“Crystal Palace 1.5” – Expert says Chelsea will have a tough time after cancelled stadium expansion plans

Chelsea could be sent spiralling down the pecking order amongst the London clubs, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

While speaking to the Star, Maguire stated that the club needed to expand the stadium to be competitive with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and even Tottenham, who are moving to a new stadium.

The expert also stated that the club would now fall down the order below rivals West Ham too due to the failed expansion plans.

“The new stadium would have brought them a lot closer in line, so it’s a huge issue. They are now in danger of falling down the pecking order.

“If West Ham get approval to sell more seats at the London Stadium, then they will be at 60,000. Chelsea will then become the small club in London, effectively Crystal Palace 1.5 and no better than that.”

Maguire went on to say that the Blues earn £35-40m less than Manchester United from match day income.

Abramovich playing a dangerous game

Things have not been great for us given that Roman Abramovich has not been given a UK visa and a few days later, he pulled the plug on plans for a stadium expansion, which is seen as a response to the cancellation of his visa.

Not having a large enough stadium is a major worry as the likes of Liverpool have also worked on increasing the capacity of their historic Anfield stadium, so the same has to be done to Stamford Bridge.

Things just have not been right for us this season as there are also major doubts about who our manager will be next season, which again will have a knock-on effect on which players might come to the club. This is surely a crucial period for the club.