Chelsea supporters can be forgiven for losing track of what is actually going on during the process of their club's sale in the past week.
As Raine suddenly pushed the deadline for improved bids back, the shortlisted bidders added new faces and finance to their offers, whilst the pressing concern over the club's sanctions by the UK Government created a ticking clock, each passing tick adding more tension.
There at times, has been a farcical tone to a process that is truly seismic in proportion for the future of Chelsea. Whoever wins the billionaire auction will define the next era in west London. A feeling that fans have been forced to sit through some bizarre football version of 'The Price is Right' as each owner has come on down and sold their vision.
READ MORE: Breaking: Ricketts Family withdraw bid for Chelsea as takeover saga takes huge twist
But as I sit here on Friday morning typing these words, several hours have passed since the deadline for improved offers, and now, we wait. Reports suggest Todd Bohely's consortium remains in pole position, the first out of the gate and the one we have known about the longest. As I was in the process of typing out this piece, The Ricketts announced the withdrawal of their bid to buy the club, broken by Nick Purewal. Whilst Steve Pagliuca's bid will be fully funded by cash.
Without hiding my preference, my preferred bidder has always been Boehly. Boosted by Clearlake Capital with £45bn in assets, LA Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and Jonathan Goldstein, CEO of Cain International, made their intentions to buy the club clear, even before Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.
It was nearly a month ago now when I wrote about why Bohely's consortium had become the best choice in my eyes. His expertise in successfully forging a high-level sports team in a major city. The success of the LA Dodgers reflects well on his ambition to invest extensively in the playing staff and in the community and prioritising expertise and competence where it matters most.
Things that are vital with a coach like Thomas Tuchel at the club, and the hope of what he could still achieve in the role following Tuesday's inspirational display at the Bernabeu in the Champions League.
In stark contrast, The failed Ricketts bid had stumbled from one PR blunder to the next. Even the eight-point pledge to supporters could not dampen the flames that grew after leaked emails from the family's patriarch reemerged, and the political beliefs of brother Joe, were never fully addressed. That's even before we got into the myriad of warnings stemming from Chicago over their ownership of the MLB franchise, the Chicago Cubs.
The Ricketts provided the dread of a Glazer repeat at Stamford Bridge as to the one we have seen unravel at Old Trafford. Where fans live in constant disdain for those that run them, showing their support a lack of care or basic consideration to interact. Although The Ricketts appeared more openly available and present, the fact video emerged on social media of Tom being roundly booed by Cubs fans at a press conference paints its own picture.
I've lost count of the number of opinion pieces I've read in recent weeks urging Chelsea to steer clear of Ricketts' interest, reflecting their lack of ambition and interest in significantly improving what's on the pitch. The complete antithesis to what supporters have been used to since 2003.
There has been a counter-argument that none of us knows how any of the potential owners will actually run Chelsea, which is true. But that luckily never allowed for the growing red flags over The Ricketts to pass unchecked or confronted. The Chelsea Supporters Trust releasing results of a survey that revealed 77% of their members did not support their bid was damning before the Brentford game, where protests against the bid were held outside Stamford Bridge.
To simply ignore the warnings from Chicago natives about The Ricketts would be like seeing people running out of a building screaming "FIRE" as the smell of fumes started to fill the air, but just walking into the same building because they might be lying. As we edge near the one-year anniversary of the European Super League debacle, a united fan protest against The Ricketts appeared to have an impact.
Now we know one of the remaining trio of contenders in Boehly's consortium, Pagliuca, and Sir Martin Broughton's bid financed by Josh Harris and David Blitzer will own Chelsea. From the start, the importance of fan involvement has been clear, if not sadly always championed by the current government, who oversaw a fan-led review after the Super League released in November.
As the CST (Chelsea Supporters Trust) detailed in their latest statement on Thursday evening, the "outstanding balance of the loan from Chelsea FC to the Chelsea Pitch Owners is forgiven, so that Stamford Bridge is secured by and for Chelsea supporters. Supporters are given a legally binding say on matters of club heritage – including the stadium, club name and crest, and participation in new sporting competitions, through the issuing of a golden share, continued commitment to Chelsea FC Women and a shadow board."
Whilst the Boehly and Broughton bids met with the CST to commit to these proposals, Pagliuca's distance has remained bizarre, particularly as he was present on Thursday night for Atalanta's crucial Europa League tie with RB Leipzig, filmed walking around the pitch holding up the Serie A club's scarf, the club he is a co-chairman of.
The blunders have been aplenty, and the lack of transparency has equally concerned and irritated supporters concerned over handling such a delicate and definitive issue. The Ricketts withdrawal will prompt relief from those who opposed their bid, but the underlying tension remains.
