Is Roman Abramovich Turning into Vladimir Romanov?

By: Daryl | September 23rd, 2007

Roman Abramovich dressed for winter As if the revelations about John Terry’s role in Jose Mourinho’s departure aren’t enough, there’s a much more disturbing story developing at Stamford Bridge. Apparently, while Jose Mourinho was doing a post Rosenborg press conference last Tuesday, Roman Abramovich was in the Chelsea dressing room lecturing Michael Essien about passing.

Using a tactics board, and Andriy Shevchenko as an interpreter, Abramovich was explaining to Essien that too many of his passes were going through the middle of the field where 70% of the Rosenborg players were, when his passes should have been going to the wings where only 30% of the Rosenborg players were. Can you imagine the look on Essien’s face?

This is double shocking because Abramovich had been famous, and celebrated, for his hands off approach to team affairs. Here is a sensible man, we thought, who recognizes his limits and understands that he’s a businessman not a football manager. But that seems to have changed. I still can’t wrap my head around the image of a Russian billionaire who’s never played football lecturing Chelsea’s 2006/7 Player of the Season on how to pass a football, but if this is true then Chelsea could be heading for trouble. Vladimir Romanov style trouble.

Romanov is the Lithuanian businessman who took control of Hearts in 2005. With George Burley in the managerial hotseat, Hearts went the first eight games of the Scottish Premier League season unbeaten, putting them top of the league. If you’re at all familiar with Scottish football you’ll know that for any non-Glasgow team to top the Scottish Prem is incredible. With a successful manager and a moneybags owner, things looked rosy for Hearts.

But then Romanov assumed full control of the club. He fired both George Burley and Hearts chief exec Phil Anderton, causing the chairman George Foulkes to resign in protest. Even more bizarrely, Romanov appointed Graham Rix as manager, and then bought in players without Rix’s consent, and, if the rumours are true, picked the team. Rix was sacked before he could finish the season and replaced by Lithuanian Valdas Ivanauskas, who has since gone on sabbatical, come back, and ultimately been replaced by a combination of Stephen Frail and Anatoly Korobochka, the latter not speaking any English.

Several incidents like Romanov threatening to put players up for sale if they didn’t beat Dunfermline, giving captain Steven Pressley a free transfer to Celtic and a massive influx of Lithuanian players seem to confirm that Romanov is doing whatever he likes. Hearts are currently 7th in the 12 team Scottish Prem, which isn’t as good as the 1st place they occupied before Romanov sacked George Burley.

I’m not suggesting Abramovich will run quite as rampant as Romanov has. But in his own way he’s already mirrored several of Romanov’s moves. Getting rid of a successful coach, bringing in staff and players who are friends of his and now getting involved in what happens on the field with this Michael Essien lecture.