Liverpool FC Forum

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The Trouble With…Chelsea

2/11/2005 9:07:00 PM

In the second article in this new series, in which Goal.com fans are invited to get something off their chest about a particular team, individual or state of affairs in football that troubles them, Liverpool supporter Sese Darnells Olufunwa has a problem with Chelsea. He asks: Are Chelsea becoming more hated than Manchester United?
As a Liverpool fan I cannot pretend to like Man U, though it would seem I am not the only fan who has grown to hate United over the years. But I am starting to feel the same amount of disdain towards Chelsea. The way Abromavich has come into the club has surely made opposing fans jealous with envy at the unlimited amount of funds available to their manager; but the arrogance of the whole “Russian Revolution” has angered a lot of people, including me.


Rules that Chelsea are absolved from
If you are as rich as they are it seems possible that you can get any player you want by any means possible, going as low as to unsettle the player by leaking reports to the press. Ashley Cole was seemingly tapped up without the prerequisite permission of Arsenal. But why should that matter if you could sign Cole - maybe the best left back in the Premier league - at the cost of a minor fine from the impotent football association? Chelsea just don’t care about anything or anybody, they will go to any lengths because they can, they believe because they have the money, they are above the law, they just have a total disregard for the rules. Don’t get me wrong. Chelsea are not the first team to (allegedly) tap up a player. United fans will remember the catalyst for Jaap Stam’s departure from the “theatre of nightmares” was the revelation in his book that Ferguson had tapped him up. So what’s the issue here then? The fact that Chelsea would go down the road and blatantly tap up Cole before an important game for Arsenal would represent a total lack of respect for your fellow club. Not only that, but by doing this they would seem to believe that they are bigger than Arsenal. Is it not the case that a characteristic of a player being tapped up is that one club is usually bigger than the other one? This point is indeed arguable but it is not questionable that this was an implication of the mentality Chelsea FC have for everyone else. Their “me against the world” role which they have adopted is self inflicted, many people are just losing their patience and this is a factor driving fans to hope for their failure on all fronts.


Chelsea fans who have appeared everywhere
It would seem that Chelsea fans have sprouted out from the ground judging by the way they are appearing. These are of course the true fans who have stuck with Chelsea through thick and thin. Of course not! These are nothing but false fans who have no knowledge of the club’s history but wish to walk around with their jerseys and gain the support of a fellow fan because Chelsea are doing well. Talking to them for a minute though you realise the harsh reality that your fellow fan is nothing more than a “glory hunter,” like 50 % of the prawn-chomping United fans. But why should I complain, shouldn’t I just embrace Chelsea as a great side? I do not deny they are a very talented side but let’s think that this was only achievable by £260 million pounds spent over the last eighteen months. Surely then it will be inevitable that they will win the title eventually with this amount of cash spent. The fact that seems to elude Chelsea fans is that if they do win the league they will never be fully respected, just as the case was for Blackburn. They probably won’t care about the politics, though. But they will not get any congratulations from opposing fans, that’s for sure. In my eyes there will be no achievement in winning the title when you have been bankrolled like that.


Jose Mouriniho
Then there is the enigma that is Jose Mourinho. I think he is a terrific character to have in football. There is no doubt that he is a joker and entertains reporters profusely. I do find, however, that he is very arrogant and at times shows a lack of respect to his fellow peers. Examples are the way he celebrated Porto’s goal at Old Trafford by running to the corner of the pitch and celebrating with his players; and the way he ran onto the pitch to celebrate with his players after the Blackburn game without even shaking Mark Hughes’s hand before he conducted his spectacle. There is nothing wrong with being passionate but there are certain unwritten laws about the way one should conduct oneself, which obviously he is not privy to. I really do hope his comments to Ferguson about when Ferguson was angry at the diving of the Porto players in Portugal comes back to haunt him. Mourinho said that he would be upset if his team costing that much lost to Porto. His track record is indeed impressive but to be honest though I can only really credit him with winning the Champions League and Uefa Cup. Porto are a big side in Portugal and winning the League and Cup there I do not regard as a major feat. Nevertheless, no one can question his pedigree as a manager in his short career .


Are they more hated?
Though I dislike Chelsea they can’t reach the heights of detestation I have for Man U. They will always be hated just that bit more. Whether Chelsea can surpass them I don’t know, but probably not in my eyes. The sight of Gary Neville running to the ref still inspires me to get out of my seat and scream at the TV. Or the thought of seeing Ruud Van Nistelrooy celebrate another penalty the way he did at Old Trafford against Arsenal, hearing his pathetic shrieks of ‘Yes!’ and kissing the ground, prompted me to hurl abuse at the diving Dutchman. Man U will always be disliked. I find even foreign fans who come over to England pick up the same hatred for them as most fans on these shores. This is why, if Liverpool don’t win the title, the only team I can stomach lifting up the trophy is Arsenal.

Sese Darnells Olufunwa