24 02 2006 We love the team but detest the administration at Chelsea
Despite things on the pitch being pretty rosy (dodgy referees aside) at the moment the genuine Chelsea fans who have
been going for years are pretty unenamoured with the way things are going behind the scenes at the club.
At the moment it seems that the club is more interested in attracting new fans who have no idea about the game or our
history rather than rewarding those who have been at this club through thick and thin. If it's not a problem with the box
office then it's some idiot not allowing fans to hang up flags, bring umbrellas to the game or allowing Chelsea fans to
express themselves in general.
I just spoke to my good friend Bryan, and the stewards at Chelsea would not let him bring his umbrella to the family
section before a game. Instead he had to leave it in the security centre outside the ground. How convenient was that!
I had the recent misfortune of having my Chelsea flag taken down because it overhung off the bottom of the West
Upper, despite not obstructing the view of anyone nor covering any advertising. The Chelsea Supporters Group had a
banner confiscated earlier on this season that simply stated "lower prices for juniors" (I paraphrase). I even saw a
pensioner being searched outside the front entrance of the West Stand while I walked into the ground unchecked with a
rucksack on me!
There is no way that we will generate any atmosphere or tradition while the real Chelsea fans feel excluded from the
club they love. The current administration should not base loyalty on one season's attendance (kids excluded of course)
but plough through records over time to see who the genuine Chelsea fans are. How many of us gave some of our hard
earned money (or in my case, pocket money) to the "Save The Bridge" cause in the late 1980s? How much have we
spent on season tickets over the years? And what about investing in the Chelsea Pitch Owners scheme (at £100 a pop)
which now seems to be redundant?
The ticketing issue is a joke at the moment. I feel sorry for the members who do have genuine family and financial
obligations meaning they can only see a few matches a season. A lot of these people who are now in their thirties and
forties followed Chelsea through thick and thin when we were rubbish, and now find it difficult to afford to take their
family to the odd match as tickets are £50 a pop on average. The worst thing is now seeing the JCLs complaining that
they couldn't get a home Chelsea ticket for the Barca game. Hang on - at the home game against Colchester there were
plenty of tickets for members at £25 (one of the few things I applaud Chelsea doing - reducing ticket prices for domestic
club matches) which were not taken up. The game went on general sale too! So where were these moaning members at
that match!
Chelsea must reduce ticket prices now. They must treat fans better. Take those mugs off the Fans Forum who don't
even go to all the home matches all season, let alone the aways, and get some proper fans in. Make me feel like a fan
again. It's embarrassing going to Anfield and seeing the great spirit there with the flags and banners they are allowed to
put up. At Chelsea you can't even bring a flag in with a weedy bamboo stick on it! No wonder the atmosphere is only
good at the big games. Organise events for the centenary that all fans can relate to - how about a Clash tribute band or
something similar?
At the end of the day Chelsea know that if I give up my season ticket some thirty year old tosser from Surrey who only
just started to support Chelsea will take my seat. You knows it homies!
To end, a friend of mine, Pria, told me a story of a Chelsea fan who ordered four, but was sent forty Spurs home tickets
in error and was charged for them. He was fined by his bank for being overdrawn. He took the remaining tickets back to
the box office and received no apology, no thankyou, and even worse - the box office was extremely reticent to sign a
document stating that this Chelsea fan had the honesty to return the tickets. How did some muppet in the box office not
think it fishy that one guy at one address wanted forty tickets! It makes me seethe. Rant over.
