Chelsea gets Ballack
It's not a surprise I guess, but doesn't Chelsea's rapacious appetite for simply every name in football leave you with the view that the only reason to go to Chelsea is to cash in? I think it's a troubling sign that someone like Ballack and maybe others have no more ambition than to simply be a interchangeable cog in the machine that Chelsea is now. And at a time where you can see that going to Chelsea like SWP did has been a mistake.
You can actually see the seams on the club bursting with the individual talent they have now, so adding Ballack and maybe Sheva will only hasten the onset of lazy obesity that the club is in danger of taking on.
I bet even now Kenyon's saying, "I'll have a Ronaldinho, a Rooney, and a bucket!"
For Chelsea and their billions, it's just a tiny wafer after all.
posted by gooner71 at
5/15/2006 10:57:00 AM
5 Comments:
And that is where Ranieri failed, he could not keep 22 world class players happy with rotating the squad. For the spirit in the camp, maybe Mourinho is responsible to some extent.
Apparently Crespo is leaving, Gallas does not want to resign, so there are cracks that could be exploited. Eventually, Abramovich will lost interest or joining Chelsea will become less attractive, e.g. SWP.
It all comes down to whether football needs some sort of transfer and salary cap. Obviously this is more complicated because it would have to go in effect in every European country. Besides free spending billionaires you would also have to stop state aid as in the case of Real Madrid having their debts wiped out by the government by buying their old training ground and building them a new one.
The great irony, and I do believe it is ironcial, is that while the US champions free markets, the NFL is fairly socialist.
I doubt it will happen so the other top sides will have to play more consistently to challenge.
By
Chris P, at 12:13 PM
Since the Axis of Greed clubs --Arsenal, Bayern, Juve, Madrid, Barca etc, -- are running the show in their respective countries, it's not very likely that they'll police themselves.
Rather, I think the day is coming where even the non-FIFA or UEFA, or Spanish, Italian, German, English, player of the year candidates will start to see Chelsea for what it's turning out to be. Namely, an Elephant's graveyard.
Right now it's SWP who's wheels have come off since the move. You could say Bridge arrived as damaged goods, but he's another one. And Hell, Crespo--my candidate for most game-intellegent player-- spends his time looking over his shoulder as Drogba competes. Drogba, an Emile Heskey play-alike.
No, what I think will happen is that your really exciting new talents will start to shy away from the poison challice that Chelsea's millions are. And the ones that do go to Chelsea will be the money-mad mercenaries like Ballack.
By
gooner71, at 12:31 PM
This discussion reminds me of the quote by the wise person who once opined "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."
Clubs have shareholders who they must answer to; their respective boards make the decisions that will affect share value. Boards are ousted quite frequently nowadays, usually on the heels of some sort of scandal or another. The shareholders want success, in this case (Chelsea, other EPL clubs) specifically in Europe, to bolster the coifers for these (Ballack/Shev-boy) very acquisitions - which they believe, in turn, will lead to continued trophies. Are there a lot of billionaires out there like Roman-mafia who can continue to shell out megabucks? Possibly.
The National Football League model works because the "old boys" club of owners it is made up of only 32 members: they split television and merchandising revenue equally and know that, basically, it's a socialist monopoly (nice try WFL in the 70's, USFL in the 80's, XFL, etc). The teams are not publicly traded companies, they are all privately owned (except for the odd ownership provisions of the Green Bay Packers).
There are 20 EPL clubs, 24 League Championship clubs, 24 League One clubs, 24 League Two clubs and 22 Nationwide Conference clubs. That's a total of 114 organizations. Good luck hashing out the details of revenue sharing and trickle-down economics with all of those directors!
It's survival of the fittest (richest), bhoys! The sooner everyone accepts that, the better. You don't have to like it and, clearly, it's not for the "betterment" of the game as a whole but offered alternatives are not abundant. Is Dag & Red going to turn down a million pounds from a big club as a matter of principle? Doubtful.
Supporters want wins, they want to see the best players on their club, they don't mind shelling out the money for tickets, replica kits and pay-per-view packages. The revolution has to start on that end - no one can expect, as gooner71 mentioned, the powerbrokers to police themselves.
Now, how much for Joey Barton??? Sold!!!
By
GAC, at 2:08 PM
You are right Steve, the clubs wont police themselves but I cant see the players doing it either. Put enough zeroes in front of someone like a Ballack who is world class and they will go to Chelsea nearly every time. Gallas and Wright Phillips are finding out how much it can suck to be at Chelsea but Chelsea dont care and there are always luxurious players out there on the horizon they can take. Money is everything.
By
WhatsupWheaton Simon, at 3:54 PM
What is up with that photo?
By
Boston Gooner, at 10:13 PM
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