“Football, from its birth as a Victorian leisure product, has always been, at bottom, a business. But this is something else. When the variables of league positions and on-field glory are increasingly narrow, when signings are cheered like goals by the digital diaspora, when having a “good window” is a season’s goal, commerce really is beginning to intrude inside the chalk markings.”

Barney Ronay (The Guardian, 2^nd Sept, 2017)

Admit it. Deadline Day is meant to end in the blues for us Blues. Reportedly flush with net spend cash and hell bent on consolidating our position at the top of the Premier League money tree, it was ever thus and whether it be under Jose, Carlo, or as now seems to be the case with Antonio, we simply cannot make the required transition when actually in transition. But, as Barney Ronay points out above, in this paragraph from his latest article, are we really surprised that this relatively straightforward act of progression is beyond our club's capabilities, individual great managerial abilities or, of late with stadia costs looming, Roman's sensibilities, and especially when the commerce, the hype and all the excess has become even more important than the game itself? Logic suggests that it shouldn't be like this, but we are going way beyond financial sense now, heading deep into Ronay's diaspora territory where the scattergun rules and even Arsene Wenger bids £93m for a player.

In truth, this transfer window has not so much been about the story, but the telling of it. For example, when we land a big fish like Alvaro Morata and comparison is made with Romelu Lukaku the media men and pundits emphasis is immediately placed on Premier League experience rather than Champions League appearances, thereby toeing the it's-my-party line and I'll-buy-if-I-want-to attitude that now pervades PSG, Manchester and, since Philippe Coutinho became a wanted man and Bill Kenwright got into bed with Iranian billionaire and ex-Arsenal shareholder Farhad Moshiri, both red and blue halves of Liverpool as well. Of course, I hear you say, the Fourth Estate was bound to peddle the pro-Mancunian argument that Rom was worth the extra money whereas Alvaro is no more than an untried and untested risk, yet by stark contrast and fast-forwarding to Deadline Day you will hardly hear mention made of Danny Drinkwater's league-winning 'experience' above the babble of criticism based on him being over-priced, over here and unworthy of a supporting actor's role in our line-up, even if it does now mean that he is reacquainted with N'Golo Kante, last season's Chelsea star of the Premiership show.

No, apparently this counts for nothing in a print world that would have us believe our constant fears of a sterile Matic/Kante midfield were completely unfounded and still periodically panders to Jose's mock astonishment that we should ever have let the Serb go, to him of all people and United in particular. How silly we were to shoot ourselves in the foot in this way and how regretful we will be whenever he makes an interception, sets up an attack, shields the defence, or merely turns up wearing a red shirt. Moreover, Drinkwater's arrival means comparison with Matic is an easy one to make, assuming him to be his replacement rather than Bakayoko, whereas anyone who watched Monaco last season knows we have upgraded on Matic with this signing and Danny has been brought in specifically to partner Kante in a 3-5-2 formation, or be the insurance man from the subs bench when 3-4-3 is deployed. Whether Chalobah or Loftus-Cheek could have performed this role is a debate for another day and another forum, but for the moment I think it safe to say that the outlay is justified, if for no other reason than our net spend figures are good when compared to those of the northern juggernauts.

However, not so when it comes to 'gross splurge', as Ronay puts it is his piece, which is why he is one of many telling the story in such slanted terms. Here there is an overall rise of 23% on last year’s spending in the Premier League with Manchester City the biggest gross spenders on £215m, followed by £180m from Chelsea, then Manchester United and Everton on £145m. This is the less acceptable face of football capitalism as far as Chelsea is concerned and it will also be the one that is most repeated, but it hides a multitude of cold, hard facts and figures that make a mockery of the contention, for instance, that United has had by far the better transfer window. Even using gross spend [cost of moves in] as the common denominator, Chelsea achieved the following:- Álvaro Morata Real Madrid £58m; Tiémoué Bakayoko Monaco £39.7m; Antonio Rüdiger Roma £29m; Davide Zappacosta Torino £25.8m; Willy Caballero Manchester City free, whereas, for only £35m less United merely acquired Romelu Lukaku Everton £75m; Nemanja Matic Chelsea £40m; Victor Lindelof Benfica £31m; Zlatan Ibrahimovic free agent.

So, to suggest that we did so poorly in the marketplace compared to United when we brought in these five players and they ended up one player less, even taking into account the hokey-cokeying Zlatan, is to stretch credulity to incredible lengths in most peoples worlds, but not, it would appear, in our footballing sphere. Indeed, even Ronay's curiously dampened down verdict on both clubs dealings seems to confirm the media myopia that surrounds the game at present, with efforts [ours and theirs] assessed as follows:-

“Chelsea kept missing out on their man, no doubt leaving Antonio Conte tearing out his chestnut-brown nylon weave at times. But Danny Drinkwater is a good signing and Tiémoué Bakayoko a fascinating one: Bakayoko is a convincing midfield cruiser, although the Premier League may ruffle that splendid strolling style.

Manchester United have handled the window well, buying early then getting out. Romelu Lukaku seems a much better deal now than he did at the start of the hyper-inflationary summer. No goals conceded in the Premier League, no pieces to be integrated through the autumn: this is a damage-free window.”

Strange, is it not, that in the space of just two paragraphs Chelsea move from missing their men to finding both a good and then splendid one, while United shift uneasily from having a well window to one that is merely damage-free. Distortion is clearly the order of any Deadline Day and the assessments subsequently hang on its coattails, but when brought into sharper focus, Chelsea have made good signings and now have this strong squad:-

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Willy Caballero, Eduardo CBs: David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Jake Clarke Salter WBs: Davide Zappacosta, Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso, Abdul Rahman Baba, Kenedy CMs: Cesc Fabregas, Tiemoue Bakayoko, N’Golo Kante, Danny Drinkwater, Kyle Scott Wingers/Forwards: Eden Hazard, Pedro, Willian, Charly Musonda CFs: Alvaro Morata, Michy Batshuayi

Only time will tell whether this squad is good enough to defend the title and also have a half-decent shot at the Champions League, but it is far from the shambles some would have us believe and quite close to the finished article that might emerge after the January window opens and an additional big striker signing is made to offset Diego's departure.

I'm going to reiterate we've set ourselves up nicely for next season with this window. I truly believe we'll not only challenge on all 4 fronts next season but be a genuine threat to win all 4 trophies when we add in the top loaned players we have out in the PL. This season is about the league and putting in a good performance in the CL. 

What an excellent post - spot on!