The ironies of football success and fan devotion

Some of the most notable aspects of President Putin’s decision that Russia should invade Ukraine in furtherance of some ludicrous geo-political scheme to “restore” its supposed previous position in the scheme of things can be filed under the heading of “Unintended Consequences”.

I won’t attempt to provide a comprehensive list of them here – should they wish, Rusters can attempt to do that for themselves.

Instead, today I’d just like to concentrate upon just one from my inexpert viewpoint.

I’m referring to the impact upon Chelsea football club of Roman Abramovich being included in the list of Russian oligarchs that the United Kingdom has placed under “sanctions” as regards freezing of their “dodgy” assets etc.

I have to be blunt. I personally follow football only in passing as a major national sport played in this country which a great many of people love and – via allegiance to a particular club or not – take a special interest in, sometimes to the point of almost religious fervour.

I seem to remember that, at the time Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 or whenever it was, the club had been languishing in what I’ll politely call “relative mid-table mediocrity” for nearly three decades (I’m generalising with bells on here) and seemingly had little prospect on the horizon of ever doing much better.

Then suddenly, and out of the blue, they had the riches of King Croesus at their disposal and – to this cynical, jaundiced, eye – used them to “buy their way” to all sorts of victories, trophies, championships etc.

Very few people associated with Chelsea – never mind their fanatical fans – gave a hoot about the prospect that other fans and clubs (privately or otherwise) might feel aggrieved at this fantastic stroke of  random”luck” from which Chelsea was now benefiting.

The key word in the above passage was “buy” (or if you like “bought”).

To be fair, I’ve no doubt that (at any time from 1950 onwards) very few Premier League club football fans would ever have cared a flying duck – please note I wrote “duck” there – if one day enough money should have suddenly arrived in their coffers to enable them to “buy their way” to Premier League and European Champions League dominance – as to whether it came from Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern Arab royalty potentates, the Mafia, Chinese triads – or even their local sewerage contractors.

Similar applied when – effectively – Qatar bought Manchester City and took it from its permanent status as “second-best club in Manchester” to where it is now.

So let’s be honest about it.

As with most spheres of life, big bucks buy big success in football, end of message.

Nothing else really counts – well, okay, yes, good players, good managers etc. can have a nudging effect – but (at the end of the day), let’s face it, in elite professional team games the richest clubs win everything.

Thus my reaction to all the Chelsea fans flooding social media and the broadcasting airwaves yesterday, bemoaning the fact that Roman Abramovich is on his way out – and as a result “the football club” is in dire straits and the football authorities now urgently have to “do something about it” – is that they should wake up and smell the coffee.

Chelsea FC has had a splendid run of success thanks to Mr Abramovich’s involvement, but it is now coming to an end.

Or seems to be – unless, that is, someone as rich (or perhaps – if they’re lucky – even richer!) comes along and buys it.

I believe that someone once said or wrote that “All Empires come to an end sometime” – and indeed, this is also the way of all flesh.

Put it another way.

One day, some day (presumably) Manchester City is also going to lose its current “first among equals” status.

Stuff happens in life. That’s what it’s all about.