Chelsea arrived on Merseyside with a dual agenda, and whilst their FA Cup 4th round resolution with Everton will have to wait for ten days, the negotiations for Liverpool’s Fernando Torres will need to be conducted with more urgency and aplomb than they showed across Stanley Park.
The cup holders needed a Salomon Kalou equaliser and a pair of fine Petr Cech saves to keep a grip on the trophy they have won for the past two seasons. A draw may have been the fairest result all round but if any side did deserve to wrap it up without a replay - it was definately the hosts.
Given the proximity to Anfield and the transfer deadline, it was unsurprising that so much pre-match talk time was given to the Blues pursuit of the Spanish striker. indeed the travelling support were in jovial spirits and have even concocted their own pre-emptive version of ‘Chelsea’s number nine.”
The two clubs are at the familiar pistols drawn stage, with the Kop hierarchy insistent their star turn remains, whilst the Londoners are increasingly keen to take the World Cup winner down south. After turning down a £35m bid and a transfer request before the weekend, Chelsea are expected to further test Liverpool’s resolve with an improved offer before the transfer deadline at 11pm on monday.
Publicly Liverpool have tried to save face by flatly rejecting Chelsea’s tentative opening bid, but following the players admission he would like to quit Anfield, it is widely expected a deal would be done for somewhere in the vicinity of £50m, either with or without a player makeweight.
After Carlo Ancelotti’s men laboured through their 4th round clash at Goodison, it is easy to see why a player of Torres’s calibre is being sought by Roman Abramovich and/or Ancelotti. Once again the ailing champions failed to impress, and were well outplayed during the second half of the tie with Louis Saha and Kalou trading goals to take matters back to Stamford Bridge.
Barring Nicolas Anelka spurning a one-on-one in the first half, Chelsea failed to create any clear cut chances until the equaliser, lacking any threat or penetration against an energetic Everton.
However, their problems appear to stem from midfield where ponderous and erratic use of the ball meant the forward players of Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Anelka were denied any quality of service to test the hosts rearguard.
Undoubtedly, the signing of Torres would be a profitable acquisition with Chelsea in full flow, but many of his most derided performances in a Liverpool shirt this season have come when he’s been ploughing a lone furrow up front, with the supply line cut. The derby at Goodison being one example.
The signing of Torres would improve chelsea’s forward line but for him to have any real benefit, the rest of the team must either be re-shaped or re-stocked to restore them towards something near their best.
Regardless of how good any player is, they can only do so much from so little, and Chelsea’s problem at present is not that their strikers are misfiring, it’s the the fact they aren’t being given the opportunities to misfire.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Blues cruise into motion
Chelsea are back - or so sang their travelling support.
Certainly the scoreline and scorers suggested so, although the champions still have ample ground to make up and a title to retain for that statement to have any real resonance.
Thirteen unanswered goals in their last three outings also befit the claims that the Blues are back to their brimming best, but the credentials of their resurrection will need to be examined under sterner, and less generous conditions than delivered by a strangely inept Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium last night.
By the time Chris Foy blew for time and spared Bolton death by a thousand cuts, Carlo Ancelotti’s men were popping the ball around with the silk and bravado that made them such an ominous authority at the end of last and beginning of this season.
Spearheaded by Didier Drogba rolling back the months, so too dovetailed by the once again fleeting French duo of Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda, the Blues appear to have regained a menace and ruthlessness to their play which was so conspicuous by its absence during those barren winter months.
However, perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the whole display was the methodology of the win, the hard yards before the saunter.
After weathering some early Wanderers pressure, Chelsea took the lead through the type of individually brilliant goal that wins games and points. The visitors had contributed relatively little to the match up until the eleventh minute when Drogba’s vicious 30 yard scud suddenly gave his side the lead.
So often a matter of formalities previously, Chelsea have on occasion lacked the presence and conviction to clinically kill games off in the manner they were once so accustomed.
Late equalisers conceded against Everton and Aston Villa cost points at home, and indeed the reverse fixture with Bolton at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea retreat to the confines of their own box to nervily cling on to a 1-0 lead during a frantic finale.
The amnesia of how to attain results was borne from the nerves and pressure of their plight, manifesting itself game by game into a paralysis which has fatally wounded their hopes of securing back to back titles.
It was a diagnosis with no sudden remedy, but judging by the way they went about the remaining 80 minutes at the Reebok, the wounds are healing fast.
After going behind, Owen Coyle’s troops briefly rallied but once Petr Cech smartly turned Matt Taylor’s header round the post, Chelsea clicked through the gears to record their most emphatic league win since September.
After Drogba and Anelka were denied, Malouda doubled the Londoners advantage allowing them to completely control proceedings throughout the second half, adding another two goals which could and should have been more.
In truth they were aided and abetted by some uncharacteristically brittle defending from their hosts, but the margin of the result was a testament to Chelsea and not a detriment to Bolton as Ancelotti’s rediscovered the joys of bullying limping prey.
Those players who had been so reticent to receive under pressure, those players timid and apprehensive in possession, over analysing the pass or the passage of play which were so restricting Chelsea, were suddenly demanding the ball, holding off tackles, taking an extra touch and time, swiftly moving the ball on with a slight of foot and thought that had been so evidently lacking of late.
Suggestions Chelsea were in terminal decline or past there best were premature. Their slump was more to do with a waning of confidence, conviction and belief. The physical attributes of a player and of a team cannot recline and reappear in such a short space of time, the mental ones can.
But as Chelsea have already found to their detriment, as soon as it can come it can go. They may not be out of the woods, but the trees are certainly thinning.
Certainly the scoreline and scorers suggested so, although the champions still have ample ground to make up and a title to retain for that statement to have any real resonance.
Thirteen unanswered goals in their last three outings also befit the claims that the Blues are back to their brimming best, but the credentials of their resurrection will need to be examined under sterner, and less generous conditions than delivered by a strangely inept Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium last night.
By the time Chris Foy blew for time and spared Bolton death by a thousand cuts, Carlo Ancelotti’s men were popping the ball around with the silk and bravado that made them such an ominous authority at the end of last and beginning of this season.
Spearheaded by Didier Drogba rolling back the months, so too dovetailed by the once again fleeting French duo of Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda, the Blues appear to have regained a menace and ruthlessness to their play which was so conspicuous by its absence during those barren winter months.
However, perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the whole display was the methodology of the win, the hard yards before the saunter.
After weathering some early Wanderers pressure, Chelsea took the lead through the type of individually brilliant goal that wins games and points. The visitors had contributed relatively little to the match up until the eleventh minute when Drogba’s vicious 30 yard scud suddenly gave his side the lead.
So often a matter of formalities previously, Chelsea have on occasion lacked the presence and conviction to clinically kill games off in the manner they were once so accustomed.
Late equalisers conceded against Everton and Aston Villa cost points at home, and indeed the reverse fixture with Bolton at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea retreat to the confines of their own box to nervily cling on to a 1-0 lead during a frantic finale.
The amnesia of how to attain results was borne from the nerves and pressure of their plight, manifesting itself game by game into a paralysis which has fatally wounded their hopes of securing back to back titles.
It was a diagnosis with no sudden remedy, but judging by the way they went about the remaining 80 minutes at the Reebok, the wounds are healing fast.
After going behind, Owen Coyle’s troops briefly rallied but once Petr Cech smartly turned Matt Taylor’s header round the post, Chelsea clicked through the gears to record their most emphatic league win since September.
After Drogba and Anelka were denied, Malouda doubled the Londoners advantage allowing them to completely control proceedings throughout the second half, adding another two goals which could and should have been more.
In truth they were aided and abetted by some uncharacteristically brittle defending from their hosts, but the margin of the result was a testament to Chelsea and not a detriment to Bolton as Ancelotti’s rediscovered the joys of bullying limping prey.
Those players who had been so reticent to receive under pressure, those players timid and apprehensive in possession, over analysing the pass or the passage of play which were so restricting Chelsea, were suddenly demanding the ball, holding off tackles, taking an extra touch and time, swiftly moving the ball on with a slight of foot and thought that had been so evidently lacking of late.
Suggestions Chelsea were in terminal decline or past there best were premature. Their slump was more to do with a waning of confidence, conviction and belief. The physical attributes of a player and of a team cannot recline and reappear in such a short space of time, the mental ones can.
But as Chelsea have already found to their detriment, as soon as it can come it can go. They may not be out of the woods, but the trees are certainly thinning.
Monday, 24 January 2011
Real reeling behind Barca brilliance
Real Madrid are good. Very good. Last night’s 1-0 win over Mallorca at the Bernabeu took them back four points behind Barcelona in la Liga with 51 points from twenty games.
In any other European league that would have them comfortably top of the table. They have progressed dangerously serenely in the Champions League, and last week beat city rivals Atletico to move into the semi finals of the Copa del Rey.
They have the most expensive and some consider best player in the world headlining what is arguably the best squad in the world, marshaled by probably the best coach in the world.
In all competitions in his first season, Jose Mourinho has won almost 80% of his games, his side scoring 79 goals in just 32 games conceding only 23. Vastly impressive figures.
The only thing they aren’t good at, is being as good as Barcelona - a nigh on impossible task.
Starting XI
1 Casillas
17 Arbeloa - 4 Ramos - 2 Carvalho - 12 Marcelo
11 Granero - 5 Gago - 8 Kaka
7 Ronaldo - 9 Benzema - 22 Di Maria
Substitutions: 46mins - 23 M.Ozil on for 8 Kaka , 46 - 14 X Alonso on for 5 F Gago , 64 - 10 L Diarra on for 11 E Granero
A solitary strike on the hour from the previously out of favour Karim Benzema was enough to nudge los Blanco’s past the Mallorcans - whom had held Real to a goalless draw on the opening weekend.
For the first 45 minutes Michael Laudrup’s side were the more impressive on show, easily stifling Real’s over emphasised attacks through Ronaldo - with Kaka off the pace following his return from injury.
Indeed the Islanders also had the better of the early chances with Emilio Nsue cracking a shot off the inside of the post in the 13th minute. Laudrup’s men continually looked lively on the counter through the mobile Pierre Webo, in contrast to the cumbersome play of their more distinguished hosts.
At half time, Real departed to a chorus of disapproval from the 74,000 crowd but after Mourinho culled the ineffectual Kaka for Mesut Ozil and the ponderous Fernando Gago for Xabi Alonso, they returned with more vigour after the interval.
It has been a recurring theme so far this term that los meringues have flattered to deceive in the first period before upping the ante after the resumption. For what it’s worth, Real stand only 5th in the ‘half-time’ league in la Liga - a chart unsurprisingly headed by the Catalan champions.
The deciding incident eventually came after 61 minutes when maligned French striker Benzema briskly worked a shot on the edge of the area and drilled a low left foot shot past Israeli keeper Dudu Aouate for only his second league goal this term. Benzema then went on to turn down a trio of chances to make the game safe with Ronaldo heading onto the bar before Webo almost stole an unlikely point for the visitors with an injury time effort saved by the feet of Iker Casillas.
In any other league at present the ability to accumulate wins when playing below par is considered a trait attributable to champions, but on a weekend when Barcelona sauntered past similarly placed mid table opposition with the minimum of fuss, Real’s performance was post match harshly appraised by fans and critics as being well below par.
And herein lies the problem. Despite being on course to post well over 90 points this season, Real still find themselves adrift of Barca who have incredibly won 18 of their 20 league outings.
Lacking the style and substance of their only rival in a two horse race means there is little solace when things don’t go well. Perversely, Real may end up being the best team in Europe, but not the best team in Spain.
In any other European league that would have them comfortably top of the table. They have progressed dangerously serenely in the Champions League, and last week beat city rivals Atletico to move into the semi finals of the Copa del Rey.
They have the most expensive and some consider best player in the world headlining what is arguably the best squad in the world, marshaled by probably the best coach in the world.
In all competitions in his first season, Jose Mourinho has won almost 80% of his games, his side scoring 79 goals in just 32 games conceding only 23. Vastly impressive figures.
The only thing they aren’t good at, is being as good as Barcelona - a nigh on impossible task.
Starting XI
1 Casillas
17 Arbeloa - 4 Ramos - 2 Carvalho - 12 Marcelo
11 Granero - 5 Gago - 8 Kaka
7 Ronaldo - 9 Benzema - 22 Di Maria
Substitutions: 46mins - 23 M.Ozil on for 8 Kaka , 46 - 14 X Alonso on for 5 F Gago , 64 - 10 L Diarra on for 11 E Granero
A solitary strike on the hour from the previously out of favour Karim Benzema was enough to nudge los Blanco’s past the Mallorcans - whom had held Real to a goalless draw on the opening weekend.
For the first 45 minutes Michael Laudrup’s side were the more impressive on show, easily stifling Real’s over emphasised attacks through Ronaldo - with Kaka off the pace following his return from injury.
Indeed the Islanders also had the better of the early chances with Emilio Nsue cracking a shot off the inside of the post in the 13th minute. Laudrup’s men continually looked lively on the counter through the mobile Pierre Webo, in contrast to the cumbersome play of their more distinguished hosts.
At half time, Real departed to a chorus of disapproval from the 74,000 crowd but after Mourinho culled the ineffectual Kaka for Mesut Ozil and the ponderous Fernando Gago for Xabi Alonso, they returned with more vigour after the interval.
It has been a recurring theme so far this term that los meringues have flattered to deceive in the first period before upping the ante after the resumption. For what it’s worth, Real stand only 5th in the ‘half-time’ league in la Liga - a chart unsurprisingly headed by the Catalan champions.
The deciding incident eventually came after 61 minutes when maligned French striker Benzema briskly worked a shot on the edge of the area and drilled a low left foot shot past Israeli keeper Dudu Aouate for only his second league goal this term. Benzema then went on to turn down a trio of chances to make the game safe with Ronaldo heading onto the bar before Webo almost stole an unlikely point for the visitors with an injury time effort saved by the feet of Iker Casillas.
In any other league at present the ability to accumulate wins when playing below par is considered a trait attributable to champions, but on a weekend when Barcelona sauntered past similarly placed mid table opposition with the minimum of fuss, Real’s performance was post match harshly appraised by fans and critics as being well below par.
And herein lies the problem. Despite being on course to post well over 90 points this season, Real still find themselves adrift of Barca who have incredibly won 18 of their 20 league outings.
Lacking the style and substance of their only rival in a two horse race means there is little solace when things don’t go well. Perversely, Real may end up being the best team in Europe, but not the best team in Spain.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Now or never as Blues threaten a revival
Never usually one for understatement, Didier Drogba this week urged his Chelsea team-mates to set aside any talk of a title challenge and instead concentrate on winning two games in a row.
It shows the depths the champions have plummeted to in recent months that such remarks aren’t being taken as derogatory. Indeed, the last time they managed to string together consecutive league victories was at the end of October, before their winter of discontent sent them spiraling ten points adrift of current leaders Manchester United.
Less than a month ago Bolton Wanderers provided the opposition for Chelsea to end a dismal sequence of six league outings without a win and it is the same opposition that present the Blues with the previously rudimentary task of clocking up back to back victories.
Following Florent Malouda’s solitary strike against Bolton prior to the new year, Carlo Ancelotti’s side had ample opportunity to string a run together yet contrived to pick up just a point from meetings with the relegation threatened midlands duo of Aston Villa and Wolves.
After that, the 7-0 FA Cup pasting of Ipswich was supposed to be the catalyst for resurgence yet for over an hour of last weeks hosting of Blackburn, Chelsea once again failed to fire until a pair of bundled set-pieces eventually gave them the three points.
The last twenty minutes or so of the Rovers game saw Chelsea finish with a flurry of fluidity and bravado, albeit against a despondent Rovers with the game up. A much sterner test of where they stand at present will await at the Reebok Stadium, with the champions form on the road currently the worst in the Premier League.
Not since a late Branislav Ivanovic header at Ewood Park in October have Chelsea won away from the confines of Stamford Bridge, a run encompassing seven games, five defeats, two draws and just three goals - one a deflection, one a goalkeeping howler and one from a set-piece.
With five of their next six trips on the road - including visits to Everton in the FA Cup and Copenhagen in the Champions League - Chelsea need to immediately curtail their travel sickness if they hold out any aspirations of genuinely putting a run on Manchester United.
If they are going to get the ball rolling then they have the opportunity to do so at a home from home. Chelsea have won on their last seven trips to this part of Lancashire, scoring fourteen unanswered goals in the process.
Previously the Reebok has been a ground where Chelsea have demonstrated fully their championship credentials. Last season a smooth 4-0 coast provided an early season glimpse of what was to come and in 2006 the Blues weathered a ferocious hail of Allardyce-esque long balls and set-plays to grab a 2-0 win and fend off the pursuit of Manchester United en route to defending their league crown.
The year before that of course was the seminal moment of the Mourinho era, another 2-0 win which secured the Londoners first title in fifty years, and it is these memories the current crop will have to evoke to form the first steps of rehabilitation towards emulating past glories.
Chelsea prepare for the clash still unsure as to the fitness of influential pair John Terry and Frank Lampard. Skipper Terry took a knock to the ribs and missed a few days training this week but is expected to shrug the knock off whilst midfielder Lampard has a calf strain and will be assessed over the weekend.
Probable line up (4-3-3): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Anelka, Malouda, Drogba
It shows the depths the champions have plummeted to in recent months that such remarks aren’t being taken as derogatory. Indeed, the last time they managed to string together consecutive league victories was at the end of October, before their winter of discontent sent them spiraling ten points adrift of current leaders Manchester United.
Less than a month ago Bolton Wanderers provided the opposition for Chelsea to end a dismal sequence of six league outings without a win and it is the same opposition that present the Blues with the previously rudimentary task of clocking up back to back victories.
Following Florent Malouda’s solitary strike against Bolton prior to the new year, Carlo Ancelotti’s side had ample opportunity to string a run together yet contrived to pick up just a point from meetings with the relegation threatened midlands duo of Aston Villa and Wolves.
After that, the 7-0 FA Cup pasting of Ipswich was supposed to be the catalyst for resurgence yet for over an hour of last weeks hosting of Blackburn, Chelsea once again failed to fire until a pair of bundled set-pieces eventually gave them the three points.
The last twenty minutes or so of the Rovers game saw Chelsea finish with a flurry of fluidity and bravado, albeit against a despondent Rovers with the game up. A much sterner test of where they stand at present will await at the Reebok Stadium, with the champions form on the road currently the worst in the Premier League.
Not since a late Branislav Ivanovic header at Ewood Park in October have Chelsea won away from the confines of Stamford Bridge, a run encompassing seven games, five defeats, two draws and just three goals - one a deflection, one a goalkeeping howler and one from a set-piece.
With five of their next six trips on the road - including visits to Everton in the FA Cup and Copenhagen in the Champions League - Chelsea need to immediately curtail their travel sickness if they hold out any aspirations of genuinely putting a run on Manchester United.
If they are going to get the ball rolling then they have the opportunity to do so at a home from home. Chelsea have won on their last seven trips to this part of Lancashire, scoring fourteen unanswered goals in the process.
Previously the Reebok has been a ground where Chelsea have demonstrated fully their championship credentials. Last season a smooth 4-0 coast provided an early season glimpse of what was to come and in 2006 the Blues weathered a ferocious hail of Allardyce-esque long balls and set-plays to grab a 2-0 win and fend off the pursuit of Manchester United en route to defending their league crown.
The year before that of course was the seminal moment of the Mourinho era, another 2-0 win which secured the Londoners first title in fifty years, and it is these memories the current crop will have to evoke to form the first steps of rehabilitation towards emulating past glories.
Chelsea prepare for the clash still unsure as to the fitness of influential pair John Terry and Frank Lampard. Skipper Terry took a knock to the ribs and missed a few days training this week but is expected to shrug the knock off whilst midfielder Lampard has a calf strain and will be assessed over the weekend.
Probable line up (4-3-3): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Anelka, Malouda, Drogba
Bosman best for business brains
The new years fireworks celebrations act as a starters gun for a frenzy of hurried transfers to begin. But the transfer window can also be the dawn for greater consideration towards more astute future signings.
Theoretically at least, January marks the point at which those players who’s contract runs out in the summer can be tempted to move for free on a Bosman signing.
The list of players who potentially could be acquired for free runs long and deep, with a great deal of quality to be had for clubs of all sizes. The talent pool contains individuals across all spectrums and, from talented youngsters and experienced campaigners to proven international and European thoroughbreds.
If you look abroad the likes of Jerzy Dudek, Philippe Mexes, Mohamadou Diarra, Urby Emanuelson, Andrea Pirlo, Piotr Trochowski and Ivan Rakitic amongst others could all be tangibly and realistically tempted to our shores.
Of course there are wage demands and structures to contend with, but given these players can be acquired minus the sizeable sum they could command, surely the Bosman represents good business practice.
Perhaps the most successful exponents of this formula were Bolton Wanderers under Sam Allardyce who recorded four consecutive top ten finishes and European qualification with a host of Bosman’s including Kevin Davies, Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo.
There still appears some consternation - especially from club management - towards the ruling, which, after all is simply a basic civil and employment right. However, even for the purported hard done by employers there is ample opportunity to refurnish their own playing stocks at the expense of others.
The law of the jungle prevails in football, and those that work sharply and shrewdly can get great reward. To illustrate the point, here are a few suggestions of domestic players that could be snapped up in the summer.
Potentially risking all credibility and denouncing my own theory immediately, I’m going to start off with Robert Green. Ignoring his howler against the USA and a string of other misdemeanors, Green is still vying for the England number one slot with Joe Hart.
Now that either says something about the state of English goalkeeping - which it probably does - or that Green isn’t that bad a keeper. Arsenal could do worse. So could Liverpool if Pepe Reina left, whilst both Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham will be after top quality back-up should he accept playing second fiddle.
In the same boat as Green is Matthew Upson, who might decide a change of scenery from Upton Park is the best idea whether the Hammers stay up or not.
Perhaps Manchester United apart all of the other ‘big five’ have had issues in central defence and even with a lack of European pedigree, Upson could plug a gap at any of those sides, as well as any other upwardly mobile Premier League side.
The beauty of the Bosman is that without a fee there is no initial large drain of the coffers, which lends itself to the possibility of ‘no risk’ signings.
The notion of pay as you play deals is growing, and players with the injury records of Jonathan Woodgate and Owen Hargreaves may not be overly optimistic of landing a guaranteed weekly wage given the condition of goods.
Over the past twelve to eighteen months these two have made Barry Sheene look like the bionic man, and both are unlikely to be offered invitations to stay where they are.
The likelihood is that neither will return to their pomp but if, and it is a large if, the injuries rescind, these players could be great assets in one capacity or another to most sides in the league and certainly would be worth a punt if any of the promoted sides could get them on board.
If the plan comes off you have a proven performer on reasonable wages, if it doesn’t, they don’t play and you don’t pay. Not a problem.
Another intriguing scenario is that of Michael Owen. Unless between now and the end of the season he can persuade Sir Alex Ferguson otherwise, Owen will not be offered a new deal with the Reds and will be out of the door of another top football club.
Owen has previously hinted that he doesn’t much fancy dropping very far down the league ladder but given the strength of the top sides attacking capabilities he might not have much choice.
He has also muted the possibility of retiring from the game and given his wealth and ever increasing interests in horse racing combined with the resignation that his international career is over, Owen may decide to turn his back on the game knowing his time at the top is over.
But what Owen should bear in mind, is that at the end of next season, 2011/12, following the European Championships, Capello will not be England manager and even without forcing his way back in in the meantime, with a clean bill of health and a decent season notching goals, at 32 years old a return to the England set-up is not inconceivable.
The Bosman ruling in many ways bears the brunt of criticism for spiraling wages and greater player power but those who blame the Bosman are simply in denial that such an economic swing of liberties towards the players would have been inevitable anyway.
The Bosman is as fair as it is equal. Of course, like most things within the game, the larger the club the more they stand to gain at the expense of the rest, but that does not mean that any club independent of size can not utilise the Bosman rule for their own self gain.
The players, deals and opportunities are out there as long as there is enough foresight and acumen to pull them off.
Theoretically at least, January marks the point at which those players who’s contract runs out in the summer can be tempted to move for free on a Bosman signing.
The list of players who potentially could be acquired for free runs long and deep, with a great deal of quality to be had for clubs of all sizes. The talent pool contains individuals across all spectrums and, from talented youngsters and experienced campaigners to proven international and European thoroughbreds.
If you look abroad the likes of Jerzy Dudek, Philippe Mexes, Mohamadou Diarra, Urby Emanuelson, Andrea Pirlo, Piotr Trochowski and Ivan Rakitic amongst others could all be tangibly and realistically tempted to our shores.
Of course there are wage demands and structures to contend with, but given these players can be acquired minus the sizeable sum they could command, surely the Bosman represents good business practice.
Perhaps the most successful exponents of this formula were Bolton Wanderers under Sam Allardyce who recorded four consecutive top ten finishes and European qualification with a host of Bosman’s including Kevin Davies, Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo.
There still appears some consternation - especially from club management - towards the ruling, which, after all is simply a basic civil and employment right. However, even for the purported hard done by employers there is ample opportunity to refurnish their own playing stocks at the expense of others.
The law of the jungle prevails in football, and those that work sharply and shrewdly can get great reward. To illustrate the point, here are a few suggestions of domestic players that could be snapped up in the summer.
Potentially risking all credibility and denouncing my own theory immediately, I’m going to start off with Robert Green. Ignoring his howler against the USA and a string of other misdemeanors, Green is still vying for the England number one slot with Joe Hart.
Now that either says something about the state of English goalkeeping - which it probably does - or that Green isn’t that bad a keeper. Arsenal could do worse. So could Liverpool if Pepe Reina left, whilst both Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham will be after top quality back-up should he accept playing second fiddle.
In the same boat as Green is Matthew Upson, who might decide a change of scenery from Upton Park is the best idea whether the Hammers stay up or not.
Perhaps Manchester United apart all of the other ‘big five’ have had issues in central defence and even with a lack of European pedigree, Upson could plug a gap at any of those sides, as well as any other upwardly mobile Premier League side.
The beauty of the Bosman is that without a fee there is no initial large drain of the coffers, which lends itself to the possibility of ‘no risk’ signings.
The notion of pay as you play deals is growing, and players with the injury records of Jonathan Woodgate and Owen Hargreaves may not be overly optimistic of landing a guaranteed weekly wage given the condition of goods.
Over the past twelve to eighteen months these two have made Barry Sheene look like the bionic man, and both are unlikely to be offered invitations to stay where they are.
The likelihood is that neither will return to their pomp but if, and it is a large if, the injuries rescind, these players could be great assets in one capacity or another to most sides in the league and certainly would be worth a punt if any of the promoted sides could get them on board.
If the plan comes off you have a proven performer on reasonable wages, if it doesn’t, they don’t play and you don’t pay. Not a problem.
Another intriguing scenario is that of Michael Owen. Unless between now and the end of the season he can persuade Sir Alex Ferguson otherwise, Owen will not be offered a new deal with the Reds and will be out of the door of another top football club.
Owen has previously hinted that he doesn’t much fancy dropping very far down the league ladder but given the strength of the top sides attacking capabilities he might not have much choice.
He has also muted the possibility of retiring from the game and given his wealth and ever increasing interests in horse racing combined with the resignation that his international career is over, Owen may decide to turn his back on the game knowing his time at the top is over.
But what Owen should bear in mind, is that at the end of next season, 2011/12, following the European Championships, Capello will not be England manager and even without forcing his way back in in the meantime, with a clean bill of health and a decent season notching goals, at 32 years old a return to the England set-up is not inconceivable.
The Bosman ruling in many ways bears the brunt of criticism for spiraling wages and greater player power but those who blame the Bosman are simply in denial that such an economic swing of liberties towards the players would have been inevitable anyway.
The Bosman is as fair as it is equal. Of course, like most things within the game, the larger the club the more they stand to gain at the expense of the rest, but that does not mean that any club independent of size can not utilise the Bosman rule for their own self gain.
The players, deals and opportunities are out there as long as there is enough foresight and acumen to pull them off.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Is Bent splash the first of Lerner's big cash?
It’s no coincidence that the top wages and transfer fees are dominated by forwards. Goals win games and when in times of trouble a new striker is often sought to sharpshoot the issue away.
In parting with the best part of £20m on Darren Bent, Randy Learner and Aston Villa have u-turned on the frugal and stone by stone progression they have preached since the Americans take-over.
Given their current predicament, you could argue that such prior measured means have recessed the team, yet after a trio of sixth place finishes prior to this campaign, one wonders what the situation would be had Martin O’Neil been granted such levels of spending afforded to Gerard Houllier.
The sum commanded for Bent has previously been layered across two or three positions on players who ultimately failed to deliver Villa’s aims of Champions League qualification.
With that in mind, it’s a polar shift of strategy for Lerner to commission a move which could double the clubs previous transfer record of £12m for Stewart Downing. It is also worth noting that Jean Makoun has arrived from Lyon for around £6m to bolster the midfield ranks.
Until Bent signed on the dotted line, Downing was the only player in the Villa squad who cost over £10m. That illustrates how restrained the Midlands outfit have been when purchasing targets. It was the clubs inability or reluctance to spend extra that so irked O’Neil to the point of resignation prior to the start of the season.
After seeing Tottenham and Manchester City lavishly spend their way past them, the futility of the situation has manifested itself in the performances of individuals and as a collective who have struggled to attain the levels of previous seasons.
By breaking from tradition, the Villa hierarchy are both admitting a real fear of relegation but also signaling future ambition and resource. Clearly O’Neil’s much stressed ideology that big money needs to be spent where necessary has struck a chord with Lerner whom must be alarmed at the depths Villa have plummeted to during an ever gradually declining 2010.
In procuring Bent, Gerard Houllier has armed himself with a player who’s scored only one less goal than Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney since 2005. Given his limitations which have been exposed at international level, his domestic goalscoring record is remarkable. 32 goals in 58 games since moving to Sunderland underlines the potential for goals. Barring his stumble at Tottenham, Bent has scored goals in abundance in predicaments not too dissimilar to the one Villa find themselves in now. Only out of the bottom three on goal difference, Houllier’s men are not even being talked about as ‘too good to go down’.
Whether Bent would have been prized away from 6th place Sunderland had he been on good personal terms on Wearside remains to be seen, yet his commitment to join Villa is not only borne out of a belief they will ultimately stave off the drop, but also of that they will soon return to the upper reaches of the Premier League table.
When prosing over a transfer such as this, the end question is whether the player can make the difference to justify the fee, and in Darren Bent’s case there is little to suggest he won’t be able to provide the amount of goals he’s been brought to bring.
In truth Villa have been requiring the elusive arch goal-getter since Dwight Yorke left. A host of names have come and gone and for tidy sums too, yet a striker of real match-winning potency has never come forward. As long as Bent doesn’t suffer from the jitters which stained his stay at Spurs, the protracted fee of potentially £24m will be money expensively well spent.
Inadvertently, Bent may well be the solution to Villa’s short and long term woes. In the immediacy his goals are supposed to alleviate the possibility of going down, but should his move be a success, he may provide the catalyst for Randy Lerner to finally armour his team with the necessary components to get where they want to go.
The ball and the money are in Lerner’s court, but the success of Darren Bent could well determine how much the american is prepared to speculate to accumulate.
In parting with the best part of £20m on Darren Bent, Randy Learner and Aston Villa have u-turned on the frugal and stone by stone progression they have preached since the Americans take-over.
Given their current predicament, you could argue that such prior measured means have recessed the team, yet after a trio of sixth place finishes prior to this campaign, one wonders what the situation would be had Martin O’Neil been granted such levels of spending afforded to Gerard Houllier.
The sum commanded for Bent has previously been layered across two or three positions on players who ultimately failed to deliver Villa’s aims of Champions League qualification.
With that in mind, it’s a polar shift of strategy for Lerner to commission a move which could double the clubs previous transfer record of £12m for Stewart Downing. It is also worth noting that Jean Makoun has arrived from Lyon for around £6m to bolster the midfield ranks.
Until Bent signed on the dotted line, Downing was the only player in the Villa squad who cost over £10m. That illustrates how restrained the Midlands outfit have been when purchasing targets. It was the clubs inability or reluctance to spend extra that so irked O’Neil to the point of resignation prior to the start of the season.
After seeing Tottenham and Manchester City lavishly spend their way past them, the futility of the situation has manifested itself in the performances of individuals and as a collective who have struggled to attain the levels of previous seasons.
By breaking from tradition, the Villa hierarchy are both admitting a real fear of relegation but also signaling future ambition and resource. Clearly O’Neil’s much stressed ideology that big money needs to be spent where necessary has struck a chord with Lerner whom must be alarmed at the depths Villa have plummeted to during an ever gradually declining 2010.
In procuring Bent, Gerard Houllier has armed himself with a player who’s scored only one less goal than Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney since 2005. Given his limitations which have been exposed at international level, his domestic goalscoring record is remarkable. 32 goals in 58 games since moving to Sunderland underlines the potential for goals. Barring his stumble at Tottenham, Bent has scored goals in abundance in predicaments not too dissimilar to the one Villa find themselves in now. Only out of the bottom three on goal difference, Houllier’s men are not even being talked about as ‘too good to go down’.
Whether Bent would have been prized away from 6th place Sunderland had he been on good personal terms on Wearside remains to be seen, yet his commitment to join Villa is not only borne out of a belief they will ultimately stave off the drop, but also of that they will soon return to the upper reaches of the Premier League table.
When prosing over a transfer such as this, the end question is whether the player can make the difference to justify the fee, and in Darren Bent’s case there is little to suggest he won’t be able to provide the amount of goals he’s been brought to bring.
In truth Villa have been requiring the elusive arch goal-getter since Dwight Yorke left. A host of names have come and gone and for tidy sums too, yet a striker of real match-winning potency has never come forward. As long as Bent doesn’t suffer from the jitters which stained his stay at Spurs, the protracted fee of potentially £24m will be money expensively well spent.
Inadvertently, Bent may well be the solution to Villa’s short and long term woes. In the immediacy his goals are supposed to alleviate the possibility of going down, but should his move be a success, he may provide the catalyst for Randy Lerner to finally armour his team with the necessary components to get where they want to go.
The ball and the money are in Lerner’s court, but the success of Darren Bent could well determine how much the american is prepared to speculate to accumulate.
Monday, 17 January 2011
January window highlights ruthless nature of our game
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
Apparently so if you are a footballer. No sooner does the dulcet hum of Robert Burns’s straddling of years old and new die down, than a window of opportunity opens for those players seeking a new job in the new year.
Coupled with Max Beesley popping up during every television ad-break encouraging you to ditch your current employer for pastures new, the January transfer window as ever has provided a stimulus for the likes of Darren Bent and Steven Pienaar to forget their acquaintances, and certainly bear them little to mind.
Indeed, loved or loathed and more frequently in the latter, this months transfer haven highlights the harsh brutalities of player power in today’s game.
Just two hours after Sunderland’s 1-1 draw against north-east neighbours Newcastle, Mackems striker Darren Bent handed in a transfer request to his club in an attempt to seal a prospective move to Aston Villa.
Bent’s moves came roughly as Everton faced up their Merseryside derby with Liverpool minus Pienaar, who asked to be left out of the toffees matchday squad as he prepares for an imminent move to either of the Champions League chasing duo of Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur.
In both instances the players have left their clubs with little option but to sell. In Pienaar’s case, the South African’s contract is due to expire in the summer and after negotiations hit an impasse, would be allowed to move for free post season. With David Moyes’s side loitering safely in mid-table, Pienaar’s £3m fee will be a welcome addition to the Goodison coffers as opposed to losing their man for nothing in a few months.
Similarly, Sunderland will command close to double the £10m they paid Spurs to sign Bent a little over 18 months ago and will view the sum as a tidy investment on a player who has scored 32 Premier League goals in 58 games, thus securing his sides safety and elevation in the league during his one and a half seasons on Wearside.
Given the levity of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez’s declarations to leave clubs with more financial clout than either Sunderland or Everton, players are increasingly giving their owners hobson’s choice as to what to do with their employees.
But how much responsibility does the transfer window have for this power change, and would it really be any different without pre-defined periods of allowed transfer activity?
In theory the answer to these questions are not much and no. The major criticism of the January jostle is that it de-stabilises players and causes unrest during an important part of the campaign. The fact of life in modern day football is that the Bosman ruling and increased influence of players agents and advisors mean that at no period would a players future be ultimately certain at one particular place, yet for one of the twelve months of the year the window openly promotes players the right to actively exercise their freedom to move.
A continuous transfer plateau would make for a revolving door scenario, with the size of the club invariably - as it does during all transfer windows - having a direct correlation on the fortunes of their playing staff. Had Villa wanted to arrest their form earlier than January, then they may well have done at any point prior to this.
And what would that have meant for the parties involved? A rhetorical question, but given the circumstances, not a lot would have changed. Bent would have been in the midlands, Sunderland would be a few million pounds better off and Villa would have a new striker. Those sentiments extend to Pienaar, and to almost every other transfer which do, eventually, end up being concluded mutually and with sufficient recompense to the seller - reticent or otherwise.
In fairness the transfer window is a double edged sword and the actions of the players can partly be attributed to the cut throat nature of the purported hard done by clubs. Ask Shaun Wright-Phillips where he’d like to be playing his football for the remainder of the season and he would likely plead his own case at least to be part of Manchester City’s title chasing team. However, that distinction is likely to be taken away from him by his superiors at Eastlands, whom themselves are not shy of upsetting the apple cart when it comes to hiring and firing.
Wayne Bridge and Roque Santa Cruz have already been jettisoned, with Emmanuel Adebayor set to follow. Robbie Keane and David Bentley have been politely ushered away from White Hart Lane, Steve Sidwell has been waved on from Villa Park and any other surplus stock out there can expect a ‘reduced to clear’ price tag slapped across its buttocks in the hope of a quick sale to a willing or desperate bidder.
More than anything, the January sales highlights the ugly nature of what used to be loyalty - from both sides of the fence. The truth is, both parties have a usefulness and expiry date towards one another, and come the start of a new year, but more than likely from well before, those relations are aired in the interest of business and self gain.
The January transfer window is neither right, nor wrong. It does and it doesn’t to both players and clubs, and the arguments for and against carry as much weight as each other. Do ‘un to those as others do ‘un to you seems to be the motto.
Apparently so if you are a footballer. No sooner does the dulcet hum of Robert Burns’s straddling of years old and new die down, than a window of opportunity opens for those players seeking a new job in the new year.
Coupled with Max Beesley popping up during every television ad-break encouraging you to ditch your current employer for pastures new, the January transfer window as ever has provided a stimulus for the likes of Darren Bent and Steven Pienaar to forget their acquaintances, and certainly bear them little to mind.
Indeed, loved or loathed and more frequently in the latter, this months transfer haven highlights the harsh brutalities of player power in today’s game.
Just two hours after Sunderland’s 1-1 draw against north-east neighbours Newcastle, Mackems striker Darren Bent handed in a transfer request to his club in an attempt to seal a prospective move to Aston Villa.
Bent’s moves came roughly as Everton faced up their Merseryside derby with Liverpool minus Pienaar, who asked to be left out of the toffees matchday squad as he prepares for an imminent move to either of the Champions League chasing duo of Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur.
In both instances the players have left their clubs with little option but to sell. In Pienaar’s case, the South African’s contract is due to expire in the summer and after negotiations hit an impasse, would be allowed to move for free post season. With David Moyes’s side loitering safely in mid-table, Pienaar’s £3m fee will be a welcome addition to the Goodison coffers as opposed to losing their man for nothing in a few months.
Similarly, Sunderland will command close to double the £10m they paid Spurs to sign Bent a little over 18 months ago and will view the sum as a tidy investment on a player who has scored 32 Premier League goals in 58 games, thus securing his sides safety and elevation in the league during his one and a half seasons on Wearside.
Given the levity of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez’s declarations to leave clubs with more financial clout than either Sunderland or Everton, players are increasingly giving their owners hobson’s choice as to what to do with their employees.
But how much responsibility does the transfer window have for this power change, and would it really be any different without pre-defined periods of allowed transfer activity?
In theory the answer to these questions are not much and no. The major criticism of the January jostle is that it de-stabilises players and causes unrest during an important part of the campaign. The fact of life in modern day football is that the Bosman ruling and increased influence of players agents and advisors mean that at no period would a players future be ultimately certain at one particular place, yet for one of the twelve months of the year the window openly promotes players the right to actively exercise their freedom to move.
A continuous transfer plateau would make for a revolving door scenario, with the size of the club invariably - as it does during all transfer windows - having a direct correlation on the fortunes of their playing staff. Had Villa wanted to arrest their form earlier than January, then they may well have done at any point prior to this.
And what would that have meant for the parties involved? A rhetorical question, but given the circumstances, not a lot would have changed. Bent would have been in the midlands, Sunderland would be a few million pounds better off and Villa would have a new striker. Those sentiments extend to Pienaar, and to almost every other transfer which do, eventually, end up being concluded mutually and with sufficient recompense to the seller - reticent or otherwise.
In fairness the transfer window is a double edged sword and the actions of the players can partly be attributed to the cut throat nature of the purported hard done by clubs. Ask Shaun Wright-Phillips where he’d like to be playing his football for the remainder of the season and he would likely plead his own case at least to be part of Manchester City’s title chasing team. However, that distinction is likely to be taken away from him by his superiors at Eastlands, whom themselves are not shy of upsetting the apple cart when it comes to hiring and firing.
Wayne Bridge and Roque Santa Cruz have already been jettisoned, with Emmanuel Adebayor set to follow. Robbie Keane and David Bentley have been politely ushered away from White Hart Lane, Steve Sidwell has been waved on from Villa Park and any other surplus stock out there can expect a ‘reduced to clear’ price tag slapped across its buttocks in the hope of a quick sale to a willing or desperate bidder.
More than anything, the January sales highlights the ugly nature of what used to be loyalty - from both sides of the fence. The truth is, both parties have a usefulness and expiry date towards one another, and come the start of a new year, but more than likely from well before, those relations are aired in the interest of business and self gain.
The January transfer window is neither right, nor wrong. It does and it doesn’t to both players and clubs, and the arguments for and against carry as much weight as each other. Do ‘un to those as others do ‘un to you seems to be the motto.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Chelsea transfer policy shrouded in confusion.
When pressed on his potential January transfer activity, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said, "we are looking at a lot of players to find the right solutions. If we want to do something we are able to."
Those musings suggest the Italian, with Roman Abramovich's backing, is looking to operate during the window, with a central defender and potentially another striker on his January sales list. However, when Ancelotti talks of 'finding the right solutions', the Chelsea transfer policy appears to be stirring into life after the horse has bolted.
Where Chelsea now find themselves is the sum of all parts and not solely down to one or the other. To analyse the situation we must have an overview of the club as it was of May 2010, when the Blues swept to a league and cup double in Ancelotti's first season since arriving from Serie A.
The general consensus is, was and has been for some time that Chelsea's squad had grown too old together and after finally finding the right successor to Jose Mourinho, the club made a conscious decision to evolve the age and status of an ageing and expensive player pool.
For all the initial input since Abramovich took over, Chelsea there was a recurring and resonating theme that eventually the club would operate as a self sufficient and successful business. The early lavish spending was the springboard to on and off-field financial prosperity through commercial, marketing and media gains, but what it also did was provide the Blues with an arsenal of players to compete on all fronts for a sustained period of time whilst the future recruitment policy was put in place.
Essentially, behind the management speak, that meant that Chelsea bought themselves time to build a strong and reputable team whilst the phases of the next stage of the business development were supposed to come to fruition. Similar to the multi-million pound investments in the likes of Drogba, Essien, Shevchenko et al, Abramovich also poured great resource into funding smaller cogs to help to continually move the bigger wheel.
Since 2003 a plethora of faces have come and gone, most notably Frank Arnesen, in an attempt to fine tune this perceived Chelsea production line of future talent.
The facilities at Chelsea's cobham training base are technologically some of the most advanced in the world, their scouting network runs far and deep and player recruitment has brought in talented youngsters from all over europe, south america and africa.
Seven years the project has been in place and at some point the concept car needed to be test driven.
Ominously or with honour, Carlo Ancelotti found himself being the man entrusted with the transition, with so far mixed fortunes.
During the summer, with a further eye on financial prudence, the champions thought it was necessary to replace the old with the new and embark on almost the second coming of the Abramovich era.
Upon reflection the decision to dispose of Juliano Belletti, Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Deco was bold rather than reckless. Of that quintet, only Ballack and Carvalho started over 20 Premier League games during the title campaign, with the other three offering peripheral support.
Between them an estimated weekly wage of approaching half a million pounds a week was shelved at an annual saving in the region of £25m. Such savings, against the loss of arguably replaceable input appeared a logical cutback from the Chelsea hierarchy.
What was more problematic was how to replace those that had gone and in hindsight the replenishment looks short of what was necessary, but when analysed on paper the chelsea squad is not that far short of what it was last time out.
Jose Bosingwa only played a handful of games in 2009/10 and therefore was a like-for-like for Belletti. Joe Cole traded places with Yossi Benayoun and Ramires - albeit having not yet demonstrated as such - replaced ballack.
Deco - largely ineffective since his switch from Barcelona in 2008 - will have been missed by few and was surplus with the excellent 17-year-old Josh McEachran making positive strides forward, but it was what to do with Carvalho which makes Chelsea's transfer prospectus appear muddled.
Last term Branislav Ivanovic largely played at right back with Bosingwa sidelined. With the Portuguese full-back returned, that meant Chelsea had Bosingwa and compatriot Paulo Ferreira to fill the right defensive berth, meaning Ivanovic could revert to his preferred station of centre-back, competing with Alex for the slot alongside John Terry.
That meant Ancelotti had three specialised first team central defenders with academy graduate Jeffrey Bruma making the fourth. This was the kind of ascension Abramovich had in mind when he authorised the cull of the senior players in the summer, and the sort of gradual bedding-in which Sir Alex Ferguson has cyclically mastered with his fledglings at Manchester United.
Had Chelsea opted to recruit for a bonafide replacement for Carvalho, then they may or may not have resisted the alarming slump which has left them desperately clinging to their Premier League crown. However, it would also have opposed the ideology that now is time for a return on the roubles spent on propelling them forward in the future.
The suggestions now then is that Abramovich's cheque book will be dusted down to procure what would amount to an expensive stop-gap signing. Benfica's David Luiz and young englishmen Gary Cahill and Roger Johnson have all been touted as plus £10m answers to a problem which didn't need answering prior to Halloween.
But by purchasing now, Chelsea will set a danger precedent away from their preferred stance of reaping the fruits of their expensively assembled youth production line. It will also mark the watershed of the end of the big spending era redundant if they revert to type and spend big whenever a 'crisis' of some description rocks the good ship Chelsea.
By reinforcing their defensive ranks now, the Blues must admit they wrong, either by entering the campaign with an under strength squad, or more cynically, that Bruma is not good enough to make the Chelsea first team.
Aged 19 and already a full Dutch international, he now faces the prospect of falling further down the Stamford Bridge pecking order if their is an arrival. With Terry, Alex and Ivanovic all well set, the new recruit would block any immediate avenue for Bruma to break into the first team squad
In truth, the defensive limitations have not been the main reason for Chelsea's fall from grace. In all games bar the Sunderland home defeat and Sunday's draw to Aston Villa the Blues have fielded two of their three first choice stoppers. Granted, in both of those games at Stamford Bridge the Champions shipped in three goals, but at the other end of the field they have also only scored six goals in nine Premier League games prior to hitting three against Villa.
It still remains to be seen as to whether Chelsea will become active during the January transfer window, although by doing so, they will be bowing to the sort of short term fix they consciously tried to eradicate with the perseverance in their academy and stance to promote that youth over the course of this season.
Those musings suggest the Italian, with Roman Abramovich's backing, is looking to operate during the window, with a central defender and potentially another striker on his January sales list. However, when Ancelotti talks of 'finding the right solutions', the Chelsea transfer policy appears to be stirring into life after the horse has bolted.
Where Chelsea now find themselves is the sum of all parts and not solely down to one or the other. To analyse the situation we must have an overview of the club as it was of May 2010, when the Blues swept to a league and cup double in Ancelotti's first season since arriving from Serie A.
The general consensus is, was and has been for some time that Chelsea's squad had grown too old together and after finally finding the right successor to Jose Mourinho, the club made a conscious decision to evolve the age and status of an ageing and expensive player pool.
For all the initial input since Abramovich took over, Chelsea there was a recurring and resonating theme that eventually the club would operate as a self sufficient and successful business. The early lavish spending was the springboard to on and off-field financial prosperity through commercial, marketing and media gains, but what it also did was provide the Blues with an arsenal of players to compete on all fronts for a sustained period of time whilst the future recruitment policy was put in place.
Essentially, behind the management speak, that meant that Chelsea bought themselves time to build a strong and reputable team whilst the phases of the next stage of the business development were supposed to come to fruition. Similar to the multi-million pound investments in the likes of Drogba, Essien, Shevchenko et al, Abramovich also poured great resource into funding smaller cogs to help to continually move the bigger wheel.
Since 2003 a plethora of faces have come and gone, most notably Frank Arnesen, in an attempt to fine tune this perceived Chelsea production line of future talent.
The facilities at Chelsea's cobham training base are technologically some of the most advanced in the world, their scouting network runs far and deep and player recruitment has brought in talented youngsters from all over europe, south america and africa.
Seven years the project has been in place and at some point the concept car needed to be test driven.
Ominously or with honour, Carlo Ancelotti found himself being the man entrusted with the transition, with so far mixed fortunes.
During the summer, with a further eye on financial prudence, the champions thought it was necessary to replace the old with the new and embark on almost the second coming of the Abramovich era.
Upon reflection the decision to dispose of Juliano Belletti, Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Deco was bold rather than reckless. Of that quintet, only Ballack and Carvalho started over 20 Premier League games during the title campaign, with the other three offering peripheral support.
Between them an estimated weekly wage of approaching half a million pounds a week was shelved at an annual saving in the region of £25m. Such savings, against the loss of arguably replaceable input appeared a logical cutback from the Chelsea hierarchy.
What was more problematic was how to replace those that had gone and in hindsight the replenishment looks short of what was necessary, but when analysed on paper the chelsea squad is not that far short of what it was last time out.
Jose Bosingwa only played a handful of games in 2009/10 and therefore was a like-for-like for Belletti. Joe Cole traded places with Yossi Benayoun and Ramires - albeit having not yet demonstrated as such - replaced ballack.
Deco - largely ineffective since his switch from Barcelona in 2008 - will have been missed by few and was surplus with the excellent 17-year-old Josh McEachran making positive strides forward, but it was what to do with Carvalho which makes Chelsea's transfer prospectus appear muddled.
Last term Branislav Ivanovic largely played at right back with Bosingwa sidelined. With the Portuguese full-back returned, that meant Chelsea had Bosingwa and compatriot Paulo Ferreira to fill the right defensive berth, meaning Ivanovic could revert to his preferred station of centre-back, competing with Alex for the slot alongside John Terry.
That meant Ancelotti had three specialised first team central defenders with academy graduate Jeffrey Bruma making the fourth. This was the kind of ascension Abramovich had in mind when he authorised the cull of the senior players in the summer, and the sort of gradual bedding-in which Sir Alex Ferguson has cyclically mastered with his fledglings at Manchester United.
Had Chelsea opted to recruit for a bonafide replacement for Carvalho, then they may or may not have resisted the alarming slump which has left them desperately clinging to their Premier League crown. However, it would also have opposed the ideology that now is time for a return on the roubles spent on propelling them forward in the future.
The suggestions now then is that Abramovich's cheque book will be dusted down to procure what would amount to an expensive stop-gap signing. Benfica's David Luiz and young englishmen Gary Cahill and Roger Johnson have all been touted as plus £10m answers to a problem which didn't need answering prior to Halloween.
But by purchasing now, Chelsea will set a danger precedent away from their preferred stance of reaping the fruits of their expensively assembled youth production line. It will also mark the watershed of the end of the big spending era redundant if they revert to type and spend big whenever a 'crisis' of some description rocks the good ship Chelsea.
By reinforcing their defensive ranks now, the Blues must admit they wrong, either by entering the campaign with an under strength squad, or more cynically, that Bruma is not good enough to make the Chelsea first team.
Aged 19 and already a full Dutch international, he now faces the prospect of falling further down the Stamford Bridge pecking order if their is an arrival. With Terry, Alex and Ivanovic all well set, the new recruit would block any immediate avenue for Bruma to break into the first team squad
In truth, the defensive limitations have not been the main reason for Chelsea's fall from grace. In all games bar the Sunderland home defeat and Sunday's draw to Aston Villa the Blues have fielded two of their three first choice stoppers. Granted, in both of those games at Stamford Bridge the Champions shipped in three goals, but at the other end of the field they have also only scored six goals in nine Premier League games prior to hitting three against Villa.
It still remains to be seen as to whether Chelsea will become active during the January transfer window, although by doing so, they will be bowing to the sort of short term fix they consciously tried to eradicate with the perseverance in their academy and stance to promote that youth over the course of this season.
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