Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
The rumours that Roman Abramovich is attempting to sell Chelsea may have been quickly denied by the club, but when you stack up the numbers, it's all too plausible. Stamford Bridge has been a black hole for the Russian oligarch's cash and, in a year when he's lost so much money elsewhere, it could be time for him to finally pull the plug on his plaything.
The Sunday Times, one of the UK's most respected broadsheet newspapers, ran the story on its front page last weekend, claiming that 'gulf sources' had informed them of Abramovich's apparent intentions. It is reported that representatives of the Chelsea owner have been in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, sounding out prospective buyers and making their eagerness to sell well known.
It's not been a great twelve months for Abramovich. Not only did Chelsea miss out on the European Cup and the Premier League, but the credit crunch took an almighty chunk out of his fortune. Well placed experts suggest that he has seen at least GBP3bn vanish into thin air, enough to terrify anyone into consolidation, even it does leave GBP8bn behind.
Chelsea have never made money and, despite Peter Kenyon's protestations to the contrary, never look like making money either. Abramovich pumped the coffers full of over GBP500m in interest free loans, but the balance sheets have shown heavy losses ever since he arrived. This season has heralded a distinctly unchelsea-like tightening of the belts with cutbacks all over the club and a warning that transfer money would be withheld. Luis Felipe Scolari has, so far, spent just GBP8m, less than a third of Tony Mowbray's outlay at West Bromwich Albion this season.
Abramovich's initial plan for Chelsea appears to have been two-fold. The first objective was to buy enough quality players to dominate Europe, the second to create a scouting system and youth academy that would open up a conveyor belt of talent to future teams. The spending went reasonably well, though Kenyon was never able to convince the Ronaldinho's and Gerrard's to join, but the plans for the future were an unmitigated failure. The bulk of Abramovich's generation of youngsters are languishing on extended loan deals in the Championship and League One.
Chelsea's squad are getting old. Never mind the real veterans like Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack, even the perennial regulars like Frank Lampard, John Terry, Nicolas Anelka and Ricardo Carvalho are all in or approaching their early thirties. They'll need replacing soon and the reserve team is bare.
Abramovich finds himself at a crossroads. He was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and left while Stoke were winning 1-0. He knows that in order to keep Chelsea in the upper echelons of European football, money must be spent and he also knows that while the club continues to haemorrhage cash, that the money will come out of his pocket. Does he empty his wallet once again in order to artificially prop up a team that has delivered just two league titles and no European Cups in five and half years? If he really is thinking about selling, you can hardly blame him, can you?
The Sunday Times, one of the UK's most respected broadsheet newspapers, ran the story on its front page last weekend, claiming that 'gulf sources' had informed them of Abramovich's apparent intentions. It is reported that representatives of the Chelsea owner have been in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, sounding out prospective buyers and making their eagerness to sell well known.
It's not been a great twelve months for Abramovich. Not only did Chelsea miss out on the European Cup and the Premier League, but the credit crunch took an almighty chunk out of his fortune. Well placed experts suggest that he has seen at least GBP3bn vanish into thin air, enough to terrify anyone into consolidation, even it does leave GBP8bn behind.
Chelsea have never made money and, despite Peter Kenyon's protestations to the contrary, never look like making money either. Abramovich pumped the coffers full of over GBP500m in interest free loans, but the balance sheets have shown heavy losses ever since he arrived. This season has heralded a distinctly unchelsea-like tightening of the belts with cutbacks all over the club and a warning that transfer money would be withheld. Luis Felipe Scolari has, so far, spent just GBP8m, less than a third of Tony Mowbray's outlay at West Bromwich Albion this season.
Abramovich's initial plan for Chelsea appears to have been two-fold. The first objective was to buy enough quality players to dominate Europe, the second to create a scouting system and youth academy that would open up a conveyor belt of talent to future teams. The spending went reasonably well, though Kenyon was never able to convince the Ronaldinho's and Gerrard's to join, but the plans for the future were an unmitigated failure. The bulk of Abramovich's generation of youngsters are languishing on extended loan deals in the Championship and League One.
Chelsea's squad are getting old. Never mind the real veterans like Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack, even the perennial regulars like Frank Lampard, John Terry, Nicolas Anelka and Ricardo Carvalho are all in or approaching their early thirties. They'll need replacing soon and the reserve team is bare.
Abramovich finds himself at a crossroads. He was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and left while Stoke were winning 1-0. He knows that in order to keep Chelsea in the upper echelons of European football, money must be spent and he also knows that while the club continues to haemorrhage cash, that the money will come out of his pocket. Does he empty his wallet once again in order to artificially prop up a team that has delivered just two league titles and no European Cups in five and half years? If he really is thinking about selling, you can hardly blame him, can you?
