hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Big fucking mad

Bonus points if you have any idea where Boreham Wood is.

https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/03/03/roman-abramovich-chelsea-owner-era-premier-league

Roman Abramovich’s Complex, Successful, Transformative Chelsea Reign
An end of a nearly two-decade era is coming for Chelsea, one marked by big spending, trophies and an owner who ushered in a new age—not entirely for the better.
On the final day of the 2003–04 season, Arsenal’s players danced the can-can on the pitch at Highbury after completing its Invincibles season with a 2–0 win. Even in the moment of celebration, success can be tinged with a sense that the path is likely to lead only downward, but there was no reason then to anticipate decline, far from it. Three months earlier, building work had finally begun on the club’s new stadium, which would increase capacity by more than 50% and lead to a wide range of commercial opportunities.

Seven miles to the southwest, at Stamford Bridge, Claudio Ranieri performed a tearful lap of the pitch after Chelsea’s 1–0 win over Leeds. He hadn’t formally been sacked then, but everybody knew that after failing to mount a serious title challenge despite vast investment in new players, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich would replace him, probably with the exciting young manager of Porto, José Mourinho.

Even now, when it is more shaped by money than it has ever been, football retains its capacity for mischief. The next time Ranieri visited Stamford Bridge would be 12 years later, when he was presented with the Premier League trophy—not as manager of Chelsea but of the team who had lost at Highbury as he had said farewell, Leicester. Earlier in the season it had been at Leicester that Chelsea had suffered the defeat that led to Mourinho's being dismissed by Abramovich for the second time. But mostly, money wins out, and, in that regard, Abramovich took football into a new age.

For Arsenal in 2004, the new stadium was a logical step. The limitations of Highbury compared to Old Trafford left Arsenal at a disadvantage compared to its obvious rival at the head of the English game, Manchester United. But when Abramovich bought Chelsea from Ken Bates for £140 million in ’03, a third force entered the fray and, more than that, changed the rules of the game. Abramovich’s takeover paved the way not only for the Abu Dhabi takeover of Manchester City and the Saudi takeover of Newcastle but also for the Glazer takeover of Manchester United.

abramovich3
Imago/PA Images

Before Abramovich, the only Premier League club not in British hands was Fulham, and it was owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed, the Egyptian owner of Harrods whose son had died in the car crash that killed Princess Diana and who coveted British citizenship. Today, only five Premier League clubs are majority-British owned.

Perhaps that doesn’t much matter. The days when businessmen invested in their local clubs because they supported them or to give something back to the community (or to gain status; that has been happening since the beginnings of the game) have long gone. The Premier League is a global league with players, managers and fans from all around the world. Overseas broadcast rights now outstrip domestic deals.

But inevitably that detaches clubs from the communities that bore them and that at one time they represented. And once foreign states get involved, it can lead to absurd situations such as Monday’s when it felt that there would be ramifications in the Premier League from how Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE voted on a United Nations motion condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

More generally, when a megarich investor gets involved, it decouples finance from success on the pitch or from the size of a fan base. That has always happened. When Jack Walker bought Blackburn, it was able to buy players on a scale out of keeping with a town of 115,000 population. But there was a difference: His investment allowed Blackburn to compete with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool; it didn’t mean it could outstrip them. By the time Arsenal finished building the Emirates, though, Chelsea was already out of sight.

In Abramovich’s first year, Chelsea spent £153 million on players. To put that in context, the other nine teams who finished in the top half the previous season spent £164 million between them. These were unprecedented sums. In his second year, he spent another £150 million. By then it didn’t really matter how big Arsenal’s new stadium was: The club couldn’t compete with an oligarch.

Chelsea fans, of course, relished it. Before Abramovich, Chelsea had won the league only once, in 1954–55. Its reputation for a long time was as a team of flashy mavericks who couldn’t play consistently well. Raquel Welch or Henry Kissinger would turn up in the crowd, as befitted Stamford Bridge’s position just off the King’s Road, but it was hard to square that stylishness or sense of celebrity with the club’s underachievement, and still less its reputation for hooliganism. That had begun to change by the late ’90s, when it became home to a raft of (largely aging) high-level foreign players, but it was Abramovich who brought success: five league titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups and three League Cups in his 19 years.

Roman Abramovich and Chelsea after winning the Champions League title
Rebecca Naden/PA Images/Imago Images

Perhaps he would have had more had he accepted earlier that football is a game that cannot entirely be controlled. Sacking Carlo Ancelotti for finishing second the season after he had done the double, in particular, seems a move borne out of unhelpful impatience. Mourinho’s first dismissal came after months of wrangling, but only eight games into the 2007–08 season, and Chelsea had lost just once.

As a result, Chelsea never really developed the sort of identity Abramovich seems to have craved and so was always dependent on his wealth. Thomas Tuchel, perhaps, could provide that: Certainly it seems he is being treated with a longer-term view than many previous managers. There is a piquancy both in that, and in the fact that Abramovich will relinquish control of the club a couple of months after completing the full set of available trophies by winning the FIFA Club World Cup.

Abramovich has changed the club in other ways and many initiatives have clearly been laudable. A mural at Stamford Bridge commemorates the Holocaust and Chelsea pays tribute on Holocaust Remembrance Day each year, while there were donations to the NHS during the early days of the pandemic.

SI Recommends
But he cannot be judged on football alone. Abramovich is somebody who made a lot of money amid the Wild West capitalism of Russia in the 1990s. He has always denied close links to Vladimir Putin or the Kremlin, often taking legal action against anybody who has hinted at it. But in the House of Commons this week, Conservative MP David Davis described Abramovich as “the man who manages President Putin’s private economic affairs, according to the Spanish national intelligence committee. This is a man who was refused a Swiss residency permit, due to suspected involvement in money laundering and contacts with criminal organizations. Abramovich was also deemed a danger to public security and a reputational risk to Switzerland.”

Davis also made specific reference to football. “When he bought Chelsea FC,” Davis said, “Abramovich was the governor of the Chukotka region of Russia. It was alleged by associates of his that the purchase was done at the behest of the Kremlin. As a result of the purchase, he now has enormous soft power and influence in the U.K. I ask the House to come to its own conclusion about whether this man is acting at the behest of the Kremlin or Putin’s Government.”

Vladimir Putin and Roman Abramovich
ZUMA Wire/Imago Images

Again, it should be reiterated that Abramovich has always denied that, insisting he bought Chelsea because of his love of football and with no political end in mind. And it should also be remembered that Davis is a former Brexit minister for a Conservative party that has accepted millions in pounds in donations from Russians and has essentially looked the other way as Russian money has flowed into London’s financial and legal institutions while buying up swathes of property. In that sense, English football is no different from anything else in England: up for sale to the highest bidder and worry about the potential consequences later.

Quite what those consequences are will become clearer over the coming months. Abramovich’s statement announcing the sale—which came four days after he said he was handing over “stewardship and care” to the club Trustees—was vague. He said he was writing off the £1.5 billion he has loaned the club, but it’s not clear what that means or whether he actually can. Is that write-off factored in the overall price? And if not, wouldn’t an effective gift of that magnitude incur a tax liability, probably of around £400 million, which would not only be a burden on a new owner (although obviously less than a £1.5 billion debt), but would hammer the club in terms of Financial Fair Play?

And when he refers to donating the “net proceeds” to a charitable foundation set up to support the “victims” of the war, what exactly does he mean? Victims, it turns out, means from both sides; there is a sense in which young Russian soldiers are also victims of Putin’s aggression, but greater clarity on exactly how that will be arranged is probably required. A level of obfuscation is perhaps only natural given the difficult political game Abramovich is having to play, but that brings us back to the basic point. Once clubs—these community institutions—are sold to states or oligarchs, or even hedge funds, they become directly subject to events and tides that have nothing to do with football.

The assumption is that Abramovich will find a willing billionaire to buy Chelsea. But what if he doesn’t? And what if the new billionaire is not so generous? So far, the British government has been slow to impose sanctions, but pressure is mounting. Three Labour MPs, including the opposition leader Keir Starmer, have raised questions in parliament. France and Germany have both confiscated yachts belonging to oligarchs. Why not the U.K.? And if assets are seized before a sale can be concluded, what then?

Instinctively it may feel unfair for Chelsea fans to suffer, but then they have benefited from Abramovich’s wealth over the last 19 years. It was unfair that Bury went bankrupt because of the actions of its owner. It’s unfair that Derby has been docked 21 points and is facing liquidation. Those are just the rules of business ownership, and that’s why football clubs shouldn’t be regarded as straightforward businesses.

chelsea1
Imago/PA Images

Manchester City and Newcastle fans have, by and large, been happy to welcome their owners, and a small percentage have become effectively human bot farms, attacking critics not just of their clubs but of the owners. But is it impossible that a situation arises in which the UAE or Saudi Arabia end up being sanctioned? Clearly not, and some would argue that the war in Yemen is cause enough already. That’s the world into which Abramovich has led English football.

And the truth is, it’s still not clear why he did it. The story at the time went that he had been so gripped by Manchester United’s 4–3 win over Real Madrid (a game that was never quite as exciting as has often subsequently been suggested given Madrid was 3–1 up from the home leg and 6–3 up on aggregate with an away goal advantage from the 58th minute) in April 2003 that he decided he had to buy a football club.

Back then, there was perhaps a vague sense that he was doing it to raise his profile outside of Russia, to secure himself against Putin, but that was a different world. If there was a moral dimension to discussion of his takeover it was perhaps slightly that it wasn’t clear—as it still isn’t—how he had managed to control quite so much of Russia’s natural resources, but mainly that he was going to buy success. Mostly though, for his first game as owner, a Champions League qualifier against MSK in the pretty northwest Slovakian market town of Žilina, all churches and squares and fine views of the mountains, the sense was of excitement at just how many good players he was signing.

There was none of the cynicism that surrounded the Saudi takeover of Newcastle; the word “sportswashing” was only popularized in 2018. And they are different. Javier Tebas, the president of the Spanish league, may have described Abramovich as “half a state” on Thursday, but he is still an individual. Sheikh Mansour and the Saudi PIF are clearly acting for political ends; Abramovich’s motives remain opaque.

But what is certain is that he ushered in this modern age in which football is a side stage, one for greater geopolitical games. Whatever Chelsea fans have to be grateful for, it’s hard to see how football as a whole can thank him for that.

We’re still going to own every last one of you maggots.


Reece is back!

4 goals and excellent football by Chelsea!

Schedule is easy as hell from here on out....

Get your weight up....ain’t shit stopping.

a pie.

We are champions of Europe and the World.

Please, enlighten me, what team do you follow?

You never post about them....

You’re in here verbally wandering

With Bruno right up next to him? Sort of confused at what I'm seeing.

since EPL teams use him as the press trigger when he's in midfield

Second half has been brutal though.

it was a dub before kickoff. Maguire doing dummies in his own box

AWB put in an appalling game too

Serious question. I've watched at least 20-25 MU matches in the last calendar year, and can't remember one in which he's been anything better than "didn't fuck up."

we have to figure out a way to offload him to Newcastle since they have money now but man he's probably a 25m value rn. plus he's a signing that no club could present to their fans and expect a positive reaction.

There is no cohesion or defensive presence. Bye,bye CL. Arsenal has surpassed
you.

Frontline- Yuck
Midfield- Yuck
Backline- Yuck
Manager-Yuck
Management-Yuck
Fans-Yuck

Yuck FC

Bruno is the only player I like on that team. He should have come to Chelsea.
He is going to wind up like Kagawa.

but that's a whole lot of empty space they've been leaving back there, as soon as Mbappe took off you knew the ending

VaR ain't gonna bail you out when you put yourself in that situation

each blaming each other.
Ney told Gigi that he was responsible for Madrid's first goal. Gigi struck back reminding Neymar that it was he who lost possession for the second goal.

Comedy.

I mean, Donnarumma fucked up on that first goal but AT LEAST you could argue that he was also fouled. FWIW, i personally thought he was and usually since they protect keepers i was kinda surprised there. i wonder if VAR looked at that for a foul too? anyone know? i wasn't watching live just saw highlights.

Neymar though? gave the ball away then casually jogged around while RM put it in the back of the net. And I get it - Neymar ain't no defensive wiz by ANY MEANS, but if you give the ball away in ANY game really, but ESPECIALLY a HUGE CL game? you better go try to make up for your mistake immediately.

was playing Benzema onside for #2 Hakimi's sole contribution to the match?

won't be as salty about today if he helps France repeat in Qatar

If sold, he receives no money.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/roman-abramovich-sanctioned-by-british-government-over-links-to-russia-x8rjdmwgh?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1646904465-1

"While the government has granted Chelsea FC a licence that will enable it to continue playing, the club’s commercial activities will be restricted. While catering will be allowed at matches, no further tickets for away fans will be sold and no merchandising will be available"

"Only season ticket holders will be allowed to attend matches, with Thomas Tuchel, the manager, now unable to plan any business in the transfer market this summer. It will be impossible to renegotiate contracts with existing players"

Out of contract at the end of the season.
LMAO

Barca was already being linked to Christensen, but sheit. I wouldn't mind getting Rudiger instead. If we could just manage to get Araujo to put pen to paper... plus Rudiger. Man.

Wishful thinking, but I wish I will.

Coulda been Mount, Havertz, and James or something.

they can’t build or develop players. Barca is still going to be crap FC while
RM step all over them.

Bruh you're so mad that you're even more delusional than ever
This is fucking hilarious

players in the past 5 years.

I will wait.

editted for the "great -> elite" instead of just la masia legit regular players.

on the team right now:
gavi, ansu, pedri, araujo

the next generation from la masia has some serious talent coming up too. and that's just the elites (cuz nico, eric garcia, ilias, etc). tons more legit ballers on the squad and playing elsewhere (hopefully grimaldo comes back, for example) and we just signed Pablo Torres as a B player for next season.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

which of pedri, gavi, araujo, and ansu do you think isn't elite?

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

any WC, or club WC titles?

We shall see what they come of in the next 5 years.

to be continued.

also LOL club WC


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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

Because you can't possible know a fucking thing about the players mentioned and then say "still waiting."

the only one who arguably came up through chelsea is Christensen (made his name while on loan). Azpi and Rudiger both started elsewhere.


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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

Mason Mount- trained at Chelsea since he was 4 years.
Chelsea blood all the way through.

Reece James- trained at Chelsea since the age of six

Hudson Odoi- joined Chelsea in 2007 as a child...was on his
to being an elite player before tearing his ACL

Ruben Loftus Cheek- joined Chelsea at the age of 8, was on his way to
being an elite player before tearing his Achilles.

and we got some other fascinating youngsters who will be called up soon...well,
were.

Mason Mount is a very valuable try hard, not an elite

Mount was on the shortlist of the Ballon Dor last season, was
Chelsea’s player of the year, won Champions Legue, Super
League Cup, and Club World Cup.

Pedri is a 19 year old super PROSPECT.

Let me know when he has established himself.

And that goes for the rest of their PROSPECTS.

Mount plays in the toughest league in the world. La Liga is now
a one team league, because Real has owned everyone.

Let me know when Barca and their youngins actually do something.

I’ll wait. La liga assist and goal leaders, I see NOTHING but Memphis
Depay(LoL) and Jordi Alba.

and won the golden boy trophy.

>Let me know when he has established himself.

regular starter for club and country. LMFAO.

>Mount plays in the toughest league in the world. La Liga is
>now
>a one team league, because Real has owned everyone.

Real is only 9 points clear of sevilla and 12 above barca assuming barca win the game in hand. they're on pace for the exact same points as the prior 3 years.

>I’ll wait. La liga assist and goal leaders

ahh yes, the only way to evaluate midfielders. brilliant. especially one who missed 4 months IN PART BECAUSE HE GOT OVERWORKED BY HIS COUNTRY CUZ HE IS SO IMPORTANT

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

They are 15 points behind RM....not 12

Let me know when Barca and their PROSPECTS actually do something.

I’ll wait, so until they do, enjoy Depay and your 3rd place finish.

LOL at you saying Real is ONLY 8 points ahead like that is nothing, and we are close
to the end of the season...That’s basically a 3 game lead. It’s over.

Stop it.

a Barca supporter....and last I checked MU is pure shit,
and is on course for 5th place.

MU hasn’t been anything since Fergie was paying the refs ( FACTS).

This is big boy talk, step aside.

I'm not delusional about my team, unlike you.

I also know the kind of investment you're proving you have in your team is really unhealthy.

But cool, go cuddle your Mason Mount Real Doll.

really cared about the game, your team wouldn’t be a third titty.

as i said, your little insults don't bother me none.

unless you're delusional or hiding under a rock, all MU fans know the club has problems across the board.

Why are you piping?

You can’t pipe off when your team is gutter FC

you must be NEW.

By...*checks notes* 10-13 points.

world.

What is Barca champions of?

Nothing.....wait, I know you guys used to be champion divers,
so maybe you guys are still great at that.

Like I said, I will wait.

amazing

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

just like I’m celebrating the CL.....you forgot to mention
that one.

but neither is chelsea

>I’ll wait, so until they do, enjoy Depay and your 3rd place
>finish.

same position as chelsea

>LOL at you saying Real is ONLY 8 points ahead like that is
>nothing, and we are close
>to the end of the season...That’s basically a 3 game lead.
>It’s over.

Goddam, so the EPL has been a two team league since 2017, given either Man City or Liverpool has won every title since then with a lead of at least 12 points over 3rd and are on pace for the same again this year? Meanwhile, just last year Real Madrid *checks notes* oh....right, they LOST the league to Atletico and were only 5 points above a disappointing barca and the last time a team won the league by 10+ points was...oh...right, it was barca in 2018-19 and the last back to back titles were 2014 and 2015 by barca? While Man City is about to go 4 for 5 in league titles?

tell me more about "one team leagues".

even when you shift goalposts, you just somehow get *more* wrong.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

he aint better than Pedri either

i agree hes valuable to Chelsea...as a try hard who runs a lot so that real stars like Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech can do stuff with the ball.

theres nothing wrong with that, so i dont know why youre so butt hurt about it.

This guy was a straight masterclass last season. He has been hit with injuries
this year, so this year has not been as prolific.

Mason damn near won the quadruple...super, club, cl...only missing
out on the PL title. He did all that in less than 12 months.

Sorry, dog. I’m not trying to hear any opposing words regarding
Mason Mount.


NOPE

every good team needs try hards anyways, so im not sure whats giving you such severe jock itch. if Bruno Fernandes put in the effort Mount does hed be the best player in the world.

its just false to call him the kind of star that can turn a game with a big of individual magic. hes Jason Varitek or David Eckstein, not Papi or Pujols.

he listed.

I thought you meant in general.

out against Putin.

Since he has been sanctioned, he can’t sell the club, which allows him to continue
with ownership. Parliament stated weeks ago that he shouldn’t be allowed to own
Chelsea. Well, the sanctions contradict that.

Chelsea isn’t allowed to sell anymore tickets.They can’t take in money from any of
their sponsors, and they are not allowed to buy or sell players, nor can they renew
or extend existing contracts. But they are going to allow the club to play its fixtures?

All of that makes zero sense. They might as well dissolve Chelsea right now.

Democracy is just as evil as Communism.

If Chelsea FC is decommissioned, I will follow no other EPL
team. We conquered them all, so they are all beneath me.

>Democracy is just as evil as Communism.

There's the quiet part out loud. Enjoy watching Franco FC.

I’m not for your BS today.

These sanctions are political stunt, and nothing more. Roman has nothing to do
with the war and does not have any position within the Russian government.
The sanctions hasn’t stopped anything and will not stop anything. Putin has been
planning this for years.

The UK has been doing business with Roman for the past 20 years, taking his billions
and accepting his business. Now all of a sudden he is an evil man? FOH. His
associations with the Kremlin were years ago, and those events have nothing to
to do with the war or the military decisions of Putin.

The U.K. and America have been funding Russia for years by buying
energy from Russia, and they are still buying energy as we speak. So they
have been indirectly supporting this war for years.

U.K. and America both invaded Iraq, which was deemed an illegal invasion
by Germany, France and the UN. A country was destroyed, leader killed, and
over 2 million Iraqis were killed. Were any Americans or U.K. billionaires sanctioned
or banned?

No

That’s what I meant.

...can be classified as "evil." Surely there are those structures which may more readily than others lead to the sorts of corruptions and abuses we readily deem "evil," but even a dictatorship can, in theory, be absoutely benevolent. So I tend to think about systems of governance more as tools than as moral propositions; a hammer, in the classic example, is neither objectively moral or immoral, but might be put into the service of good or evil depending on whether I drive a nail or commit a violent crime with it.

But you're proposing that the systems of governance themselves possess moral characteristics? Can you show your reasoning?

Also, I'm curious why communism was the example you reached for, here, in 2022. There really aren't many purely communist countries left anymore...China is probably better described as some kind of state/market hybrid (qualified political economists-please correct me if I'm off the mark here), and then there's Cuba, Venezuela...struggling to think of other nations where communism lives on...

Putin is a pure communists. That’s fact. China is still a communistic country,
regardless of some of the financial liberations they have allowed

Companies in those countries are CONTROLLED by the state, as well as control all media and communication output, and you can still be jailed or even executed for speaking out against those governments.

That’s not democracy, nor is it socialism. It’s still communism. You can call it
diet communism or communism lite....but it is still communism.

And I’m saying Democracy has proven that it can be just as evil.

This melt down is the most hilarious thing happening on the boards in months
I don't know the last time I saw someone frame "democracy vs communism" lol. We're getting real Tucker Carlsony vibes from allstah

wild

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

never ever seen in my life. Not in any sport.

He has been our owner for 20 years, and we will not be the same without him.

Of course, I’m going to have a certain sentiment about him.

The club that I love and support, and raised my intelligence
and understanding of the game, is on the brink of being decommissioned.

Really, dude?

I can't imagine ever kneeling before a billionaire like this.
You should be disgusted with yourself, defending his every move like he's bankrolling your own personal life. It's gross and hilarious. Don't worry, if they decide to let/force him to sell, there will be another unethical billionaire you can fall in love with.

>They might as well dissolve
>Chelsea right now.
>

>>They might as well dissolve
>>Chelsea right now.

Holy shit what a finish. 3-0 and rampant over Leeds.

This isn't even the best angle of it. The whip was insane: https://twitter.com/__Callum28/status/1502031002943864833

credit card accounts, which are used to pay for many daily business
expenses to operate the club. Those accounts are also used to pay for traveling
expenses for the club, such as transportation, food, and room and board.

https://youtu.be/P_Afy1CJDMc

This makes no sense whatsoever. Roman has never made a dime from the club,
and revenue generated is used to support the salaries of all employees of the club,
from the players all the way down to the club vendors.

Roman is not at war with Ukraine, and nor is he in Russia, and the government selling him companies back in the early 2000s has nothing to do with the war. What
big businesses throughout the world are without past or present political connections?

Hell, the NFL were heavily in bed with Trump while he terrorized America and allowed
over 300,000 people to die from Covid. They were major Trump supporters and investors.

Were any American or U.K. billionaire owners sanctioned while the U.K. and America
were killing 2 million Iraqis and stealing energy resources from Iraq?

Russia and Europe have been buying energy from Russia for decades,
and some are still buying, thus being the financiers of this war.....have they
sanctioned themselves?


They are simply squeezing him because he is a prominent Russian figure, and
he has yet to speak about the war, which is his right as a human being. He broke
no laws of England.

It’s ridiculous and pure hypocrisy.


Just eradicate the club. How is Chelsea suppose to support itself during away
and home fixtures without the proper financial resources?

and worry about your own team...which you don’t have.

Don’t worry about what I’m doing.

You can start with that.

If I want to voice my opinion, I will voice my opinion.
You can always fock off.

I wonder if you’re really a futbol guy, because all you
do is TMZ shit when it comes to posting.

>Just eradicate the club.

Cr7 scored more goals today than Messi has scored for the
entire season.....

Dude is systemless.

so sick of united fans bashing him like he's the one letting us down. wish we had a proper team behind him

but if was he'd be having an insane season.

he's DEFINITELY not the problem.

and shit, when you put it in context of our year as a whole, he's having a good season cuz we'd be even more shite if we didn't have his goals. i'm not taking an accurate accounting, but his goals have won or drew us at least 5 games off the top of my head in all comps.

Can't say the draw was "deserved", but City clearly got nervous near the end, well done to the Eagles for holding on

Though Arsenal may be a problem.

>Though Arsenal may be a problem.

will get roasted by Robertson

Best Arsenal can hope for is a draw, or more likely a 1 goal L where they play decent football and nobody gets sent off again.

Really need tomiyasu to come back in

Just that edge in quality sunk them in the second.

we need to bottom out to 8th and miss this europa/conference league bullshti

Arsenal will lose tomorrow, and hopefully get a draw at worst v Villa. Plus the 2 other games in hand are @ Chelsea & Spurs.

we are about to put up a shambolic end to the season the likes of which havent been seen by a big club

theres just too many players in this team that know they are going (pogba, cavani, etc) or think they are far better than what they are and want to go (PRashford, Martial, VDB, etc)

i'd say play the kids but they dont need to be exposed to this dumpster fire. let the overpaid bums see this thing out

that Chelsea is forced to endure, they are still excelling on the pitch.

The best coach in the world coaching the best team in the world.....
any other team would have fallen a part already.

Give us Liverpool or Man City right now ...don’t give a fock.
We fear no one.

Might be another Real Madrid V Chelsea semifinal.

Let’s continue to make the whole world MAD.

Great goals from Pedri (cough) and from Auba.
Ferran still... gotta find those damn shooting boots. I love his positioning, his work rate, but man. I know I'm in the minority, but I favor Memphis on the left.

ferran, though his shooting is still off makes decisions quickly and his pass to pedri was a fantastic assist.

I also think ferran's shooting can/will come but Memphis will always try to make the fancy move. It's kinda like Adama--when it works, it's wonderful, but he was slowing the attack too often in the first half.

second half was so much better than the first. they looked like koeman-ball for 35-40 minutes.
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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

Chelsea - R Madrid
Man City - Atletico
Villarreal - Bayern
Benfica - Liverpool

this atletico is really underwhelming and doesn't have that cholo-tensity for some reason.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

I root and follow Real Madrid when Chelsea isn’t available.

They are the only 2 teams I care about in soccer.

If neither existed, I probably wouldn’t be into CLUB soccer at all.

The R9 craze got me into soccer back in 1998...Hell, it was all about
Brazil, because that was the only international soccer that was being
followed or broadcasted in the states at the time.

I followed him, Zidane and Claude Makalelee, and they all played for Real Madrid,
and then Claude went on to play for Chelsea.

So it’s been Chelsea and Real Madrid since day one....I see them as cousins,
because of the many transfers they have transacted with each other.
Carvalho, Essien,Courtois, Morata, Hazard, Makalelee, Kovacic have all played
for both clubs.

As I said earlier i expected an L vs 'pool. This was the game they had to win

But man, Arteta’s got you very well organized.

but I would love to see Hazard get added to the starting 11.

Rodrygo, Vinny and Ascensio will probably be up front. I find it quite baffling that Ancelotti truly dislikes Hazard, considering that Ancelotti is known for his easy
going personality. Hazard can’t even get subbed into a game when Madrid is up
by 3 or more goals.

That’s goes for Bale and Jovic, too.

great 2nd half of that one. That celebration by antony was ridiculous tho lol

.

Vinicius tripping over grass on a breakaway was their performance summed up

I know they have some new parts but Xavi is showing how bad Koeman was; even Dembele has gotten over that transfer saga and been playing inspired

Game does not change the standings. Real is still going to win La Liga,
and Barca will finish in 4th place( or 3rd).

Only thing they won was bragging rights. God damn team is now a home for
Arsenal and MU rejects.

No, we're not gonna win the league, but guess who else ain't gonna win their league? Your squad also sitting waaaaay back in third. Why don't you focus your ass on that

I was thinking we could win, thought maybe 2-1, but 4-0?!
So damn thrilling!
And we can still be better.

You want Barca in at least the semis of the CL every year. Makes it feel more official.

Bayern v PSG
Real Madrid v Barcelona

Juventus v OL
Arsenal v Wolfsburg

If there's a time to start paying attention it's now. The group stage had some interesting matches, but these should really all be high level. Real/Barca is probably the only one that might be one sided, the new Real team really isn't on Barca's level yet, but it should still be a spectacle especially when Barca host the return leg next week at Camp Nou for the first women's match with fans in attendance there.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgii5f9u4YgXCeubCozbEA

Most of the Americans are back stateside/NWSL I think. Heath is with Arsenal though. I got Canadians to root for on PSG and Juve, but I think I want a OL v Barca final, OL looks like they want all their titles back after their disappointment last year all at the hands of PSG.

it seemed like Italy had a nationwide funeral when they missed in 2018, but two cycles in a row? that seems catastrophic

so not until 2026 at the earliest. That's kinda crazy

Chiesa being out shouldnt mean the difference between winning the Euro and getting blanked by North Macedonia

but Insigne/Ciro/Berardi should absolutely be good enough

especially with the first choice midfield intact

this is a home and away series, the first is tomorrow in Egypt.

Both squads have all their stars available and ready for the match.

I am super hyped, as I was in Dakar when Senegal won the African Nations Cup Final. I already know my folks are hyped.

I feel like now that Cisse has gotten them over the hump, they will be more relaxed going into this one. The pressure is on Egypt to come away with a result before they have to head to Dakar next week. NDAM REKK SENEGAL!!!!

Egypt is really uninspiring to watch as a neutral, and I agree Cisse has done some great work with his squad

I thought that the complaints I heard about them were hyperbole, but watching them during the Nations cup was eye opening. They get away with a ton of fouls, complain incessantly and do things to simply get to penalty kicks. Senegal having Mendy is a blessing because he is the one keeper on the continent that can go into penalties and have an advantage over Gabaski.

such tedious stuff to watch

Previous Egyptian squads were much better. These guys dive and hack for 90 minutes.

Greece '04 is usualy my go-to comparison but Egypt has one of the best top 3 players alive, not sure Greece had a top 100 player on their squad

play interesting football...but you would never know it when they play Egypt.

wont see that man in a Madrid jersey for months tho

but this is the worst Mexico team in a LOOOOOOONG time.

gotta take those opportunities.

i can see how the Pulisic shot was saved though he DEFINILY could have done better, but Pefok? FFS.

In any other qualifying year, a point at the Azteca would be good. this year it's disappointing not to get the 3.

like a dude who goes up for a layup and realizes he could dunk if he wanted to, and ends up doing neither

they'd take that attempt off their right foot and just the sheer momentum of it bouncing off their foot would put in the back of the net, but if you re-watch he took a WUICK stutter step to let it pass in front and take it off the left foot and thus, the result.

THIS: https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1507200899717820417

like, this guy out here embarrassing the entire nation of Mexico and is ANY other player even TRYING to help by like, maybe running down the field to get on the end of a pass? NO.

if I was him i woulda exploded on the team in the locker room afterwards.

Gio breaks down 8 Mexico players and Pefok is slowly walking around aimlessly up top

yeah the miss was egregious, but fock he was brutal in all phases

I've been following Canada since my good friend is from there and it's fun to watch a team make a run for a long-awaited WC spot; Canada had a player sent off for a second yellow after one of the most ridiculous displays of shithousery I've seen in a while, with a CRC player crashing to the ground after a mild shoulder bump, holding his face like he was fucking Rivaldo. Amazing that this stuff still exists in the VaR era

I was only half paying attention at the start but I saw the second yellow. It was just annoying, but as a result and performance it's pretty okay. I'm hype for Canada but watching some of this Men's Concacaf stuff, especially as someone who puts more effort into following women's soccer now, some of it just seems embarassing, like even the sidelines stuff that happens, and past matches, people wanting to fight, just c'mon.

I was pretty impressed by their performance in the second half with 10 men, and how close we came to scoring. There's a level difference there, but having a Canada team that can be down a man and look up a man for almost the entire second half against any team is still impressive but particularly for us. I don't know what will happen when we qualify (no if lol) and come up against some World Cup opposition for the first time, but they are exciting to watch and look dangerous and could scare some big nations if they aren't respecting us, and it's the first time I've felt that in this team.

Daaaaaaaaaaamn, Louis

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/mar/28/van-gaal-warns-ten-hag-against-joining-commercial-club-manchester-united

Van Gaal warns Ten Hag against joining ‘commercial club’ Manchester United

‘He must choose a football club,’ says Netherlands manager
Van Gaal sacked by Manchester United after 2016 FA Cup win

Mon 28 Mar 2022 11.04 EDT
Louis van Gaal has told Erik ten Hag he should consider turning down the manager’s job at Old Trafford because Manchester United are a “commercial club” and he would be “better going to a football club”.

Manchester United have held talks with Ten Hag as they continue their search for a manager. The Ajax head coach is one of several candidates on the shortlist to take over from the interim manager Ralf Rangnick in the summer.

But the Netherlands manager, who was sacked by Manchester United after winning the FA Cup in May 2016, is not sure a move to Old Trafford would be a wise one for Ten Hag.


“Erik ten Hag is a great coach and that is always good for Manchester United,” Van Gaal said at a press conference to preview Tuesday’s friendly between Netherlands and Germany. “But Manchester United are a commercial club, so it’s a difficult choice for a coach. He would be better going to a football club. I’m not going to advise him, he’ll call me himself. But he must choose a football club and not a commercial club.”

Ten Hag has been in the top job at Ajax for five seasons, winning the Eredivisie twice and taking the club to the semi-finals of the 2019 Champions League. Ajax are leading the Eredivisie by two points but were knocked out of the Champions League by Benfica this month despite dominating possession in both legs of the last-16 tie.

Current Paris St-Germain manager, Mauricio Pochettino, Spain head coach Luis Enrique and Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui have also been linked with the vacant post. Whoever succeeds Rangnick may have to oversee a season with no Champions League football. United are four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal having played one game more.

ETH demands in negotiations should be setup to address this.

https://www.ft.com/content/b7315885-0ee4-49d4-98d1-292e5225be06

Crazy story

Looks like he really is trying to mediate, FWIW


Abramovich suffered suspected poisoning after peace talks in Kyiv
Chelsea FC owner temporarily lost eyesight and was hit by other symptoms along with two Ukrainian negotiators

2 hours ago

Roman Abramovich had helped to broker peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv before suffering severe symptoms of ill health © AP
Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea Football Club, and two Ukrainian officials suffered poisoning symptoms in Kyiv in early March after peace talks with Russia, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Abramovich’s eyesight “completely disappeared” for several hours while a member of the Ukrainian delegation, the parliamentarian Rustem Umerov, partially lost his eyesight, two of the people said.

“People became totally blind . . . the next day,” said a person close to Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president. “We did not identify the substance. No idea who was behind — but it looks like Roman was the main target.”

Abramovich’s suspected poisoning came after a round of peace talks this month between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, which the billionaire oligarch helped to broker with the approval of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky.

Kyiv’s delegates met their Russian counterparts on Ukraine’s border with Belarus on March 3, then travelled to the Ukrainian capital. That evening the three men suffered other symptoms, including eye inflammation, severe eye pain and peeling skin.

Abramovich and Umerov received medical treatment in Turkey and their eyesight recovered, two of the people said.

“They couldn’t work out who did it — the Ukrainians or the Russians,” one of the people said, adding that it was “definitely not novichok” — referring to the substance used to poison Kremlin opponents such as the jailed dissident Alexei Navalny and former spy Sergei Skripal.

Doctors and chemical weapons experts were unable to identify what type of substance was used or who might have carried it out, the three people said.

Are you personally affected by the War in Ukraine? We want to hear from you


People close to Abramovich suspect he could have been targeted by hardliners who wanted to sabotage the talks, one of them said.

Zelensky was not affected by the attack.

Abramovich later travelled to Kyiv a second time to meet the Ukrainian president, two people familiar with the matter said.

Representatives for Abramovich, Putin, and Zelensky declined to comment. Abramovich’s suspected poisoning was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Abramovich and the two Ukrainians first experienced symptoms during the evening after their round of peace talks and after consuming only water and chocolate, according to the Bellingcat website. The investigative site said it had been asked to bring in chemical weapons specialists to examine the men.

Afterwards, Abramovich and other negotiators drove to Lviv in western Ukraine and crossed into Poland before flying to Istanbul, where they continued informal talks with Russian delegates, Bellingcat said.

“The experts concluded that the symptoms are most likely the result of international poisoning with an undefined chemical weapon,” Bellingcat added.

“The experts said the dosage and type of toxin used was likely insufficient to cause life-threatening damage, and most likely was intended to scare the victims as opposed to cause permanent damage. The victims said they were not aware of who might have had an interest in an attack,” the website said.

four straight misses to start

but seriously, fuck these wack-ass "fans"

>but seriously, fuck these wack-ass "fans"

They're gonna go far in Qatar

Rd of 16 at a minimum, but anything short of 1/4s could be considered a disappointment

I am sure that will be banned next time, but given all that Egypt has gotten away with prior to this, I am looking the other way this time.

Cause euro brehs would banter their teammate Friends until the end of time over these last two international Ws