Fellow Chelsea fans have a read of this article. Journalist Mike Walters has issues with us. People who find reasons to hate us are simply jealous. Why Chelsea continues to have an image problem, despite success in Europe Chelsea claimed a huge victory over Barcelona in their Champions League clash last night, but why weren't the nation united behind the English side? Mike Walters investigates Middle England should have been cheering for Chelsea as they executed their textbook shut-out of Lionel Messi on Wednesday night. As the nation's last hope in the Champions League, they should have enjoyed unqualified support from the shires. And when Roberto Di Matteo's men attempt to smother Messi's genius again in the second leg at the Nou Camp, they should be fortified by the good wishes of Englishmen by the million. But there is something about Chelsea which does not connect with the heart-strings of Middle England, which is a pity. When I was growing up, the first match I ever watched on a colour TV was Liverpool's 3-1 win against Borussia Moenchengladbach at the 1977 European Cup final. Gosh, it was exciting. Kevin Keegan tearing Berti Vogts to pieces, the banner in the crowd celebrating a passage to Rome via St Etienne and Zurich (Joey Jones ate the Frogs' legs, made the Swiss roll, now he's munching Gladbach), and It's A Knockout host Stuart Hall - filming a documentary about the Kop's European adventures - sat on the Liverpool bench after Bob Paisley smuggled him into the ground past Italian jobsworths in a Reds tracksuit. When goals from Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and Phil Neal brought the pot home, there was the inescapable feeling that all of Middle England was celebrating with Liverpool. It was the same story at Wembley in 1978, Munich in 1979, Madrid in 1980, Paris in 1981, Rotterdam in 1982, and Rome again in 1984. The national team couldn't beat a carpet with a hockey stick, but English clubs held sway in the European Cup and they invariably travelled with a nation's goodwill. And all on colour TV (for those of us watching in black and white before 1977, Liverpool were in the red strip). So why don't neutrals warm to Chelsea when they fly the flag in Europe as expertly as they did at Stamford Bridge against Barcelona? By any yardstick, the discipline and application of their parked bus was exemplary. Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill - two Englishmen in the cosmopolitan saturation of the Premier League - were simply immense, Petr Cech made important saves and poor old AVB (remember him?) never extracted such intensity from a supposedly ageing team. And for what it's worth, this correspondent believes Chelsea will complete the job next week. Barcelona will be terrified of conceding the away goal which would require them to score three in reply - and the Blues don't look like a side liable to be breached three times these days. As for the grudging respect towards SW6 where there should be a glow of national pride, here are a few speculative punts on the reasons Middle England refuses to swing behind Chelsea: Roman Abramovich - The cutaway shots of the great Siberian oligarch, wearing that inane expression which says he's insufferably rich and there's nothing you lot can do about it, doesn't connect with ordinary working fans. Didier Drogba - In big matches, he spends most of the time rolling around on the floor. Last month's Fabrice Muamba drama should have been a cut-off point for play-acting, but dear old Didier still carries on with his tedious drama queen routine. What a regrettable charade from a player who was knocked out cold against Norwich seven months ago, and really did need urgent medical attention. Oh, and by the way... Drogba was excellent against Barca and Tottenham when he stayed on his feet. John Terry - Ah yes, the captain, leader and legend of the Bridge. He played with two broken ribs and didn't bat an eyelid, while opposite number Carles Puyol squealed when Terry shook his damaged wrist. But Middle England doesn't like Terry, and we all know why. Frank Lampard - He could score the winner in the Euro 2012 final this summer and there will still be a hard core of poltroons who boo him at Wembley. Bet they didn't notice his exquisite pass which sent Ramires clear to set up Drogba's winner on Wednesday night, though. Jose Mourinho - Five years after the Special One left, Middle England still associates Chelsea with the old preening narcissist. Ron Harris - Why stop at five years for prejudice rooted in history? There are still thousands of Yorkshire folk, who may or may not support Leeds, who resent Eddie Gray being kicked out of the 1970 FA Cup final. Some of 'Chopper' Harris's man-marking methods have since been adopted by abattoirs. Loyal supporters - How many of those fans waving blue plastic flags against Barcelona were there in 1994, 10 days before the Cup final, when 8,923 lonely souls turned out at Stamford Bridge to wave Glenn Hoddle's team off towards Wembley? There you go: Seven deadly sins, or sinners, at the root of Middle England's unpatriotic interest in Chelsea's tilt at Champions League glory. Perhaps Middle England is slightly jealous of their success. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/uefa-champions-league-chelsea-continues-799366
He's got it all wrong; most of England have supported Chelsea since the Napoli game; partly because RDM has won over the media
It's quite a dislikable club though to many people. Obviously all the big clubs will have players people dislike but you have more than your fair share and people have long memories regarding other issues such as racism and hooliganism which though not common amongst Chelsea fans nowadays are still sticks to beat the club with and the fans don't help themselves at times. Some of it is likely to be jealousy too, but to write it all off as that isn't correct imo.
Out of the haters that are stupid enough to watch us having a laugh in Europe while churning up inside, he has one thing right. It is mainly jealousy, if not completely: and usually little brother big brother syndrome
Here in OZ we have a medical answer for this dross, it's called "The Tall Poppy Syndrome ". Everyone, especially losers, likes to cut the tall poppies down to size. Easy to do and very satisfying, especially when the person doing the cutting hasn't actually achieved anything themselves. Love them when they're down, hate them when they reach the top. You see a lot of it on cross boards. Personally, I think it's just plain jealousy.
