Why there was a case for the big money transfer

[Dorset]

Closed. Over and done with for another season. Nothing you, me or those Irish bookies can do about it and yet, as far as the Chelsea fan is concerned, can I be the only one who thinks we have neglected a certain area of our game by not venturing into the transfer market and making that massive statement of ‘intent’ we never get accused of having? Also, on the back of a double-winning campaign, wasn’t there a golden opportunity to improve the team from that position we are always said to be in, the one of strength, if not downright brute force with a touch of bullying thrown in?

Mere mention of these epithets, forever hanging around the team like an albatross on an ancient mariner‘s neck, will surely provide a big enough clue and point the finger directly at the area in question, if only because it’s been as plain as the umpteenth paragraph in a Patrick Collins piece that we do not really need anybody to improve our lot in the Premiership at the moment. Carlo has had the competition pretty much sussed since arrival with recent results indicating that this season’s opposition are no improvement on last’s, wherever you care to look in the table, and the influx of young talent from the Academy is now bound to be in increasing evidence on the pitch in virtually every domestic competition.

No, I’m referring to European football and the Holy Grail - to give the Champions League just one of several self-indulgent nametags bestowed on it by the Media. Yep, we are back to that annual jumped-up junket and contradiction in terms which someday soon must learn to walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk [organisation-wise] to stop me forever laughing at its inbred amateurism. Alright, I may be in the minority here, but at least this topic goes some way towards explaining why I believe another Chels failure looms large on the horizon, despite the fact that the club has an annual conquering Europe obsession… or does it anymore?

Don’t get me wrong, any Roman plan to revert to a break-the-bank policy in an effort to win this thing will always be abhorrent to me for many reasons, most of them expressed in previous posts, but the time has come to lay our cards on the table and I‘m not sure it‘s being done with any degree of authority so far on this campaign. In short, it is as if the situation has been discussed at boardroom level and our home comforter (the league and cup double) has left us just a little flabby, if not somewhat apathetic, on the European front. My cards tell me, Yossi or no Yossi, we will not win this competition with a strike force of Drogba, Anelka, Kalou, Sturridge and Borini because, with the notable exception of Didier, it’s neither proven in the latter stages of the competition, nor likely to go the distance yellow/red/card or injury-free.

Clearly, the club either do not agree with those findings, or they too are mulling, perhaps even mellowing, over the real need for complete Champions League fulfilment, veering towards a year-on-year policy of boot-filling [with cash] combined with a crossing of fingers to ward off the future Ovrebo’s of this world. The penny may well have dropped in the boardroom and what was once a genuine belief, that another superstar striker could take us that one step further, has now turned to ambivalence and caution. In short, on transfer matters, the fusion between club and old fashioned fan may well be a lot closer to a perfect blend, in both new Premiership and Champions League campaigns, than they could possibly have imagined five years ago.

Whether you are in sync with my perception, as outlined above, probably depends on how you view our approach to the forthcoming CL group stage and the proper stuff that follows - for instance, are you a) optimistic b] under-whelmed or c) a bit of both, but ruing the missed opportunity to buy, say, a big name striker as a real show of strength. If you can easily dismiss c) from your thoughts the choice between the a) and b] camp becomes a simple one and I would contend that’s exactly what the club has done, presenting an optimistic front whilst hiding any under-whelming feelings that may have seeped in and dampened ardour for the CL over the years. The Neymar saga suggested otherwise, but how many of us doubt that, had we really been keen to nail the deal down [to fulfil Champions League ambitions] we would have either got the job done or simply walked away and gone elsewhere, rather than [allegedly] deferring matters for an unspecified length of time?

Citing Citeh’s destabilisation of the market as an excuse for keeping out of any dogfight doesn‘t ring true either because, unless you buy into Fergie’s ’no value’ argument, we have to assume that Carlo, in pursuit of his teenage Brazilian quarry, had already scratched off the names of Aguero, Torres, Pato, et al, from any list of worthwhile additions to the squad, well in advance of preparations for a competition that Roman is reputedly desperate to win and irrespective of the fact that they may never be as [relatively] cheap as they are at present. Those stuck firmly in the b] camp might point out that there also appears to be scant regard given to the improvement in teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid in the interim and even AC Milan, with Zlatan, Robinho, Pato and Ronaldinho up front, have somehow acquired a level of quality, experience and firepower that, irrespective of views on the individuals concerned, puts them into the ‘dangerous’ category once more.

Not that I’m personally too bothered by all this lack of activity because, unlike others such as Kerry Dixon, Jason Cundy and Gab Marcotti, who know far more about Chelsea’s requirements and have also pinpointed the deficiency in the striker department, I’m more than happy to see us pursue another double win without too many long term distractions. So, perhaps my own fears [that we are but one poor CL ref, or umpteen out of their depth assistant refs, away from going out in the KO stages once again] have also disturbed Roman’s psyche and he’s now getting his priorities sorted along with his finances. Others, gathering in the a) camp as I write, will no doubt say that we are good enough as we are, that this is our year, and Wembley will see a London team take the trophy…

They could be right and, if they are, my money is on us trying to make doubly sure in the January window - it is the Holy Grail, for heaven’s sake! Now, where’s that Aguero thread…

Edited September 1, 2010 by Dorset

[Virosh]

I don't think Roman will be so fast in spurning the lure of winning the Champions League, the last step to his club achieving true greatness (in his mind).

I also think our relative market indifference, for a few seasons now, has more to do with

a] clubs unwilling to sell our targets (we know, at least by their teams' very public protestations, that we have placed bids for some of the world's top talent, both mature and forthcoming),

b] Roman's desire (and the hanging Damocles' threat of FIFA regulation) to keep finances in check and

c] our Barcelona-esque belief in the power of our youth set-up.

I tend to agree with you that, barring a surprise (with which the league is not unfamiliar), we won't win it this season. Despite our thumping results of late, including last season, there is an extra bit of class missing that, of our current attack, only Drogba can provide. Until we fill this gap (maybe doubly so with Drogba's age becoming more of an issue), I honestly do not expect us to go all the way. I'd love it, but if I had to bet on it, I'd say no.

What I do expect is that we will be signing a star player in the foreseeable future. If we want to maintain our position in Europe's best, we will simply have to.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Virosh

[flasher10]

I reckon that we have enough talent to give us a decent shot at the Premier League.

The Chumpions League requires a bit more - reffing, officiating caveats aside.

Balancing the books may be the main reason that we haven't signed a big star/statement player - it may not just be the transfer fee of a "marquee player" that is the problem, it could well be the associated salary that makes the financial equations unsustainable. Some players judge their salary on a "Netto" scale (ie. after tax) and tax in Spain is only 25% rather than 50% here - that would have a huge impact on a player's decision where to ply their trade. Remember, this club has been making losses for years.

I would rather we concentrated on developing a plan that would see us survive a future where there is a lot less money floating around football.

It took us about 40 attempts before we were League Champs, and about 60 attempts before we won the FA Cup.

This is only our ninth attempt at the "Holy Grail". We are still upstarts at the top European level.

That is not to slag us off, i like being an upstart - long may we get up the respectable folks' noses.

We are Chelsea.

Carefree

flasher10

[abramovich]

I think the last few years were indicative of two things:

1. We curbed our spending significantly and made significant strides to cut the wage bill in order to become self sufficient in the near future.

2. Roman and the club are very serious about youth development within the club and look towards bringing more young talent through the ranks rather than spending big bucks on established players.

Both are very good developments and should be embraced. However,in about two three years I feel we're going to to say goodbye to the generation of players that brought us all that recent success and I'm wondering if we are able to sustain it if we continue to run business exactly the way we've done the last few years.

Players like Terry,Lampard,Drogba are not easy to come by and next to impossible to replace, especially if you're reluctant to spend big which we were, for quite some time now. We can still remain competitive for the next couple of seasons without doing anything major on the transfer market but sooner or later the reality will hit home. I think the club needs to recognize the necessity to start preparing for the inevitable overhaul, and that means paying serious money for an odd player who we feel will make a difference between winning trophies or just being "one of" top clubs.

[Spiller86]

Interesting post Dorset, not sure why you waste them on us for, I'm sure there would be a wider Chelsea audience interested in reading your stuff.

It took us about 40 attempts before we were League Champs, and about 60 attempts before we won the FA Cup.

This is only our ninth attempt at the "Holy Grail". We are still upstarts at the top European level.

Following on from this is an interesting point that I don't think is considered enough by us as Chelsea fans, probably because we've always done so well in this competition. The point is that this competition is ridiculously hard to win. We compete against the best clubs in Europe, and theoretically only the best club wins it.

Now Barcelona had won once before 2006, and Inter had to wait forty years before they won again last season (notwithstanding the fact that the formats changed). However, because we have made the latter rounds and indeed the semi finals and final 5 times out of our 9 attempts, I think we believe that this thing is easier to win that it is.

Maybe our current squad arrangements simply take into account the fact that those on high may have realised that no matter how much money we have and put into the squad the facts remain that we still might always be a post width away, because so many other factors are in play. Therefore there's no point in breaking the bank when it may not make as much difference as we'd previously thought.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Spiller86

[shedhead]

Good post.

"are you a) optimistic b] under-whelmed or c) a bit of both, but ruing the missed opportunity to buy, say, a big name striker as a real show of strength. "

Actually I am a mixture of a and b. I am optimistic but under-whelmed.

I think we will do well. Whether we win is down to lots of factors some of which are out of our control. I view the CL as being a cup competition and nothing more. If you win there is a bit of luck involved.

I am underwhelmed by the CL because of decisions made by officials which can only be explained by way of incompetence and/or corruption.

I am underwhelmed because games are played for no real reason other than...

Group stages = money

More knockout stages = money

I am underwhelmed because the day they extended the competition beyond champions of each country is when the competition became devalued in my eyes. It meant that the dippers won the CL as a result of hard work and that little bit of luck when they haven't won the league for 20 years. Ridiculous.

[Andreas]

I think we have done good, people have to remember that we are getting Bosingwa and Essien back from injuries and obviously the addition of Ramires and Benayoun. We are the Champions and I think we are favourites this year again to defend it. I don't see why people would be worried, united basically haven't done anything from last year to improve - they brought in Chris Smalling, Hernandez and Bebe?

Regarding the big money signing I guess we will see next summer when we feel that there is need for one and perhaps it will be, Drogba is still the best striker out there and for me he is just getting better and better after each year.

The Champions League will be a lottery again, getting the decisions with you and a bit of luck and it could very well be ours, we have the squad for it.

1. Petr Cech

2. Branislav Ivanovic

3. Ashley Cole

5. Michael Essien

7. Ramires

8. Frank Lampard

10. Yossi Benayoun

11. Didier Drogba

12. John Mikel Obi

15. Florent Malouda

17. Jose Bosingwa

18. Yury Zhirkov

19. Paulo Ferreira

21. Salomon Kalou

22. Ross Turnbull

26. John Terry

33. Alex

39. Nicolas Anelka

40. Henrique Hilario

Youngsters:

23. Daniel Sturridge

38. Patrick van Aanholt

43. Jeffrey Bruma

44. Gael Kakuta

45. Fabio Borini

46. Josh McEachran

Looking at that squad I can't see why people are worried this season, come on you blues!

Edited September 2, 2010 by AndyCFC

[fester]

As I have posted in other threads I think that once in the KO stage of the CL there is a large portion of luck / good fortune involved. For example, last year against Inter we should have had a penalty in the first half at the San Siro, and the Inter player should have been sent off. If that had happened who knows what the outcome over the two legs would have been? Therefore, IMO signing players mainly for the CL, with the fees and the wages associated with such players is folly - not that I'd have been anti a certain striker currently at Athletico Madrid joining the club!

I suspect that for the big games - in the EPL and CL - Carlo may well opt for 4-2-3-1 this season. Therefore, we only need one out-and-out striker which we have in Drogba with backup in Anelka (plus Kalou and Sturridge). The signing of Ramires supports this supposition allowing a midfield of:

Ramires Mikel

Essien Lamps Malouda

So for this season I think we're OK.

I hope that rather than moving now and bringing in young players to train with the squad but realistically get very little game time we have made arrangements for players to stay at their existing clubs for the time being and play regularly, whilst retaining an interest / first option on those players (I'm thinking of Neymar & Lukaku) for the future. Then again my expectations of how football does / should operate and the reality are frequently far apart!

[Guest Sindre]

Seems like the club has given up on the ambitions of winning CL? This is a total f**k-up by Arnesen, Wilkins, Ancelotti and everyone else that has something to do with transfer politcs at this club. If we have any ambition of winning any trophy this season, we have to focus totally on the league and forget every other competition(including CL) and use our reserves in those competitions.

Four midfielders covering three positions? Injuries gonna come, and can you imagine how tired the legs of Essien, Mikel and Lampard is going to be towardsthe end of the season with them basically playing every game? Ramires is a good cover, but when injuries strikes and the three mentioned earlier needs rest me are in big trouble instantly. And why in Gods name did we let Ballack leave? He would be perfect as cover this season aswell..

One good keeper, and two sh*t ones that belong in a completely different league than the premiership. One serious injury to Cech and the title is lost. We didn`t even manage to get Begovic...

Defence goes for the same as the midfield really. Great line-up when everyone is fit but great squads win titles, and the cover is once again not good enough.

Sorry for being pessemistic guys but the problems will come later in the season with injuries, tired legs and very limited cover. Youngsters is good enough, but none of them has actually showed anything on the biggest level that they are capable of filling the boots of our former players.

[dkw]

Seems like the club has given up on the ambitions of winning CL? This is a total f**k-up by Arnesen, Wilkins, Ancelotti and everyone else that has something to do with transfer politcs at this club. If we have any ambition of winning any trophy this season, we have to focus totally on the league and forget every other competition(including CL) and use our reserves in those competitions.

Four midfielders covering three positions? Injuries gonna come, and can you imagine how tired the legs of Essien, Mikel and Lampard is going to be towardsthe end of the season with them basically playing every game? Ramires is a good cover, but when injuries strikes and the three mentioned earlier needs rest me are in big trouble instantly. And why in Gods name did we let Ballack leave? He would be perfect as cover this season aswell..

One good keeper, and two sh*t ones that belong in a completely different league than the premiership. One serious injury to Cech and the title is lost. We didn`t even manage to get Begovic...

Defence goes for the same as the midfield really. Great line-up when everyone is fit but great squads win titles, and the cover is once again not good enough.

Sorry for being pessemistic guys but the problems will come later in the season with injuries, tired legs and very limited cover. Youngsters is good enough, but none of them has actually showed anything on the biggest level that they are capable of filling the boots of our former players.

f**k me, what a load of sh*te.

[Tim]

Agreed. That is a hilariously negative post. If you can't be positive about Chels now, after a double winning season, then I just don't know what to say.

And as regards promoting our youth and your statement that 'none of them has actually shown anything on the biggest level' that's because they haven't, yet, been given a chance to do so! How exactly do you want a youth set-up to work? You have to have some faith that they are good enough and can make the step up, and clearly with this crop of youngsters Carlo, Wilkins and Arnesen think that they are and they can, so why not trust that three men who know a sh*tload more than any of us do about the club, or indeed football in general, know what they're doing?

Or we could just whinge. Christ it's this sort of stuff that gets us so much stick from the less fortunate clubs, and rightly so.

[MHL_blue]

I have to say I'm very happy with our transfer policy at the moment. The club now shows a more moderate line when it comes to finances and just look at Real Madrid and Barcelona and how deep in debt they are, despite being "big clubs" with a global fanbase and having Champions league trophies in the cabinet.

The time were the likes of Lampard, Terry, Drogba and Anelka has to be replaced has to come two or three years down the line and I think we have to accept that these players just won't be replaced over night. It takes time to build a core like we have in our team at the moment.

I would much rather have Chelsea being a club with financial stability and having youth come through the ranks than to be a club who splashes out £40 million on one marquee player and give him a 4 year contract with a £8 million a year salary.

In fact I think the greatest "signings" over the last years is having kept Lamps, Terry, Drogba, Essien and Ashley Cole.

I very much support our club on it's way to become self suficient, champions League trophy or not.

I am very happy at our current status and dread going back to the Bates' years with debt over our heads and the threat of bankruptsy.

[Spiller86]

f**k me, what a load of sh*te.

As soon as I read Sindre's post I knew you would be all over it like a fly on sh*t

[Celery1989]

"My cards tell me, Yossi or no Yossi, we will not win this competition with a strike force of Drogba, Anelka, Kalou, Sturridge and Borini because, with the notable exception of Didier, it’s neither proven in the latter stages of the competition, nor likely to go the distance yellow/red/card or injury-free. "

I pretty much implied the exact same thing in a different thread but no one was listening. I'm glad someone else can look at this realistically and see that we are lacking up top. I just get the sense that too many people are getting too caught up in our recent results. The CL is an entirely different competition, in which you generally don't score many goals in the big games, and that's where you need that genuine spark off the bench. I just can't see how can provide that for us on a consistent basis.

I'm not saying we made a mistake in not acquiring Neymar, but its clear that we don't have the same firepower in the final third as Barca, Real, and now AC Milan have. If we'd signed Ozil and someone in the mould of an Aguero, a David Silva or a Neymar, then I'd feel much more confident about our chances. Nor am I saying that we should have kept Joe Cole: the economics made no sense whatsoever and I don't think he's that great anyway. Benayoun is better for us in terms of being a squad player.

I'm not saying that we have no chance. What I am saying is that we are going to need a lot of luck to win it. Remember that injuries, suspensions etc. become almost as significant a factor as the form you're in and the opposition you're playing against, and I feel we need better cover in the front 3 positions to overcome those issues. To quote a former Newcastle manager, I woud luuve it if Kakuta and Sturridge could emerge into dangerous, viable options off the bench, but I just don't see it happening this season.

[MHL_blue]

I'm not saying that we have no chance. What I am saying is that we are going to need a lot of luck to win it.

Or a decent referee..

[The Moos]

I think we have a good team, but I would still have liked to see someone like Aguero come here to strengthen us. We have proven that we can score loads of goals even without Drogba, so it's not like I think we would fall apart without him, but we will see cards this season and we will probably have injured players and as I see it we only have one decent backup for the front three and that is Kalou. I'm not impressed by Sturridge and I'm not sure Borini is ready just yet.

As for the other positions I think we are well covered. Especially in midfield where we look very strong.

Hilario and Turnbull are perhaps not the best backup keepers in the world, but hopefully Cech can stay fit for the most parts of this season (and against the toughest opponents). We also know that Hilario is a keeper who can be great sometimes.

Central defense is okay, though I do miss having Riccy in the squad. Hopefully Bruma and Ivan can provide a good backup plan for Alex and JT.

And if things don't go as planned I can see us making a signing in january.

Something I look forward to this season is how we use our young talents. Carlo has said that they will get to play, so this is the time for them to prove what they can do. Might affect what we do in the future silly seasons. If players like Borini, McEachren, Bruma and Kakuta can prove that they really have what it takes to become great players we will probably lay low in january and in the next summer. We have a few players who are getting on in years so we need to find out if our youngsters can take over in the future.

[The Moos]

Or a decent referee..

Wishful thinking :unsure:

[fester]

Yeah, that Neymar he's got Champions League pedigree having proven himself against top level european teams!! :D

[Hutch]

Seems like the club has given up on the ambitions of winning CL? This is a total f**k-up by Arnesen, Wilkins, Ancelotti and everyone else that has something to do with transfer politcs at this club. If we have any ambition of winning any trophy this season, we have to focus totally on the league and forget every other competition(including CL) and use our reserves in those competitions.

Four midfielders covering three positions? Injuries gonna come, and can you imagine how tired the legs of Essien, Mikel and Lampard is going to be towardsthe end of the season with them basically playing every game? Ramires is a good cover, but when injuries strikes and the three mentioned earlier needs rest me are in big trouble instantly. And why in Gods name did we let Ballack leave? He would be perfect as cover this season aswell..

One good keeper, and two sh*t ones that belong in a completely different league than the premiership. One serious injury to Cech and the title is lost. We didn`t even manage to get Begovic...

Defence goes for the same as the midfield really. Great line-up when everyone is fit but great squads win titles, and the cover is once again not good enough.

Sorry for being pessemistic guys but the problems will come later in the season with injuries, tired legs and very limited cover. Youngsters is good enough, but none of them has actually showed anything on the biggest level that they are capable of filling the boots of our former players.

what? umm... can i just remind you about last season. for a while Cech was out injured... Drogba was away at the ACN and was also out injured... Essien was out for the entire season.... Balllack was becoming more and more of a bit part player. we now have Ramires who i would expect to be a little more than "cover" once he's had time to settle. oh and Essien's back. remember? Bosingwa should also be back soon. Mikel is looking better than he ever has. we have several youngsters on the verge of making a breakthrough. up frong we're looking towards Kalou, Sturridge and Kakuta, possible Borini, to step up. and if things aren't going to plan, we also have the January transfer window.

get a grip for Christ sakes.

[dkw]

As soon as I read Sindre's post I knew you would be all over it like a fly on sh*t

Well someone had to take on Loftys mantle of being the sites angry man, and I think im doing a pretty good job of it.

[MHL_blue]

Mikel is looking better than he ever has. we have several youngsters on the verge of making a breakthrough.

Mikel has had a very good start. I'm very curious about Kakuta and Bruma, both of them are very young but read the play very well. Van Aanholt is also looking very promising.

This is what Arsenal have done well through the years right. They've given the young boys the chance to play and I'm quite happy about the inclusion of our under-21's in the squad.

Sturridge is also still very young, but is at that stage where you have to prove yourself and compete at the top.

Kalou seems to have matured a bit and Ramires is only 23, so I think it looks very promising with our youngsters.

This is our future.

Of course I see the point about signing Aguerro or another striker and we haven't really got a world class cover for Cech. But all in all I'm very pleased with this summer's shopping.

We have great players like Zhirkov and Bosingwa also coming back from injury and I don't think we really have seen the best of Zhirkov yet.

I see no other reasons than referee's dicisions and sloppy defending to why we shouldn't be able to compente for the Champions League this year.

I think we have a very good team spirit at the moment so quite frankly I'm quite optimistic about our chances.

There's a new season coming after this is gone and a new season again after that.

I guess this is what Roman realized after he spent a lot of money at first, won the premiership twice and then realized he couldn't spend so much money each year to win something.

I think all the sacking of managers also had its costs.

Just take a look at the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, where the owners are putting the scouse and the mancs in heavy debt.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very thrilled about that!

But we're lucky Roman loves us and we were very lucky that it was he who bought us and not the Glazers or Hicks & Gillett.

Roman loves football and he loves his club, despite us singing "we hate Tottenham" at the Bridge every week;-)

Edited September 2, 2010 by MHL_blue

[bjd]

The squad is fine bar a player who can deliver a spot of magic when it matters. We've known that for a few years now though.

It's all very well knocking goals in for fun against middling Prem teams but put us up against a team like ourselves, strong and well organised and we could struggle. Again, that's not new.

Big season ahead where we will find out just how good some of our youngsters are, but in general the squad is younger and all the better for it. Let's face it, one of the reasons we did so well domestically last year was our early champions league exit which meant we didn't have to play two games a week all the time. Which the team were clearly struggling to do. I'm hoping that problem won't be as bad this season.

We'll be fine this year, and who knows , Kakuta could turn out to be our player with something extra. I said could!

That post by Sindre is hillarious by the way.

Edited September 2, 2010 by bjd

[Gilvorak]

Drogba, Malouda, Essien, Lampard & Anelka are players that are all capable of moments of magic in our squad.

[bjd]

I'm talking about a player with sharp speed or skill, someone who can unlock the tightest of defences when we are struggling to break them down. We haven't had a player like that since Robben and none of those players you listed, good as they are In their own right, are that player.

Surprised you didn't list Mikel actually.

[Star]

Dorset, I'm sitting here with a few moments to spare before I go to work, thinking will there be anything that will inspire me to give my 110% usual best.

Then I surf the General Forum, knowing it's not protected, not expecting to post or reply to anything.

Make no mistake everyone, this post is like the holy bible. Read into it how you like .....

but for sure it should be on one desk this morning, that of Roman Ambromovich.

It's far too sensible for this or any other forum site for that matter, even the Sun poxy newspaper.

Quality stuff and hits the nail on the head, it takes a lot to impress me, my gorgeous fiance' does everyday, this post head and shoulders, the best ever on these or PR original when we had many Jorno's that couldn't have put it better.