It’s hard being a Chelsea fan.
Yes, you may think I’m insane for saying that considering the Blues’ immense success over the past decade and a bit, but trust me, it’s not all as easy as it looks.
There have been highs: Premier League titles; countless victories over Tottenham and of course that historic night in Munich back in 2012 where Didier Drogba rolled in the club’s most important penalty kick of all time.
With those ecstatic highs however there have also been some dismal lows: last season’s horrid 10th placed finish; the departure, arrival and re-departure of Jose Mourinho and the signing of Fernando Torres.
All of those of course were under the reign of Roman Abramovich, however those long-standing Chelsea fans will also understand the heartache of the previous 50 odd years where the Southwest London outfit failed to win a top flight league title and the saddening relegation that came with the club’s financial issues during the 1970’s.
Having had a terrific start to this season under Antonio Conte however, all those gloomy days seem a thing of the past as a new beacon of hope has peeked its warming glow over the Bridge.
However, while it might be nice at the moment to be at the top, it certainly still isn’t easy.
Our local Chelsea fans at the Transfer Tavern have been discussing the things only real Chelsea fans will understand, so here is the best SEVEN they could come up with …
A new manager isn’t as exciting anymore
Having had 9 in the past decade or so, getting a new manager has lost its shine a bit.
No longer comes the excitement of what the future may lie, or what a new manager may bring with him.
Instead, waiting 6 months for a verdict is now the norm at Stamford Bridge as the likelihood is they’ll be gone within another 6 anyway.
John Obi Mikel Scoring is the equivalent of winning the lottery
In a similar vein to the chants heard around Old Trafford whenever Paul Scholes used to pick up the ball on the edge of the box, Stamford Bridge erupts with bellows of ‘SHOOT’ every time John Obi Mikel picks the ball up in the opposing half – no matter how far out he may be. Mikel hitting the back of the net is pure elation, simply because he’s not very good at it.
Any Tottenham player is over-rated
Harry Kane? Over-rated. Dele Alli? Over-rated. Hugo Lloris? Over-rated. Regardless of whether any of the boys in White would walk into Chelsea’s squad or not, I’m afraid they – in the eyes of the Blues faithful – are all good for nothing, over-paid and prized far too highly considering none of them have managed to bring home any Silverware since 2008, and even then it was only the League Cup.
Didier Drogba = God
Drogba almost single handedly won Chelsea the Champions League back in 2012, and when he rolled in the winning penalty on that faithful night in Munich, he forever etched himself into the annals of Chelsea history.
It still makes me cry watching it now.
Silence is golden
People say that Stamford Bridge lacks atmosphere, and believe me I understand why they would think that considering the Bridge is more often quiet than not.
But atmosphere doesn’t always mean having 50 odd thousand fans screaming and hollering nonsense at the ref and the players for 90 minutes.
Sometimes atmosphere is being able to sit-back, watch the game and throughly enjoy yourself in the process without being surrounded by a bunch of lunatics.
Signing a striker is a total gamble
Usually when a club signs a new hitman, talks of how excited they are to see their new danger man on the pitch and the wonder of whether he will score the 20 goals a season they’ve been looking for for so many years arise.
At Chelsea however – much like new management – judgement is reserved until you actually perform, as too often than we would like the signing of a new striker seems to be a calamitous error of judgement, examples A,B and C being Adrian Mutu, Mateja Kezman and of course Fernando Torres.
The lack of youth players is frustrating
All real Chelsea fans know how successful their youth sides have been over the last decade, and especially in the past two seasons where they won back-to-back European and domestic titles.
However well they seem to play though, chances are little to none of them get a look in the first team as we opt for overseas players instead.
Only Guus Hiddink really did it with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Bertrand Traore last year, of whom both were a bath of fresh air that the club badly needed.
