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