Why everyone hates Chelski football club

For many years, Manchester United has held the title of “most hated club”. Now, Chelsea seems to have taken that away from us. For starters, there’s the small thing about them being bankrolled by a Russian who did not make his fortune in a regular way. Apart from Frank Lampard, Carlo Cudicini and of course John Terry, I cannot think of any players who have been in Chelsea B.R (Before Roman). So, you have a club which snapped its history and tradition, and was reborn as Chelski Football Club. A club with players with no affiliation with the team. Compare that with United – captained by probably one of the team’s biggest fans in Gary Neville. Paul Scholes is from Salford. Giggs signed in his teens. David Beckham signed when he was 11. Nicky Butt, the Neville brothers all signed when they were young. We had and still have a team that is built on people who grew up in the tradition. And the newcomers fit into the culture of the club, they realize what it means to be at United. Not so at Chelsea, its a simpler way to make money or better your chances of winning titles.

With a small stadium (half of Old Trafford?) which they dont fill, Chelsea’s world domination plans seem silly at best. Peter Kenyon (formerly of ManUtd) tries to fill up the stadium and increase the fan base by getting flaky kids to switch over to supporting Chelsea. And the plan is that they turn into fans for life… hmm. Every successful team has its share of “glory worshippers” or “fair weather” fans. But to build a fan base on them does not seem to be a very good idea. Whatever you say about ManUtd fans (when I say fans, I do not count the large number of glory worshippers), they are behind the team. Not many clubs have the same atmosphere as Old Trafford. The passion at OT is found in many places in England, but not at the Bridge.

For all these reasons, it is easy to resent Chelsea FC. While their manager leaves you with the urge to throw eggs at him, he atleast displays passion. I hate him like many other people, but his tactical genius and managerial skills are beyond doubt. With rumours of him leaving, things are not looking good for Chelsea. What Chelsea need to do is start at the bottom, and build upwards. Build a team first, win fans and neutrals, then you can think of world domination. Football is a sport, play the sport. It is not a business. And that is what is happening at Chelsea. My next post will look at ManUtd and why the Glazers might do the same thing to us.