Let me make it clear to begin with, I’m not writing about the enormous debt that Chelsea have, nor am I talking about their off field disciplinary record.
I’m writing about, firstly, the fans and their relationship with the owners.
When Unai left Arsenal, the fanbase was so toxic regarding Mr Kroenke. Our fans were being described as losers, with Sky showing thousands of empty seats as said fans were streaming out of the Emirates before one particular match had finished.
The self same thing happened at Chelsea against Forest, but on a much larger scale.
Disconnect between fans, players and owners
There seemed to be no connection between the fans, the players and the owners. The football was dire and it seemed obvious to me that the players were not playing for the manager at either club.
The Arsenal owner, at the time Unai was sacked, had not really backed him with the kind of money needed to challenge for honours, while the Chelsea owners certainly have, so there is that difference.
However, our club then took a gamble on a complete rookie, when Mr Kroenke appointed Mikel Arteta. Chelsea are now in a similar position and it will be interesting to see who they decide to give the job of managing this group of, seemingly, disinterested players and what said manager will do to try and bring the club back together again.
Our owner deserves great credit for backing Arteta, both with time and money and Mikel has dragged our club back to where we are now, while taking many decisions that I, personally, felt were the wrong ones and said so quite passionately at the time.
But here we are, six seasons later, just a whisker away from winning the PL title for the first time in nearly two decades.
Can Chelsea follow Arsenal’s path?
Chelsea seem miles away from doing the same thing, with manager after manager failing to get to grips with the problems that never seem to go away.
They have players on six year contracts, who just seem to be going through the motions, and owners who, despite spending more than Mr Kroenke during this six year period, seem to have no idea what to do next.
Of course, they are very good at snapping up young players and they also sell on senior players at very good prices, but that is never going to heal the rift that they face in the immediate future.
Not qualifying for the Champions League is another big problem, especially when the likes of ourselves, City, Manchester United and, probably, either Liverpool or Villa will be earning big money and attracting the top players who demand Champions League football.
Now, we have, after three years of pain and misery, actually found ourselves a united club, both on and off the pitch.
The patience, time and money that Mr Kroenke has put into the club, along with the fans’ patience while enduring so many phases, we are on the cusp of something great and it has to be recognised that Mikel Arteta has been the driving force that has got us to where we are now.
Of course, we still might end up trophyless again and serious questions will then have to be asked.
But how long will it take Chelsea to be in the position we are today? What kind of manager will it take to sort out the same kind of mess we found ourselves in when Mr Kroenke took the gamble?
The progression of The Arsenal, both on and off the pitch, has been remarkable and I cannot see Chelsea being able to do the same, at least within the same time span of six seasons.
What are your thoughts on where Chelsea are today and how we have managed to get out of the same predicament?
Reader Opinion: ken1945
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through this link…
Ken1945,
Looking at how Chelsea deal with manager’s, I don’t think any manager would be afforded six years to win the title as Arteta has been.
Do you think that Kroenke made a mistake in doing so?
By the time Arteta got his chance we had been out of the CL for 3 years. Making a meaningful change, rather than applying a sticking plaster was never going to be quick or straightforward. The players had determined Emery’s future. The same thing is going on at Chelsea. To me there are many similarities.
The ownership model of both clubs is very different though. One owner examined its own leadership and acted quietly and decisively to remove the executive level that wasn’t working, and the other has persistently failed to understand what it was doing wrong at executive level.
The plan, process must have been fully discussed. This was not to just win a trophy but to overhaul the whole club. The other P – patience was a necessity. For the change to be meaningful and long lasting required more than Aladdin and his lamp. This is not just on Arteta but also the owners as well. I’m sure that KSE would have acted against Arteta if they felt targets were not being met along the way
It took several seasons to morph from one version of itself to where the club is now. I can’t see Chelsea doing it quicker having already destroyed a successful blueprint that will take time to rebuild
Precisely SueP, very well put.
I cannot see chelsea having the patience that our owner has had, so I expect to see an experienced manager named, but who would want to take such a poisoned chalice is the question?
I know the Chelsea hierarchy are waking up to their mistakes but getting rid of those players on long contracts will be difficult. As we both know, a contract is binding.
I’m struggling to think of a manager who would want his CV blemished. Maresca did a good job but interference from above and the club policy of buying prospects was too much for him to bear. Not enough experience within the team
SueP,
You say that Chelsea will find it hard to get rid of those players on long contracts. With our fetish of signing Chelsea players, I can see their representative’s contacting Arsenal now.😂🤣😉
Derek, I think Boehly still has Kroenke on speed dial for transfer discussions among perhaps other, at least on the surface, unrelated transactions.
Bruised Banana,
😂👍
imo Chelsea ownership’s biggest mistake came from letting the players know that the manager (regardless of who it was at the time) was not the one in charge of their livelihood and status at the club. When Boehly hit the dressing room running his ego driven mouth it was a done deal. Until ownership gets out of management after putting it in place, Chelsea will not perform up to expectations no matter who is the figurehead listed as manager.
Ken1945
The main difference that I see between Arsenal and Chelsea under their present ownership is that once the Kroenke family recognised the difference in culture between European football support and that of America, they adapted. This seems to have involved a complete overhaul of the top brass and a more hands on approach via Josh Kroenke.
The Kroenke family seem more pragmatic, have a deep understanding of sports club ownership and recognised that not getting CL qualification was financially damaging.
The Chelsea ownership model club is completely at odds with what their ticket paying public can tolerate. This, in time, spreads out across the general fanbase and infiltrates the players who lose interest. It depends if the owners can win over their players and the supporters quickly enough. It certainly won’t be a quick fix and it hasn’t been at Arsenal but at least KSE know their business
Luckily this was just an opinion piece,cause a lot of misinformation in the Article.
Now you’ve got me puzzled DK, what are the “lots of misinformation” you refer to?
Ignore it Ken, it was a good article.
It seems I’ve ruffled DK’s feathers Jax, but I re read the article and couldn’t find any misinformation whatsoever.
They’re easily ruffled.
So it seems.
😂😂
Ruffled !
Couldn’t have been that good only 6 people commented .
But the fact that YOU5 did DK means the world to me!, even though you can’t explain your comment.
Still got it in for Arteta by the way?
Oh dear ..
You know my views on Arteta,why would that have changed ….
About time we won something wouldnt you say …
Been awhile .
Yep and that’s why I wrote the article, because chelsea are in the same position trophy wise, but worse off getting out of the situation, as MA has had six years building to the position we find ourselves in today.