One year on it is a statement that still makes for startling reading.
The for sale sign had appeared inevitable several days earlier, but when it was confirmed by Roman Abramovich on this date last year that his time as Chelsea ’s owner had reached its conclusion, a shock went through English football.
Later that evening the first team faced Luton Town in the FA Cup fifth round, a game that passed by as a blur for almost anyone in blue even if they edged an entertaining five-goal tie. There was so much uncertainty, and more to follow when Abramovich was officially sanctioned by the UK government a week later and the club’s mere existence was under threat, that progressing to the quarter-finals was effectively a distraction.
