Blue Tomorrow?

From its formation in 1905, Chelsea have been regarded as the most glamorous of clubs. Visitors to the Bridge have included Hollywood actresses, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and even an American Secretary of State complete with Secret Service entourage. But while famous names seem attracted to Chelsea''s proximity to London''s West End, the team has often disappointed. More recently Chelsea have become one of the most successful of the new breed of Premiership clubs. Under Bates, Stamford Bridge has become home to 39 businesses ranging from travel agencies to banks, restaurants and hotels to insurance companies, with the express aim of insuring his football club against the inconsistencies and dangerous internal feuding that have hamstrung previous chairmen. Over the past 6 years Chelsea has undergone a revolution, but along with progress'' has come rampant commercialism -- as one Chelsea fan noted, loyalty is measured by how much you can spend rather than how much you care. The life-long emotional bond that forms between a football club and its supporters is now almost a weakness, there to be exploited by the money-drunk millionaires that have taken over our sacred game''. Life-long Chelsea fan Mark Meehan discovers a club in a hurry: an ageing chairman frantic to win the championship before he retires, a club facing mounting debts, an expensively assembled playing staff and a new manager brought in because the old one could only deliver five trophies in three seasons. Clearly, nearly 20 years after assuming control, Ken Bates is still chasing his elusive "Blue Tomorrow" -- but, as Meehan discovers, he is in danger of losing control of his own club with potentially disastrous consequences.