Open Letter to Roman Abramovich - True Blues cannot be gagged

Dear Mr. Abramowich (I cannot presume to know you hence cannot call you Roman)

I have supported Chelsea since primary school.  Being an Asian rather than Caucasian boy born and brought up in London during the '70s and '80s I was subjected to occasional racist language which I was thankfully taught to never be affected by ("sticks and stones..."). However I was very aware of a personal dilemma : I understood that the club I chose to support from five years old appeared to have a significant minority of so called "fans" who were openly racist.  But I also understood the most basic rule of being a football fan is that once you have become a fan that support is for life - you don't change "your team".   Although I continued to support the team I knew it was important to stand up for what was right and acknowledge when elements of the club were wrong.

I believe being a true fan gives one the right to maintain loyalty with the club and the players who perform week in week out whilst disagreeing on specific issues with a minority of fellow "fans" or indeed the ownership (chairman, chief executive, owner etc).  I hated the fact that a minority of "fans" openly expressed racist views but I also knew there were similar minority elements at many clubs and that my club, the leadership and players were making huge efforts to curb any spreading of the racist disease and I supported and applauded that effort.  Since I believe that you also hail from an ethnic minority you of all people will know what I mean about this kind of issue.

During the last ten years however I have been confronted by a different dilemma as a Chelsea fan.  It is undoubtedly the case that without your funding our club would not have enjoyed the on-field success that we have.  Ten major trophies including three League titles, four FA Cups and the Champions League is beyond the wildest imaginations of most true fans.  Every Chelsea fan has been on an unforgettable journey of success and being competitive with the most successful teams in this country and Europe also.  For that we are all truly grateful.

However, stuffing our mouths with trophies does not give you the right to expect us to gag ourselves and not speak out against the way business at our club is conducted and the way it is led.  True fans of our club will remain so for life whether the team is successful on the field or not.  True Chelsea fans yearn for our club to not only win but do so in the right way.  I am not just talking about Barcelona-esque passing and movement but instead about the way we conduct our affairs as a club.

I am talking (in reverse chronological order) about the respect, patience and support we should show for loyal servants of the club through difficult periods.  I am talking about the class we need to demonstrate in apologising unreservedly and quickly when we have initiated a complaint process against a referee in manifest error.  I am talking about the lack of leadership from your hand-picked leaders - Chief Executive, Chairman, Technical Director in not dealing with blatant lapses in discipline from some of our most revered players.  I fully understand that no one is immune from making mistakes.  But our club must always be bigger than any individual player no matter how glittering their career.  In fact I would bet that the players involved in some of the most egregious incidents in our club's history would have accepted far tougher punishment than they actually received for blatant breaches of common decency.  A racist phrase whether repeated or original is unforgivable as is the failure to apologise to the victim and his family as well as to our club for bringing it into disrepute.  Our "leadership" on these issues are an embarrassment to themselves and our club.

I decided not to write to any of your "club leadership" Mr. Abramovich because there is simply no point.  They stand as impotent parasites, feeding off the enormous wealth you have showered on your plaything yet purport to represent our club.  I am not clear what, if any appropriate qualifications they bring other than accepting they must keep their mouths shut and leave all the difficult public relations to the first team coach (I believe you do not want anyone to "manage" just coach).  Ron Gourlay, Michael Emanalo and Bruce Buck are representing you badly and doing all true fans and our club a dis-service.  They appear to be acting with your blessing and in a way that you have either instructed or approved.  This must be the case since unlike Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo - all of whom true Chelsea fans will always remain indebted to - they remain in place, earning vast amounts and have not been asked to leave the club having been summarily dismissed.  The way our club have treated Jose, Carlo and Robbie, as well as Ray Wilkins is frankly unbecoming of a great sporting institution which is what we should aspire to and what we all hoped you were committed to building.

I now fear that we are about to repeat the same mistake with both Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole.  Whilst there have been a couple of very high profile lapses of judgement from Ashley (for which he has been rightly criticised) true Chelsea fans will also remember one of the finest left-backs in world football and most would agree the best to play in that position for our club.  In the case of Frank we are talking about not only one of the best goal-scoring midfielders of his generation but also a great role model for young professionals and someone whom I believe is actually a great ambassador for our club. Most clubs in our position would grant both of these great servants the dignity of allowing them to finish their careers at Stamford Bridge.  Which Technical Director of any standing would allow two giants follow another (Didier) out of the club in this manner on their watch ?  Why are your leaders not able to persuade you to do what all fans know is the right thing to do ?  Why do true Chelsea fans have to face the additional insult of being told by Mr Rafael Benitez that players who enjoy a standing with fans that he can only dream of are not likely to be at our club next season ?

Mr Abramovich, I am sure that nothing I write here or other fans have written in the comments section  in newspapers or said on football phone-ins will actually make a difference to the way you want to run our club.  But I would ask you to acknowledge one indisputable fact : whilst we are all grateful for your funding the club and the subsequent success we cannot sit idly by and watch the club we support be mismanaged in a way that is truly damaging for the long term. Self-evaluation is the first step toward                             effecting lasting change. We have become a pariah, a laughing stock, an example of an institution lacking in class and crying out for true leadership and honour not just money.  It is time for us to stop and take stock but I know this will not happen.

It is said that fans are the lifeblood of any football club.  Well, I can see the life being drained out of the club I supported as a boy and as a man.  This pains me and all other true fans I know.  For the sake of our club you should know this and recognise that some of us will be taking a sabbatical from the kind of unswerving support that only true fans provide.  We don't expect you to care.  But we have the right, whilst being repeatedly ignored, to be less than enthusiastic about your leadership of our club until we see the club we yearn for rise from whatever it is that you feel you are currently building.  We have a voice even if you choose to ignore it.  Chelsea Football Club existed before either you or I came onto our respective scenes and will be here long after we have both left the stage.

Yours sincerely
A long-standing Chelsea fan