With the background of Chelsea’s offer to CPO, it seems to me that there are a lot of questions about whether or not we trust Ron Gourlay, Buck et al, to do the right thing.

Most of us seem to trust Roman quite a bit (I count myself amongst those) but aren’t sure about the others. Mr Buck wants our trust – he wants us to trust the Board to do the right thing for the club – but he does not appear to want to work for it.

I am also concerned that the Board have decided to pursue this route at a time when Roman may have his attention diverted by the well-publicised court case…or am I being overly cynical? Alternatively, is this a clever piece of media manipulation the club trusts will take the limelight from said court case?

Do we trust the Board not to work behind Roman’s back? If this is the case, do we trust that Roman is savvy enough to be aware of it? If he is fully supportive of this, is our trust in Roman misplaced?

But the fact is, all of that is completely and totally irrelevant. This is not a question of trust. Nor is this about whether or not we move away from the Bridge. This is ultimately a question of good business sense.

No business can be expected to divest itself of its prime business stake, its bargaining power and its whole intrinsic value as Chelsea suggest CPO should do. To suggest that it does so, with no concrete idea of what the other party has in mind is risible. Laughable. Derisory …. quickly, get out the thesaurus, is there any word worse than derisory?

Okay, so the CPO are not a business in the normal sense of the word, but they sure as hell have performed a security function and to a great extent a good-governance function for the club in the past and continue to perform that now. The only difference with CPO now as opposed to five or ten years ago is that their function may – just may – be vital once more in safeguarding the future of the club.

I have tried to be impartial on this and tried very hard it to see it from the club’s point of view. But I can’t. Or rather I cannot see what the club hopes to achieve by saying, in effect; Let’s do a deal – you give us the rights to the real estate and the name and we will – actually we won’t give you anything. Yes, of course if you want promises we will promise you anything that is not supportable in law. But don’t be fooled, in reality, in law, we are giving you nothing…

Surely if such a proposition were mooted across a Boardroom table, the other party would assume it was either a joke or simply walk out at the insult. Either scenario begs the question as to why we – and perhaps more importantly, Roman – should trust what Chelsea’s Board say.

I am not a Chelsea Pitch Owner (nor am I totally opposed to leaving The Bridge), so I say this with the utmost respect to all concerned and knowing that this should have no impact on whatever decision anyone makes. Ultimately it is up to each individual to behave as he or she sees in the best interests of the club.

Now is the time the CPO must stand together though, even if it is against the wishes of their own “leadership”. No backing down until the proposals that are being made are concrete and transparent. Only when the Board can put something on the table that is understandable, clear, unambiguous and to the point, then the CPO can make an informed judgement.

Until then they should not even enter into dialogue with the club other than to say we appreciate your ideas but until concrete proposals are put forward we cannot discuss this now or in the future.

One last point that I dont think anyone apart from myself can answer: why should I continue to fervently support a club who have a Board that behave as cynically, or if not cynically then stupidly, as this?

While not wanting to sound like John Cleese in Monthy Python, what has Roman (Abramovich) ever done for us?

That is, apart from; paying off the large Euro-loan that was due, taking Chelsea Football Club to the next level, buying a succession of world class players (and the odd duff one – not Damien, he was great), our own training ground and one of the best in Europe or the World, three Premierships when I never thought I’d live to see one, a Champions League final (again, I would never, ever have dreamed this would happen), and so much more.

All these wondrous ‘gifts’ yet so many of those naughty, thankless irks who bought the odd £100 share seem not to trust our knight in shinning armour!

That’s fine for all those who have 100% trust in Roman, his heirs and, when the time comes (and it will come), whoever they sell Chelsea Football Club to. Some of us have slightly longer memories or heed that quotation “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

Prior to the Ken Bates era, Chelsea Football and Athletic Club was founded by Gus Mears. The club remained in the same family from 1905 until the mid 1980’s when circumstances and maybe poor judgement conspired against the family owned club which was now deep in debt. The club was sold to Ken Bates, but the freehold of the land was effective sold off and traded between property developers.

Love or hate the guy (and there’s plenty in each camp), what you cannot deign is that Ken’s belligerent bull-dog spirit to save ‘our’ club and of course his investment in it, eventually saved Stamford Bridge as the home for the club and quite possibly the actual existence of Chelsea Football Club.

Like virginity, you only need to say yes once and it’s gone. You can not recoup what you had. Likewise the CPO vote. Think very hard.

Why do we need to rush into a yes in three weeks time? Why can’t we ask questions, have time to consider the answers, offer any alternative proposals and maybe decided in a few months? Why does it have to be the way Bruce Buck and Ron Gourlay want it and want it now?

The sale of Chelsea Stadium Ltd to the club and the effective closure of the CPO is a big issue. Do not take it lightly and do not be rushed into by the personalities involved. A no vote doesn’t mean a no never, it can be considered a ‘not sure yet’, ‘maybe later’ or a ‘yes but’ vote.

Even if you think ‘yes’ is right, why not vote no to allow better bargaining power for the shareholders trying to get the best deal for the club and the supporters?

Don’t get caught with your knickers down, hold on to your ha’penny!

With Chelsea FC making an aggressive statement of intent with regards to buying out the CPO in order to fully acquire not only the freehold to Stamford Bridge, but the name of Chelsea FC itself too, many supporters and supporters groups alike are rightly concerned.

This is your chance to tell us how you feel about this issue.

Everything’s easy with hindsight. I bought my Chelsea Pitch Owners share on the 30th January 1985 on my way to Hillsborough for the quarter final replay of the then Milk Cup.

At that point I’d only ever seen Chelsea win one trophy, the 1970 FA cup … I was only four then and it’s still the earliest memory I have of my life.

So imagine standing on the terraces at Hillsborough at half time that evening … 3-0 down … gutted. The rest of that night is, as they say, history.

Yes Liverpool, history … “3-0 down, 4-3 up, then old Dougie fcked it up.” A hundred pounds was a lot of money for me then but I bought the share as we were fighting a battle to save Stamford Bridge.

It was only really thanks to the property crash in the late eighties that we ended up keeping our home … we we’re that close to ground sharing with Palace. If you’d told me that 25 years later, we would regularly get crowds of over 40,000 I’d have said you were clinically insane.

Remember those days of struggling to get 12,000 and against Cambridge at home if my memory serves me right, less than 7000 in Stamford Bridge ? My point is that a lot happens in 25 years. Will Abravomich still be our owner then ? Probably not.

Having 16,000 fans own the freehold to Stamford Bridge and the name of Chelsea Football Club gives us total protection forever. The offer from Chelsea is insulting. If they don’t build a new ground by 2020 they have complete control over where we play.

I don’t trust Bruce Buck … his last interview on Radio 5 made me cringe … an American stating his life long passion for Chelsea … where was he when we were shit?

Vote no at the AGM … it might seem trivial now but in 25 years time you could look back on it as the decision that saved our club.

A bitterly cold, snowy, winter.  An indifferent summer.  A Royal Wedding.  1986 has a lot in common with 2011.

It was in 1986 that the Battle for the Bridge was at its height.  The words “super stadium on the M25” were enough to strike fear into the heart of any true blue.

Ken Bates finally reached agreement with the banks representing the now-defunct Marler/Cabra Estates in 1992, and in 1993 Chelsea Pitch Owners was formed to safeguard the future of football at Stamford Bridge.

Twenty five years later, we appear to have come full circle.

The club’s announcement yesterday of their “proposal” to CPO shareholders is a defining day in our history, and there are serious matters to take into consideration.  I attended the last CPO meeting in the Vialli Suite at the Bridge, and reported on that meeting for TheChels.net.  I now quote directly from that article with regard to the moribund nature of share sales:-

“I expressed my concern, which is that we simply don’t seem to be paying off the loan, and why the developing overseas markets weren’t being targeted.  Mr King advised that it was his opinion that the market is saturated and he felt we were unlikely to sell many more shares.

I countered this by asking how did he know this?  There must be many Chelsea fans in place like America, India and Russia who weren’t aware of the organisation, and that a comment on an internet forum indicated there were fans in Britain who’d never heard of CPO.  Mr King said that CPO didn’t have a marketing budget and that a considerable amount money might have to be spent on such a campaign.  He advised he would look into it.”

No wonder Mr King swept the suggestion aside.  It would appear that answers given at last year’s AGM were nothing more than a subterfuge for the “buyback” proposal.  CPO had no intention of marketing themselves actively.  It is worth remembering that this was enshrined in the aims of CPO and trumpeted in the FAQs in the CPO section of Chelsea’s website:-

“What are the responsibilities and aims of CPO in the ‘Roman era’?

Nothing has changed, the objective remains the same – to actively market and sell shares to raise money in order to pay off the loan used to purchase the freehold of the pitch.”

It appears that there is a prima facie case that the Directors of CPO have failed in this.  One hesitates to ask why this might be.

I bought my share in CPO to ensure that football remains played at the Bridge, regardless of owner.  Roman Abramovich might love the club, but what if his children, or grandchildren grow tired of it?  Even if we move to, for argument’s sake, White City, the club formerly known Chelsea FC – the ramifications of the name ownership connected with CPO being a lit firework waiting to go off – will still be sitting on a piece of desirable real estate, and the “super stadium on the M25” will remain a spectre at the feast.

The promise of a move no more than a 3 mile radius from the Bridge before 2020 without CPO’s agreement is disingenuous.  In truth, there is little likelihood of the club being able to move before that date – a mere nine years away.

And then there’s the “inducement” being offered to shareholders by the club.  A place on a “Walk of Honour” (more properly “Walk of Shame”) and preferential season tickets is nothing more than a poor attempt at a bribe.

And there’s the matter of the timing.  Fourteen days notice has been given of this meeting, the minimum at law.  That’s very little time to marshal an effective campaign against buyback.  I salute those who have already rallied to the cause.

Let us be absolutely truthful about this.  I adore my club.  This is why I’ve spent the best part of the last 24 hours thinking about little else that this indecent proposal.  But there is an elephant in the room.  We couldn’t even fill the Bridge for a game against Bayer Leverkusen at a (albeit slightly) discounted rate.

In fact, having been a critic of Boycott Genk, in the bigger picture, this could help the fight to save the Bridge. How are we going to fill a 55,000 seater stadium? We will always sell out the big European nights, the premium Premier League games, the domestic Semi-Finals.

What happened to our much-vaunted, carefully cultivated, season-ticket waiting list?  To quote Blackadder, “vanished, like an old oak table”.  And let’s be honest about another aspect.  Some supporters pin their hopes on a move to a bigger ground resulting in lower ticket prices.  This simply will not happen.  I would expect ticket prices to be broadly the same, and increases smaller, and at longer periods.   The days of “cheap” football have gone forever.  The corporate areas will expand.  There’ll be more prawn sandwich eaters.  And tourists.

If you are a CPO shareholder, you can help us Save the Bridge.  Attend the meeting on 27^th October.  If you can’t attend in person, send back your proxy form.  All it takes it a first class stamp and five minutes of your time to complete the form and vote against the proposal.

I cannot stress how important it is to return the proxy form – any votes not returned will revert to the Chair, with the result that you may unwittingly vote for relocation.

Finally, given the events of the past 24 hours, perhaps it’s time to re-write an old favourite:-

Our Chelsea flag is deepest blue

It’s covered heroes old and new

From Fatty Foulke to AVB

It’s part of our great history

So keep the blue flag flying high,

As it’s done in days gone by

You’ll never take our heritage

We’ll keep the blue flag at the Bridge

Follow me @BlueBaby67 on Twitter

Many of you will already have seen the statement put out on the official Chelsea website earlier today, where the club went public on its bid to buy back the freehold of Stamford Bridge from the Chelsea Pitch Owners.

A contentious issue for sure, but for us here the news is not unexpected.  As we wrote back in March of this year, the club has been actively looking for options in order to move Chelsea FC to a larger stadium and we were expecting an announcement this summer. Weather wise at least, we were spot on.

With Stamford Bridge lagging way behind the clubs we deem our peers across European Football, and with the financial handicap that brings, it’s no surprise that the club has made this move on the chess board in order to smooth the way for a future move. Quite how smooth it will be, is another story.

The club held a behind the scenes briefing for the majority of the media this afternoon for several hours, with all journalists embargoed until 8pm so the club could break the news first.

During the briefing it emerged that Chelsea still hold out hope for Earls Court, even though the developers would rather build residential holdings, but with the economy and housing market as it is they could yet change their mind. White City is also on the list of possibles and they are having a look a site around Nine Elms in Battersea.

Fulham and QPR are also reported to be in the early stages of moving stadiums, and as such the possibility of the Old Oak Common site becomes possible if QPR move away from the area.

There are certain to be many arguments for and against a move, if you would like write your feelings on the subject, please send them to editor@thechels.net and the best ones will be published on our site.

For those not familiar with the CPO, there is information on our Wiki, and also a good piece by BlueTinted.com on their site.

We’ll have more on this development in the coming days.

Chelsea’s Reserve team tasted defeat for the first time since being crowed national champions last May as they went down by a single goal away to an impressive Aston Villa side.

Callum Robinson’s first half opener came after an error of judgement by Rhys Taylor and despite some hard graft in midfield, Chelsea were unable to get back on terms.

With international call-ups depriving coach Dermot Drummy of some key squad members, the pack was shuffled from last week’s 3-3 draw with Everton. Schoolboy forward Alex Kiwomya made his first start at this level whilst returning loanee Ben Gordon joined Carl Magnay at centre-back, with Sam Hutchinson captaining the side from right-back.

Villa included first team experience in Carlos Cuellar, Marc Albrighton, Chris Herd and Ciaran Clark but also featured 16 year-old forwards Jack Grealish and Robinson.

The playing surface at Hinckley United’s Greene King Stadium was somewhat on the bobbly side and perhaps contributed to two early bookings as both Hutchinson and Herd had their names taken for a robust approach to tackling.

Kevin McDonald’s team were clearly keen to get the ball wide at every opportunity and it meant lively starts for Albrighton and Grealish, and the former had the first attempt of the game but found Taylor equal to his low right-footed effort.

Australian centre-back Shane Lowry went closer with a glanced header from Albrighton’s free kick but after a slow start, Chelsea began to find their game in the middle of the park and asserted themselves on proceedings.

A fine driving run from Jacob Mellis capped a swift move up the pitch but there was no blue shirt on the end of his teasing drive across the face of goal. A deflection took it behind for a corner, from which Clark was grateful to Albrighton for saving him the ignominy of an own goal as the winger headed his sliced clearance off the line.

Kaby dragged an ambitious effort wide before calamitious defending from Villa handed Chelsea a huge chance to go ahead, but neither Kiwomya nor the Portuguese winger could find a way past Calum Barrett, who smothered their close range efforts well.

However, Chelsea showed that they were equally capable of defensive mishaps and were made to pay for committing two in as many minutes.

Conor Clifford had a let off when Robinson failed to make him pay for conceding possession on the edge of his own box after receiving a short Taylor pass, but the teenage forward was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth twice, and intercepted Taylor’s next attempted ball forward before beating the Welshman with ease from close range.

Chelsea’s desire to play football from back to front may well be admirable, but on this occasion it cost a goal and was entirely avoidable.

They spent the rest of the first half trying hard to find a way back into the game but often struggled to find the transition up the pitch. Villa were comfortable to hold their shape and pick off loose balls, and nearly doubled their lead when Albrighton dragged an effort onto the post.

Drummy made no changes at the break but waited less than ten minutes of the second half to do so, bringing Adam Nditi into the game in relief of Kiwomya. It left Chelsea with no natural striker on the pitch.

Kaby moved into the most central attacking role but it was for all intents and purposes a 4-6-0 formation which did little to help the Blues’ lack of attacking penetration. Nditi immediately showed his youthful verve, with pace and direct running into the box, but a good tackle from right-back Webb denied him a shooting chance.

Taylor’s night then threatened to go from bad to worse as another desperate attempt at a short clearance only found Grealish, and despite it appearing as if the goalkeeper fouled the young Irish winger, the referee inexplicably signalled for a corner with everyone expecting a penalty and a red card.

Had he been dismissed it would have meant an opportunity for former Chelsea academy youngster James Russell. Now playing for Canvey Island, he has been coaching the younger age groups more and more in recent times and was named as the substitute goalkeeper in Jamal Blackman’s absence.

With that lifeline, the visitors were almost on terms when Mellis found Nditi out wide on the left, who in turn delivered a lovely ball across the face of goal, but Kaby was unable to apply the finish at the far post.

Chances were few and far between, relying more on Villa errors than Chelsea creativity. A long ball in search of Mellis was swept up by Barrett but the goalkeeper’s clearance was poor and only found Nditi.

He attempted a lobbed effort from some 35 yards out and wasn’t too far away, but his attempt landed on the roof of the net.

Such moments were increasingly rare though, and instead Villa’s sights of goal were far more convincing, although Clark twice missed the target with unmarked headers from set pieces.

Substitute Nditi was looking the most likely to make something happen for his team and with just over ten minutes to go it was his brilliant cross which threatened to finally unlock the Villa defence, but Saville was denied by Barrett, then the crossbar, and finally a brave defensive block in succession.

Going so close served to inspire the Blues, who upped their intensity and desire in the final ten minutes but were unable to find the way through. Rohan Ince entered for the final moments as a makeshift targetman but had little effect, and Chelsea fell to their first defeat of the season.

It was a spirited if slightly disjointed performance which clearly lacked the attacking threat the reserves have had for most of the last year. Good approach play fell flat in the final third and whilst the defenders generally dealt well with Villa at the other end, they paid for one individual mistake.

Team: Taylor, Hutchinson (c), Magnay, Gordon, Deen-Conteh (Ince 89), C.Clifford, Mellis, Saville, Kaby, B.Clifford, Kiwomya (Nditi 55)

Booked: Hutchinson

After last week’s goalscoring antics on the loan front, things took a more serene turn in the past seven days with fewer incidents of note, but with many of the young Blues building solid reputations, things remain largely positive.

Gael Kakuta was ineligible to take part for Bolton in their Sunday mauling by Chelsea because of Premier League loan rules, but Patrick van Aanholt continued at left-back for Wigan Athletic, and appears to be first choice for the time being.

Things may change when the Latics have one or two injured centre-backs available again, but for now the Dutchman is playing and playing well. Despite a 2-0 defeat at Villa Park on Saturday he had a decent showing and stands a good chance of continuing as a part of Roberto Martinez’ plans.

Doncaster continued their revival in The Championship under new manager Dean Saunders by taking four points from six this week, but whilst Milan Lalkovic played fifteen minutes as a substitute on Tuesday against Hull, he was an unused member of the bench at Peterborough on Saturday.

It appears uncertain as to whether Saunders rates the Slovakian, and it would seem unlikely that his spell is extended beyond the middle of the month, with just one start in six weeks at the Keepmoat Stadium to his name so far.

Results are back on the up for Sam Walker and Northampton however, as the giant stopper returned to the scene of his first spell in professional football with a 2-1 win at Barnet this weekend.

The Cobblers are moving up the table after an inconsistent start to the campaign but Walker had another good performance at Underhill and is set to continue as very much the club’s first choice in goal.

Moving our attentions abroad, Tomas Kalas conceded for the first time in Eredivisie action as a part of Vitesse’s defence as the Arnhem side conceded a late equaliser on Saturday night against Heerenveen.

The Czech has been outstanding so far, but Mexican forward Ulises Dávila is taking a little longer to settle in and was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw.

In Germany, Jeffrey Bruma continues to deputise for the injured Michael Mancienne at the heart of the Hamburg defence but struggled to deal with the talented Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for much of the afternoon.

His national team compatriot notched both goals as Schalke won against the managerless HSV, but Technical Director Frank Arnesen is set to name a new chief during the international break.

Much better news from Spain though, as Thibaut Courtois returned to his best form with another clean sheet at home to Sevilla. The Belgian shipped five away to Barcelona last week but has otherwise been in exemplary form, and after conceding a late equaliser in midweek Europa League action away to Rennes, he shut out Sevilla in a Man of the Match performance this evening.

Finally, Matej Delac has still not been able to force his way into Ceske Budejovice’s starting eleven and sat on the bench for their goalless draw away to Hradec Králové, their second consecutive clean sheet.

Frank Lampard stole the show in his 350th league appearance for Chelsea at the Reebok Stadium, scoring a hat-trick and putting in a performance that will have more than answered his critics in the media.

The team lined up with Cech in goal, Luiz and Terry in the centre of defence with Cole and Bosingwa on the left and right respectively.

In mid-field, Villas-Boas opted to start with Ramires on the right hand side, Meireles in the middle and Lampard in his favoured position on the left of a middle three.

Drogba replaced the suspended Fernando Torres in the central striking berth with Mata to his left and Sturridge returning after injury to the right hand side.

The match got off to the best possible start when David Luiz picked up the ball in his own half and played Bosingwa down the right flank, the Portuguese crossed the ball in low and it was cleared for a corner. Mata put the ball in with pace and no-one in the Bolton defence picked up on the movement of Sturridge who headed home from five yards at the near post to make it 1-0 in 90 seconds.

The second goal came just 14 minutes later and it was via a lovely passage of football. Lampard was involved in the build-up and played the ball forward via Ramires, who passed to Mata who then played the ball to Sturridge, who in turn squared it back for Lampard to slot home from 12 yards. 2-0 Chelsea and only 15 mins on the clock.

Pre match predictions from many of a goal glut were looking increasingly likely, and it wasn’t long before Chelsea added the third. Another low ball from the back by Luiz found Sturridge wide right of the Bolton area, the striker cut back inside and unleashed a left footed shot that the Bolton keeper could only deflect high into the net. Sturridge’s second goal, and Chelsea’s third.

Just two minutes later Lampard added his second of the afternoon, David Luiz had stormed from the back and with no-one closing him down he kept on running and hammered as shot at the Bolton goal, with the keeper only able to parry it the familiar figure of Lampard was closing late into the box and slotted home to make it 4-0 in less than half an hour.

With the match almost a foregone conculsion at this point, Bolton’s heads dropped and Chelsea eased off the gas a little for the remaining 15 mins of the half, although did have a few more opportunities to add to the tally with Mata going closest but seeing his shot saved.

Bolton brought on Zat Knight during half time in order to try and close things up at the back yet it was at the other end that Bolton made an impression. An early free kick was sent into the box by Petrov and Boyata evaded everyone to plant his header past Cech to make it 4-1. The free kick was eerily similar to that conceded against United, and again showed our weaknesses at set plays.

Villas-Boas responded after ten minutes of seeing Bolton with their tales up following their goal, and a probable stern word or two from their manager at half time, introducing Ivanovic for Bosingwa and brining on Mikel for Ramires. The Nigerian slipped into the holding role moving Meireles to the right, leaving Lampard on the left.

Frank then became the fifth highest league goalscorer in the clubs history in the 58th minute after combining well with Didier Drogba in the box, for the big Ivorian to pull the ball back to the penalty spot for the advancing Lampard to slot the ball home first time to complete his hat-trick and make it 5-1.

Bolton continued to improve on their first half performance, looking dangerous at times however Chelsea were able to clear the danger the majority of the time, with JT and Luiz making some vital tackles and interceptions. There was however a contentious issue later on when a Davies shot was cleared on the line by Ivanovic, however replays looked to show that the ball had crossed the line.

In the end it wasn’t relevant, and for once the talk won’t be able a poor refereeing decision, it’ll be about one man; Frank Lampard. So often criticised in recent weeks as being ‘finished’, today he proved that was nonsense.

If this is what rest and rotation does for the man, then long may it continue.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa (Ivanovic 53), D Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires (Mikel 55), Meireles, Lampard; Sturridge, Drogba, Mata (Anelka 72).

Goals: Sturridge 1, 24, Lampard 14, 26, 58.

Reserve team right-back Todd Kane has finally earned the right to call himself an England youth international after being called up to the Under-19 squad this weekend.

The 18 year-old first-year pro missed out on initial selection but has been given the nod by Noel Blake as an injury replacement and will join team-mates Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman in the Three Lions’ team for the Limoges Tournament in mid October.

It is a much deserved honour for a young man who has had an outstanding twelve months, making the rise from fledgling first-year scholar to exciting reserve team prospect making a run at first team involvement.

Kane averages a goal every three matches from defence, although he does often feature further up the pitch in midfield, and grabbed a headed brace against Everton last Monday afternoon to take his tally to twelve goals in blue colours since signing scholarship forms in July 2010.

He has thus far been overlooked for international consideration despite some stellar performances and some less than convincing alternative selections in his position, but he has now been given the chance to show what he can do.