Chelsea's transfer window

[BLUENUT]

Following our lack of activity in a transfer market, and the recent departures from Stamford Bridge I've started to wonder if the bottomless well of funds Roman initially pumped into Chelsea is finally drying up. We've sold 1 player for a decent return and allowed the best back-up keeper in the league to walk for free. The reasons behind Carlos departure have been argued to and fro in the 'Carlo to Spurs' thread' but I'm suspecting we've let him leave early to get him off the wage bill. (who else happily pay's their reserve goal-keeper a reported £50k per week?).

At the beginning of the season we were in for Robinho and tabled a bid of around £28 - £30m to secure his signature only to be gazumped by Man City. What has happened to those funds 6 months down the line, or the £12m secured from the sale of Bridge and the wages saved (approx £1m) on Carlo between now and the end of the season.

There has been no talk of any player arriving in this transfer window, which may not be a bad thing after the 'Robinho in a Chelsea shirt fiasco', and the club continually deny talk of anyone joining us before the end of the season.

We have 3 trophies still to play for, and if we don't bring in a new face or two in the next few days, we'llhave weakened our squad prior to the run-in, I can't recall any side with serious aspirations doing that previously, can you?

It's left me wondering.........Are we skint? or has Roman pulled the plug on funding?

Edited January 28, 2009 by ethicalstrategy

[smileysmiles]

Following our lack of activity in a transfer market, and the recent departures from Stamford Bridge I've started to wonder if the bottomless well of funds Roman initially pumped into Chelsea is finally drying up. We've sold 1 player for a decent return and allowed the best back-up keeper in the league to walk for free. The reasons behind Carlos departure have been argued to and fro in the 'Carlo to Spurs' thread http://www.theshedend.com/index.php?showtopic=10233 but I'm suspecting we've let him leave early to get him off the wage bill. (who else happily pay's their reserve goal-keeper a reported £50k per week?).

At the beginning of the season we were in for Robinho and tabled a bid of around £28 - £30m to secure his signature only to be gazumped by Man City. What has happened to those funds 6 months down the line, or the £12m secured from the sale of Bridge and the wages saved (approx £1m) on Carlo between now and the end of the season.

There has been no talk of any player arriving in this transfer window, which may not be a bad thing after the 'Robinho in a Chelsea shirt fiasco', and the club continually deny talk of anyone joining us before the end of the season.

We have 3 trophies still to play for, and if we don't bring in a new face or two in the next few days, we'llhave weakened our squad prior to the run-in, I can't recall any side with serious aspirations doing that previously, can you?

It's left me wondering.........Are we skint? or has Roman pulled the plug on funding?

Then again what is the point in buying players for the sake of buying players. Minero for example what a waste of money. Wait till summer and if someone comes available that Big Phil thinks will improve the team then buy.

[abramovich]

I remember when we sold Bridge there was a strong rumor linking us to Zhirkov so I figured that made sense. I even said that there was no chance in hell we won't spend money to bring in re-enforcements, the point I believe Lofty disagreed with.

I can't believe I'm saying that but I have to apologize to Lofty, it looks more and more likely that we'll spend nothing and for some inexplicable reason sold our backup LB and backup keeper midway through the season.

I'm all for getting our finances in order but not at the expense of performances on the pitch. It seems we're going from one extreme to another : either spend too much or don't spend at all. One thing is certain: so far this has been very disappointing transfer window.

[ethicalstrategy]

I don't think there is really any debate about the cost cutting that is going on at Chelsea. Kenyon has stated frequently that we are on course to become self sufficient by 2011. That isn't going to happen if we are carrying a lot of wages for players who aren't playing or continue to splash out big money on players.

The money that Roman made available in August has disappeared because world stockmarkets have collapsed since then. I don't think it is a mystery in that respect. Anyone with any sense is reigning in on expenditure to some degree. I don't believe that Abramovich is skint but I do think he is looking to ride the storm and I read somewhere that part of the deal from the Russian government for helping some of his biggest investments is that he isn't seen to be splashing money around on footballers. The bolsheviks are already restless that government money is being used to bail out the oligarchs anyway.

Like it or not we will have to make do with what we have. I don't think that is such a bad thing. Let's find out whether any of these young guns are really up to it.

[Backbiter]

I don't think there is really any debate about the cost cutting that is going on at Chelsea. Kenyon has stated frequently that we are on course to become self sufficient by 2011. That isn't going to happen if we are carrying a lot of wages for players who aren't playing or continue to splash out big money on players.

The money that Roman made available in August has disappeared because world stockmarkets have collapsed since then. I don't think it is a mystery in that respect. Anyone with any sense is reigning in on expenditure to some degree. I don't believe that Abramovich is skint but I do think he is looking to ride the storm and I read somewhere that part of the deal from the Russian government for helping some of his biggest investments is that he isn't seen to be splashing money around on footballers. The bolsheviks are already restless that government money is being used to bail out the oligarchs anyway.

Like it or not we will have to make do with what we have. I don't think that is such a bad thing. Let's find out whether any of these young guns are really up to it.

I think that is the key to our lack of spending. I read that as well.

Edited January 28, 2009 by Backbiter

[BLUENUT]

Then again what is the point in buying players for the sake of buying players. Minero for example what a waste of money. Wait till summer and if someone comes available that Big Phil thinks will improve the team then buy.

I don't want us to sign players for the sake of it either.

The fact is we do lack options up front, we only have 2 recognised strikers in Anelka and Drogba, who is not flavour of the month, and have Joe Cole out for the rest of the season. Essien is still injured along with Ricci and 1 naturally sided leftback at the club.

If there's not enough quality out there to bring in this window, fine, but why sell player's when the squad ideally could have done with strenghtening?

[blizeH]

I'd appreciate a more thrifty Chelsea too, but we're not going the right way about it.

Sell Bridge and Malouda? Bring in a top left winger who can also play left back when called upon (Zhirkov!?)

Sell Alex? Bring in Mancienne from the youths, put the money towards bolstering our attack, and so on.

I'd rather see some shrewd purchases; young, promising players for very cheap, or players already starting to fulfil that potential at a young age as a big transfer (Aguero, Benzema) are what I want to see at Chelsea, not no activity at all.

[Killbill]

Following our lack of activity in a transfer market, and the recent departures from Stamford Bridge I've started to wonder if the bottomless well of funds Roman initially pumped into Chelsea is finally drying up. We've sold 1 player for a decent return and allowed the best back-up keeper in the league to walk for free. The reasons behind Carlos departure have been argued to and fro in the 'Carlo to Spurs' thread' but I'm suspecting we've let him leave early to get him off the wage bill. (who else happily pay's their reserve goal-keeper a reported £50k per week?).

At the beginning of the season we were in for Robinho and tabled a bid of around £28 - £30m to secure his signature only to be gazumped by Man City. What has happened to those funds 6 months down the line, or the £12m secured from the sale of Bridge and the wages saved (approx £1m) on Carlo between now and the end of the season.

There has been no talk of any player arriving in this transfer window, which may not be a bad thing after the 'Robinho in a Chelsea shirt fiasco', and the club continually deny talk of anyone joining us before the end of the season.

We have 3 trophies still to play for, and if we don't bring in a new face or two in the next few days, we'llhave weakened our squad prior to the run-in, I can't recall any side with serious aspirations doing that previously, can you?

It's left me wondering.........Are we skint? or has Roman pulled the plug on funding?

This time I am at a complete loss when it comes to what the club is thinking about Scolari and why he wasn’t given any money to spend in January. Usually, after sifting through all that manure printed by the tabloids, you manage to get at least a rough idea of what the club is thinking/going to do, but this time I am clueless. Anyway, I am not buying that “balancing the books†malarkey or Roman’s losses in the recession, and I think it might come down to these three things:

1) The club is behind Scolari and they have a long term plan, therefore, there is no point in bringing in lower quality interim players when in the summer there is going to be a massive overhaul to get rid of the aging squad and let Scolari build the team he wants.

2) The club is not impressed with Scolari and therefore there is no point in bringing in any players the new manager will have to get rid of when he takes over in the summer.

3) The club has decided non to mess about with its finances as there is a massive due diligence going on while they get ready for the sale of the club.

[evissy]

In terms of quality and depth we are still number one in the league or at same level with ManU at worst. We should be able to 'cope' with what we got and it is probably not all that bad as ethicalstrategy said.

I think the reason for our silent behaviour on this transfer window is because of many things not just one:

-Roman has lost a lot of money recently with the oil price going down.

-We have a goal of reaching self sufficiency in 2011

-Scolari wanted Robinho but didn't get him so we'll wait until summer to when more quality players are available.

[yorkleyblue]

................................

It's left me wondering.........Are we skint? or has Roman pulled the plug on funding?

OR

Who exactly is there to buy, who is available, who is Chelsea quality, who is not cup-tied in Europe and who does not have a ridiculous and unrealistic price tag?

I can't think of anyone, regardless of all the names bandied about in the Rumours section or the Wishful Thinking section.

kev

[Scott]

It could be Scolari wants to rebuild the squad so the club have told him to start unloading the excess (in his opinion) before we rebuild the team in the summer. Just a thought, otherwise ..........we're skint.

[ozboy]

We need better balance in the squad, a striker or two and a winger or two at the expense of a defender would be my argument.

Don't believe we need Alex, Ivanovic and Mancienne.

[TomP]

The other possibility is ......... Kenyon et.al. are playing their cards very close to their chest over any prospective transfer targets.

We all know what happened in the summer - we made absolutely no secret of the fact that Robinho was our number one target. It wasn't just a rumour in the paper - Kenyon actually held press conferences every week or so, basically saying that Robinho was in the bag.

We had the expectation that no one else could afford to spend thirty million on him, and that 30 million would be an offer than Real couldn't refuse. We ended up with egg on our faces big-time when we were guzumped by City.

Maybe Kenyon has learnt his lesson - if we are as public in our transfer dealings as we were last time, we can expect to get guzumped by City again.

Roman's not skint - far from it. But he has lost a lot of money over the past 6 months, so he's not going to as keen to throw his money around the way he did a few years ago, and he's certainly not going to be too keen into getting into a bidding war with the Abu Dhabi boys.

[Orangutan]

There really isn't much available right now. I mean 14 mil for Craig Bellamy! That's outrageous. Let Man City get gouged on marginal players because they are in hurry to win now. We'll wait until the summer to get the players we need.

[BlueBeard]

It could be Scolari wants to rebuild the squad so the club have told him to start unloading the excess (in his opinion) before we rebuild the team in the summer.

In an ideal world he'd start by getting rid of Ferreira, Deco, Malouda, Drogba, Alex & Mineiro - I don't want any of them at Chelsea for various but pretty obvious reasons. Ah, I can dream...

[BLUENUT]

Roman's not skint - far from it. But he has lost a lot of money over the past 6 months, so he's not going to as keen to throw his money around the way he did a few years ago,

I suppose he's cancelled having that massive custom made yacht then.

SKY have linked us with selling Ivanovic again this morning. If true this has been a very strange transfer window indeeed.

[Barn]

Does it matter if for whatever reason Roman has pulled the plug on the ridiculous spending of the last few years?

Many of us on here have said previously that we feel like Chelsea is not our club anymore, there have been far to many players just here for a big pay-day (sound familiar City???) etc, etc. Yes it's been great to find out what success is like, now if that has to end soon then so beit. We go back to being "good old Chelsea, they'll never win anything!"

The success is great but it just feels like it's not really us. Maybe it's people like me that are getting in the way of Chelsea really becoming a big club - is it time for me to move on???

[BLUENUT]

Does it matter if for whatever reason Roman has pulled the plug on the ridiculous spending of the last few years?

Many of us on here have said previously that we feel like Chelsea is not our club anymore, there have been far to many players just here for a big pay-day (sound familiar City???) etc, etc. Yes it's been great to find out what success is like, now if that has to end soon then so beit. We go back to being "good old Chelsea, they'll never win anything!"

The success is great but it just feels like it's not really us. Maybe it's people like me that are getting in the way of Chelsea really becoming a big club - is it time for me to move on???

I agree with you Barn, I still go to the bridge and it'll always be my club. I just wish a sensible business plan was put together when Roman arrived, that could be sustainable over years. Rather than behave like a kid in the sweet shop, buying all the players to our hearts content, paying well over the odd's and greasing the palms of clubs holding us to ransom, only to take the like of Ben Haim on free transfers a year or 2 later.

[Barn]

What's done is done though now, and it did get us some bloody good successes. It's difficult having done that to now say okay, this is the right way of running the club. Maybe, and I don't really believe this myself, but maybe the club are saying "we need to undo some of the wrongs, to do that we're only going to spend bid bucks if it's someone that we've identified as a must have, other than that we'll trim the squad and the wage bill and prepare for a more realistic and sustained approach". I typed that and I don't believe a word of it.

[coombsie]

I have posted elsewhere, that Chelsea is now hell bent on breaking even by the end of 2010/11 season.

Kenyon has continued to state this and Roman has decreed that it shall be. Nothing and I mean NOTHING will get in the way of this. I fervently believe that Roman has only agreed to stay on board (scuse the Yacht pun) if we do break even at operating profit level, although after interest and taxation this will still mean a massive loss. He simply wants/needs to stop the Club sucking up his diminishing cash and he now demands to see a long overdue return on the massive Academy investment.

Get used to it guys, Chelsea will no longer be buying the big names, therefore forget the Arshavin, Tevez, Robinho rumours.

We have sold Bridge and Carlo. Net gain in cash terms £12m but with a further £5m saved in wages, the total gained/saved of £17m is approximately 23% of our expected annual loss of £75m or nearly a quarter of it in one go. Therefore expect more of the same. Drogba, Malouda, Ferreira, Ivanovic will all leave at the end of the Season and with Ballack and Lamps on reducing (with age) contracts, there will be further massive savings.

We will not buy anyone in this window and do not expect Chelsea to be among the big spenders in the Summer, put simply, it is just not in the Business Plan.

[Zola's Love Child]

I have posted elsewhere, that Chelsea is now hell bent on breaking even by the end of 2010/11 season.

Kenyon has continued to state this and Roman has decreed that it shall be. Nothing and I mean NOTHING will get in the way of this. I fervently believe that Roman has only agreed to stay on board (scuse the Yacht pun) if we do break even at operating profit level, although after interest and taxation this will still mean a massive loss. He simply wants/needs to stop the Club sucking up his diminishing cash and he now demands to see a long overdue return on the massive Academy investment.

Get used to it guys, Chelsea will no longer be buying the big names, therefore forget the Arshavin, Tevez, Robinho rumours.

We have sold Bridge and Carlo. Net gain in cash terms £12m but with a further £5m saved in wages, the total gained/saved of £17m is approximately 23% of our expected annual loss of £75m or nearly a quarter of it in one go. Therefore expect more of the same. Drogba, Malouda, Ferreira, Ivanovic will all leave at the end of the Season and with Ballack and Lamps on reducing (with age) contracts, there will be further massive savings.

We will not buy anyone in this window and do not expect Chelsea to be among the big spenders in the Summer, put simply, it is just not in the Business Plan.

Agree to a point, but we can't sell off fringe players for large amounts of money every year. The sales, still doe not equal a business plan. And the money we got off Citeh was just hitting it lucky for Bridge anyway. There needs to be a more boardroom style business plan here really, rather than doing the majority through the sale of players etc.

I'm expecting things like Stamford Bridge being used for more non-football events, perhaps cutting ties with feeder clubs if not economically viable, downsizing of the behind the scenes staff (to go with the scouts we've ditched) amongst other things.

Overall, agree its due to the pinch, but I can't believe this is the break even plan primarily, more footballing sense on Bridge's part, and loyalty related on Carlo. If Ivanovic goes though, I'll be starting to question that.

[BLUENUT]

I don't think there is really any debate about the cost cutting that is going on at Chelsea. Kenyon has stated frequently that we are on course to become self sufficient by 2011. That isn't going to happen if we are carrying a lot of wages for players who aren't playing or continue to splash out big money on players.

The money that Roman made available in August has disappeared because world stockmarkets have collapsed since then. I don't think it is a mystery in that respect. Anyone with any sense is reigning in on expenditure to some degree. I don't believe that Abramovich is skint but I do think he is looking to ride the storm and I read somewhere that part of the deal from the Russian government for helping some of his biggest investments is that he isn't seen to be splashing money around on footballers. The bolsheviks are already restless that government money is being used to bail out the oligarchs anyway.

Like it or not we will have to make do with what we have. I don't think that is such a bad thing. Let's find out whether any of these young guns are really up to it.

I wonder how they feel now we've nicked their manager til the end of the season after telling Roman to keep a low profile.