Sports / Feature and Column
Unrest at home grabs unwelcome headlines
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-18 20:33
LONDON, Jan 18 - Torrents of media reports concerning conflict at Chelsea
have all but drowned out the Premier League champions' worldwide
commercial message in recent days.
Just as chief executive Peter Kenyon was launching the latest of the
club's initiatives for world soccer domination with a new Web site in
China, furious speculation that disgruntled manager Jose Mourinho might
quit was grabbing headlines last week.
Publicity over "positive" stories such as Chelsea's hosting of the
Chinese Olympic squad next month and a charitable venture on Thursday has
been lost in column inches devoted to Mourinho's apparent standoff with
billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
The problem for Chelsea is that the "negative" story, involving big money
and big egos is more exciting. It also crosses frontiers because of
fevered speculation that clubs in Spain, Italy and elsewhere are ready to
snap up Mourinho.
The story is likely to run and run -- at least to the end of the season
when Mourinho, who has more than three years left on his contract, and
Abramovich may decide to part company early.
Mourinho, a Champions League winner with Porto before being poached by
Chelsea in 2004 and leading them to their first title in 50 years, had
until recently assured fans he wanted to stay until 2010.
His family needed a bit of stability, Chelsea had a bold and ambitious
vision and the Premier League was the best in the world, he said.
DEPARTURE UNTHINKABLE
At the start of the season with another title in the bag and big signings
Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack ready to help Chelsea's assault on
domestic and European titles, talk of him leaving seemed unthinkable.
By last weekend that had all changed. When asked about his future
Mourinho said in a world-weary way: "In football you cannot be categoric
about certain issues."
The Chelsea hierarchy, whose stated aim is to make the London side the
biggest in the world and to become financially self-sufficient --
independently of Abramovich -- within the next decade, has held a flurry
of meetings this week trying to broker peace.
While speculation about the details of the dispute has ebbed and flowed,
newspapers are agreed that it stems from Abramovich's reluctance to add
to his more than $400 million spending on players and from his backing
for Shevchenko.
Mourinho wants cover because Chelsea's highly paid multinational squad
have been hit by injuries.
Those to goalkeeper Petr Cech, returning only this week after three
months out with fractured skull and to inspirational club and England
captain John Terry, who has missed the last nine matches with a back
problem, the most damaging.
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