Nothing Less Than A Snub

Well, the season ended on a high. The FA Cup victory at the new Wembley
Stadium gave Chelsea a unique place in football folklore. In beating Manchester
Utd, Chelsea became the last side to win the trophy at the old Wembley and the
first to win it at the new stadium.

In winning both the League and FA Cups, Chelsea also became the first English
side to win two domestic trophies in the same season at different stadiums. As
well as that, Didier Drogba, 2007 Golden Boot winner and Chelsea’s Players’
Player of the Season, became the first player to score in two different finals
in the same season.

However, one ignominious piece of history seems to have been written by the
Club when they decided against an FA Cup parade following Chelsea’s victory
against Manchester Utd. Once those running Chelsea cottoned on to the fact that
the decision not to show off their spoils upset many supporters, the excuses
came thick and fast.

First off, they said that they ’didn’t have enough time to plan a parade’ –
this despite the fact that Chelsea had won their FA Cup Semi Final some six
weeks before the Wembley game. Then they blamed Hammersmith and Fulham Borough
Council for their refusal to put towards the estimated £250,000 such an event
would have cost.

With several of the Chelsea players on wages in excess of £100,000 per week,
one would have thought that the Club might have spared a thought for their
supporters and, compared to the wage bill for the stars and, no doubt, certain
very well paid Board members, it would have been a nice ‘thank you’ to the
Chelsea support.

It was, in simple terms, nothing less than a snub…