I HEARD somewhere that Roman Abramovich’s favourite quote is: “What is the difference between a hamster and a rat?…PR”
Chelsea’s owner knows how important perception and image of a club are.
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I chatted to him about it once in pre-season in LA and I was impressed with his passion, especially for a guy who is never seen speaking publicly or doing interviews.
I wonder how he felt during the League Cup final, as Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to leave the pitch? Not a good look.
Racist chanting, sexism, Chelsea has seen it all, and as a Chelsea fan, at times it’s hard to feel proud.
Chelsea is not a club loved by the neutral, most fans would agree with that and so getting it right is even more important.
So as much as I worry about the appointment of Frank Lampard, an inexperienced coach, I can’t help but think what a great choice he is in terms of the image of the club.
TALK TO FRANK
First of all, the fans are in heaven, and happy fans goes a long way when it comes to this club.
We often hear about the DNA of a football club, getting a sense of what it means to be a fan.
Jurgen Klopp completely gets it at Liverpool, seeing him belting out ‘Allez Allez Allez’ in a bar had me all glazed eyes thinking, ‘I want some of that’.
Rafa Benitez ‘got it’ at Newcastle, too, making personal donations to a local food bank.
It was quite the opposite when he was Chelsea boss, I still cringe when I think of that song.
Chelsea have always had ex players around, Steve Clarke, Ray Wilkins, Carlo Cudicini, Paolo Ferreira and Gianfranco Zola, to name a few.
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But I have a feeling this season will see Chelsea’s DNA really come to the fore again, with some of the band of brothers re-united, something I feel we haven’t really seen since they were all playing.
That era of players were so strong, so many leaders and such a unit, not to mention the trophies they won.
I’ve been having a think – along with social media – about what ‘this new era’ of Chelsea should, or will, be known as, and I can’t help but go back to a certain Jose Mourinho.
He built these players and their values and won trophies with them. They are his disciples: ‘The sons of Jose’ seems appropriate.
Rewind to the 20th September 2007, I was working at Chelsea TV.
I was reading the six o’clock news (Blues News) and had to do a little tribute to Mourinho after he’d left the club by mutual consent.
MOUR OF THAT
Back then few had a bad word to say about him and all of us who worked at the channel were sad and a little surprised at his departure.
I was wearing a locket that day and as the credits rolled I cut out a little picture of Mourinho from a matchday programme and laid it carefully in the locket.
It was a bit of a joke, but certainly football fans will understand why I did it.
I joked with the guy who rolls autocue, Nick, that I’d take it out when Chelsea got a manager as good as him again. Guess what? The picture is still in the locket.
I thought about it again years later when Mourinho returned, and had a little peak to check it was still in there, but he wasn’t the same guy.
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I can’t, of course, discount the wonderful Carlo Ancelotti and all that he did for the club.
And let’s not forget Roberto Di Matteo who brought Chelsea the Champions League as caretaker, but no one can doubt how important Mourinho was to the club.
Petr Cech will take on the role of technical and performance advisor and, if he ends up in the same office that was once occupied by Michael Emenalo, it will mean he’ll be just across the corridor from his old team-mate Lampard.
Cech will be a great addition to the club, with excellent communications skills – a perfect bridge between players and directors.
While I was at Chelsea he would often come over and talk about numerous subjects from cookery to chess!
CECH MATE
He’s smart, and humorous, and will always speak out even when the topic is a tricky one.
Alongside Lampard we’ll see Jody Morris once again who did so much for the youth system – FA youth Cup winner for five consecutive seasons and will be so key now Chelsea are suffering a transfer ban.
That’s not where the Chelsea old boys stop, as we are hearing reports of a return for Claude Makelele, and Michael Ballack is doing his UEFA B Licence, perhaps with a view to a future role?
There are rumours too that Didier Drogba could be given a role as striker coach.
I sometimes wonder if Drogba could still do a job on the pitch at times, but I have no doubt he would be a phenomenal striker coach.
In his autobiography he talks about paying attention to the little details like training your peripheral vision.
He’ll know all those he’s training on a personal level, it seems like the transfer ban could serve as an advantage.
So the double helix seems to be entwining once again and finally there is something for Chelsea fans to get excited about.
I wonder if that picture will ever make it out of my locket, as one by one ‘The Special Ones’ make a return to the Bridge.
