Post Roman Abramovich

[Kerry Dixon's Boots]

I know there was a Roman thread but it wasn't going anywhere really constructive.

I have always been of the mind (since the fact that Roman was not here to strip the club of all its assets) that this may be a 5 year deal and that if Roman did leave, he would not leave us short.

I think that the last couple of years have seen us spend much less and try and build to being fiscally comfortable for the forseeable future by building fan base (though not cutting the wage bill yet). I also believe that should he leave he would leave us a war chest of sorts - he will still maintain an interest, even if he doesn't own us anymore and will want us to do well.

It may be a wee bit premature to think this way, he may even stay owner for years and enjoy the playboy lifestyle of being a big player in a big world.

But it's not unreasonable to think that this season may be leaving a bad taste and that as a man of means there are other things he would like to achieve in his successful life.

I also would thank him for bringing titles to the club and hope that despite politics and what-not that others appreciate the success. Even if some of us don't like being a bandwagon of note.

Would we maintain fanbase? Would the support dwindle to it's historical pre-Zola, pre-Roman days? Would this be good or bad? Would we do a Leeds?

Discuss.

[yasik19]

I know there was a Roman thread but it wasn't going anywhere really constructive.

I have always been of the mind (since the fact that Roman was not here to strip the club of all its assets) that this may be a 5 year deal and that if Roman did leave, he would not leave us short.

I think that the last couple of years have seen us spend much less and try and build to being fiscally comfortable for the forseeable future by building fan base (though not cutting the wage bill yet). I also believe that should he leave he would leave us a war chest of sorts - he will still maintain an interest, even if he doesn't own us anymore and will want us to do well.

It may be a wee bit premature to think this way, he may even stay owner for years and enjoy the playboy lifestyle of being a big player in a big world.

But it's not unreasonable to think that this season may be leaving a bad taste and that as a man of means there are other things he would like to achieve in his successful life.

I also would thank him for bringing titles to the club and hope that despite politics and what-not that others appreciate the success. Even if some of us don't like being a bandwagon of note.

Would we maintain fanbase? Would the support dwindle to it's historical pre-Zola, pre-Roman days? Would this be good or bad? Would we do a Leeds?

Discuss.


honestly, it's too early to tell. I don't personally think he will leave, yet. He loves football so even if Chelsea is his "toy", it might be his favorite toy.

[loden]

Would we do a Leeds?
Discuss.

From the looks of it, yes.

[L.G.S]

From the looks of it, yes.

And off what basis is that?

Roman Abramovich is a businessman who has earned Billions. Why would he sell Chelsea after anything but a profit? That will lead to another wealthy owner and more money coming in. He has already said he is committed to the club so I don't think he's going to sell it any time soon, but even if he did it would probably be to one of his chums so they can play with it.

[lobomojo]

And off what basis is that?

Roman Abramovich is a businessman who has earned Billions. Why would he sell Chelsea after anything but a profit? That will lead to another wealthy owner and more money coming in. He has already said he is committed to the club so I don't think he's going to sell it any time soon, but even if he did it would probably be to one of his chums so they can play with it.

Yes, as I posted elsewhere, very sincerily thanks to Roman we are light years from where we were when he bought the club. (Even then it seems we would not have turned into Leeds but been bought by Bernie Eccleston:eek:)

Then we were deep in debt, now we are basically debt free.
Then we had an embarassment shanty for a training ground, now a debt free state of the art faciity.
Then we had no real youth system, outside West Ham:D, now we are well stocked with young talent and coaching.
Then we had a value near zero because of the Debts, now we were just estimated at 831 million Euros in Brand Value.
Future wage obligations, well Roman set aside a 200 million +/- (I think) trust fund to guarentee the Club meets its obligations if anything happens to him
The TV contract money is dramatically higher now.
Any number of billionaires like Kroenke or other will likely buy if Roman wants to sell, which colud make things better, the same or much worse who knows.

Roman has done a lot for the club so hopefully he learns from this fiasco soon, hires a real gaffer and lets him run the football and we all release the white doves and sing into the sunset but whether Roman stays or moves on at some point the Club will go on...

[loden]

And off what basis is that?

Roman Abramovich is a businessman who has earned Billions. Why would he sell Chelsea after anything but a profit? That will lead to another wealthy owner and more money coming in. He has already said he is committed to the club so I don't think he's going to sell it any time soon, but even if he did it would probably be to one of his chums so they can play with it.

Hate to break it to you, but nobody in the post Soviet world has earned Billions. They simply diverted them from the economy. I just think that Mourinho was such a huge part of the franchise that his departure makes the whole club look shaky. But I could just be optimistic... :)

[slipereypete]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/office_space_kit_mat.jpg

[L.G.S]

Hate to break it to you, but nobody in the post Soviet world has earned Billions. They simply diverted them from the economy. I just think that Mourinho was such a huge part of the franchise that his departure makes the whole club look shaky. But I could just be optimistic... :)

Who really cares? It doesn't matter if the buyer is a millionaire or a billionaire, they still won't get the club into a situation like Leeds by buying it.

[Miles Brasher]

And off what basis is that?

Roman Abramovich is a businessman who has earned Billions. Why would he sell Chelsea after anything but a profit? That will lead to another wealthy owner and more money coming in. He has already said he is committed to the club so I don't think he's going to sell it any time soon, but even if he did it would probably be to one of his chums so they can play with it.

Why do you make the assumption that a wealthy owner would put more money into the club? There are very few people who wish to invest in football clubs to lose money. The vast majority will want to make a profit on their investment. This may be by increasing the value of the club and therefore the shares before selling on, in which case it's possible there may be initial investment, but it's highly likely that whatever is put in early on will be outweighed by what is taken out later...

[L.G.S]

What are you talking about? To buy the club fro Roman would to take ownership of everything. Money in or no money in, the club would not go bust unless the new owner did something drastic.

I wasn't saying a new owner would always put money in, but new owners buy clubs to make money. And all good owners through the years know you have to spend money to make money.

[j.fisher]

Would we maintain fanbase? Would the support dwindle to it's historical pre-Zola, pre-Roman days? Would this be good or bad? Would we do a Leeds?


Would we maintain fanbase? - Most likely no. But there are, and always have been Chelsea fans. And there always will be.
Would the support dwindle to it's historical pre-Zola, pre-Roman days? - I don't think so. The exposure Chelsea has gotten since Roman has taken over has given the club more fans, who MAY have came on due to the club winning... but are now just as die hard as any of us.
Would this be good or bad? - If Roman left? I think both. It would be TERRIBLE because I want that damn wallet attached to this club forever. But it would also be a "good" thing just to as a fan, I would be able to KNOW that my football club is being run as such. Not as Roman's toy.
Would we do a Leeds? - God... please no. But seriously, a LOT of mishandling would have to take place for that to happen.

[Walter3000]

Not sure the point of all this, after the talk of 100 years of dominance and handing it down to his son.

sure people are fickle and change their minds all the time. But that is certainly better evidence than this constant fan and media created Roman's leaving soon garbage.