Just after the second half had kicked off on Saturday against Everton, and shortly before Drogba had scored his second of the game, a Chelsea supporter sitting 15 or so seats to my right in the Matthew Harding Lower piped up.
“Drogba you f*king c*nt, get onside”, were his wisely chosen words.
It didn’t get any better from there. “Drogba, you lazy w*nker”. He continued from there, abusing Chelsea players not meeting whatever arbitrary high standards he had set for the team. I can only assume he didn’t cheer Drogba’s goal.
Watching games, there are always fans making comments you don’t agree with. Likewise there is regularly someone who goes too far or is too critical of the players he or she is supposed to be supporting. I have no doubt that these characters exist at every football stadium across the country and, truth be told, you’re better just ignoring them.
Unlike during the dark days of Scolari early this year, there was no real cause for Chelsea fans to be booing the team following the unfortunate draw with Everton at the weekend. But, witnessing it first hand, I can assure everyone that it was a very small minority of fans who chose to voice their displeasure in that way. There was certainly no-one near me booing. If there was booing, it was very quiet indeed to the point where it is misrepresentative to suggest the players were booed off the pitch.
The media have picked up on it, and have been encouraged by Petr Cech’s expressions of surprise to hear booing. Now that it’s been blown out of all proportion, Ian Wright has chosen to take the opportunity to make a vicious, totally unwarranted and targeted attack on Chelsea fans in a double page article in The Sun.
“When my son Shaun played for Chelsea”, he starts, neatly forgetting that his son caused plenty of real frustration in the stands as he time and again spurned opportunities to put in a half-decent performance for the Blues, “I would go to Stamford Bridge regularly. After a while, I stopped. The amount of moaning and complaining coming from certain sections of the stands was unbelievable. I'd never heard anything like it.”
You’ve never heard anything like it, Ian? Really? In all your years of playing and watching football, you’ve never heard fans complaining about their own players? I don’t believe you (even if you did play half your games at Highbury, where in all likelihood you’d hear nothing at all). He continues: “My seat was near the players who were not involved. Just in front of us, there was one bloke who, win or lose, did not stop complaining. He was never happy, even with a convincing home win.”
As I said, there is always one person near you shouting nonsensical abuse. But the critical thing here is that Wright is talking about his experience of one person being unreasonable, not the 40-odd thousand people crammed into Stamford Bridge.
From this point however, Wright’s article become more unwarranted and even less considered. “Those fans who jeered are an absolute disgrace” – well, that’s debateable, but the next bit is outrageous. “They (the fans) might have plenty of money but, in football terms, they have no class whatsoever.” Such a sweeping and unfair judgement. Yes, Chelsea has more than its fair share of more wealthy supporters and has done for decades, but those fans aren’t close to being the majority. I have had season tickets in two separate parts of the Matthew Harding end and sat alongside a range of brilliant football fans from all walks of life: barmen to bankers; locksmiths to chefs; and removal men to PR consultants.
To suggest that ‘many of’ Chelsea’s fans “saunter into hospitality areas in expensive suits and fancy shoes” is to ignore what really happens each week, and to suggest that fans of the club “have either forgotten where the club has come from or have no idea about Chelsea’s problems down the years” suggests that he simply has an anti-Chelsea agenda. Is he still feeling bitter that Shaun didn’t make it at Chelsea? Or perhaps it’s because of the years he spent at Arsenal?
Yes, we all get frustrated by fair-weather fans who can’t – or won’t – put things into perspective, and I did think booing on Saturday was harsh. But then again – and the point has been made brilliantly over on the Chelsea Daft blog – let’s not forget that paying fans are entitled to express dissatisfaction or frustration. Contrary to Wright’s assertion that fans who criticise their team are unintelligent (am I unintelligent because I’ve criticised Ancelotti at times this season?), it is certainly unintelligent to blindly put faith in your team, regardless of performance.
When Wright concludes that Chelsea fans “should learn a few lessons from the fans up at Liverpool”, it is clear that it isn’t Chelsea fans who are classless, just Wright’s blinkered article. Disappointing. I wonder if Ian wrote an article about what a disgrace it was for Arsenal fans to leave the Emirates half an hour early when Chelsea and United played them last spring? I doubt it.
Ian, if you want to criticise Chelsea, condemn our youth policy or our footballing ethos - we can debate that. But lay off the fans with your mindless drivel.
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He is bitter that his son is an average player,he doesnt complain that Chelsea made his son a very wealthy man. And since when has Ian Wright had class??
Posted by: springy | 15 December 2009 at 16:29
Everton fan here. I think Wright was totally out of order to say that about Chelsea fans. It's a very direct and personal attack on the fans of a club where his son failed. Simples. Come on, the guy has no brains, let alone class himself. I'm more surprised that the media give him a voice. His inane ramblings disguised as punditry are an absolute joke and make me cringe with embarrassment. If he thinks that's bad he should hear the abuse poor Hibbert and Osman get at Goodison (which I totally condemn)! Wright = shit for brains
Posted by: Bendoni | 15 December 2009 at 17:02
Ian wright is CORRECT! All of a sudden Roman buys Chelsea and then u guys have NEW FANS who don't have a clue about football, how can u really disagree with what ian wright is saying. Chelsea fans only cheer when there team is winning but when they drop points or lose the fans show their TRUE COLOURS! A sign of great fans is getting behind the team when they lose NOT when they are winning! Maybe the fact that Chelsea fans are ALWAYS GROANING when Chelsea are not winning is maybe the reason the players feel nervous and can't perform! Like wright said he was in the Chelsea stands when your fans wouldn't even turn up to games, now all of sudden you have a sugar daddy to pump money, Chelsea fans want to open their mouth and show up! Where were u when u had NO PREM TITLES! Chelsea fans are Fake! All the money but NO HISTORY!! No REAL Fans!! Your team goes one nil down to everton and Stamford bridge was MUTE! that Is until you scored! Learn from us Liverpool fans that's why we are the best fans in the world because we get behind the team regardless! Chelsea are FAKE! PERIOD!!
Posted by: Na-Sei | 15 December 2009 at 17:34
So Ian Wright thinks Chelsea fans lack class does he? This is the same Ian Wright who viciously abused the linesman with one arm. Remember Ian? Now thats Arsenal class for you!
Posted by: Phil | 15 December 2009 at 17:34
Hey you liverpool fan, FUCK OFF, liverpool dont have the right to say anything, you are actually risking your champions league spot next year, fans do expect wins and that is for every club, Chelsea fans know they can win, thats why they get disappointed when they lose, unlike liverpool who are fucking used to loosing. Chelsea fans booed for a few seconds, and they were not booing cech they booed the performance and I am still stressing that liverpool fans have no right to speak because of their current situation.
Posted by: CFC | 15 December 2009 at 17:51
Hah
A Liverpool posting about 'historee'. You can't argue with Liverpool's success, and the trophies. But surely what history is is more than this.
It's about winning, and losing, the highs and the lows.
So Liverpool fans your history includes the 5 Euro cups, the leagues, the first club to be found guilty of matchfixing, Hillsborough, Heysel, and the last 20 years were you've feasted on a fairly lucky victory over AC Milan.
You can keep your history, I've lived ours.
Posted by: Irish Blue | 15 December 2009 at 20:52
Very well said. The article is outrageous, and obviously sheer attacking from an anti-chelsea person, and with no credibility at all.
And he wants to talk about class... right, his 'article' is then a fine example of class, ain't it?
Pathetic, really.
Posted by: mimilee | 15 December 2009 at 21:56
so chelsea should learn from liverpool fans.
are these the out-of-towners who dominate the crowd at anfield or the scouse ones who sit in the pubs of merseyside decked out in their replica shirts?
scouse blues go to the match
scouse reds go to the pub
Posted by: John of Everton | 16 December 2009 at 08:14
surely not the same liverpool fans that burnt gerrards shirt!! as for ian wright and arsenal fans,didnt the emirates empty fairly quickly after chelsea's 3rd goal and man utd's last 2nd goal in the CL semi last season?? wrights a prat!!
Posted by: springy | 16 December 2009 at 14:57
Thanks for the mention about my blog article! Great article from yourselves on this too!!
Posted by: Chelseadaft | 16 December 2009 at 15:18
he talks about class and writes for the sun, he was sitting near the players who were not playing and the guy in front moaned regardless of the result, maybe it was Jose
Posted by: boris | 16 December 2009 at 16:22