13th September 2000 My personal reaction is one of shock and sadness that Chelsea are losing a manager of Vialli's standing, and I'm sure that most Chelsea fans will share this feeling. I was proud that a man of such honesty, integrity and wisdom was manager of our club. I believe that he will do well wherever he goes, and I'm just sorry that his association with Chelsea has to come to an end. I'm not going to start ranting at Ken Bates or Colin Hutchinson, as I believe they are just as much the victims of the huge conspiracy of pressure from outside as Vialli was, but I can't help feeling bitterness when I look back at how Ken Bates walked Vialli round the pitch with his arm round his shoulders after the last home game of last season. I even remember joking that it was the end for Luca when Bates kissed the top of his head as he lifted the FA Cup. For all the world it looked like Vialli had the safest job in the Premiership, but three months later all that is dust. It's another black day for Chelsea and football, but I'd like to end on a positive note by wishing Luca all the luck in the world in any new post he takes up. For purely selfish reasons I hope it won't be in England as I don't think I could take seeing him manage another English club. Vialli was a living legend at Chelsea, and he'll take some replacing. The only man I can see filling his shoes is Terry Venables, who is a totally different personality. He does have a proven track record, though, and is acknowledged to be one of the best coaches in the world. Forget about the rumours of Franco Zola stepping in, that's pure media fantasy. And you can stick George Graham up your... 14th September 2000 We're also having to put up with the media sites pushing forward ever more unlikely and unsuitable "candidates" for the job of manager, as though they have inside knowledge of the workings of Ken Bates' mind, which they don't. It's purely to attract unwitting visitors to their sites. You might say there's nothing wrong with that, but the trouble is that hardly any of the people they're mentioning will have even been considered by Chelsea, let alone contacted, so what they're doing is dishonest and contemptible. I expect ever more outlandish suggestions from these parasites over the next few days, culminating in the appointment of none other than Bill Clinton, outgoing US President, as Chelsea's new manager, if only in their minds. Remember, you heard it here first... 15th September 2000 Empty seats all round the ground may have owed less to the petrol crisis than to a sense of disgust at the way Vialli has been treated by people whose constant, public displays of loyalty towards him have been proved by events to be just a cynical bit of PR scammery - I for one chose to boycott the match, and will think very carefully before attending any more games in the near future. Chelsea have lost all credibility and are now the laughing stock of the Premiership. I'm gutted. For anyone who cares, Chelsea beat St. Gallen 1-0. 18th September 2000 I don't know much about Ranieri, but I do know that he's got his work cut out to instill some pride and spirit into a club that has hit an all time low since the sacking of Luca Vialli. See the excellent guest match report from my friend and ex-colleague Neil Sykes. It's now abundantly clear that there's absolutely no room for the PR manufactured Walton Family loyalty scenario that has been the public face of Chelsea recently. It was a daft idea in the first place when there's obviously so much at stake. I believe that the public displays of cod loyalty from Ken Bates and others towards Luca Vialli right up until the moment he was sacked have backfired badly, and have served only to harm the reputation of club, mainly with its own fans - everyone else is just laughing. I personally would appreciate a bit more honesty from the Chelsea board in the future. I'm not blaming Ken Bates in particular, I just think that the fear of losing revenue rules in a world where interest payments for the loans taken out to build Chelsea Village are reputed to be in the region of £20,000 per DAY. The brutal truth is that Chelsea cannot survive financially without a regular top three placing. Have no fear, Chelsea fans. The glory hunters are already melting away, and what will be left will be the people who are crucial to the future of the club: the genuine fans. I still count myself as one of this group, and I'll never stop following Chelsea, no matter what. I detest the way big business has invaded the Beautiful Game in the last few years, and hope for a return to sanity as quickly as possible. Of course it won't happen any time soon, but I can wait. Meanwhile I'll continue my self-imposed exile by to refusing to pay the ludicrous admission price to watch a game of football at Stamford Bridge. I know of quite a few other long-time fans who are doing the same, and Chelsea FC and the other clubs will have to listen sooner or later, or TV companies like Sky Sports, NTL, etc will find themselves paying millions for the rights to games where no fans turn up in the stadiums. No fans equals no atmosphere. No atmosphere equals people letting their subscriptions lapse. Please don't get me wrong. I don't want anyone else to follow my lead; I don't want Chelsea to fail. I'm aware that I'm only harming myself by not being able to provide all the services that I should on this site. What's happened is not entirely Chelsea's fault. They've been ensnared in a web of financial pressure, but the result is the same: they're driving the fans away by their actions. The public face of the club is clearly not the one seen behind closed doors, and more honesty and a lot more integrity is badly needed at Stamford Bridge. That won't happen while there's such a huge amount at stake, but I and others like me will be behind them as long as there's a team to follow. As football fans we don't have the luxury of choice.
© 1996-2002
Priesty's Chelsea FC Refuge.
The Worst Yet..
Chelsea fans are used to the byzantine twists and turns associated with the running of a top football club, but the shock news yesterday afternoon of Gianluca Vialli's sacking takes some beating. Only two days ago I was laughing at the media's insistence that Vialli was close to losing his job. One win, one loss and three draws didn't seem to me to be that much of a crisis, and still doesn't, but Ken Bates clearly thinks otherwise. The media were right and I was wrong.
Floundering In A Cesspool Of Their Own Making
I've been amusing myself by reading the desperate news reports from various sources around the web today. People seem to be losing no opportunity to kick Luca Vialli while he's down, including Ruud Gullit, a man long ago exposed as a shallow fake, and rent-a-gob minor celebrities like the awful Tony Banks are joining in with their "expert" commentaries about how useless Vialli was. It didn't stop him fawning all over Luca when he was there, though, did it ? I suppose we shouldn't be surprised - this is what politicians do, isn't it.
Another Black Night
Mr Ken Bates may have a touch of bilious indigestion this morning, having last night witnessed scenes that will live in infamy at Stamford Bridge. The sight of the crowd chanting continuously for Luca Vialli at the UEFA Cup game against St. Gallen, and the booing of Frank Leboeuf (even though richly deserved) represented a new low in a season that had already got off to the worst possible start with the ludicrous sacking of Vialli after only five games without even a replacement lined up.
More Woe
A feeble performance against Leicester adds even the hugely overrated Ulrika-beater Stan Collymore to the list of people taking the piss out of Chelsea fans over the last couple of weeks. New manager Ranieri was there to see Chelsea pushed over by a team that they should have beaten comfortably.
