Stamford Bridge drama continues
Roman Abramovich visited Chelsea’s training ground twice last week and the annual Chelsea theatrical performance reached its Third Act with a resounding crescendo. Nothing new, we have all seen this play before.
It starts off with the arrival in London of a reputable manager. A Russian oligarch meets him, shakes his hand, takes a photo with him, gives him a blank cheque and steps back into the shadows. The manager, who we think is the protagonist, gets off to a good start. The media loves him and writes glowing ballads of his every move. Then Chelsea lose a match. Suddenly the lights are dimmed and the stage goes foggy.
The manager tries his best to produce results but a shadowy figure keeps tripping him. Soon, we come to realise that the manager is not the protagonist, he is merely a pawn. A pawn in the battle between the Russian oligarch and his inner demons. It dawns on us, despite what logic would dictate, that it’s all about him. The third act ends with Russian succumbing to the dark side and banishing the manager from his kingdom. Because, after all, a happy ending is too clichéd.
It’s a brilliant script. On each viewing I am curious as to how it will all end. All credit goes to the character of the Russian oligarch. He is whimsical, self-indulgent, impatient and, for the want of a fancier word, extremely nosy.
In short, he has every trait that makes one unsuccessful at running a club. On the other hand, without him, Chelsea would have never risen to their current heights. Throw in the character of ‘The Manager’ (this year being played by Andre Villas-Boas aka AVB) and you get a truly fascinating equation.
But this time I’m hoping for a surprise ending. No lessons learnt, I suppose. We’ll see.
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