Before Roman came in we were on the verge of liquidation. That is why no matter what people wanna say about chelsea, we don't give a crap.
There wasn't actually a sudden turnaround since Roman came in though. Chelsea's momentum had been building from when Ruud Gullit became manager. Then Vialli took over and he did even better than Gullit. So the turnaround as you put it, hasn't been sudden at all.
As for flirting with the second division. Every team in the Premiership has been relegated at one time or another, except Arsenal ( thanks to a little bit of bribery). The trick is to come back up and stay there which is what we did. We have ALWAYS been a top division club and we have always been one of the biggest clubs in England too. To suggest anything else would be inaccurate.
We are not as nuevo riche as some would like to believe either. Before Bates, we always had plenty of money to burn. Shortly before the pig farmer arrived at Chelsea we were a rich club. The club lost a lot of money in the stock market crash at the time, and that's what pushed us down the road towards insolvency. Sure we are now richer than we have ever been, but it isn't something that we are not used to at Chelsea.
When Fergie took over at United, those were the days when managers remained in place forever at most clubs. We had a very settled club before Bates took over. His ego and ignorance meant that only he could be "the man" at Chelsea, and anyone who threatened that position was out on his ear. There was nothing constructive in Bates' motives though. It was all done out of spite.
To suggest that Roman is in any way similar to Bates is just ridiculous. He has as much say in football matters as the Glazers do at United. He has his opinions of course and he has his desires, but that does not mean that he dictates everything that happens at Chelsea. He is the owner, but we have a board of directors just like United, who make the decisions as the board see fit.
Everyone likes to think that the Sun's version of the "Roman at Chelsea" saga is the real deal. Nothing could be further from the truth. In truth he has very little say in the running of the club. We have people in place with a lot more experience and expertise than Roman has, and he happily conceeds that fact contrary to popular belief.
Another fallacy that needs to be put to bed is this crap, "instant results or you are out Mr Manager " scenario. Never has that been the policy at Chelsea and it never will be the policy at Chelsea. Give me one example of a Chelsea manager being sacked because his results were a dissapointment. Don't mention Avram Grant though, because bad results were not the reason why his managership came to an end. He achieved wonderfully and the club acknowledge that.
When Grant took over from Jose, it was made very very clear that this was a temporary appointment. That is a fact that people like to forget. The deal was to lead Chelsea for the rest of the season and then revert back to his Director of football post.
When the time came for Grant to step back at the end of the season, suddenly he didn't want to. He wanted another shot at being manager. He was reminded that was not the deal. Avram refused to be one of the backroom boys again and he chose to leave the club instead. That is the reason Grant is gone. There is not another.
If you think Scolari will be given one season to achieve, then you must be bonkers. Chelsea have always been looking for a manager who will take the club forward for years to come. Jose could have been that man, except for his hyperactive personality that alienated him and the club, from the rest of the civilised world. Someone that intense is always gonna bring everything down around himself, and that's what he did. He was too unstable to guarantee his own longevity.
Scolari or someone of his ilk, would be a much better proposition for Chelsea at this time. Scolari will not be thinking about which club he want's to move to next, as Jose did (which was understandable considering Jose's age).
Scolari, because of his age and experience will settle in better I think. He has his own kind of wierdness oif course, but hopefully his antics will amuse rather than confront.
All this just to repeat the same old crap. If you are gonna base your opinions about all things Chelsea, on what the tabloids are saying about us, then I feel sorry for you. I can see why it suits peoples needs to believe all the rubbish but really, all it shows to those who know better is that it is ignorance or bitterness. Or both.