Now there is no Abramovich, are Chelsea about to go into a gradual decline?

[blingo]

They need to buy a player that can bang in goals and get rid of Potter.

[H4usuallysitting]

Newcastle look likely to be top 4....with Man C & Arsenal.... that's one place left

[Cambridge Away]

Thought i'd give this an end of season  . It's been a rapid descent so far. The gap between where they are currently and getting back into the Champions league seems vast. I mentioned them as perhaps the next Glazers, but maybe a better comparison would be Fernadez at QPR? Spend vast amounts of money at first and then sit back and regret it. At least QPR had some success at first!

[Somerset Fulham]

Unfortunately it looks as though Poch is going to go there and they are only a proper centre forward shy of being decent again.

[Cambridge Away]

Unfortunately it looks as though Poch is going to go there and they are only a proper centre forward shy of being decent again.

Define "decent"?
The next of a long line of unimaginative moves by their owners. It's almost as though they are playing the 'Football Chairman' computer game series. It'll be Sam Allardyce by the end of next season 

[Somerset Fulham]

I honestly do hope so! 

But I think he's already said that their spending is done other than a forward, plus there is a chance of that big old lump Lukaku coming back.  Add in that Poch is good with youngsters and I think that they will improve next season, unfortunately.

Still doesn't mean they'll be as good as us though. 

[Nick Bateman]

The influence Abramovich had over the favourable officiating they received is diminished although still prevelant - Premier League looks after whom they deem as "big" clubs.

But Todd Boehly's and Egg-Baddie's scattergun approach to the transfer market has weakened them financially while they ignored FFP with lengthy multi-million contracts that will eventually bite them in the rump!

Pochettino has a very un-Chelsea-like approach to how football should be played and one wonders if it's a good fit. Chelsea has always been a team that plays on the edge, bordering on fair or foul. Can a more pleasant, sporting style of a coach change Chelsea into playing more positively rather than relying on a 'bent' official to give Raheem Sterling his dives??

One shall see.

[toshes mate]

The influence Abramovich had over the favourable officiating they received is diminished although still prevelant - Premier League looks after whom they deem as "big" clubs.

All the football authorities are corrupt and have been shown to be so regardless of clean up measures. Follow the money and you will find it is like tilting a pin ball machine with the tilt control turned off.

It is almost but not quite subtle since you can still observe the bad habits generated through poor standard setting. And of course members only private clubs can do just about anything they like unless individuals are cancelled for whatever reason a warped society may believe it has for cancelling them. Abramovich may have done a few things better than the worse offenders in commerce globally especially when looking at events in the human health and comfort environment but still he is stigmatised.

I just cannot imagine why society generally thinks that stigmatising people can prevent bad things happening when our history books tell us what disasters they always are.  A purge might help a little but in reality a return to honest to goodness football is what is required and the fans can only make that happen by turning away from football as it currently is. Perhaps the real fight will happen when the poorer parts of the league start looking for someone/something better to run them.
   

[Cambridge Away]

 
Worth bumping this when considering the predicament at Chelsea. They are probably even further away from success than when i wrote this.

They need to do a Man Utd and bring in a Chelsea Carick type (like Makelele), and even then it's likely they'll more likely be another Solskjaer (till that club rebuilds from the bottom up).

[ron]

I'd like to think it's a very steep and swift decline but regrettably I don't think that will happen

Hope springs eternal in the human breast....

[H4usuallysitting]

In the short to medium term (3 - 5 year's) yes...long term, I'm not sure - I'm guessing the new owners will eventually want an exit strategy...

So, they're probably having to spend an awful lot more money to compete....

They're simply treating the football club as a commodity and the supporter's will eventually turn if the trophy cabinet isn't getting full

[bencher]

In the short to medium term (3 - 5 year's) yes...long term, I'm not sure - I'm guessing the new owners will eventually want an exit strategy...

So, they're probably having to spend an awful lot more money to compete....

They're simply treating the football club as a commodity and the supporter's will eventually turn if the trophy cabinet isn't getting full

That's the thing about the "decline of Chelsea and Man Utd" - they've still carried on picking up trophies in their decline, even if not PL and CL. I wouldn't mind a decline like that.

[Carborundum]

Make football a part of your life and you soon realise that there will be highs and lows, hope and despair and that's all part of the deal.

That works for me and we currently have an owner who treats the club as an enjoyable way to dispose of surplus funds to maximise the outcome of the most unbending commodity of all - remaining time and what to do with it. Good for him, good for us.

Chelsea are in the hedge fund spiral of joyless calculation.  Their owners don't love football and whilst they will maintain a facade, butching it out, it's plain to see that their only strategy now is to continue in the hope that a bigger mug will take it off their hands, which seems recedingly unlikely.  Someone's going to lose a lot of money and the Chelsea players have worked out it won't be them.

I'm mindful that Chelsea fans will be getting a Wembley final next month, but nevertheless, they will be lucky to avoid a miserable trudge in the next few years. 

[ffcthereligion]

We always sung it: 'when the Russian goes to prison you'll be f*cked'

[RaySmith]

They bought success with Ambramovich and his ill gotten wealth, and  their current owners, whoever they are, seem pretty clueless.

Just reading that the Saudis are withdrawing their sport financing, thinking it's not such a good idea after all- they've done it with golf, so will this extend to football?
A few  'top' clubs could be losing sleep over this!

[Holders]

When Fayed came in we were on the point of overhauling them - until the Russian arrived. Let's hope it happens this time.

[alfie]

They bought success with Ambramovich and his ill gotten wealth, and  their current owners, whoever they are, seem pretty clueless.

Just reading that the Saudis are withdrawing their sport financing, thinking it's not such a good idea after all- they've done it with golf, so will this extend to football?
A few  'top' clubs could be losing sleep over this!

Don't all football clubs buy success if they are lucky, look how much MAF and now Khan have put into this club, many teams below us could equally say we have bought our limited success

[Neutral Zone Ultra]

Worth bumping this when considering the predicament at Chelsea. They are probably even further away from success than when i wrote this.

They need to do a Man Utd and bring in a Chelsea Carick type (like Makelele), and even then it's likely they'll more likely be another Solskjaer (till that club rebuilds from the bottom up).

I mean all well and good us trying to gloat, but for all their problems they're in the final of a major cup competition this season whereas we're still the biggest club in England without a major trophy...

[Free Elvis Hammond]

I've thought since the takeover they're at risk of painting themselves into a corner financially

On the books, those huge amortised contracts basically commits their future spending for years to come

That might be fine if they can sell them on for profit - but look at those big signings, are they going to recoup the cost on Garnacho, Gittens, Delap, Neto, Lavia etc? That's before you factor in disasters like Mudryk

It might also work revenue-wise if they're consistently successful - decent run in the Champions League every season - but when you look at that dressing room they're miles off doing that

I don't know how long they can cover the losses by selling assets to themselves, but it doesn't feel long-term to me

[Cambridge Away]

I am not sure i see anyone gloating. Just stating facts. Fulham fans have never been ones to punch down anyway, and we're clearly better than them at the moment. My observations are that they are a rotten club, with a rotting stadium and slightly entitled fans.

They need a massive injection of funds to build a stadium, with options running out. London's growth made for the success of project 'London FC' (what they considered as a name before Chelsea) but with London's own growth they've now found themselves boxed into a tiny space (for a club their current size) and less and less options by the year. Even if they did a West Ham and moved out of their historic home, the fans aren't going to be happy. And they're not the happiest bunch at the best of times.

The history of Chelsea FC weighs heavy and the club is eating itself right now. The fans will have to be a lot more patient and humble before they get back to where they think they deserve to be. In the short to medium to term they are surely likely to be more like a post Harry Kane Spurs. So, yes, maybe a Europa league trophy (or FA cup) along the way, but a relegation isn't out of the question with how strong the Premier League is these days.