Chelsea FC: the Official Biography

Book excerpt: CHELSEA FC: THE OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY is not a dry, boring history but instead goes to the heart of what gives the club its personality. The author has access to all the key characters, including Mourinho, Abramovich and the star players, plus legendary names of the past and the varied voices of backroom staff, boarding house landladies and players who never made it. All have a story to tell. The author addresses all the controversies, including: the near suffocation through lack of cash in the 1970s and in 2002; the impact of Abramovich’s money and whether it might corrupt the club’s soul; the club and fans' response to racism; how the hooliganism which dogged Chelsea for years has been tackled. On the lighter side, Chelsea is regarded as the country’s glamour club, and fashions, good and dreadful, will feature alongside celebrity fans and the worlds of art and music. And then there is the football at the core of it all, creating moments of huge tension and excitement. Years of under-achievement now sit alongside the imminent emergence of Chelsea’s most successful period in the past century.