Human memory is not only short, it is fickle. It is astounding how Chelsea have inveigled themselves into the English psyche as a football dynasty. Four years ago, Chelsea was a middle rung Premiership team, struggling with their finances, with a rather bare trophy room.
Then came Roman Abramovich, and as legend has it, while on a plane, he flew over the Chelsea grounds, observed the empty playing field, and in that serendipitious moment, decided to buy Chelsea. A virtually bankrupt club put up no defence, and it was sold to Abramovich for £60 million by Ken Bates.
For the first time, serious money (over £100 million was spent) was pumped into player acquisition. At that time nobody gave the Blues a chance to succeed, but they did, then taking the runner up spot in 2003. This was not enough for Abramovich and he fired Claudio Rainieri, bringing in Jose Mourinho, and went on another looting spree for players. No amount of money was high enough. In three years, Abramovich has spent over £250 million in buying players. You can buy Arsenal for that amount. It paid off; Chelsea walked off the last two years, with the Premiership title.
Now from all the comments, we hear the same disbelieving noises that West Ham cannot do it, from the same Chelsea fans, a club that was in the doldrums not too long ago. A reality check is in order. Lets put this in context, at this point, Abramovich would never dream of buying out Chelsea, it is far too expensive and over-valued. As for Man U, Liverpool, and Arsenal fans who trot out how little West Ham is, and does not compare to the rich and storied traditions of their clubs with their bursting trophy rooms, let me tell you people like Roman Abramovich and Kia Joorbachian care not one fig about that history. They will tell you that history does not win you future Premiership titles. You can go home, put that in your pipes and smoke it.