Ken Bates was in the right place at the right time during the darkest period in Chelsea’s history and saved the club from oblivion. And that is why the “Blues” will be eternally grateful to him and will honor his memory, now that he has left this fleeting world.
The late Mr. Smith passed away at the age of 94, having also served as chairman of Oldham, at Leeds, and at Wigan as co-owner and vice president, he made a special mark with the “Blues” of London.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
In 1982, he had purchased the team for just 1 pound after it had gone bankrupt, and he fought hard to ensure that the club could call Stamford Bridge its “home.”
He laid some of the strongest foundations for Chelsea’s success in recent years; under Bates’s leadership and before the Abramovich era, was promoted to the top flight, finished in the top six of the League seven consecutive times, won two FA Cups (1997, 2000), one Cup Winners’ Cup (1998), one League Cup (1998), one European Super Cup (1998), and one Community Shield (2000).
*photo source: AR
