I have posted elsewhere that I truly belive that Chelsea will never again be a Club that pays £25-30million for a player. I think we have realised that there are no guarantess even at this high level, and are now mapping out a future using Academy produce like McCeachran, Bruma and PVH and buying players in the £8-10m bracket. I'm convinced that our spine still has 2-3 more seasons in it so players coming in are more likely to be squad and rotation players to bring the numbers back up to an acceptable level.

I had a think about possible "squad" players, at the appropriate price level and came up with the following ;

Breda Hangelland (Fulham)

Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan)

Mark Albrighton (Villa)

Adam Johnson (City)

Roger Johnson (Brum)

Mikel Arteta (Everton)

Charlie Adam (Blackpool)

Matt Jarvis (Wolves)

I know that most of you will scream, "not Chelsea quality" or "not good enough for Champions league". You are missing the point. We need good hard working squad players to replace the ones lost last season, and I reckon that ALL the above would do a damn good job, especially with better quality around them.

Thoughts and ideas please ??????????????????

So you're saying that the likes of Sunderland, Aston Villa, Birmingham, Newcastle, Everton (as in non champions league teams) will ALL outspend us on a regular basis?

Quite possibly !!!

We have invested multi millions in Cobham and RA clearly expects a return. His ability to "personalyl" finance the big buys has diminished if not disappeared completely, and Chelsea have an avowed plan to get back to break even in the Annual accounts. The final part of the jigsaw is Platini's financial fair play rules which WILL have an impact going forward.

Quite possibly !!!

We have invested multi millions in Cobham and RA clearly expects a return. His ability to "personalyl" finance the big buys has diminished if not disappeared completely, and Chelsea have an avowed plan to get back to break even in the Annual accounts. The final part of the jigsaw is Platini's financial fair play rules which WILL have an impact going forward.

Why is that, and where is the evidence. The rumours in the papers have us linked with big buys last summer and this january. They are only rumours but Ive yet to see any proper evidence of this new found austerity from Roman other than supposition and rumour. We know as much about the true financial situation at the club as we know about what fish are thinking about when sh*t in their own water.

Why is that, and where is the evidence. The rumours in the papers have us linked with big buys last summer and this january. They are only rumours but Ive yet to see any proper evidence of this new found austerity from Roman other than supposition and rumour. We know as much about the true financial situation at the club as we know about what fish are thinking about when sh*t in their own water.

According to the FT his peronal fortune has shrunk by approximately £330million and he has commited to financing the Russian World Cup in 2018 !!! therefore "potentially" less to spend at CFC.

Yeah, someone with a reported wealth of about £6-7Bn AFTER he lost some money in the credit crunch will really be bothered by the occasional £20m signing.

Do the clubs I mentioned not have to break even then? How can they afford the odd £15m signing? How can they do it without Champions League money?

I think we'll keep making signings, and they'll be around £15-£20m mark... the likes of Ramires and Zhirkov... with the likes of Essien at £25m every couple of years, with the squad players in general being made up of youth products. We'll be fine, and basically a cross between Arsenal and Man Utd in terms of player buying.

According to the FT his peronal fortune has shrunk by approximately £330million and he has commited to financing the Russian World Cup in 2018 !!! therefore "potentially" less to spend at CFC.

£330mill is not that much when he still has a personal fortune of between £7bill and £10bill depending on where you look. The World cup is 7 years away, I dont think he will be spending a billion a year for the next 7 years.

Hangeland is good this season, but no way that Fulham will sell him.

Breda Hangelland (Fulham) - Tiny team would want more than 10m for their star player

Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan) - I think he thinks he is better than he is, & wouldn't want to be a squad player

Mark Albrighton (Villa) - Good player but wouldn't get for 10m. Reminds me of Ray Houghten in his day

Adam Johnson (City) - Would cost more than 10m, but would be great for us. Very disapointed we didn't get him after tracking him for years.

Roger Johnson (Brum) - Chelsea fan & good player.

Mikel Arteta (Everton) - Good player, would get in our team right now, but we have Josh, why not play him more?

Charlie Adam (Blackpool) - Good squad player, but imagine how fat he would get when he doesn't play every week

Matt Jarvis (Wolves) - Good player, but think he would get lost at chelsea.

I'm not convinced that the days of big money signings have gone for good. However, I do think that such signings are far more likely to take place during the summer than in January. Take David Luiz for instance. If we were to meet Benfica's valuation, he'd be unavailable for the Champions League, and the same goes for most bigger name/higher value players.

There's also the likelihood of this being Drogba's last season, and maybe one or two more players moving on. The situation with Bosingwa for instance, is far from clear. Come the summer we should have a far better idea of what's actually needed in the long term.

For those who say the money isn't there. It was there for Neymar before this season started, if he hadn't chosen to stay in Brazil, so unless Abramovich's financial situation really has drastically changed, it's at least possible that similar funds will be available in the future. As for Uefa's fair play rules: the club have been looking at different methods of funding, there are I believe, a couple of very substantial sponsorship deals in the offing.

Kjaer. Kjaer, is not happy at Wolfsburg and his departure would not more than 10 million. He's a good centre back.

For those who say the money isn't there. It was there for Neymar before this season started, if he hadn't chosen to stay in Brazil, so unless Abramovich's financial situation really has drastically changed, it's at least possible that similar funds will be available in the future. As for Uefa's fair play rules: the club have been looking at different methods of funding, there are I believe, a couple of very substantial sponsorship deals in the offing.

Despite being worried about how things are going & have been, I think this makes sense. I think the club have doubts over Carlo and will only fund big buys that 1/ have a sell on value 2/ have a good reputation.

Yeah, someone with a reported wealth of about £6-7Bn AFTER he lost some money in the credit crunch will really be bothered by the occasional £20m signing.

Do the clubs I mentioned not have to break even then? How can they afford the odd £15m signing? How can they do it without Champions League money?

I think we'll keep making signings, and they'll be around £15-£20m mark... the likes of Ramires and Zhirkov... with the likes of Essien at £25m every couple of years, with the squad players in general being made up of youth products. We'll be fine, and basically a cross between Arsenal and Man Utd in terms of player buying.

This. All the big clubs make big buys once and a while. We did whole lot of them when RA came but now our buying policy is very close to Manu, Arse, Pool and Spuds. Ramires wasn't cheap was he.

Manu bought Chicharito and Arse bought Chamakh for this season. Both Ramires caliber buys.

The idea is to have a strong backbone which we do have but it is an aging one so guys like Mceachran and Bruma are the backbone of the future.

The idea is to have a strong backbone which we do have but it is an aging one so guys like Mceachran and Bruma are the backbone of the future.

This is exactly the point I am making, but the incoming players will not be as expensive a previously.

A lot of posters on here expect us to STILL be vying with City for the big value signings (Dzeko) is simply aint going to happen !!!

I would take Johnson as a first team player looking to replace Anelka in long term. However, that would probably mean that Sturridge gets less time as Drogs is more likely to stick around longer. Hangeland would also be a great signing for us but i think fulham would hold out for a lot more than 10 million.

Edit: City are also very very unlikely to want to sell a player to us at the moment.

Edited January 16, 201114 yr by Alex

Breda Hangelland (Fulham) - more than 10mil probably, though I wouldn't want more than 10 spent

Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan) - seems like a douche

Mark Albrighton (Villa) - very, very talented...young and English, would cost 34billion pounds

Adam Johnson (City) - City wouldn't sell, and if they did, it would be much more than 10mil

Roger Johnson (Brum) - I would take Johnson, as he'd be cheaper than Cahill etc, and might be more happy with a squad role

Mikel Arteta (Everton) - Would take him in a heartbeat, but would cost more than 10mil

Charlie Adam (Blackpool) - I would take him for the money figures being thrown around in the press

Matt Jarvis (Wolves) - I like him, but not good enough for Chelsea

One player i'd take in a heartbeat is Niko Kranjcar, he would easily provide more quality in depth to our front 3 but i doubt Arry would let him join us.

One player i'd take in a heartbeat is Niko Kranjcar, he would easily provide more quality in depth to our front 3 but i doubt Arry would let him join us.

He is a decent shout too Sheva. My only concern is if he isn't good enough for 'arry, is he good enough for our "squad"

I think that dorrans for WBA looks a quality player,don't like the tag "chelsea std",how do we know,Arteta always looks quality on the ball, ,FFS spuds have VDV and modric dream players,with loads of creativity,take nothing away from Lamps,but he aint that type of MF,should of chucked neymar money at arsenal for Fabregas,best MF in PL,if not europe.

Could I add O'Hara and Doyle

Id only have Johnson and possibly Albrighton, but even those two aren't chelsea quality and would cost £10m+.

Kjaer would be a very good and cheap alternative to Luiz, but i'm not convinced we actually need a defender yet.

We should be looking at the likes of Chamberlain, Lukaku, Hazard, Pjanic- all but Chamberlain would cost more then these but are young and their values are likely to rise while they help us challenge for trophies. Id rather we spent £18m on Hazard or Lukaku then wasted £10m on Matt Jarvis or another £18m on a fullback who will hardly play (Zhirkov).

And what is that type of player going to improve? We shouldnt buy average players that block our youngsters.

We should be looking at the likes of Chamberlain, Lukaku, Hazard, Pjanic- all but Chamberlain would cost more then these but are young and their values are likely to rise while they help us challenge for trophies. Id rather we spent £18m on Hazard or Lukaku then wasted £10m on Matt Jarvis or another £18m on a fullback who will hardly play (Zhirkov).

That is what we should do. Buy smart. Buy players that will be worth more in 5 years and not without sell on value.

Edited January 16, 201114 yr by german-blue