Roman Abramovich at Chelsea Football Club

In recent times there has been a lot of drama about how Roman Abramovich and how he handles his business regarding Chelsea Football Club.  Firstly i'm going to give a quick background check of Mr.Abramovich to give everybody i idea of what kind of person he is.

• Born in 1966 in Saratov, Russia
• Grew up middle class in Russia, he made his way up from the bottom
• 68th Richest person in the world according to Forbes
• Estimated Wealth of $12 Billion
• Sells Oil and Aluminium in Russia
• Bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003 for a fee of £140 Million

 Roman Abramovich

When he bought the club in 2003 he was unknown by the majority of Chelsea Fans.  He didn't take long settling in, he bought 14 players ranging from every position and spent £121 million in his first season.  This was a big change for Chelsea in terms of money.  In terms of success though, Chelsea just got the nudge they needed to move up the Footballing ladder and compete not just domestically but Internationally as well. 

                     Joe Cole,Veron & Scott Parker to name but a few of Abramovic first buys as owner.

Actually it is rumored that Abramovich went to London to buy a club, but it wasnt Chelsea.  Appartently he wanted to buy Tottenham Hotspurs but when he saw Chelsea were in the Champions League he decided to buy Chelsea instead.  This brings me to the conclusion that Jesper Gronkjer (remember him) is the reason why Abramovich bought the club thanks to his goal against Liverpool in a winner takes all forth place clash against Liverpool.  Chelsea fans, sit back and enjoy... Liverpool fans... Unlucky heh?

 Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1 2002-2003 Season

This was the start of something beautiful for Chelsea fans and when Abramovich bought the club there was a real freshness and spark about the club.  In his first season as Chelsea owner Chelsea came a respectable 2nd place but it also brought Abramovich's first sacking with Claudio Raneiri getting the bullet after 4 years at the club.  This made way for a little "special" someone to take over the reigns.

The next season led to the appointment of Jose Mourinho following his exit from Porto after there historic win in the Champions League Final.  It was a strange choice for a manager to leave a Champions League Winner but Mourinho had bigger dreams and saw them with Chelsea.

His impact was not as immediate as you might think.  Chelsea scored only 8 goals in their first 9 matches of season.  Chelsea though preveiled and started to gain more momentum as the season went on.  No one could stop Chelsea and that is just how Mourinho and Abramovich liked it.  Chelsea won the League Cup and the historic 50 year wait for the Premiership that many Chelsea fans would describe as the greatest moment for the club.  Now, in order to win leagues, you need money and Mourhino had a lot of money to spend.  In his first season he spent £141 million basically changing the Chelsea line out.  Fan favourites of today were bought in 2004 like Didier Drogba & Michael Essien.  Mourinho was at Stamford Bridge for another 3 years until his departure after the Champions League draw against Rosenborg was the final straw for Abramovic after there sluggish start to the season.

Jose Mourinho, Lampard & Terry celebrate winning the Premiership on the 50th Anniversary since their last.

After Mourinho Roman Abramovich has sacked 5 managers since his departure.  Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti & Andre Villas-Boas have all been sacked since Mourinho.  I think all was actually good until the Mourinho sacking and then it has been up and down since then.  It was probaly Abramovic biggest regret at the club as Chelsea have been unconsisent at various times.

Even though they were unconsisent, they were still feared...Here are there impressive records and trophy cabinant (All set in the Abraomvic Era)

Chelsea where a feared team breaking all kinds of records:

• Highest points recorded in one season (95)
• Most Goals scored (103)
• Fewest Goals Conceded (15)
• Highest number of victories in one season (29)
• Highest Number of Clean Sheets in one season (25)
• Highest number of consective clean sheets from start of a season (6)
• Highest unbeaten run at home (86)
• Highest consective away wins (11)
  

Stamford Bridge.  Home of Chelsea where they went 86 games without losing.

Trophies since Roman Abramovic took over is equally impressive:

• Premier League - 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10
• FA Cup - 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
• League Cup - 2004–05, 2006–07
• Community Shield -  2006, 2007, 2010

So whats the verdict.  As a Chelsea fan (Which i am),you should love him and would call him a legend despite his trigger finger.  If you are not a Chelsea fan, you should hate him and everything associated with Chelsea.  They have proved that money can win leagues, hence, why if i where a neutral, even I myself, would hate Chelsea and everything they stand.

Roman Abramovich Era Part 1

Roman Abramovich Era Part 2