Fans tolerate Rafa as long as fool spending his gold

It can surely only be a matter of time now before Roman Abramovich settles on the ultimate solution to his problem with Chelsea: one of these days he’ll sack the entire squad and buy a replacement one, preferably Barcelona’s.

On RTÉ this week Eamon Dunphy called Abramovich a fool, after Roberto Di Matteo had become the club’s eighth gaffer in eight years to go into the ex-files, yet the reason Chelsea fans continue to indulge him should be blindingly obvious: the fool’s gold has brought the club unprecedented success. Back-to-back titles, a domestic double, the holy grail of one Champions League triumph and the club’s general transformation from cult entertainers to one of the big beasts of the English game means fans are prepared to put up with the grisly sight of a succession of bloodied managerial heads piling up, even that of the special one, Jose Mourinho.

It also means that, disgruntled though they may be at the hiring of a man they like to call a “fat Spanish waiter”, they’ll have to put up with Rafa Benitez too, at least for the short term. Because the only other alternative is the departure of Roman Abramovich and, for all associated with Chelsea, that’s the one head they simply can’t afford to see roll.