The Genie or the Lamp?

Be careful what you wish for at Chelsea. Wishes come true here, but dreams are harder.

Storm-clouds of uncertainty circle Stamford Bridge in an almost witch’s familiar- a spell cast upon Chelsea by Roman Abramovich when Chelsea managers are involved. The Genie of Stamford Bridge, who in 2003 granted Chelsea every wish they dreamt of. In this edition, the spell cast was by one of their own in Maurizio Sarri- who decided after a year of success, turbulence and revolt- as he opted for his own familiar by joining another Italian team. Abramovich, weirdly, was left spellbound. His own trick had been cast on him rather than on others. Maurizio Sarri’s wish of a trophy came true, but Chelsea’s dream of attacking football under a manager at the helm for years hadn’t.

Sarri’s departure was greeted with much jubilation from the grassroots at Chelsea but desolation from Chelsea’s younger fanbase, who yearn for the club to bask in the halcyon days of the progressive managers’ successes across Europe- such as Eric Ten Hag at Ajax as just one example. The wish of his departure came true- at the expense of others’ dreams of Sarri’s root and branch revolution of the style fans were left spellbound of coming to a premature end of just one season.

Instability reigns at Chelsea, but such a malaise of vision, division and image has been sought to be remedied by the powers that be by asking the Roman genie to grant the wish of Frank Lampard returning to Chelsea as a manager- their highest scoring player ever, a true immortal on Chelsea’s greatest ever night, the Abramovich apex. The genie has granted the Lamp, to the wishes of the grassroots to fulfil their overarching dream.