Chelsea files: Boehly and Co have spent billions but most important signing could be a man dubbed the ‘magic gardener’
CHELSEA have made lots of big signings over the last couple of seasons.
Yet one of the most important arrivals has slipped under the radar but continues to make a huge contribution both at the club’s Cobham training ground and at Stamford Bridge.
That man is Paul Burgess, one of the most respected groundsmen in the world and who arrived at the club in 2023 after spending over a decade at Real Madrid.
The Premier League will announce its ‘Grounds Team of the Season’ next month with Aston Villa picking up last year’s award.
Yet Chelsea are expected to be in the running for the gong this time as the pitches have improved massively under Burgess and his team.
Previously, foxes were running riot on the West London pitch and the players would complain that the pitches were better at other venues.
Yet Burgess, who also worked at boyhood club Blackpool and then Arsenal before going to Spain, has changed all that.
He arrived in Madrid when Jose Mourinho was manager and sports paper Marca nicknamed him the gardinero magico – magic gardener – after completely sorting out the notoriously-bad Bernabeu surface.
It was also his idea to build an underground laboratory as part of the Bernabeu revamp meaning the pitch can be grown even if the surface is covered when the stadium is being used for a pop concert.
So maybe Chelsea will end the season with at least one trophy – although you would still have a fair amount of money on them winning the Europa Conference League too.
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Men’s captain Reece James was at Stamford Bridge last Thursday to support the women’s team in the Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City – and they delivered a stunning 3-0 win to go through 3-2 on aggregate.
James’ sister, Lauren, played the full 90 minutes and was in brilliant form.
BLUES fans could be asked for identification ahead of the home Europa Conference League quarter-final with Legia Warsaw on April 17.
This is a sensible idea and will be just to make sure there are no away fans in the home areas at Stamford Bridge.
TOP marks to Chelsea for their initiative with the Samaritans and Three UK ahead of Thursday’s Premier League home game with Spurs.
Research released this week revealed that two-thirds (64 per cent) of football fans struggle with their mental health, with almost half (42 per cent) turning to an unlikely source of support – taxi drivers.
Mobile network Three UK has enlisted the help of former England striker Peter Crouch to launch a fleet of bespoke mental health taxis, driven by selected cabbies who have received specialist training from Samaritans to help get the nation talking more than football.
On Thursday, a taxi fleet will offer free rides to passengers who are willing to talk about their mental health or simply use the journey to check in with one another.
The taxis will be travelling from West Brompton Tube station to Stamford Bridge ahead of the game.
FORMER Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit was able to heal his rift with Luca Vialli before the Italian died in 2023.
But the once dreadlocked Dutchman revealed he will NEVER forgive the Stamford Bridge powerbrokers who forced him out of the club in 1998.
Vialli, signed by Gullit, controversially replaced him as boss when the former Milan superstar was sacked after a League Cup semi-final first leg defeat by Arsenal less than a year after leading the club to FA Cup success.
It saw the pair, previously close, fall out massively.
Vialli died of cancer at the age of just 58 but Laureus Academy member Gullit explained: “Luca and I were able to patch things up.
“We met each other a couple of times over the years. We were also in a football programme in Italy. So we had no issues.”
However, Gullit is still mad at former chairman Ken Bates and his chief lieutenant Colin Hutchinson, adding: “It’s a strange thing when you are successful that you get sacked.
“Eventually they understood that the reason why I was sacked had nothing to do with me, but was with the people that were trying to do other things around that club.
“These people were sacked later on, but then it was almost too late.
“Luckily Abramovich came and took over. But yeah, there were some dodgy people around behind my back who tried to make deals that I didn’t want to be involved in.”