Birch said: ‘It had been a difficult couple of years, financially. It’s not right that we were about to go into administration,but it was crucial that we qualified for the Champions League in that last game of the season.’ Tottenham had earlier been approached by Abramovich’s aides and football history might have looked very different had that developed. But the location of Stamford Bridge, which had already been modernised, and the fact that Abramovich had an obsession with the Champions League for which Chelsea had qualified, were crucial factors. ‘I think it probably was hard for Ken Bates to sell,’ said Birch. ‘It was the club that Ken had built. He lived there and when he walked around the stadium complex it gave him great pride that he had built it and owned everything.’
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:24:02 +0000