THE CHELSEA CIRCUS

Football Fixtures

English Premier League Today: Leeds v Crystal Palace (1500), Liverpool v Arsenal (1730) French Ligue 1

Today: Olympique Lyonnais v Rennes (1300), Montpellier v Toulouse (1500), Troyes v Clermont (1500), Ajaccio v Auxerre (1500), Reims v Brest (1500), Nantes v Monaco (1705), Lorient v Marseille (2045)

German Bundesliga

Today: Monchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg (1530), VfL Bochum 1848 v Stuttgart (1730), 1899 Hoffenheim v FC Schalke 04 (1930) Spanish LaLiga

Today: Real Valladolid v Mallorca (14000, Real Betis v Cadiz (1615), Almería v Valencia (1830), Rayo Vallecano V Atletico Madrid (2100)

Monday: Barcelona v Girona (2100)

English Championship

If Potter was an old albeit inexperienced cat trying to decipher the Chelsea corridors, then young guns Luis Enrique or Julian Nagelsmann both of whom are being touted as future Chelsea bosses, are rather more pedigreed cats who won’t be as willing to take random unsubstantiated orders, even if it’s from their master who is feeding them.

Chelsea fans and I suspect the majority of fans of all clubs would rather their owners remain in the background and let properly appointed football sta do the job they have been paid to do.

I somehow don’t know whether the rather eccentric Boehly is willing however to lose centre stage.

He strikes me as someone who believes that his money automatically grants him the permanent right to lead, order and act.

Roman Abramovich on the other hand understood when to yield to his football technicians while always remaining willing and supportive and especially on match days, by being an active particca

Monday: Huddersfield v Blackburn (1300), West Brom v QPR (1600), Preston v Reading (1600), , Hull City v Millwall (1600), Norwich City v Rotherham United (1600), Wigan v Swansea(1600), Coventry City v Watford (1600), Luton Town v Blackpool (1600), Birmingham v Stoke City (1600), Cardiff v Sunderland (1600), Bristol City v Middlesbrough (1830), Burnley v Sheffield United (2100)

South African Premiership ipating supporter.

Of course with the forced sale of the club what we have left of Abramovich is his legacy and what a legacy it is!

Prior to Roman Abramovich injecting both his funding as well as his visible passion into Chelsea, they were an above average London club with a modest following emanating from the fashionable west end suburbs of London.

Current Chelsea fans around the globe would be hard pressed to name too many players before that era other than a couple of remarkable Italians (Gianfranco Zola and GianluVialli) an outstanding Dutchman (Ruud Gullit) and an over-achieving Frenchman (Frank Leboeuf) chose to close their careers in the trendy cool locale of west end London. This was not a side accustomed to regular trophy success or title challenges although there was de nitely an upward trend that had started with the arrival of player/manager Ruud Gullit in 1996. And then Roman came, saw and conquered and in the process, changed the entire way Chelsea not

Today: Royal AM v Stellenbosch (1500), Swallows v Mamelodi Sundowns (1500), Cape Town City FC v AmaZulu (1730)

Wednesday: Golden Arrows v Mamelodi Sundowns (1930), Marumo Gallants FC v Chippa United (1930)

Rugby Union Fixtures Champions Cup

Today: La Rochelle v Saracens (1600)

Currie Cup only started to view themselves but also how Chelsea started to be viewed from outside.

He was passionate about the club and demanded football success even at the expense of his investment.

It’s worth noting that Roman’s Chelsea only started to make a profit towards the end of his time at Chelsea.

In fact for the rst nine years of his ownership, Chelsea incurred hefty losses.

As the team started to become more successful and as the Jose Mourinho juggernaut began to take e ect, Chelsea was increasingly starting to be viewed as one of the leading football brands in the world.Roman Abramovich obliterated any preconceived notions about Chelsea FC as they started forging winning ultra-competitive sides while accumulating trophies along the way.

Stand out supremo signature coach Jose Mourinho’s arrival in 2003 also opened the oodgates to a stream of African superstars who made the Chelsea Village their home.

These notably included Didier Drogba and Michael Essien amongst others as Chelsea during this period become extremely popular not just in Africa but all around the globe.

Success followed success as Chelsea followed up a Champions League runners up place in 2008 with an unexpected but magical rst Champions League success in 2012.

The second Champions League success in 2021 cemented the club’s position as a recognized football heavyweight.

Following on from that, it ought to have been more of the same but then we had the circus in which Mr Chelsea (Roman Abramovich) the man who ultimately gave Chelsea it’s worldwide football presence,was banished and exiled from his beloved club.

And now we have too, the Todd Boehly circus in all it’s glory!

Dearest Chelsea fans, you didn’t deserve this circus and for all of football’s sake, I pray that Todd Boehly takes a chill pill, uses his money at Chelsea wisely and smartly allows the right people to steer Chelsea up back where they belong.

Feedback: Twitter @thesoccerwhiz

Today: Fidelity ADT Lions v Toyota Cheetahs XV (1500)

Cricket Fixtures

Indian Premier League Fixtures

Today: Gujarat Titans v Kolkata Knight Riders (1200), Sunrisers Hyderabad v Punjab Kings (16000

Monday: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Lucknow Super Giants (1600)

Tuesday: Delhi Capitals v Mumbai Indians (1600)