6: In One Summer (Birth of the Roman Empire)

Where were you on 1 July 2003? As it turns out, a lot of those people connected with Chelsea can't quite remember, either! It's a day that has gone down in history – the day that modern Chelsea was truly created as Roman Abramovich took over the club from Ken Bates. What followed was unprecedented in football. Chelsea embarked on a record-breaking transfer spree that made headlines across Europe and shook the football world. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes to explain how it all happened. In one summer. In this episode you will hear from: John Terry, Ken Bates, Claudio Ranieri, Jesper Gronkjaer, Mark Killick, Neil Barnett (Spy), Matthew Garrahan (The Financial Times), David Smith (The Observer), Simon Johnson (The Athletic), Martin Tyler (commentator), Mike Ingham (commentator), Rick Glanvill (Chelsea FC historian), Andy Saunders, and David Chidgey (Chelsea Fancast). The Blueprint is written by Garry Hayes and narrated by Ceri Levy. *** You can support this podcast on Apple Podcasts by subscribing to Blueprint+ for ad-free streaming and bonus episodes. If you listen elsewhere, we have a Patreon that gives access to bonus episodes and other content. Our Patreon: https://patreon.com/ChelseaBlueprint *** This is another HWY61 production. For more podcasts like this, visit www.HWY61.media Our theme music "Blue Day '23" is composed by Mike Connaris with bed arrangements by Jake Bradford-Sharp. It's used under license from Mcasso Music. Archive used in this episode is courtesy of Chelsea TV.