It's not Sherwood!

[supertom]

Come on guys you should all know better than to talk to Chelsea fans.
 

[dave shelley]

Chelsea never were and, never will be a big club. 

[john e]

my seven year old gave his opinion earlier today on the Villa managers situation

he just opened his new pack of 'match attack' cards, and shouted through to me 'this is the worstest one ever' I'm wondering who this can be a man Utd player Liverpool player maybe

no the latest card was Paul Lambert Aston Villa manager,  'he was rubbish' he says pointing at the picture of lambert

[Toronto Villa]

Interesting reading that Sherwood regrets the way he set up vs Man U at Old Trafford. It was actually the first game he hasn't tried to go toe to toe with the opponent and we were beaten trying to avoid defeat. A throw back to TSM1/TSM2. That's why I know that whatever the result vs Arsenal we'll have tried to go and beat them. No way he'll try and just play on the break because if we give Arsenal the ball before we know it they'll be 2 up and out of sight. We have to give it everything we've got to score against them and if we end up losing trying to win, then so be it. I love that approach.

[supertom]

my seven year old gave his opinion earlier today on the Villa managers situation

he just opened his new pack of 'match attack' cards, and shouted through to me 'this is the worstest one ever' I'm wondering who this can be a man Utd player Liverpool player maybe

no the latest card was Paul Lambert Aston Villa manager,  'he was rubbish' he says pointing at the picture of lambert

Fetch that card out the trash. If your lad misbehaves at Xmas you can regift him the Lambert card, save you going out and getting lumps of coal. ha ha.

[lovejoy]

Chelsea never were and, never will be a big club. 

It depends how you define big really. They are successful, Premier League ever-presents and have 40,000 every week. I think they can claim to be successful in recent years.
I am no Chelsea fan, however.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Chelsea never were and, never will be a big club. 

It depends how you define big really. They are successful, Premier League ever-presents and have 40,000 every week. I think they can claim to be successful in recent years.
I am no Chelsea fan, however.

They're not "big" in the way that Liverpool, Man U or Real Madrid are; but I'm afraid to admit it that they are big by any other standard.

They now have 1 more major trophy than us; and probably have more worldwide fans than we do.

Another reason (if any was needed) to win that FA Cup.

[He wears a magic hat]

There has to be a difference between what constitutes a big club and what constitutes a Rich one.

Chelsea imo fall into the latter

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Interesting reading that Sherwood regrets the way he set up vs Man U at Old Trafford. It was actually the first game he hasn't tried to go toe to toe with the opponent and we were beaten trying to avoid defeat. A throw back to TSM1/TSM2. That's why I know that whatever the result vs Arsenal we'll have tried to go and beat them. No way he'll try and just play on the break because if we give Arsenal the ball before we know it they'll be 2 up and out of sight. We have to give it everything we've got to score against them and if we end up losing trying to win, then so be it. I love that approach.

I'd rather we win the cup - by all means necessary.

[Toronto Villa]

Interesting reading that Sherwood regrets the way he set up vs Man U at Old Trafford. It was actually the first game he hasn't tried to go toe to toe with the opponent and we were beaten trying to avoid defeat. A throw back to TSM1/TSM2. That's why I know that whatever the result vs Arsenal we'll have tried to go and beat them. No way he'll try and just play on the break because if we give Arsenal the ball before we know it they'll be 2 up and out of sight. We have to give it everything we've got to score against them and if we end up losing trying to win, then so be it. I love that approach.

I'd rather we win the cup - by all means necessary.

on that day, we'll already be safe and there will be nothing else in front of us other than regret if we do not put absolutely everything into that game. Look at the previous FA Cup and the bitter taste we all still have from it. We simply have to give everything we have to bringing home the trophy.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

There has to be a difference between what constitutes a big club and what constitutes a Rich one.

Chelsea imo fall into the latter

I'd say a big club is one that:

a) has a large fanbase - can fill a 40-50k stadium (assuming they had one of that size) - one that will grow if success is maintained.
b) has won a significant number of trophies - including league titles and European level tournaments.

Their success is attracting young fans from other clubs, and around the world; so (assuming regular success) they could be a "Liverpool" or "Arsenal" sized club in 20-30 years time, as all these fans grow up.

If they weren't big before, they are now.

[He wears a magic hat]

Take away Abramovich' money then you'll see exactly what sort of club Chelsea is.

[dave.woodhall]

Take away Abramovich' money then you'll see exactly what sort of club Chelsea is.

You could say that about every successful club but the big factor Chelsea have in their favour now, rich owner or not, is their location. A club in west London will always have a higher profile than one in the provinces.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Take away Abramovich' money then you'll see exactly what sort of club Chelsea is.

But clubs can become big if they win things and increase their fanbase.  If you have 40k+ fans who regularly attend games, and if you have won the biggest trophies in club football, you're a big club.

[chrisw1]

Take away Abramovich' money then you'll see exactly what sort of club Chelsea is.

But clubs can become big if they win things and increase their fanbase.  If you have 40k+ fans who regularly attend games, and if you have won the biggest trophies in club football, you're a big club.

Yep.  And to argue otherwise because they were not as successful 30 years ago is nonsense.  A generation has grown up watching them be successful on a regular basis and win a hat-load of trophy's.  History is lovely, but surely trophy's and fan base has to be the defining factor of a 'big club' in the modern era.