The owners - where do you sit?

[Bishop]

Of course, Im not saying he is not capable of love, I am questioning the motivations to buy Chelsea FC and if the progress there was because he truly cared about Chelsea OR was there other primary motivations. Having read alot about his drivers in life and his business dealings I would say the deal to buy into English football (we were looked at lets not forget) was motivated by other factors other than a real level of care or love for Chelsea FC. There is other evidence out there that endorses that view.

Im not saying he can't love or care, but I have pieced together a view on him via readings and interviews that makes me hugely suspect of his business in this country

Theres no point in questioning his purchase of Chelsea and attempting to align that to a love of the club. He was no Chelsea fan before he bought them, but he was a football fan. So he bought a club and cared about that club whilst he owned it.

 

[Bishop]

If he really cared about them he would have looked to secure their long term future and to be sustainable without him. He saddled them with massive loans that are only gone due to circumstances beyond his control. From the outside it looks like he only cared about them as an asset and not as fan cares about a club.

He never needed to "secure their future" he was willing to fund them from his own pocket. The loans were due to his own company with no maturation date.

I get it, you don't like him, we don't like his business model but again I don't know why we have to pretend that he didn't care about his Chelsea. Yes he wasn't a childhood fan but he didn't need to be. Ange wasn't a childhood Tottenham fan but do you think he doesn't care about Spurs right now?

 

[Jurgen the German]

Best chairman in the game for me, over the years we have always been reguarded as a big club ( despite us not winning much). Now we are really showing what a GREAT job he has done and the future looks very bright. He/ we have not done a Chelski, a City and now a Saudi Sportswashing Machine and taken the riches of a despot country. and it is something we should be proud of.

On the financial side maybe, on the football side it’s not even close for me. I accept and applaud Levy for the commercial side of the game, for delivering a world class stadium and training ground but the game is ultimately about success and winning and we don’t have anything tangible to point to to claim Levy is the best chairman in the game. I used to scoff when people said poch was the best manager in the game when he hadn’t won anything, the most successful players, coaches, chairmen etc who all won silverware. Too many poor football decisions to claim he’s the best in the game IMO.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Of course, Im not saying he is not capable of love, I am questioning the motivations to buy Chelsea FC and if the progress there was because he truly cared about Chelsea OR was there other primary motivations. Having read alot about his drivers in life and his business dealings I would say the deal to buy into English football (we were looked at lets not forget) was motivated by other factors other than a real level of care or love for Chelsea FC. There is other evidence out there that endorses that view.

Im not saying he can't love or care, but I have pieced together a view on him via readings and interviews that makes me hugely suspect of his business in this country

He (Roman) might have got into football for the wrong reasons, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t care about Chelsea. I don’t think he would have poured so much money into the club if he have some affection for them.

 

[Lilbaz]

On the financial side maybe, on the football side it’s not even close for me. I accept and applaud Levy for the commercial side of the game, for delivering a world class stadium and training ground but the game is ultimately about success and winning and we don’t have anything tangible to point to to claim Levy is the best chairman in the game. I used to scoff when people said poch was the best manager in the game when he hadn’t won anything, the most successful players, coaches, chairmen etc who all won silverware. Too many poor football decisions to claim he’s the best in the game IMO.

How many chairmen have taken a club from mid table to cl final on a zero net spend?

 

[Jurgen the German]

If he really cared about them he would have looked to secure their long term future and to be sustainable without him. He saddled them with massive loans that are only gone due to circumstances beyond his control. From the outside it looks like he only cared about them as an asset and not as fan cares about a club.

He probably wasn’t banking on being forced to sell the club. And like Emirates Marketing Project, he probably thought he could get around FFP.

 

[Jurgen the German]

How many chairmen have taken a club from mid table to cl final on a zero net spend?

Look I’ve said he’s done good things for us and we have closed the gap off the pitch to our rivals but i just can’t agree that he’s the best chairman in the game when we’ve not won anything as a club for 15 years. The game isn’t just about spreadsheets. And id argue we got to the CL final in spite of our business model during the poch years not because of it. Also you have to take into account just how big the PL is now. Even West Ham are in the top 20 richest clubs in the world and they are not known for being particularly well run nor do they have any kind of successful history to fall back on so there is an element of the PL clubs being so dominant partly because of the revenue it generates due to its global appeal.

 

[parklane1]

On the financial side maybe, on the football side it’s not even close for me. I accept and applaud Levy for the commercial side of the game, for delivering a world class stadium and training ground but the game is ultimately about success and winning and we don’t have anything tangible to point to to claim Levy is the best chairman in the game. I used to scoff when people said poch was the best manager in the game when he hadn’t won anything, the most successful players, coaches, chairmen etc who all won silverware. Too many poor football decisions to claim he’s the best in the game IMO.

Well as we say its all about op inions ( i do agree with you over Pooch though), i have been going to the Lane since the early 60s and where we stand now ( on the pinnacle of being a MAJOR club imo) is down to Levy ( i know there is a section of fans who will disagree with me). Of course he has made mistakes ( just like everyone has in their lives) and there have been times when i have totally disagreed with some of his decisions. Your right that other clubs have won far more then we have but they have done so by taking ( what i would call dirty money) and i really would hate to see us go down that route.

As for him making mistakes again you are right but i have never met anyone in any form of life who has not done so. As i said its all about op inions.

 

[Lilbaz]

Look I’ve said he’s done good things for us and we have closed the gap off the pitch to our rivals but i just can’t agree that he’s the best chairman in the game when we’ve not won anything as a club for 15 years. The game isn’t just about spreadsheets. And id argue we got to the CL final in spite of our business model during the poch years not because of it. Also you have to take into account just how big the PL is now. Even West Ham are in the top 20 richest clubs in the world and they are not known for being particularly well run nor do they have any kind of successful history to fall back on so there is an element of the PL clubs being so dominant partly because of the revenue it generates due to its global appeal.

My point is that levy has worked under constraints most other chairmen don't. He had to work with basically no transfer budget. Yet still improved the team on the pitch. Even under conte and mourinho we weren't as bad as when he took over. We were a level with villa and everton at the time (both now having ffp struggles).

I think he's done a great job on and off the pitch. Could we have won more trophies? Yes. Has he made mistakes? Yes. Could lewis have given him more funds to work with? Yes.

 

[DubSpur]

He never needed to "secure their future" he was willing to fund them from his own pocket. The loans were due to his own company with no maturation date.

I get it, you don't like him, we don't like his business model but again I don't know why we have to pretend that he didn't care about his Chelsea. Yes he wasn't a childhood fan but he didn't need to be. Ange wasn't a childhood Tottenham fan but do you think he doesn't care about Spurs right now?

He didn’t need to, but should’ve. What if he dropped dead while owner and that billion debt is suddenly called in?

 

[DubSpur]

He probably wasn’t banking on being forced to sell the club. And like Emirates Marketing Project, he probably thought he could get around FFP.

Yes, he didn’t bank on that or a million other things that can go wrong. That’s why I like that we are self sufficient, thanks to Levy, and aren’t relying on one person to keep us going.

 

[Raziel]

He (Roman) might have got into football for the wrong reasons, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t care about Chelsea. I don’t think he would have poured so much money into the club if he have some affection for them.

I don't think you get the mindset and it wasn't "his" money

- Chelsea was sportswashing on behalf of the country and his "boss" (longer story/narrative)
- It gave him personally a profile in the west that probably gave him an added layer of protection from the "falling out a window" affliction that seemed to happen regularly to some of his peers
- Potentially/allegedly probably a decent vehicle for money laundering as well
- It's a billionaires plaything, it's a flex

Playthings are exactly that, he was very rarely involved in the day to day (was a board there for a long time), rocking up to be part of success isn't love/dedication and as another poster said, nothing he did was in the interest of a Chelsea future state.

 

[Bishop]

He didn’t need to, but should’ve. What if he dropped dead while owner and that billion debt is suddenly called in?

Who was going to call it in? The debt was owed to himself. It had no maturation date, there may even have been covenants that stated the debt could not be called in on his death.

 

[alekaras]

Look I’ve said he’s done good things for us and we have closed the gap off the pitch to our rivals but i just can’t agree that he’s the best chairman in the game when we’ve not won anything as a club for 15 years. The game isn’t just about spreadsheets. And id argue we got to the CL final in spite of our business model during the poch years not because of it. Also you have to take into account just how big the PL is now. Even West Ham are in the top 20 richest clubs in the world and they are not known for being particularly well run nor do they have any kind of successful history to fall back on so there is an element of the PL clubs being so dominant partly because of the revenue it generates due to its global appeal.

We have been to enough finals and semifinals in these 15 years. The reason we didn't win any silverware wasn't because we had brick teams as a result of Levy's management. It was because of how we played in particular games.

And I beg to differ, but the game is also about spreadsheets. Because it's these spreadsheets that will allow you to purchase the players you want and pay their wages so that you can achieve success on the pitch. Levy took the long view and created a high turnover, self-sustaining club that lives within its means and this is now beginning to pay dividends. Even in spite of some catastrophic signings that tinkled money away, we are still in a better position than almost all our PL rivals. Saudi Sportswashing Machine, Chelsea, Arsenal, United, Villa all need to sell before they buy to balance the books. Meanwhile, we've had the 4th highest net spend in the past 5 years and aren't even batting an eyelash.

And although Levy has been extremely successful in increasing our revenues and spending power, he also banked on the fact that the sustainability rules that are finally showing some teeth will prevent our main rivals from continuing their spending habits, thus bringing us close to parity with them. Even if the latter hadn't panned out, we'd still be in a great spot.

 

[Grays_1890]

He (Roman) might have got into football for the wrong reasons, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t care about Chelsea. I don’t think he would have poured so much money into the club if he have some affection for them.

Success of course he didn't do it to be average, as I say whoever the club was would have benefitted, I don't think it came from a place of caring specifically for Chelsea.

 

[Grays_1890]

I don't think you get the mindset and it wasn't "his" money

- Chelsea was sportswashing on behalf of the country and his "boss" (longer story/narrative)
- It gave him personally a profile in the west that probably gave him an added layer of protection from the "falling out a window" affliction that seemed to happen regularly to some of his peers
- Potentially/allegedly probably a decent vehicle for money laundering as well
- It's a billionaires plaything, it's a flex

Playthings are exactly that, he was very rarely involved in the day to day (was a board there for a long time), rocking up to be part of success isn't love/dedication and as another poster said, nothing he did was in the interest of a Chelsea future state.

As I say, even on here it was evident how money lead PR blinds people. Forever people said Roman cared more because they were successful and finding reasons of why Levy didn't care because we wasn't.

So the wash worked well.

Look at Saudi Sportswashing Machine, their fans dressed as Arabs claiming the owners cared more than Ashley because they made the CL. Today twitters awash with accusations of the opposite because guess what, the wheels have fallen off.

 

[DubSpur]

Who was going to call it in? The debt was owed to himself. It had no maturation date, there may even have been covenants that stated the debt could not be called in on his death.

His kids? No idea how it was set up but very few wipe off a billion+ loan. When they were bought he tried to get it as well.

 

[Baleforce]

Hasn’t Roman had to sell a load of boats and planes to pay back the fellow gangsters who helped fund the Chelsea purchase, one of whom also happens to be running an expensive war right now.

 

[Surfless]

Roman 100% cared. The UK made him persona non grata. First they removed his Russian visa which meant he could no longer visit the country which he got around by taking up Isreali citizenship. Then they made him sell the club, the sale was wasn't by choice.

Regarding involvement, you're not quite right there. He was very involved, but he just installed football people to do the day to day runnings. Marina for example reported directly to him. He would get involved in negotiations occasionally but he had no real need as Cheslea have always a DoF of sorts for those tasks and he was the one that would authorise their massive purchases they made every season. So its a little disingenuous to say he didn't care just because he felt the club would be run better by getting top professionals to run the club day to day. He was often at their training ground and many of their long term players had a direct line to his ear (for good or the bad).

Some weird form of inverted Stockholm Syndrome then I guess. He absolutely didn't buy Chelsea altruistically he was in deep do do like litvenyenko and Co.

 

[Lilbaz]

Why are we even talking about roman?

He's spilt milk.