Chelsea fans, they’re just like the Big Tasty at McDonald’s, they come in two different styles.
You’ve got the old-school fans, and you’ve also got the glory hunters. Believe it or not, there are even more stereotypes to a Chelsea fan than you’d initially think. And, rather surprisingly, they don’t all mention money.
As with every set of fans, there are some downright crazy ones and some that embarrass the club on a weekly basis – oh, and others who couldn’t even name half of the starting line-up, because let’s be honest, they don’t really follow football.
With that in mind, here are five types of Chelsea fan who no one wants to be…
The post-2003 fan
We all know at least one, don’t we? The one that claims to have “supported them my whole life” or “I supported them before Abramovich”, but really, they supported them when they started tearing the Premier League a new one with their money and talent on show.
Some of them only started to clue on to what a sure thing it is to support the Blues following Jose Mourinho’s appointment and first couple of trophies, which says it all.
It wouldn’t surprise me if these ‘fans’ had kept it on the down low for a couple of years, and at some point, switched allegiances to Manchester City, because let’s be honest, the only reason they were attracted to Chelsea in the first place was because they looked miles better than Manchester United.
The bitter fans, currently known as Petr Cech haters
They despised Frank Lampard last season as well, and won’t even hear his name mentioned, despite you know, all those goals and trophies, and now Lampard has finally departed for the MLS, they’ve turned their attentions to new Arsenal recruit Petr Cech.
How can this man be hated for continuing his career? He’s 33 years old, and is never going to get in ahead of a 23 year old keeper, who’s also one of the best in the world.
Granted, he’s gone to Chelsea’s London rivals, but he was a key figure in your side that only conceded 15 goals in 2004/05, which brought you your first Premier League title too – not to mention his heroics in Munich, going the right way on every single penalty and being as important as Didier Drogba in Chelsea winning the Champions League.
The pre-Abramovich fan
These are the fans that I have the utmost respect for. How difficult must it be to be tarnished with the same ‘glory-hunting’ brush as with most of their fans nowadays?
People forget that Chelsea went 60 years without winning a league title. For the ones that went through such a dry spell it must be refreshing, yet frustrating at the same time.
Yes, football relies on money in the modern game, but being one of the first clubs in the Premier League to ‘buy’ the Premier League title, I can’t imagine how the traditionalist Chelsea supporters feel out there.
Champions of Europe
This song. Wow, it’s up there with one of the worst in English football – obviously after that infamous James Milner Liverpool chant, and the 20 times one for Manchester United. But, seriously, was there nothing more creative than this monotonous chant? Just for the record, it’s up there with one of my favourite Champions League triumphs.
Really, you can’t blame Chelsea fans for going a bit overboard with their Munich celebrations – at least it’s in the last decade unlike United’s win in 1999 – and given they were robbed on more than one occasion in the Champions League, it must have felt like eight years of goals that never were and f*cking disgraces against Barcelona had all finally paid off.
Ungrateful souls
I’m sorry, but I can’t let this one go. Roberto Di Matteo’s sacking. He brought to the club what the great man himself, Jose Mourinho, couldn’t. A Champions League trophy. He had to beat Bayern Munich, with Bertrand and Bosingwa, and without John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, who’d have thought it? Then, just five months later, he’s sacked. I couldn’t even comprehend it. I’m still bewildered to this day. For those calling his head at the time…
And, I know Benitez wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea in west London, but he brought home another European trophy, and he was gone shortly after too. I know his Liverpool connections and public comments didn’t help, but he brought success to your club. Make him your cup of tea!
Oh well, you’ve got Mourinho back now, so I guess it’s all worked out… Until the next fallout with Abramovich of course.
