This quote is from yesterday’s press conference and he went on to say
And I see no reason why Romelu will be any different.
I imagine that Lukaku will get a fairly lukewarm reception tonight, probably a polite round of applause at best. To be fair we never really got the chance to get to know him.
He moved on because he saw his future elsewhere, a place where he would be more likely to be first choice. He wants to play every game & that
simply wasn’t going to happen at Chelsea.
I’ve been trying to think of an occasion recently when a former player has received an entirely hostile reception… I’m struggling. The best I can do is, back in the day, 10 to 15 years ago, when Gus Poyet & Jason Cundy made their respective returns with Tottenham Hotspur. The atmosphere could politely be described as “hostile”.
Their experience is a little different to Carlo Cudicini’s.. Although most fans seem to appreciate that he had little choice in making a move to North London. Both Gus & Jason have subsequently been accepted back in to the fold, particularly Jason who is a Chelsea TV & radio presenter… & is blue through & through.
What we fans need to remember is that, just like running a football club is a business, being a professional footballer player is a job. For some it is obviously much more than a job but, bottom line, it is a wage packet.
You have a very limited shelf life, often with no long term prospects, & you sometimes have to make tough choices to support yourself & your family.
I am full of admiration for people like Damien Duff who, allegedly, turned down at better offer from Tottenham to go to Newcastle when we no longer needed his services, because he could not bring himself to join our North London rivals.
I will never forgot Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scoring his first goal for Charlton to equalise against us in September 2006. He held his hands up in apology to the Mathew Harding Stand & refused to celebrate his goal. The entire Chelsea crowd gave him a standing ovation.
These things are about how you conduct yourself. If you leave like Andre Schurrle & Ryan Bertrand did in the last week or so with a (no doubt PR inspired) thank you to the club & the fans, then you go & come back with my blessing. Just don’t slate the club or, more importantly, the fans. We have supported you & paid your wages. Without us a football club is nothing.
So to end this piece, I just want to say a few words about Frank Lampard’s return last weekend. I thought we got it spot on. We showed much more class than our shirt burning rivals. We applauded him when he came on but quickly broke in to chants of “Chelsea! Chelsea!”. At the end of the game most fans stayed & gave him a standing ovation as he walked round the pitch to thank us & say his goodbyes.
Sure, I hate seeing him in a City shirt & sure, I’m not happy he scored against us at The Etihad. But if he had deliberately missed that goal I would have lost my respect for him. He is a top pro & behaves like one. There were, of course, a minority who booed him. That is their right. I wonder if the gentleman with the banner in the lower west will be there tonight & whether the fans around him give him some stick? I hope not.
Everyone is entitled to their view &, in my opinion, he has made enough of a mug of himself already.
Enjoy the match. Let’s get 3 points.
Keep the Blue Flag flying high
We are Chelsea!!