So we have no CHO, RLC, Rudi and now Kante.

I remember the last time we played a European final with countless absentees...

He got a knock to the knee in training he will be playing I’m sure, papers looking for headlines 

4 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

Jorginho, Kovacic and Barkley are going to be the three starters

IMHO this is one of the biggest matches for Ross Barkley's career. If he has a good game, it could set off a Big run on Chelsea & The 3 Lions

6 hours ago, The Don Antonio said:

LMFAO at the thought of Drinkwater playing... I really hate the way sarri has ostracized Cahill and Drinkwater this season..  especially drinkwater, like honestly what can kovacic do that drinkwater cant

Drive home from a party without getting nicked?