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Ken Bates RIP

Wrote a complaining letter to him, and received a reply, in typically blunt fashion. Bumped into him at airport shortly after he’d sacked Gullit; was happy that he’d lost first game at new club. ( Newcastle)

His programme notes were good value. During hooligan years he made out they were a tiny minority, when in actuality they were a significant chunk.

He was very litigious. Many thousands flowed into CFC coffers consequent to unproven allegations.

God Bless You Ken

 
Part of his deal was to stop bad press about Chelsea and the negative press being made about the club, so he took out a lot of court cases against individuals and institutions in the media. This included a successful £150,000 High Court libel victory against Tom Rubython and Business F1 magazine over false allegations of financial and criminal misconduct, and a £9,000 libel payout from the Evening Standard regarding claims he swore at a businessman. He also successfully sued The Independent for libel after the newspaper retracted false allegations concerning the club's financial dealings.

He also banned certain members of the media from the ground.

He wasn't wrong to do so.

 
His legacy with Chelsea will go on - he’ll always be part of the fabric of this great club. As others noted, saved the club. His interview after we signed JFH made me laugh - he said something to the effect of he certainly does hassle the bank.

On a personal level thank you for all he created. One of my favorite memories in life was the 1997 FA Cup final with my dad, and fair to say Ken had a lot to do with moments like this.

RIP Ken.

 
His legacy with Chelsea will go on - he’ll always be part of the fabric of this great club. As others noted, saved the club. His interview after we signed JFH made me laugh - he said something to the effect of he certainly does hassle the bank.

On a personal level thank you for all he created. One of my favorite memories in life was the 1997 FA Cup final with my dad, and fair to say Ken had a lot to do with moments like this.

RIP Ken.
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Think it was sh*t or bust, when we invested in half a dozen new players start of 83-84 Season, however where did that money come from; was it Batesey’s cause we were poor as the church mouse at that time

 
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On the afternoon promotion was won in 1984.

Thank You Ken. For saving our club.

R.I.P.

 
R I P Ken

Met him a few times. May 84 Grand Hotel Manchester. 250 invited to dinner after the game with City. Great meal and sing song until 2am.

83/84 reunion last year at the Bridge. In good form on stage with some great stories.

Saw him at Cardiff before game where it was difficult to get into seats due to an issue. Ken came over to talk with police and stewards to sort it out.

He was especially proud of our travelling support. The numbers and the noise we made making it a home game.

Great Man. He would certainly tell the current owners a few home truths!!

 
Back in the 80s, my Mum wrote to him saying that me, my Dad and my brother, all season ticket holders, were getting a ton of stick from West Ham fans as we lived in Essex. School was a nightmare, particularly in 86, when West Ham had their one decent year. Back in those days, there was only two Chelsea fans at my school, me and my younger brother.

Ken wrote back, thanking us for our support in foreign territory, and a few days later a thank you card arrived signed by all the players (Kerry, Pat, Speedie et al)……

 
I can only remember him as a man who made fun of the fact that Matthew Harding had died in a helicopter crash in the boardroom following our 3-1 over Spurs while grieving families were in attendance. Those saying he saved the club, ok, he took on debts, made a fortune, and the year he sold up to Roman, we were about to go under from a eurobond loan he had taken out to develop the ground. He genuinely wasnt a nice person imo.

 
Ken Bates RIP

He was certainly divisive and could be absolutely out of order on occasions. He actually replied in person to a letter I wrote to him and responded to every point I made in his own bullish style! I've still got it somewhere, I'll post it if I can find it.

Another thing.. despite all the excuses you here these days about the almost insurmountable difficulties in redeveloping the stadium, he got 3 sides ( West, North and Shed) all rebuilt without us having to leave, using temporary seating at times...

 
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Well said, Franco.

I was trying to figure out what the writing says on his tie and I think it's "On Mission from God". I wouldn't have had him down for the religious type, but you never know.

Bates was the first Chelsea Chairman I can remember, and that late 90s period just before he sold up to RA, with Hoddle/Gullit/Vialli as managers and Zola, Vialli, Di Matteo (and Gullit, for a bit), etc. on the pitch, is still my favourite period as as Chelsea fan, even more so than the Mourinho years, despite not winning much (except for the FA cup in '97, which was the first major trophy we won in my lifetime, so will always have a special status to me).

 
Well said, Franco.

I was trying to figure out what the writing says on his tie and I think it's "On Mission from God". I wouldn't have had him down for the religious type, but you never know.
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Perhaps more likely to be a quote from the film "The Blue Brothers" ?

 
Ken Bates RIP

He was certainly divisive and could be absolutely out of order on occasions. He actually replied in person to a letter I wrote to him and responded to every point I made in his own bullish style! I've still got it somewhere, I'll post it if I can find it.

Another thing.. despite all the excuses you here these days about the almost insurmountable difficulties in redeveloping the stadium, he got 3 sides ( West, North and Shed) all rebuilt without us having to leave, using temporary seating at times...
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Shed end temp seating was salubrious. Remember watching Coventry play with Peter Ndlovu upfront in the temp stand.
Ken Bates was also a lucky SOB... apparantly sold his heard of cows just before Mad cow disease was widely reported.

Anyhow...

 
Right, I've not seen the film, but that does seem more likely.
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Sorry that should have said The Blues Brothers ... cult music comedy with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. Not sure what happened to the "s" on Blues in the previous post. Think my geriatric keyboard is on the way out LOL. Well worth watching anyway ! The soundtrack is awesome.

 
Sorry that should have said The Blues Brothers ... cult music comedy with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. Not sure what happened to the "s" on Blues in the previous post. Think my geriatric keyboard is on the way out LOL. Well worth watching anyway ! The soundtrack is awesome.
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I didn't even notice the mistake. I know it's well-regarded and has a kind of cult status, it's just one of many popular "essential" films I've never sat down to watch. I'll get round to it eventually...

 
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