18yrs since Abramovich bought Chelsea.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

1st July 2003 was the day Abramovich paid £140 million for Chelsea

5 Premier league titles
2 Champions League wins
5 FA cups
2 Europa Leagues
3 League cups
2 Community Shields.
13 "permanent" managers

Helped bring over some brilliant players and some fantastic football under some great managers.

Definitely changed English football and I see arguments both for and against how he changed it

[Goobs]

What ever happened to that Russian player they signed (was he the Russian Captain?) And immediately loaned out or sold?

Think it was shortly after Abramovich bought the club?

[elwaclaret]

Started the rot.

[Vegas Claret]

can't knock him

[Wirvine]

And so began the destruction of a competitive Premier League.

[evensteadiereddie]

Wasn't it that lovely little club Manchester United who first started paying enormous transfer fees ?

[Hibsclaret]

No, it was uncle Jack and his offshore millions that started the rot.

[Burnley87]

And so began the destruction of a competitive Premier League.

Before he bought the club only three clubs had won the prem

Now there’s 7 don’t really get that point

[gandhisflipflop]

Wasn't it that lovely little club Manchester United who first started paying enormous transfer fees ?

You mean the club that generated their own income from their success?

[cricketfieldclarets]

1st July 2003 was the day Abramovich paid £140 million for Chelsea

5 Premier league titles
2 Champions League wins
5 FA cups
2 Europa Leagues
3 League cups
2 Community Shields.
13 "permanent" managers

Helped bring over some brilliant players and some fantastic football under some great managers.

Definitely changed English football and I see arguments both for and against how he changed it

Remember it well. Was just as I’d started my first job and we had a news agents in our canteen. I thought I’d just negotiated a great job with good money. Then I got a paper in canteen and read how much money this guy was about to spend on players. . I actually couldn’t comprehend the numbers.

[cricketfieldclarets]

And so began the destruction of a competitive Premier League.

More have won it since than before.

[cricketfieldclarets]

Also English teams have been even better in Europe in that period. Stadiums have continued to improve. (Ironically Chelsea’s hasn’t changed that much). Youth infrastructure has improved.

The only thing in that time that’s got worse is play acting and reffing. Var and all those shenanigans.

But for whatever you think of Roman abramovic and his money the standard of player we have seen there and in the league has been unreal.

Just wish the game was a bit tougher and less sanitised.

[joey13]

Started the rot.

No that was Walker

[claretburns]

Remember when he took over and so the paper gossip that Chelsea were swooping in for Arsenal star double Henry and Viera for £20 Million. Imagine nowadays getting a prime Henry and Viera for £10 Million each.

[Pstotto]

Chelsea considered now to be one of the 'big six' however at the time of his purchase, Burnley had won more titles than Chelsea and we still hold the advantage in the head-to record between the two clubs.

To be fair to Chelsea, they were the best supported club in the land, around the time of WW1.

[Erasmus]

It bothers me that Abramovich is a close friend and associate of Putin who has almost certainly authorised the use of chemical weapons in Britain as well as other international criminality. Would you really want someone like that owning your club? To me, it would be like being taken over by the Mafia.

[gandhisflipflop]

It bothers me that Abramovich is a close friend and associate of Putin who has almost certainly authorised the use of chemical weapons in Britain as well as other international criminality. Would you really want someone like that owning your club? To me, it would be like being taken over by the Mafia.

I'm sure the Chelsea fans didn't care in Munich in 2012, or Portugal last year. We can all take the moral high ground but at the end of the day we just want our team to win. I'm sure you wouldn't care either if it was BFC.

[ClaretTony]

They've certainly remained loyal to their managers over that period

Claudio Ranieri
Jose Mourinho
Avram Grant
Luiz Felipe Scolari
Guus Hiddink
Carlo Ancelotti
Andre Villas-Boas
Roberto Di Matteo
Rafael Benitez
Jose Mourinho
Guus Hiddink
Antonio Conte
Maurizio Sarri
Frank Lampard
Thomas Tuchel

[Spijed]

Wasn't it that lovely little club Manchester United who first started paying enormous transfer fees ?

I suspect it was Rovers who did that. When Jack Walker took over they effectively became the wealthiest club in the world, being able to outspend even the likes of Man U, Barcelona and Real Madrid at the time.

[Fretters]

And to think he wanted to buy Fulham when he saw Craven Cotttage from his plane (apparently - not sure why he didn't).

[claret2018]

I’d completely forgotten that Rafa managed Chelsea

[ClaretTony]

I’d completely forgotten that Rafa managed Chelsea

The Chelsea fans haven't

[ClaretTony]

Wasn't it that lovely little club Manchester United who first started paying enormous transfer fees ?

They've made a major contribution over the years to inflating the transfer fees but in 1992 they were outbid by Blackburn for Alan Shearer. A year later and Blackburn outbid them for Roy Keane but he had his mind set on Old Trafford and so Forest missed out on a bit of money.

[Yearofthefox]

They've made a major contribution over the years to inflating the transfer fees but in 1992 they were outbid by Blackburn for Alan Shearer. A year later and Blackburn outbid them for Roy Keane but he had his mind set on Old Trafford and so Forest missed out on a bit of money.

Keane made the correct choice for his career, Shearer will never admit it but i think he'll really regret not joining manchester utd when he had the chance.

[ClaretTony]

Keane made the correct choice for his career, Shearer will never admit it but i think he'll really regret not joining manchester utd when he had the chance.

He had two chances - one when he went to Ewood and then in 1996 when the deal was almost done before the pull of Newcastle took him there.

[elwaclaret]

The big difference was that neither United pre-Glazer nor Walker could sustain the sort of long term spending Chelsea’s could.

You could take it back to Robson at £2.5m for or £1m for Francis, but the fact that they were so memorable tells you they were mind boggling one offs that they are remembered. Chelsea just kept on spending, showing foreign money could dominate the league.

[Chester Perry]

You mean the club that generated their own income from their success?

also rebuilt old Trafford from their own cash reserves - and greatly assisted the global financial industry with contributions of around £1 billion and paid the family that owns them around £200m

meanwhile Abramovich is over £1.5billion out of pocket, which he will only get back when he sells the club

[Sarum]

And to think he wanted to buy Fulham when he saw Craven Cotttage from his plane (apparently - not sure why he didn't).

Fretters, it was Tottenham that initially interested him. It was later reported that the share deal offered to him by Daniel Levy fell far short of the Russian's plans for ownership of a premier league side, prompting him to look elsewhere, and at which point he turned his attention towards Chelsea instead. In the years since he's reportedly blocked the selling and buying of players to and from Tottenham, too.

[Erasmus]

I would actually care very much if someone like that got involved with Burnley. Some things are more important than football. Whatever success it might bring, I would absolutely hate it.

[Fretters]

Fretters, it was Tottenham that initially interested him. It was later reported that the share deal offered to him by Daniel Levy fell far short of the Russian's plans for ownership of a premier league side, prompting him to look elsewhere, and at which point he turned his attention towards Chelsea instead. In the years since he's reportedly blocked the selling and buying of players to and from Tottenham, too.

Shows what I know! I'd read he liked the charm of Craven Cottage by the Thames.

[bfcjg]

Only thing you can say about Walker was he was a bstards fan, re Abramovich he could have done what he did for any team, Chelsea were just lucky. Re Shearer I still maintain he is one of the biggest mugs who ever played football, if he had of signed for United instead of bstards he'd of won stacks of trophies, in fairness to United they only spend what they generate,never had a benefactor.
Our greatest ever benefactor when we really needed it Barry Kilby always ensured we were well run as genuine owners like him are a rarity.

[Peter Loo]

It bothers me that Abramovich is a close friend and associate of Putin who has almost certainly authorised the use of chemical weapons in Britain as well as other international criminality. Would you really want someone like that owning your club? To me, it would be like being taken over by the Mafia.

I couldn’t agree more with that Erasmus.

[Stalbansclaret]

Has anyone ever heard the bloke speak ? Sinister.