Decline of the Roman Empire?

January 27, 2013

Since Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea FC in the summer of 2003, with reports claiming the club was just days away from bankruptcy, he has enjoyed the virtually uncritical adoration of the Stamford Bridge faithful. That’s not to say that there haven’t been periodic rumblings of discontent. Jose Mourinho’s departure in September 2007 was the subject of some, albeit muted, criticism. Before, during and since the infamous CPO EGM in…

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Chelsea Pitch Owners 2013 AGM Preview

January 26, 2013

The Chelsea Pitch Owners AGM takes place in Stamford Bridge’s Harris Suite at 11am on Wednesday 30th January 2013. Hopefully this year’s AGM will see a continuation of the increased numbers of shareholders who are taking the time to attend meetings, make their views known and their votes count. It’s just a shame that the meeting is not only taking place in midweek, but due to the re-arrangement of the…

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Generation Becks

January 19, 2013

When Chelsea visited St Mary’s in the 3rd round of the FA Cup this season, there was general Mafeking among the happy awaydayers. Flares were lit. A thunderflash was ignited, at which two of my friends cheerfully admitted that they nearly shat themselves with fright. But the Southampton fans didn’t enjoy it. Oh no. In fact, a number of them took to Twitter to express their umbrage. Amongst those hugging…

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Journey Into Chaos

December 2, 2012

On 20th October, in a dramatic lunch-time kick off, Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at White Hart Lane, having found themselves 2-1 down early in the second half. To come from behind in a derby against bitter rivals gave the Stamford Bridge faithful the belief that, given indifferent early season performances from all the title contenders, what had promised to be a transitional season could yet turn out to contain…

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Travels with The Chels – Napoli

September 30, 2012

Sadly the Travels are nearing their end. For various reasons I won’t make any of the away group games this season, so just a couple remain in the locker. So it’s time to go back to what, at the time, appeared likely to be Chelsea’s final Champions League game last season. I hadn’t originally intended to go Napoli. Indeed when the draw for the round of 16 was made in…

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Football is a Feminist Issue*

September 9, 2012

It started with a routine event on the pitch, during our first home game of the season against Reading; a player picks up an injury and the medical team, including Dr Eva Carneiro run on to attend the wounded hero. Treatment completed, Dr Carneiro made her way to the West Stand side of the pitch, and from there, to get back to the dug-out, walked past the Matthew Harding Stand….

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Being a Fan

August 14, 2012

There is a moment when you realise that you are a fan of something. Sometimes it’s a creeping gradualisation of feeling. Sometimes it can be triggered by a single event or personality. That match you saw on the TV when you were little. Or that player who had a profound influence on you. I started supporting Chelsea when I was 17, and it was mainly because of Pat Nevin. I…

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The Generation Game

August 3, 2012

One of the biggest changes in football over the past 20 years, since the post-Italia 90 “gentrification” of the working man’s ballet, is how young fans become involved. Time was you were either taken by a (usually male) parent to watch the team they supported, or selected your team, gathered your like-minded mates together or set off on your own for the turnstiles, where you could pay on the day….

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Chelsea Pitch Owners EGM Report

July 25, 2012

The Facts The Extraordinary General Meeting of Chelsea Pitch Owners took place in the Harris Suite at Stamford Bridge on Monday 23 July 2012. Before the meeting was called to order, CPO’s lawyers objected to one shareholder distributing copies of a leaflet detailing the identities of shareholders who made substantial purchases between 3rd and 20th October 2011 and making a number of claims in respect of the original Prospectus of…

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Chelsea Pitch Owners EGM Headlines

July 23, 2012

Main developments from today’s EGM:- Wise and Sewell in no-show Plea for early vote on Resolution 3 denied Board promises to “vet” future share applications Row over debt repayment rumbles on Pledges to investigate fund-raising options Today’s hotly-anticipated Chelsea Pitch Owners EGM ended in uproar after many believed Steve Frankham used the chair’s proxy vote to sink Resolution 3, which called for voting rights to be limited to a maximum of…

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