Ken Bates - Mischievous, Hard Nosed, but A Blue – A Fan Obituary

A fitting tribute to the man who saved Chelsea, more than once!

We had the very sad news come in over the weekend of the passing of former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates at an impressive age of 94.

Those of you around my age, and a little bit younger, and definitely a little bit older, will hold fond memories of Ken and remember his time at our club very fondly. It was the era that I grew up watching Chelsea and really falling in love with the club, so guys like Ken will always hold a special place in my own heart.

Bates purchased Chelsea for £1 in 1982 and remained in charge until he sold the club to Roman Abramovich in 2003.

We had a fantastic fan obituary further below, but before we get that, some fitting words by journalist Henry Winter…

Henry Winter:

“Ken Bates saved Chelsea. Not only back in 1982 when Bates rescued the club from potential oblivion. But still now, even following the sad news of his passing aged 94, Bates’ legacy continues to protect Chelsea. He created the CPO, Chelsea Pitch Owners, which safeguards the future of the stadium.

“Bates achieved much in an extraordinary life. He fought to protect the FA Cup, fought for the new Wembley to be built, stabilised Leeds United and fought for smaller clubs but his greatest legacy revolves around Chelsea. Combative, controversial, loyal and principled in his way, Bates was driven by a desire to prove himself, to make something of himself, to take on the establishment in its varied forms.

“Much of this drive stemmed from memories of growing up without parents (his mother died, his father disappeared and he was raised by his grandparents) and frustration at a childhood disability destroying his dream of making it as a footballer at Arsenal. He'd been a good attacker.

“It was April 2 1982, when Bates rescued Chelsea. He spoke to the club bankers who’d run out of patience. “We have two cheques here,” the bank told Bates. “One is for the share of the (FA Cup) gate which has to go to the FA. And one is the players’ wages. Which one can we bounce?”

“He came in, invested money to tide the club over and started cutting costs. Entering the Bridge boardroom for the first time pre-match, Bates was shocked to see the number of guests, the feast laid on, even a cigar box being passed around at a club losing £12,000 a week. Chelsea even had a club chauffeur. Not for long.

“Bates’ cost-cutting was brutal but vital. Chelsea recovered, fought off property developers through Bates’ strength of personality, established themselves as a force in the Premier League and became more involved in European competition. Bates loved Chelsea. He loved entertainers. His favourite was Gianfranco Zola because the Italian played with a smile, dribbled and lit up stadiums and fans’ lives.

“Even after selling to Roman Abramovich in 2003, taking over Leeds where his cost-cutting (and Chelsea past) alienated many fans, and then living in retirement with his beloved Suzannah in Monaco, Bates would try and return to watch matches at the Bridge. He kept a flat full of mementos nearby.

“On the sideboard was a framed copy of Bates’ CPO share. One day while Chelsea chairman, a fan shouted about the possibility of “your grandson sells the land for houses”. Bates’ initial reaction was, typically, “You ungrateful bastard”.

“But he realised that was a very real threat – the Bridge was prime London land. Developers craved it. So Bates created the CPO; it now numbers 13,000 fans owning 23,000 individual shares (Thomas Tuchel has one) and a large majority would be required to vote for any change in use of the pitch. And they aren’t for change. As Bates intended.

“We last spoke on May 18. Ken sounded frail but was typically opinionated on the footballing issues of the day. Bates had his difficult side, vendettas and views, but he was passionate about family, football and Chelsea FC. RIP, Ken.”

The rest of this article, is contributed and written by SPTC community member, Craige Coren…

The sad news reached us all over the weekend of the passing of Uncle Ken at 94. For those us of an age (like me) he will always have a big place in our hearts, for those of you that are younger it is simple ….. without him there may well be NO CHELSEA to support today.

As I said on the Substack chat this past weekend “what a character”, never short of something to say, always having a twinkle in his eyes and an aura about him! He genuinely loved Chelsea, saved us once, developed us and then sold the club to Roman when he could take the club no further. He set up the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) to protect the club and supporters from any potential bad future owners in the future that might want to just redevelop Stamford Bridge (aka Marler Estates). To a small extent I was actively involved at the front end of the creation of the CPO under the Chairmanship of Steve Frankham who was a friend through being a supporter at CFC and the face of CFO, one “Dennis Wise”. Many years later, we all reminisced and had a fun pre match night in Munich in a huge Beer Keller in the centre of the city before the Champions League Final. Ken Bates was a huge topic of conversation that night.

I was fortunate to be able to meet Ken Bate quite a few times, and I once had dinner within him and Susannah, his wife (he actually paid). He was always funny, never short of an answer, stood up to the establishment, and was just a great person to spend time with; you just never knew what mood he would be in, what the topic was that day, and who was in his sights.

Born in 1931, Ken Bates became one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern English football. His life was a story of rising from a difficult childhood to becoming a wealthy businessman, then spending decades reshaping both football as part of the FA and Chelsea (and other clubs) through a mixture of ambition, sharp business instincts, and frequent public disputes.

He was born in Ealing, West London but unfortunately his mother died shortly after he was born and without being able to find out why, I understand that his father was not around. Therefore, he was raised by his grandparents in a council flat. He dreamed of becoming a professional footballer but was held back by a club foot that required several operations and as he admitted, he was just not good enough. Determined as he was this resulted in him going into business, building a fortune through haulage, quarrying, ready-mix concrete, and dairy farming. The dairy farming led to him selling his “Grange Farm Ice Cream” at Stamford Bridge - it was actually very good.

His first step into football ownership came with Oldham Athletic in the 1960s, followed by involvement with Wigan Athletic. This led to him earning a reputation in those early days for treating football as a business rather than simply a sport. Something that was largely unknown at the time.

Ken really hit the headlines and became famous in 1982 when he bought Chelsea FC for just £1. Yes, just £1.00, but also taking on the clubs then significant debts. At the time, we were struggling financially and faced uncertainty over our future at Stamford Bridge, which was a wreck. This was to be a critical element of his ownership. Over the next 21 years he:

· Helped secure Stamford Bridge as Chelsea’s permanent home

· Redevelop the ground to what it is today – I promise you our ground was diabolical before that

· Drove the club’s promotion to the top division

· Guided Chelsea into a successful Premier League era

· Saw the club win the FA Cup, League Cup and European trophies in the late 1990s

During this ownership, he bought to Chelsea several players that we had to pinch ourselves at the time to see on the pitch in our famous blue. These included the following:

· Kerry Dixon and Pat Nevin: Both were instrumental figures of the 1980s who helped bring Chelsea back to the top flight and established the team in the then First Division (Goal Machine and Twinkle Toes who had a unique understanding with each other)

· Gianfranco Zola: An absolute magician. Zola arrived in 1996 and became a fan favourite, winning two FA Cups and the Cup Winners’ Cup (scoring the winning goal – what a night)

· Marcel Desailly: “The Rock”. A World Cup-winning French defender who brought immense class and leadership to the backline. (gentle giant off the pitch and a top bloke)

· Dennis Wise: A gritty, tough-tackling midfielder who captained Chelsea to most of their silverware in the late 1990s and early 2000s. (Mr Chelsea and a Cheeky Chappy)

· Frank Lampard: Signed from West Ham in 2001, Lampard as we all know went on to become one of the greatest players not only at CFC but in PL history. (Yes, Ken signed this legend)

· Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink: A prolific, powerful striker who scored goals for fun and won the Premier League Golden Boot whilst at the club (it took time as Leeds would not sell direct to CFC, so he went to Spain for 12 months)

· John Terry: OK not a purchased but “The Homegrown Academy Graduate” who developed into one of the best defenders in the world during this era. (LEGEND)

· Roberto Di Matteo: A current (at the time) Italian International signing who scored iconic, memorable goals in multiple cup finals for the club and became a Champions League Winning Manager for us

· Petr Cech: He was signed ahead of the summer of 2003, just before Bates sold the club to Roman Abramovich (probably our best goalkeeper with Peter Bonetti alongside him in that respect)

· Tore André Flo: The tall Norwegian striker known for scoring vital goals off the bench and during our European runs at that time (”super sub”)

· Ruud Gullit: The dreadlocks with more time on the ball than I had ever seen joined in 1995 at Glen Hoddles leader “on the pitch”. He was then appointed player-manager in 1996, leading the club to the FA Cup in 1997, ending a 26-year trophy drought (so much style & talent and a huge ego)

· Gianluca Vialli: Signed by the club when Gullit was manager in 1996. What a star and always lived in Chelsea and had season tickets at the club before he passed at such a young age. He also took over as player-manager immediately after Ruud’s dismissal and managed the club to the League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and UEFA Super Cup in 1998, followed by the FA Cup in 2000

There was a perception that Ken changed managers weekly (joke) but in reality, that was not the case. In over 20-year of ownership he had 9 managers (if we include Webby):

· John Neal (Inherited in 1982 – June 1985)

· John Hollins (June 1985 – March 1988)

· Bobby Campbell (March 1988 – June 1991)

· Ian Porterfield (June 1991 – February 1993)

· David Webb (February 1993 – May 1993)

· Glenn Hoddle (June 1993 – May 1996)

· Ruud Gullit (May 1996 – February 1998)

· Gianluca Vialli (February 1998 – September 2000)

· Claudio Ranieri (September 2000 – June 2003, stayed into the Roman Abramovich era)

His story at Chelsea ended when in 2003 he sold Chelsea to Roman Abramovich for around £140 million. To be honest he had taken the club as far as he could. The sale, as we all now know and love, led to a new era of massive investment that transformed both Chelsea and, many argue, English football more broadly. The club was desperate for money and out of the “BLUE” Roman arrived.

Ken was rarely far from controversy. He was outspoken and combative, clashing with supporters, journalists, football authorities and fellow executives. This included the electric perimeter fencing at Stamford Bridge in the 1980’s to deter hooliganism. A plan that was implemented and then rejected and he had frequent public feuds with fans and board members. Even his admirers acknowledged that he could be confrontational, while critics saw him as divisive. When you met him, he was defiantly “not politically correct”, a smile was never far away, and I know from my meetings and interactions with him, as well as from others, that there are many unrepeatable stories.

After leaving Chelsea he made a horrific mistake, well from Chelsea’s supporters’ perspective, when he bought a major stake in Leeds United in 2005. He had hoped to repeat his Chelsea success, but the outcome was very different. During that period, Leeds entered administration in 2007: the club was relegated to League One and later returned to the Championship but failed to regain Premier League status before Bates sold the club in 2012. Perhaps he was being a true blue during the Leeds ownership.

Ken Bates legacy is perhaps that he remains one of English football’s most polarising figures.

Supporters credit him with:

· Saving Chelsea during one of its darkest periods

· Preserving Stamford Bridge

· Helping professionalise football club management

Critics point to:

· Repeated confrontations with supporters

· Controversial public statements

· Difficult periods during his ownership of Leeds United

His own assessment of his life captured the way he expected to be remembered: he once remarked that he had “made many enemies” but also” made a lot of my friends laugh.” Overall, Bates’s story is one of resilience, entrepreneurial success, and a profound impact on English football - an impact that remains debated because of both his achievements and the controversies that accompanied them.

I am in my 60’s and have watch Chelsea from the depths of nearly being relegated to the third tier to the highs of two Champions League wins.

None of this would be possible without Uncle Ken.

#RIPKenBates #ChelseaFC

(Sources; Times, Telegraph & Guardian Newspapers, Wikipedia and AI Sources)

Craige Coren & Simon Phillips