Following my earlier article on the ‘Summer Conundrum’ that football fans around the globe suffer from, I’m now going to continue my rant and continue to look at some of the crazy stories floating around.
Every club has a different story at the moment, Liverpool are chasing every English Under 21 star with a £20m cheque in the bag, then there is City who are running around as with Sheikh Mansour’s money burning a hole in their pocket as they aim to become possible World beaters as they assemble a 100 member squad !!
When it comes to the big Spanish clubs Barca are trying to create a inter-galactic pool of strikers whilst Real Madrid are currently being shrewd under the leadership of Jose Mourinho.
Mine and your concern however is Chelsea, after the humiliating last matchday draw against Newcastle United every newspaper , site and football pundit declared Roman Abramovich was going to sanction a blues makeover.
The result meant that the club have linked with every possible player on the planet, along with astronomical figures have been quoted. It has been reported that our transfer budget 80 million, 100 million or even 150 million – truly insane but now after almost two months who have we signed? How many have we signed ?
Absolutely none, all these rumour to date have been for nothing, some might point out that we were without a manager for that period but if there wasn’t a replacement lined up then why fire Carlo in the first place, especially in such a very distasteful manner. We must not forget that the ex-Milan coach gave us our first historic double in his first season then he was treated like that.
As I move on, let’s forget all that and focus on transfer strategy, as I look in I don‘t think we seem to have one, so far the way our transfers are being conducted can be best described as shocking!!!
A prime example of this is the way we handled the Modirc bid, by offering 22 million it clearly insulted Spurs, had we gone straight in with 30 million offer Spurs would have said we want 40 and in the end the deal would have been thrashed out for between 35- 40 after negotiations – but no, we tried to be too clever and now our London rivals have said they will not sell to us. Many of you may feel that I am very pessimistic, the type of person who sees the glass half empty but in reality I do not feel there is any water in this glass!!
I think blues have not been decisive and extensive enough when scouting new blood, negotiations and policy making – Sadly, this window has not been any different. Look at Spanish powerhouses Barca and Real who have made their share of mistakes but by moving quickly and smartly they have brought in the likes of Ozil (15m ) , Afellay (3.5m …. Yes, just 3.5 for such a talented player) , and David Villa (34m – whilst a lot of money a real masterstroke) …. it just shows how proper planning and research can save you a fortune !!
I hope we all find a way out of this mess and emerge gloriously – That is all I can wish and hope.
By Rahul Tanwar