the chelsea business model

[Essien's Strike]

As the final rotations of the great wheel of football slowly grind their way round to the end of this season, the bigger picture of the roman era is almost fully revealed.

As JM was inducted and many new players were purchased - some to stay to make history (Drogba, Carvalho), some to be lost in time, (Del Horno, Kezman) and we all experienced the stunning news JM was out the door the merry manager dance began and we began to collect up a certain type of player (Ballack, Deco) while our mainstay got older and played out another season i have to ask now, what kind of business model does RA forsee for the next 5 years?

any businessman worth his salt will have a good idea of what the market will likely look like for the foreseeable future - a forecast. If you look at the starting squad, age and progression-wise it has likely peaked overall two seasons ago. we are able to still wring a 2nd or 3rd place in the prem out of it this year (and before you think im being too hasty the man u and arse run in form is growing while ours is shrinking. We have to win every game to achieve victory and we play man u) - and a real fight for an FA cup on our hands im curious as to 1) why we didnt buy more players to bed in for next season during the window especially as it looked like it was going to be our only opportunity for years to, and 2) what can we expect next season to look like with the current squad. we have about 4-5 possible youth players to bring in but can they really step into starting eleven and play out a season to the top of the prem so soon when only Sturridge has any experience so far?

how can RA view this curent business model as it stands as real contenders for his dream of being more prestigious than real madrid?

i know theres been a recession and he can hardly spend the kind of money he did at the beginning again in this climate but you gotta spend to earn and this season it seems has been an exercise in making what we have go as far as possible. the other top 4 clubs all spent a lot none moreso than man u and they now sit in a pretty position with us chasing albeit with a game in hand.

forecasting for next season you gotta see a serious expediture in new talent surely to provide a bed of growth for the next 5-7 years at least for no other reason.

many players will be thinking of retiring or leaving within 2 seasons with unsuitable players poised to fill their places. if Deco,Ballack,Joe Cole, Hilario, Ferreira, Beletti and Anelka were to be gone at the end of the season what would our title-chasing squad look like?

Can RA be pinning the hopes of future trophies with the likes of Bosingwa, Ivanovich, Zhirkov, Sturridge, Turnbull, Borini, Bruma and Mikel? are these our '10-'11 champs? they may well prove to be winners but next season isnt far off and only 2 or 3 can cut it today.

Even if our other top players like Drogba,JT,Lamps and Carvalho have another 2-3 great seasons in them, with the exception of JT theyll be declining soon though probably slowly. dont forget lamps is 32 next season and Malouda and Drogba are 30

For me only JT, Essien, Ash, Cech and Alex are nailed on for the forseable future. thats 5 players.

Even if we do what would surely kill the editors of the red tops and win all our games, beating the mancs and claim the prem trophy and the FA cup, are we going to improve next year with what we have now?

thoughts?

[Nibs]

Even if our other top players like Drogba,JT,Lamps and Carvalho have another 2-3 great seasons in them, with the exception of JT theyll be declining soon though probably slowly. dont forget lamps is 32 next season and Malouda and Drogba are 30

thoughts?

Drogba is already 32.

I think Utd fans must be laughing at us right now. This is the first crossroads we have arrived at since being one of the "Top Four" and we aren't handling it very well. It's like everything has been left to the last minute. "Oh Christ, look how many of our key players suddenly need replacing and we've forgotten to make a contigency plan".

Utd have had to rebuild constantly over the seasons, as have Arsenal, albeit a lot less successfully. We are now in the position of having to replace the back-bone of our back to back winning team, but we should have started this some time ago. As each week goes by, I am almost adding another name to the list of players who I think perhaps we should let go in the summer and Drobga is the latest.

I know he is a fantastic player on his day, but at 32, realistically he doesn't have a lot of seasons left in him and if we are to change our style of football, IMO we cannot do that all the time the other players are looking for Drogba.

We played our best football of the season during the ACN. I know the run of games we had during the ACN was not the most difficult, but then ago how difficult should Blackburn and Hull away be?

[Essien's Strike]

Drogba is already 32.

woops - my math is well off lol!