Dear Bruce and Richard,
You have both made serious misjudgements on the proposal to buy back Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) shares.
So serious, that I feel neither of you have any credibility left in your respective roles and I call for both of you to resign… but more about that later.
Seeing as neither of you are prepared to answer emails or phone calls, I thought I’d outline my points here. But before I do, let’s get one thing clear… the majority of Chelsea Pitch Owners are not opposed in principle to a move away from Stamford Bridge.
We are opposed to you calling an extraordinary general meeting on 27th October with the minimum legal notice to try and get us to sell out shares back. Why the sudden rush?
Why not wait until you’ve found a definite site for a new stadium and then consult us on our views? Why not recognise that Chelsea Pitch Owners represent the hard core support of Chelsea FC and offer us the chance to transfer our shares over to the new stadium? We don’t want our names engraved on a brick in the new ground.
Your offer to give us the right to buy a season ticket is insulting. And as for paying us back our original investment of £100 per share… did you come to that decision after a heavy bout of lunchtime drinking? We never bought these shares as an investment. We bought them because we came very close to losing Stamford Bridge and ground sharing with Palace or QPR… either of which, still makes me come out in a cold sweat 20 years later.
In case you are unaware of what happened in the 80’s and early 90’s here’s a quick history lesson. David Mears and Lord Chelsea sold their shares in Chelsea FC to Marler Estates whose plans to turn Stamford Bridge into a housing estate were approved by Hammersmith and Fulham Council in 1986.
In 1989 Chelsea FC were officially served notice to leave Stamford Bridge and without the impending property crash it would have been game over. Cabra estates, who had since purchased Marler estates, filed for bankruptcy which enabled Ken Bates to a do a deal with their creditors and reunite the freehold of Stamford Bridge with our club. That’s when we, the fans, bought our shares… the perfect way of protecting Chelsea FC forever.
Until this news broke a few days ago, I’d never again looked at my CPO share. No need… times have changed. Like most people, I’ve moved a few times over the last 18 years since I bought my CPO share and I’ve never updated my address details with them. This must apply to thousands of other CPO shareholders who have received no proposal or proxy voting forms from CPO. I’ve tried to contact CPO by email and phone, but no reply so as things stand I can’t vote. There’s a rumour that any votes not received will be taken as a yes vote… is this true?
Having total control of Chelsea FC in one man’s name is dangerous. What happens if Abramovich dies and his son hates football? We could be back to the same situation as the late 80’s.
Now on to why both of you need to go.
Bruce… your interviews on radio and TV make me cringe … an American talking of his life long love for Chelsea FC… where were you when we were shit? Your offer has insulted the hard core support of Chelsea FC and you have proved yourself out of touch with our feelings.
Richard… By condoning this deal with Chelsea FC you have undermined your responsibility to act in the best interest of CPO shareholders and as such there is no choice but for you to resign with immediate effect.
Best regards,
Ian Wood
CPO shareholder No 1958
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I’m sad to say that, in my opinion, Mr Richard King has failed with his duties as chairman of the Chelsea Pitch Owners for a few years now (maybe longer). Articles, threads and comments elsewhere on this site from more than one person are testament to this.
Although he does do paid work for Chelsea Football Club he also claims that this has no bearing on his leadership of the CPO. Like turkeys and Christmas, he will not be voting against Mr Buck’s & Mr Gourlay’s proposal.
Get an answer from the club, CPO or get Mr King to stand down? No chance. Stinks of a done deal.
My only hope is this is all a smoke screen to divert attention away from Mr Abramovich’s court case or a ploy to get Fulham & Hammersmith to review the restrictive egress issues that prevent any Bridge redevelopment.
Excellent article and I agree with it all. If the vote option was:
1. Yes
2. No
3. Maybe, but not until where we know the new stadium will be
I would suggest that the majority of shareholders would opt for number 3 in the interim. Then if we had the further options:
1. No, I hate the idea of moving to xxxx
2. Yes, but as part of the deal, I’d like CPO to own the new ground and rent it to CFC to build a stadium on it.
3. I”m happy with the new location and trust Roman and he can have/buy my shares
Allowing us to make an informed decision – not just be railroaded!
Has any of you lot come to the conclusion the reason the meeting is so soon is the fact they have already found somewhere to move 2? Or is this just my way of thinking.. I don’t want to leave Stamford bridge but finically so we can compete with this new uefa fair play that we can onl spend what the club generates we have no choice but to move to bring in the extra cash. For one for all you hard core so called Chelsea fans out there why ain’t we selling out every champions league group game? Is it the fact that your that confident we will qualify you think it’s pointless attending? Take Arsenal for example they generate near on 50 mill profit a year and still sell out there champions league group games as they can reduce prices. Until we move stadiums our prices are going to keep sky rocketing just to pull in the extra finance. I’m all in favour for a move as it will be in the best intrest of the club.
Ben, if the reason why they want to rush through this proposal is due to a new ground having already been found there are 2 questions:
1) Why won’t they tell us ?
2) Why the clause about only moving a max of 3 miles from SB before 2020 ?
Also if you think ticket prices will come down in a new stadium you are misguided.
Please don’t let the tail wag the dog.
If the CPO wish to dictate to the owners of Chelsea FC, may I suggest either put up or shut up.
Buy the club or hand the shares over.
I have been a Chelsea fan since the ’67 Cup Final. I a not a CPO shareholder but was a Chelsea Village shareholder.
If the CPO wish to go down the Wimbledon route; good luck to them, but it will be without my support or revenue.
Stumpyblue … what an odd reaction. The CPO don’t wish the club to go down the Wimbledon route … in fact exactly the opposite. The CPO exists to prevent anyone being able to sell out and move Chelsea FC. Don’t you find their proposal to buy back our shares with a promise to not move further than 3 miles away from SB before 2020 alarming ? If they railroad this yes vote through then after 2020 they are free to move Chelsea FC anywhere and call us anything they wish. I’m so glad you’re not a CPO member.
I agree with the point about the change of address issue and am concerned that the short notice will disenfranchise many CPO shareholders. I hope this is an oversight rather than the intent. I’d support a move from SB but do not want CPO to give the club an open cheque. We don’t want an MK Dons situation anytime in the future. UTC.
This is an excellent open letter which says alot of what I, and I guess many others, would like to say.
Two points stand out here, for me:
1. That there is a clear conflict of interest in Mr Kings position. While I have no personal evidence of his motives here, I would seriously question his ability to remain impartial. It has been suggested that his double-identity appears to be redolent of Government ministers taking money to further the interests of a private company or individual. I couldn’t argue with that: I think we all remember the bad taste that “cash for questions” left with many people, and the harm it did both to the institution of Parliament and to the principles of democracy generally. We cannot accept such a fate for Chelsea or the CPO, and Mr King should consider this carefully.
The phrase “Justice should not only be done, it should be seen to be done”, springs to mind and Mr King needs to explain the precise nature of both of his roles and explain precisely why there can be absolutely no conflict of interest.
2. I am shocked that some CPO members have found it difficult to contact Mr King, or at least someone acting on his behalf at this most important time. This is unprofessional, discurteous and lacks integrity. To avoid accusations that Mr King is hiding from having to tell the truth and/or having to answer allegations that he is not acting in the best interests of CPO, for whatever reason (be it personal financial gain or otherwise) he should be at the forefront of this discussion. He is not. Why is this?
Perhaps on Monday Mr Buck would like to come out with a clear and unambiguous statement about the future of Chelsea and why it is essential that this meeting needs to be hurried through in such an unprofessional and un-businesslike way so as to leave the stench of sleaze and underhand tactics hanging over both CPO and Chelsea Football Club.
And if Messrs Buck or King do deign to read this and assume I’m a CPO member who lives in a world of nostalgia and mementoes, I would like to say -
1. I am not a CPO member
2. I am usually happy to support the club in whatever it does (not just this issue), providing I can be clear on the reasons for club doing it – even if I dont agree with those reasons, such is my love for Chelsea. But the bigger the issue, the more I need those reasons.
3. I am not opposed to a move from Stamford Bridge.
And, finally, if Mr Abramovich is reading this: we trust you because you have earned our trust since you came here. Get in there and sort this mess out for us all, will you please? Thanks, Roman.
Why is this being pushed so hard at a time when RA is being sued for an amount in the region of £2billion? How much money would Stamford Bridge fetch? Billions undoubtedly. And who would be the lucky recipient of this largesse? The proprietor and sole owner?
Magnificent letter.
Me and my sons each have a CPO share purchased way back in 1993/4 – none of us bothered to amend our change of addresses, none of us have received any information. Not only did it not occur to us but,let’s face it, CPO plc have never been in contact with any of us and contact with them was difficult and is now proving to be impossible.
A number of people must have passed away and many people bought shares to give to their children; many of these children have grown up without an interest in football (or stopped/changed their interest), many moved away and others just ignored the shares.
I am in contact with JANET RAINBOW and she has advised me that a full list of shareholders was avaialble on the computer at the time that she left Chelsea F.C.
Buy then again, how can we cast our vote if wqe do not receive the appropriate paperwork.
Surely there must me some legal expert amongst the shareholders who can volunteer to look after the interests of the shareholders.
As I see it the majority of shareholders agree with a move – what is annoying everybody is the way Chelsea F.C. are going on about it.
I am sure that with goodwill an agreement can be reached.
Until then we must vote NO.
There is no guarantee that Chelsea won’t be SOLD as soon as they get their hands on the CPO shares. It would be hard to sell the entire club if they don’t own the pitch and name. For all we know, some arab has made an offer based on buying the WHOLE club, including the freehold owned by CPO shareholders.
The stadium move talk is pie in the sky. The club has covered its tracks by saying they may or may not move. What kind of inducement is that to sell the shares to them. We knew they “may or may not move” already.
Aside from that, would any sane person sell shares they bought two decades ago, in a club that has grown significantly since that time thanks to TV and Premiership revenue, for the same price they paid for them??? They call that of “offer”??? It’s an insult. But their move is a ruse to grab control by having a vote they cannot lose – a non-vote will be counted as acceptance and you can be sure they’ve already done their maths and know they can win that vote, without paying out a penny more than the old price for the shares. If Roman can deprive Berezovsky of billions, he can certainly deprive some loyal but small-fry Chelsea supporters of 15,000 shares.
Sell at your peril – this is NOTHING to do with moving the stadium. It is EVERYTHING to do with getting the freehold for peanuts, through cunning means. When they have it, they will have a far more valuable commodity to sell one day. Remember, Abramovich paid a lower price for Chelsea because he wasn’t getting the CPO ownership. He knows more than anyone how important that is to sell the club.
Beware!!!!!!!
Please CPO members i know your die hard Chelsea fans and have given a lot 4 d club, we ask that u make one more sacrifice, i can understand why you’ll be pissed at both Mr Buck and Mr King, but look at d bigger picture here, more revenue for d club, even lesser ticket prices 4 everyone not just you, selling your shares can only move us forward from my point of view, i don’t see a negative backlash 2 it. So please from one chelsea fan 2 another do sell your shares not for Mr Buck or Mr King but 4 d love of d club.(P.S financial fair play rules comes into play in 2 months, that’s the reason i feel they are rushing things for)
Has anyone even considered that this might simply be a means of circumventing the Fair Play rules?
Get the CPO shares and the club price soars. Then, on that basis, sell the club for an astronomical amount and all of a sudden the coffers are overflowing. For all anyone knows, Abramovich could sell to his son. Or one of his business associates. Or some Sultan or Sheik. A takeover would be far more attractive to a buyer if the Fair play rules are effectively set aside by bringing in the necessary “income” through a conveniently-arranged, massive takeover.
Thanks bluebrain, I’m doing my very best to sort these punks out.
I’ll get back to you when mission is completed
Regards
Roman
Cheers Roman, I knew we could put our faith in you.
B.
Ha ha very amusing … but also a serious point behind this. As Chelsea fans, we are extremely grateful for Roman’s backing of Chelsea FC. If you’d told me 25 years ago that I would have seen Chelsea lifting all those trophies I would have certified you as insane. This is actually a great opportunity for Roman to cement his relationship with the fans even further by coming out with a clear statement on this situation.
In Roman we trust
IMO Romans decisions have been great for the club, excluding Mourinho whom had fallen out with the board I have backed all the managerial changes since 2003, With the right location and design we could have a fantastic stadium with more tickets available and keep us in-line with the FFP rules.
As for this being a smokescreen for a takeover Roman has just spent a fortune on a fine piece of London real estate and is going nowhere
agreed – i hope Roman can see this as THE opportunity to carve his name for all time as one of the greatest heroes of Chelsea history. His name would forever be linked with everything good about Chelsea. Come on Roman!!!
The Fair Play rules will have been in force for several years before Chelsea builds a new stadium. According to the club, the have not even identified a site (or made a decision to move), so apart from the time it takes to do that, they will have to have all manner of studies done relation to any site, engage architects in a long series of design stages, and then get the thing built. We’re talking of a lot of years here. Far more time than the Fair Play rules will give the club to comply. So a new stadium will contribute ZERO to solving the problem even in the medium term.
So what is the club’s rush to get the CPO vote done and dusted so quickly? Simply to hold a vote before members have time to be tracked down and given a proper amount of time to study the proposition and vote. The club knows the vote count already, with non-votes counting in their favor. It’s sheer crookery and anyone selling out the club’s heritage on the basis of what “might or might not” happen, with not a single guarantee of anything, is a disgrace to the club.
This is cut & dry as far as I’m concerned. Anyone who votes yes & sells there shares are selling the club down the river just like David Mears did. How can anyone even consider selling when under the outlined proposal the club can be moved anywhere & the name changed from 2020? I am becoming more convinced each day that we are about to be stitched up big time. Some sort of protest needs to be arranged for before Saturday’s match. Vote no to save Chelsea FC.
From the Evening Standard last week:-
“Abramovich convinced me to think of him like a son, says Berezovsky”
Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich is a genius at making people believe he is sincere, rival billionaire Boris Berezovsky told the High Court today.
Although Mr Abramovich is “not smart strategically”, said Mr Berzovsky, he “convinced me to think he is like my son”.
Mr Berezovsky dismissed as “ridiculous” Mr Abramovich’s claim to have paid him $5 million “in dollar bills” at a meeting in March 1995.
“Abramovich was a poor guy (then) he didn’t have any money. To ask him to pay me $5 million is only in his dreams,” Mr Berezovsky said.
The Russian oligarch, 65, was giving evidence for a second day in his £3.5billion battle over shares in the Sibneft oil and gas conglomerate that he claims the pair jointly owned in the Nineties.
Mr Berezovsky claims Mr Abramovich, 44, forced him to sell shares cheaply by saying Vladimir Putin would seize his assets if he did not comply. He is claiming £3.5 billion for alleged breach of trust and breach of contract accusing his rival of “blackmail”.
Mr Abramovich claims his rival did not have any shares in Sibneft and that he paid Mr Berezovsky £800 million for his political influence with the Kremlin.
Mr Berezovsky said of the Chelsea owner: “He is genius at least on one point. If he wants to convince someone personally, he may serve them so well you really believe he is sincere. He convinced me to think he is like my son. I never changed my trust in Abramovich until he betrayed me.”
Mr Berezovsky said the Sibneft deal was so complicated he agreed to seal it with a handshake rather than a written contract.
The case continues.”
RA is a businessman. He wanted to move assets out of Russia and into the safe haven of the UK.
He has done this by buying Chelsea FC, a chunk of land at Cobham and residential properties in the West End and Surrey.
His interest in football (and Chelsea FC) can wane as quickly as it waxed.
Think about it. He will have acquired a huge chunk of valuable real estate in the most expensive area of the UK.
Vote “No”.
I think you all need to realise why the CPO was set up in the 1st place. It was to guarantee that Chelsea FC had a football ground to play on. Idealy in the present location. This was to prevent what happened to Brighton and Wimbledon, where the fans found the grounds were sold from underneath them. Whilst I do not doubt Roman’s intentions, at the moment the fans DO have a say if we move and where we move. No other group of fans in the UK have this power to influence this decision like we do.
The Club have put nothing on the table at this time. Other than they would like us to give them our shares, just in case they decide to move location. That is a not a viable offer. If they made an offer to TFR to CPO’s to the new ground, in order to guarantee that future owners of the Club would not throw the FC out, then that would at least be a start.
If the Club are not in a hurry to move, why are they asking the CPO to rush the vote through? You would have thought they would have at the very least have put forward details/potential cost of redeveloping the present site. Or details of the proposed site.
At the moment the land that Stamford Bridge is valueless to Roman because of the CPO. If the CPO shares are handed over then that land is worth many hundreds of millions, to him or a future owner. There is no guarantee that, if sold, those monies would be used to build another stadium in another location.
WITH THE CPO IN PLACE WE HAVE A STADIUM AND WE HAVE A VOICE IF WE MOVE!!!
great article Ian i completely agree with you the board are being very suspect about the whole situation. I personally dont see why we need a new stadium for the majority of home games the bridge isnt completely full so building a 60000+ seater stadium seems pointless, i understand the whole financial benefits with the UEFA financial fair play rules but there surely must be other ways round it. I heard a stat the other day on the radio that chelsea is the only team in the premier league whose stadium is on the original site to when the club was formed.
I dont want the CPO to sell out cause it would be very dangerous for the club to be soley in the hands of one person.
I think as shareholders we need to think back to the reasons for CPO in the first instance. I bought mine with money earned from a part time job whilst still at school (£100 meant a lot back then)in order to protect the ‘club’ that I loved.
Obviously, much has changed in the meantime & I’ve enjoyed the success that Roman has brought to the club like everyone else, but I’m less impressed by the ‘corporate’ atmosphere that now surrounds the club & is borne out by the arrogance shown in the way that they are trying to get this transaction pushed through.
It’s understandable that Roman & his Board are trying to remove the CPO ‘obstacle’ & I want to believe that this is with best intentions, but more answers are needed, rather than the simplistic “trust us and vote yes” or vote no (with the threat of losing privalages associated with any subsequent move).
It is only CPO that gives us the platform to ask these questions, so I’ll be voting NO to the agreement in its present format. If the CPO board are listening(?) a counter proposal involving proper consultation, please?
Should be a lively meeting on the 27th!
It seems that there are many CPO shareholders have not recieved their Letter mainly due it seems to having moved,and or Chelsea having lost contact information.
I fell into this catagory,but i sent my information to this Address and got my letter a few days later.
We have to get the truth, so i urge everyone to send a mail to :cpoinfo@btconnect.com
The news that several thousand CPO shares have been quietly sold over the past year or so (remarkable, isn’t it?) I wonder if there is any way that we can find out who has purchased them:-
Is the shareholders database a public document, or at least can it be made visible to CPO members?
It seems to me that one way of ensuring a 75% yes vote is to suddenly ensure that your friends or paid lackeys own 75% of CPO shares. That way, there is no need for healthy debate or explanation. It also means that the words “democracy”, “fairness” and “natural justice” are unnecessary.
and Bruce Buck is down as having bought 100 CPO shares this year … it’s a scandal … I hope tomorrow enough true supporters are there to make their feelings clear.
I don’t understand few things.
Why do you think that Roman is able to sell the SB if he buys the shares?
What is the difference if Roman sells us to sheik or whoever?
How would he be able to change the name of the team, if that is CPOs invention?