The Curse Of The Blues: Why Money Can’t Buy Chelsea United Any Love

July 8, 2009

In life there are now three certainties: death, taxes and Chelsea football club changing their manager every summer. This year, Carlo Ancelotti takes the reins at the club after agreeing to part company with AC Milan, a team he has guided to domestic glory in the Italian league and cup, as well as the European Champions League. Guus Hiddink, who juggled the Chelsea manager’s job for half a season with his commitments as Russia’s national team coach, makes way for the Italian after Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, had to allegedly bow to pressure from Russian fans to keep the Dutchman solely in charge of running the affairs of Russia’s number one team. Cynics are saying, though, that Hiddink himself did not really want the permanent job at Chelsea, preferring the calmer...

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Category: Sport
Tags: Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea, Guus Hiddink, Roman Abramovich

The Thing About Chelsea FC Is That Roman Abramovich Is Throwing Too Much Money At It

February 8, 2009

As I watch the saga with Chelsea FC unravel – another manager, Luiz Filipe Scolari, sacked, with a huge pay out – I realise that Roman Abramovich still does not get it: money is not enough to build a strong team that can play creative, intelligent football and deliver not only at home but in Europe. Abramovich is a typical representative of Russian big business: evasive, uncommunicative, uninspiring, with little regard for other people and with a firm belief that he can achieve anything by outspending others.Richard Branson this man ain’t. The latest estimate puts Ambramovich’s overall investment into Chelsea at around £710 million. And that is not even including the pay out to Scolari which would be about £8 million and the players’ wage bill for this year that...

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Category: Sport
Tags: Chelsea, Filipe Scolari, Guud Hiddink, Roman Abramovich