He said what? The wit and wisdom of Ken Bates
You can tell the Prime Minister that I don't approve of a lot of things he does, but he doesn't take any notice of me so I won't take any notice of him.
You can tell the Prime Minister that I don't approve of a lot of things he does, but he doesn't take any notice of me so I won't take any notice of him.
On being told that then Prime Minister Harold Wilson did not approve of him setting up business in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1960s
I missed the last goal. I was too busy counting our share of the money.
In 1986 after the Full Members Cup final produced receipts of £508,000
I'm off to my 300-acre farm. You lot can bugger off to your council houses.
To the press after Chelsea were relegated, 1988
I'm off back to my pigsty. You meet a better class of person there.
In 1992 after a meeting to set up the Premier League
Hump it, bump it, whack it might be one possible recipe for a good sex life, but it won't win us the World Cup.
October 1993
In many ways he's a nice guy. He has a very strong wife. It might have been better if I had made her manager.
On Chelsea's former manager John Hollins, May 1994
Ken Bates here. I understand you're richer than me, so we'd better get together.
In call to Matthew Harding, who was to put in £24m over the next two years
There was only one Matthew Harding and thank God for that. I don't think I could have coped with two.
1997, a year after Harding's death in a helicopter crash
I always feel you should be humble in victory and arrogant in defeat. If I'm arrogant, it's probably because over the last 21 years at Chelsea we've suffered a lot of defeats.
On his time at Stamford Bridge, 2003
The way Leeds are going, they'll soon have more directors than players.
2003
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies