"Chelsea to ignore the transfer window"

[PloKoon13]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...sea/7793600.stm

Looks like the transfer rumours may all be cack after all...

"Chelsea have said that they will not buy or sell any players in the January transfer window.

Chief executive Peter Kenyon has recently insisted the club's squad is strong enough, and manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has now accepted that stance.

"Peter is my boss and if he says that this is the philosophy, it is OK, it is finished," Scolari told BBC Sport.

Unsettled Alex has told Scolari he wants to stay while Didier Drogba is being linked with Inter Milan.

Speculation arose over the future of Brazilian Alex in newspaper reports in which the player was quoted as saying he wanted to quit.

But Scolari said he had held a private meeting with the defender, who had denied he wanted to leave the club and was happy to remain a key part of the squad.

"When the player comes to my room and tells me he has not said anything and 'I am happy here, I don't want to go,' I believe him," said Scolari on Saturday.

"He told me is not thinking of leaving. The club have a contract with all of us and they respect the contract. The players respect the contract with the club."

In the case of Drogba, Scolari reacted angrily to reports linking the Ivorian striker to Italian champions Inter.

It has been reported that alleged that Drogba met Inter sporting director Marco Branca and Jorge Mendes, agent of the club's manager Jose Mourinho.

Drogba, who has been in out of the side this season because of injury and suspension, declined to comment on whether he attended any meeting but told Sky Sports: "I have always said I have a contract with Chelsea until 2010."

Former Chelsea manager and current Inter boss Mourinho has also insisted he has no plans to sign the 30-year-old."

[dkw]

i honestly think the media have absolutely no idea wether chelsea will sell or buy in january, and to me thats a good thing. in fact its bloody brilliant that those bar stewards are confused over it and they are just making things up now. one day a reporter will tell us he knows for sure were buying 2 players, the next hes telling us he know for sure were not buying anyone. theyre just making themselves look ridiculous.

[Ruh Buh Juh]

I read that too, and I sincerley hope it isn't true. PLEASE let it not be true!

[charierre]

This is either a great smokescreen to make sure the Robinho saga doesnt get repeated or Roman has taken a big hit on the financial markets. As he is in the position of sole owner we are unlikely to find out about the latter as his other business interests could be seriously damaged if rivals suspect he is vulnerable.If it is the latter the acquisition of the right personnel becomes more crucial and no more transfer cockups.

[mad_mac]

If we are to try and find a silver lining to this cloud of economic turmoil then maybe that silver lining is that we will no longer pay over the odds for players; the old "there is one price for Chelsea and one price for the rest of Europe" was getting more than irksome. Also, I hope it means we won't be running about like the school bully telling everyone within ear shot what our plans in the transfer windows are.

The Robinho saga was plain embarassing, as was the price we paid for Shevchenko. Hopefully we will learn from our mistakes, and make more signings the likes of Bosingwa. Did anyone in the press even mention him before he arrived at the bridge?

Scott

[TheWestwayWonder]

To my knowledge Bosingwa came right out of the blue. We paid a big price for him, but imo he is far better suited to England than Dani Alves, and cast far less than Alves wouldve.

I agree with DKWs sentiments. I think its brilliant that the press dont know which way is up or down with our club because, in the past, even we knew what was going to happen with transfers, so clearly those in the know, on other teams, saw it coming a mile away and the likes of Aulas made out like highwaymen.

I remain convinced that we will buy for two reasons

-there have been rumors that Roman lost big in the world financial collapse but if it was as bad as people made it out to be, then we would have heard alot more about it. He might have been hit hard, but with 22 billion or whatever he had, he will hesitate to find a few million if need be. He has never been stingy where the team was concerned, just practical.

-I think its obvious to everyone: Scolari, management, the players, the fans, etc, that not getting Robinho was what has been missing in our squad, and that we need creative, fast, outside or inside players. After getting so close last year, its time we leave nothing to chance this year.

I think we need more than just a creative player like Arshavin, but if we were to go out and find an off-the-radar talent like Bosingwa that can get it done I would be very happy with that. Its clear that Scolari's stewardship makes alot of players look better than they would otherwise.

[PloKoon13]

The trouble is that Scolari himself is quoted in that article...

[Maksimov]

The trouble is that Scolari himself is quoted in that article...

Haven't we heard this at least once before this season? I mean, Scolari saying Kenyon is the boss and he is ok with not being able to buy any new players. I'm not 100% sure, but I think those same(or something along those lines) quotes were used in articles about a month or two ago. ;)

[PloKoon13]

Haven't we heard this at least once before this season? I mean, Scolari saying Kenyon is the boss and he is ok with not being able to buy any new players. I'm not 100% sure, but I think those same(or something along those lines) quotes were used in articles about a month or two ago. :D

I think you're right. I don't know why they're so intent on telling everyone we're not going to buy anybody though... unless they're going to unleash an unexpected bid for the entire Argentina team in January.

[Maksimov]

...unless they're going to unleash an unexpected bid for the entire Argentina team in January.

Now THAT would be unexpected. <_<

[TheWestwayWonder]

I think you're right. I don't know why they're so intent on telling everyone we're not going to buy anybody though... unless they're going to unleash an unexpected bid for the entire Argentina team in January.

Its been too obvious in the past what we were going to do, but I think if they feed people this line, combined with the Jose/Roman free-transfer bonanza and the lighter spending of recent years, people might actually buy it

I can only hope this is Kenyon scheming, deciding not to show everyone in football what his hand is, and he just has Scolari on board with it.

A blind man can see we need reinforcements for the final third badly

[geezer]

Ain't going to happen guys unless we sell someone. Roman has lost over £3 billion pounds in the current credit crunch. He's pulled prize money from a tournament he's sponsored for the past three years and he's frozen pay rises amongst his serving staff. The club will get diddly squat in the window from him.

Pressure's really on you now Kenyon to make the club break even otherwise it may be a while before we sign anyone else.

[Jimboola69]

Basically the line is that Roman has cut the cord, but Phil is begging to spend...as he was promised.

Personally I think a striker and a winger would see us fine. Get some damned PACE in that team.

[dkw]

He's pulled prize money from a tournament he's sponsored for the past three years

this is actually wrong the tournament has been cancelled because 3 or 4 clubs have pulled out of it. it has nothing to do with romans money. the thing with is, his supposed "losses" losses are all paper losses. the value of his share portfolio may have dropped significantly, but only if he sells. once everything settles it will most likely rise back to the same value. he cashed in a hell of a lot of shares and companys a few years ago and was estimaetd to have a cash value of around £8 billion. so this will still be the same. dont believe everything you read in the media.

[PloKoon13]

Pressure's really on you now Kenyon

So a fifth-placed finish this season?

[geezer]

this is actually wrong the tournament has been cancelled because 3 or 4 clubs have pulled out of it. it has nothing to do with romans money. the thing with is, his supposed "losses" losses are all paper losses. the value of his share portfolio may have dropped significantly, but only if he sells. once everything settles it will most likely rise back to the same value. he cashed in a hell of a lot of shares and companys a few years ago and was estimaetd to have a cash value of around £8 billion. so this will still be the same. dont believe everything you read in the media.

No it isn't wrong. The clubs pulled out of it because the prize money was severely dropped and therefore yes it was to do with Roman's money. And yes his losses are paper losses however that doesn't alter the fact that his portfolio has reduced by nearly a third. Given the current climate it is likely to be a very long time before his portfolio rises to the same value as before

Finally, don't assume I get all my info from the papers.

[dkw]

No it isn't wrong. The clubs pulled out of it because the prize money was severely dropped and therefore yes it was to do with Roman's money. And yes his losses are paper losses however that doesn't alter the fact that his portfolio has reduced by nearly a third. Given the current climate it is likely to be a very long time before his portfolio rises to the same value as before

Finally, don't assume I get all my info from the papers.

your right, i looked it up and he did pull the prize money. i apologise, i was wrong. i still think you get all your info from the daily sport though..... ;)

and not just about football........ :)

[forbzy]

Unfortunately on this occasion I suspect that Peter Kenyon is actually being honest in his statement. Based on Roman's current portfolio I doubt he will be keen to spend in the transfer market. I also imagine he will want to know why nobody is coming through the youth system that he heavily funded. I would like to see them put pressure on Big Phil to give the youth a chance. Perhaps they can give him some assurances that their silverwear expectations will be lowered as a result but at least then they would be able to find out if any of these players are good enough. Can they be any worse than some of the overpaid primadonnas currently representing the first team?

[geezer]

your right, i looked it up and he did pull the prize money. i apologise, i was wrong. i still think you get all your info from the daily sport though..... ;)

and not just about football........ :)

Seriously I don't get all my info from newspapers, sometimes I get it from magazines.

[Guest]

I think you're right. I don't know why they're so intent on telling everyone we're not going to buy anybody though... unless they're going to unleash an unexpected bid for the entire Argentina team in January.

Why not just buy the whole of Argentina? B)

[geezer]

Why not just buy the whole of Argentina? :huh:

Cos only Latvia have asked Roman to buy their country so far but they've got crap players.