Roman's growing bored with football
Is this the real cause of Chelsea's civil war?When you own a Boeing 767, you can pretty much go anywhere, whenever you choose. Money is no object and nor is seat availability. But according to those close to Roman Abramovich, no date has been set for when his custom-built jet airliner will next be touching down on English soil.
"His schedule is fluid at the moment," said a source in Moscow before insisting the Russian billionaire had been forced to miss ChelseaÂ’s last two games because of business commitments. Those same sources deny ChelseaÂ’s owner has fallen out of love with his favourite football team, but that was not a view shared privately by officials at Stamford Bridge.
They hope the two goals Andriy Shevchenko scored against Wycombe on Tuesday night did not just secure ChelseaÂ’s place in next monthÂ’s Carling Cup Final. They hope, rather nervously, that the goals will reinvigorate AbramovichÂ’s enthusiasm for the game.
The rift that has developed between Abramovich and manager Jose Mourinho is the reason the former oil magnate did not take his usual seat at Stamford Bridge this week and why he also failed to show at Anfield last Saturday. And the longer he remains away, the more likely the season will end with MourinhoÂ’s departure from Chelsea - an outcome that is still the greatest fear of chief executive Peter Kenyon and his colleagues on the Chelsea board.
Nobody seems quite sure when Abramovich will next appear. Sunday's FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest? Next WednesdayÂ’s Premiership encounter with Blackburn? He was still in Moscow yesterday and, according to sources in Israel, he is due there next week for a football tournament of rather less significance than anything Chelsea remain involved in.
While Abramovich remains away, Mourinho continues to play. He was reluctant to appear before the media after TuesdayÂ’s semi-final victory but, once in position, he wasted little time in turning up the heat on his absent employers.
The players, he said, remained behind him — so much so, in fact, that captain John Terry wants to know if Mourinho will remain in charge before he signs an extension to his contract. It amounted to mischief making. Terry, after all, is expected to sign a new £150,000-a-week contract irrespective of who is Chelsea's manager next season. But he was hardly going to assist Kenyon in brokering a peace deal between Mourinho and Abramovich.
