February 26th seems a long time ago and yet it’s just under a month since Roman Abramovich announced that he was to step back from running Chelsea FC, suggesting that control should be handed over to the Chelsea Foundation.
The entire Chelsea world has been tipped upside down since then, with the Chelsea Foundation idea backfiring and the Government ultimately sanctioning Abramovich and by association Chelsea, leading to the premature selling of the club. I have lost count of the number of the times I’ve seen headlines loudly exclaiming “Crisis Club Chelsea!” since I’ve been watching the side. At times it seems like a weekly occurrence.
But this time it is very different. The fact that no money can go to the club for fear of slipping in to Abramovich’s hands, meaning a pared down travel budget, staff being laid off and no tickets for a significant portion of the club’s supporters, tells you that Chelsea are indeed a club in crisis. The threat of going into administration if a buyer cannot be found, tells you that this crisis is not just paper talk, it is existential.
