DownSwinging.com

Chelsea have ruled the English transfer market in the last 6 years. Sure, teams like Manchester United and Liverpool have spent comparably in order to keep up, while Arsenal have, unpopularly, spent their money on youths in order to try and diminish their massive debt. Chelsea have purchased super star talent year in and year out. Just a few notable buys include Drogba – £24m; Shevchenko – £30m; Carvalho – £20m; Wright-Phillips – £21m; Essien – £26m. Needless to say Chelsea were in a league of their own financially. Abramovich’s takeover was unlike anything else seen in the world of football. It could have been compared to the Galactico era of Real Madrid, but this was different. This was far more out of the blue.

Before the Abramovich era, Chelsea were a respectable top 6 team. Within two years, they were a football powerhouse and a world-wide brand. The fan base, to the chagrin of the die hard supporters, grew exponentially. Every summer, Chelsea’s rivals would sit in awe as the blues continued to bring in superstar talent.

Times have changed. Now with the uprising of Manchester City, the re-emergence of Florentino Perez and his henchmen and foreign billionaires continually trying to stake their claim in the Premier League. Chelsea no longer have the money to set themselves apart from the pack. They have plenty to spend, but so does everyone else. It is quite clear that this summer Man City are the new Chelsea. In terms of spending, not in terms of decision making. Chelsea have been able to turn their fortunes into on-field success time and time again.

As of right now, Man City appear to be spending themselves into a myriad of problems. It seems as though they’ve forgotten that strikers only cover 1/3 of the pitch. But that aside, Chelsea, for many reasons, have found it harder to lure players to their club. One, the unquestionable instability in the managerial post has left doubts in the minds of targeted players. Secondly, Chelsea’s financial clout would seemingly guarantee a player’s future with the club. Now, however, with more and more teams with money to burn, more things come into a player’s decision making process.

Chelsea’s only big signing so far this summer is that of left winger, Yuri Zhirkov for around £18m. Signing Ross Turnbull from Boro and Daniel Sturridge from Man City are atypical of the regime that brought the club over £300m worth of signings in the past half decade. The same financially-motivated attitude from players, that led to Chelsea signings several years ago, are beginning to hurt the club. As seen when Robinho spurned Chelsea for the ludacris cash offer from the Eastlands. Chelsea have decided that their current squad is good enough to win, and it definitely is, but it is clear with the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, that their preference lies with the Champions League. It appears Chelsea will continue to be a force for years to come. I just hope that all of this new money doesn’t scare Abramovich away. He just needs to work a little harder than he has, to sign top talent.