Not learning from mistakes is a bit of a trend with Chelsea. After regaining the freehold of the stadium, club chairman Ken Bates embarked on a renovation job on Stamford Bridge that would finish the work done in the seventies, and add some more revenue streams for the club. As well as improving the stadium, Bates oversaw the introduction of a hotel, apartments, bars, restaurants and the Chelsea World of Sport. None of these took off quite like they had planned, and the cost of building them once again had the club on the verge of collapse. By 2001 they were £100 million in debt, and there were radical cut backs happening. Players have spoken in the past about how they were forced to eat off paper plates at the training ground, and the prospects of the club long term looked dire. Beating Liverpool to fourth place in 2003 earned the club Champions League football, gave them enough money to survive and set the stage for the entry of Roman Abramovich, but for a long time it looked like the club were set for a huge fall from grace.
I'm Aaron, I'm a Journalism graduate from the University of Sunderland, where I spent most of my time watching sports, films and TV. Hoping that can go to good use on here.
