Why Chelsea are bad for the game - Debate

Fans
By Boris Mellor
February 6 2005

On the same day that an investigation into Chelsea’s alleged tapping up of Ashley Cole is announced Ian Ridley argues in the Observer that Chelsea are bad for the game.

"If you are a fan of football, you cannot help but be impressed by what José Mourinho and his talented team have already achieved. And you cannot help, too, being disgusted by the way Chelsea as a club conduct their business. Good for the game? Good to watch, mostly; bad for what little morality football has left. It is always hard to separate club from team. "The full story is here.

Will Buckley argues the opposite case

"Now that the championship has effectively been settled, there are those who are coming over all huffy and cavilling that Roman Abramovich is simply unacceptable. The charge against Abramovich is simply made, and simplistic. He has oodles of boodle - ergo, he must be a crook. This is reductive rather than deductive. He is guilty of being who he is rather than of any specific crimes he may have committed along the way."

The full case is here.