Roman: The wallet's closed

[Guest Ridzuan]

As much as Im a big fan of Jose,I think Roman has finally done the right thing.Im not saying that Jose has achieved what he has at Chelsea all because of the money,but I think if Roman could stop supplying him with more cash,we can see better what Jose is made of and he can finally prove those people who have doubted his abilities wrong.Anyway,I think there will be going to be a new problem between those 2 again because Im sure Jose would not be happy listening to this news.

[abcdefg]

Not Terry, I think he's a twunt.

 

Aye thats a good reason to dismiss one of the best centre backs in the country

 

hehe, I'm not in a sensible mood, drinking in the morning will cause that.

[ChezGiven]

Kenyon wanted to make Chelsea 'self-sufficient' by 2010 iirc. Not sure if that meant just running the club as a going concern or without any additional support from Roman.

[abcdefg]

Anyway, for anyone local, do the Orange festival by the Tyne, Joe Jackson, Echo & The Bunnymen, Maximo Park.......other people, google it.

 

 

 

You know it makes sense, and if it rains there's loads of pubs everywhere.

[Rich]

Kenyon wanted to make Chelsea 'self-sufficient' by 2010 iirc. Not sure if that meant just running the club as a going concern or without any additional support from Roman.

 

Think it's the latter on that one. I know they've had massive shortfalls, but if the mental spending stops and they keep recouping decent money for their cast-offs while signing big players on free transfers and if they're continously winning/challenging for all four trophies, as well as raking in millions from sponsorships and from the increased TV revenue/increased global "brand" awareness then they might well do it sooner than 2010. Obviously I'm not fully aware of the figures, but you'd assume they'd be able to find the balance - even with the monstrous wages.

 

Certainly can't see them suffering too much from this point onwards if they stop spending £30M on players over 30, they certainly have enough assets to be sold these days anyway and they're still hoovering up youngsters from home and abroad which will bode well for their future in terms of actual first-team players and more big income from sales.

 

Won't make a jot of difference and might actually make them better, actually.

[Thespence]

He forgot to mention that the Wife closed it..

 

BANG ON!

 

Chelsea have enough chiefs to run the place without Roman being hands on: Bruce Buck (Chairman), Peter Kenyon (chief executive), Frank Arnesen (Chief scout and director of youth development) & Jose to run the first team & they have got Avram Grant incoming as Director Of Football.

 

I had a look at http://www.chelseafc.com/xxchelsea180706/index.html#/page/TheManagement to see what else they had & was startled by the amount of masseurs they had.

 

 

 

[Teasy]

We'll now see what Mourinho is really made of.

 

Probably be good for him, no Roman led signings to upset things.  Got to laugh at people thnking this is the end for them.

 

Why?  They don't have any better of a financial support structure now then they had before Abramovich came in.  Most importantly there stadium is still the same rat trap its always been.  How will they now pay the wages they're currently paying?  Never mind get new players in if needed.  They're in a position now where they could lose huge players like Terry and Lampard for close to nothing, how will they be replaced?  Its going to take extremely good management of the club to sort things out IMO.  I can see them regressing season after season, they lose players, stop winning things, there fanbase goes back towards what it used to be, revenue drops, plus no more money from Abramovich.

[BlufPurdi]

We'll now see what Mourinho is really made of.

 

Probably be good for him, no Roman led signings to upset things. Got to laugh at people thnking this is the end for them.

 

Why? They don't have any better of a financial support structure now then they had before Abramovich came in. Most importantly there stadium is still the same rat trap its always been. How will they now pay the wages they're currently paying? Never mind get new players in if needed. They're in a position now where they could lose huge players like Terry and Lampard for close to nothing, how will they be replaced? Its going to take extremely good management of the club to sort things out IMO. I can see them regressing season after season, they lose players, stop winning things, there fanbase goes back towards what it used to be, revenue drops, plus no more money from Abramovich.

 

They'll do just fine. This was always part of the plan, if it went on the way it did then Chelsea really would have been in the shit. The team is in a great position, they've got class all over, and behind the scenes they're doing rather fine.

 

Sadly, they'll just keep rising and firmly establish themselves as a global brand. And in the years to come, all the shit we hate them for will be forgotten. Just like it was for Madrid in the 60s.

[Rich]

For starters, if Terry and/or Lampard leave they're hardly going to go for peanuts are they? Imagine the fees that they'll command in the current market. I'm sure any money raised from sales will go straight to purchases.

 

Howay man. They've got new sponsorship deals, a bigger fanbase, more TV revenue, more saleable assets. They're miles better off than they were before Roman came. Did he pay off their debt, by the way? Anyone know?

 

If they stay in the CL and continue to get to it's later stages then they'll be raking it in, along with everything else.

[Teasy]

The core of the Chelsea team will be there for 3+ years. They're not going anywhere. Terry's still what? 26? Lampard's what? 28? Drogba? 28? Cech? 25? Essien? 25? They're not going anywhere man.

 

Who says they aren't going anywhere?  Terry and Lampards contracts are running out and now Chelsea have to introduce a wage cap.  Without Abramovich's money they can't come close to affording to renewing there contracts without them accepted a major pay cut, which they won't accept that.

 

This season they had Robben out injured for a while and Joe Cole basically injured for the whole season. Next season you can expect at least one of them to fit longer and play more regularly. And of course like I've mentioned before, Ballack and Shevchenko will get better, maybe not by much, but they'll perform better.

 

Yeah you can probably expect Cole to be fit for most of the season, maybe even Robben, but who says any combination of Lampard, Terry, Drobga, Cech, Essien, Shevchenko or Ballack won't be injured?

 

Yeah they've gotten some good free transfers this season.  Simply because they're successful at the moment (though much less so this past season).  What happens when contracts expire and can't be renewed for a lot of the players I just mentioned?  What happens if they win nothing next season?  No matter what way you look at it Chelsea are not going to be the same now as they have been over the last few years.  They have no safety net, there best players have unsupportable contracts and there's in fighting which could see there manager leave.

[Teasy]

They'll do just fine.  This was always part of the plan, if it went on the way it did then Chelsea really would have been in the s***.  The team is in a great position, they've got class all over, and behind the scenes they're doing rather fine.

 

How's that then?  They can't support the wages of there best players using the clubs revenue.  Had Abramovich built a state of the art 50,000+ stadium for them before pissing off then I'd have to agree with you more or less.  But he didn't.

 

Sadly, they'll just keep rising and firmly establish themselves as a global brand.  And in the years to come, all the s*** we hate them for will be forgotten.  Just like it was for Madrid in the 60s.

 

There's absolutely no chance of them rising further then they are now.  They just can't support that financially.  Madrid are a very different animal, they have a massive stadium and are still bailed out by the Spanish government today when they get into financial troubles... Chelsea have a poor stadium and will now no longer be bailed out of any financial mess they get themselves into.

[BlufPurdi]

If you say so, I have little doubt I'll be waiting forever to see it though.

[Mr Logic]

Given the current uncertainty over Ashleys plans for the next 5 years I wouldn't be too quick to laugh at Chelseas position as we could find ourselves in similar 5 years hence.

 

PS. Is it just me that thinks Terry and Lampard looking for more money is absolutely obscene?

[BlufPurdi]

PS. Is it just me that thinks Terry and Lampard looking for more money is absolutely obscene?

 

No, I can see why they do it though.  When you've got Ballack sitting on £140,000 a week, and doing next to nothing, then those two carrying them through the season.  If they did that, didn't watch them much to be fair.

[BlufPurdi]

They'll do just fine.  This was always part of the plan, if it went on the way it did then Chelsea really would have been in the s***.  The team is in a great position, they've got class all over, and behind the scenes they're doing rather fine.

 

How's that then?  They can't support the wages of there best players using the clubs revenue.  Had Abramovich built a state of the art 50,000+ stadium for them before pissing off then I'd have to agree with you more or less.  But he didn't.

 

Can I just point something out to you, he hasn't pissed off.  He's stopped the era of ridiculous amounts of money being spent on players, which, by the way, they said they would do about two seasons ago.  They've planned for this.  There's no doubt in my mind whatsoever that all the over plans will continue to go ahead.  They won't be in that stadium for much longer. 

[Teasy]

For starters, if Terry and/or Lampard leave they're hardly going to go for peanuts are they? Imagine the fees that they'll command in the current market. I'm sure any money raised from sales will go straight to purchases.

 

Howay man. They've got new sponsorship deals, a bigger fanbase, more TV revenue, more saleable assets. They're miles better off than they were before Roman came. Did he pay off their debt, by the way? Anyone know?

 

If they stay in the CL and continue to get to it's later stages then they'll be raking it in, along with everything else.

 

Terry and Lampard have two years left on there current contracts.  Unless Chelsea sell them both now they aren't going to go for big fee's.  They might have a bigger fanbase, for now, but they aren't in a position to accommodate them, there stadium is still the same piece of crap its been for years.  I agree that they're in a far better position now then they were before Abramovich arrived.  But that doesn't mean they're going to be as good in the next few years as they have been in the past few seasons.

[Teasy]

Can I just point something out to you, he hasn't pissed off.  He's stopped the era of ridiculous amounts of money being spent on players, which, by the way, they said they would do about two seasons ago.  They've planned for this.  There's no doubt in my mind whatsoever that all the over plans will continue to go ahead.  They won't be in that stadium for much longer.

 

But if that article is correct its far more extreme then that.  Abramovich is still going to own Chelsea.  However he is leaving and letting someone else run it and having very little to do with the club at all.  Its not just an end to silly transfers either, he's actually cutting all financial support.  They have to operate completely on there own, which would explain why he's told them they have to now bring in a wage cap.  As without his support they can't afford the wage bill anymore.

 

All I'm going on here is the article at the start of this thread of course.  But that's all any of us have to go on at the moment.

[Teasy]

Given the current uncertainty over Ashleys plans for the next 5 years I wouldn't be too quick to laugh at Chelseas position as we could find ourselves in similar 5 years hence.

 

The big difference there is that we have a far better financial base then Chelsea had before Abramovich arrived.  Our revenue is in a different league to Chelsea's pre take over.  If the stadium plan continues it'll then be even stronger.  So I'd be far more confident of us being able to survive and even flourish in this kind of situation.

[BlufPurdi]

But if that article is correct its far more extreme then that. Abramovich is still going to own Chelsea. However he is leaving and letting someone else run it and having very little to do with the club at all. Its not just an end to silly transfers either, he's actually cutting all financial support. They have to operate completely on there own, which would explain why he's told them they have to now bring in a wage cap. As without his support they can't afford the wage bill anymore.

 

All I'm going on here is the article at the start of this thread of course. But that's all any of us have to go on at the moment.

 

If that article, from The Sun, is correct on many of its assumptions then I'll eat my hands. I know what you're getting at, in all fairness, but I simply don't think it's as doom and gloom as you're making out. All the money spent by Roman was an investment, and now it's time for the investment to really start paying off, the investment wasn't for the first three season.

 

Chelsea won't have a bank balance of £0 because Abramovich isn't throwing his cash about anymore. It just doesn't work like that. They've got massive sponsorship deals now, if they'd still have been on the old ones, then I'd probably agree with you. They've done so much behind the scenes to get more money in, connections in the Far East, even around the world. The only thing they haven't invested in is the stadium which you keep bringing up, as if it's some trump card.

[Taylor Swift]

They'll move out of Stamford Bridge soon enough. And I think Abramovich did actually wipe out all their pre-existing debt, which means that if he does leave, they could always borrow again. That's the good thing about takeovers, even if the new owner eventually leaves, they can borrow again. We have a debt of something like £80m and I think Chelsea had something similar pre-Abramovich. So if Abramovich fucks off, they can actually borrow £80m to stabilize their finances and what-not. It's actually common practice in business to use loans and stuff, as opposed to just hard cash.

[Teasy]

But if that article is correct its far more extreme then that.  Abramovich is still going to own Chelsea.  However he is leaving and letting someone else run it and having very little to do with the club at all.  Its not just an end to silly transfers either, he's actually cutting all financial support.  They have to operate completely on there own, which would explain why he's told them they have to now bring in a wage cap.  As without his support they can't afford the wage bill anymore.

 

All I'm going on here is the article at the start of this thread of course.  But that's all any of us have to go on at the moment.

 

If that article, from The Sun, is correct on many of its assumptions, then I'll eat my hands.  I know what you're getting at, in all fairness, but I simply don't think it's as doom and gloom as you're making out.  All the moeny spent by Roman was an investment, and now it's time for the investment to really start paying off. 

 

Chelsea won't have a bank balance of £0 because Abramovich isn't throwing his cash about anymore.  It just doesn't work like that.  They've got massive sponsorship deals now, if they'd still have been on the old ones, then I'd probably agree with you.  They've done so much behind the scenes to get more money in, connections in the Far East, even around the world.  The only thing they haven't invested in is the stadium which you keep bringing up, as if it's some trump card.

 

If we aren't going by the article here then we have no idea what's happening and really nothing to discuss in the first place   I'd agree with you if the situation is as you're assuming, which it might be of course.  But if its true that Abramovich has told Chelsea he is having little to do with the club in the future, with his financial support being removed then I'd stick to my opinion.  Which is not one of Chelsea going under by the way, but rather that they cannot sustain there current success.  Sponsorship deals and connections in the far east are one thing, paying the kind of wage bill they must currently have out of club revenue is another.  Players will have to go, the squad will have to be majorly downsized.  Also IMO the stadium can be quite important, Its a source of major revenue and also an icon for the club.

[Teasy]

They'll move out of Stamford Bridge soon enough. And I think Abramovich did actually wipe out all their pre-existing debt, which means that if he does leave, they could always borrow again. That's the good thing about takeovers, even if the new owner eventually leaves, they can borrow again. We have a debt of something like £80m and I think Chelsea had something similar pre-Abramovich. So if Abramovich fucks off, they can actually borrow £80m to stabilize their finances and what-not. It's actually common practice in business to use loans and stuff, as opposed to just hard cash.

 

Building a new stadium costs a hell of a lot of money.  Also while they may of had a similar size debt as us pre Abramovich, unlike us, they weren't in a position where is was manageable.  Will they be now?, without the absolutely astronomical wage bill to pay for out of club revenue I'd say yes.  But as it is IMO it relies totally on how successful the team are on the pitch in the next couple of seasons and how loyal some of there players are (I'd safely guess not very).

[Taylor Swift]

The revenue they're getting from sponsorship deals, merchandising and all puts them in a different league to us. They will become 'self-sufficient' if they can stop spending £30m on one player, which they will because the team is filled with class players. That's the biggest factor going for them. They don't need to blow their budget out of the water anymore. They're covered in every position, and continuing to poach some of the top youngsters in the world. Didn't they poach a kid from Arsenal about a month or two ago?? It's not like the first couple of years of the Roman era where they had to spend £50m+ in the summer to be able to compete next year. If they spend nothing this summer, absolutely fuck all, they're still one of the favourites for the title.

 

With regards to building a new stadium, even if Abramovich doesn't chip in (very unlikely), I'm sure it's possible to finance it through season ticket sales and what-not (or do an Arsenal and get £150m for the naming rights of the stadium for 10 years - fantastic deal btw, one of the smartest deals I've seen in football), just like how SJP was developed. It is possible. I'm also very sure Kenyon will know the fact that a massive stadium would elevate their revenue streams into Manyoo's league, which is why it's going to happen sooner rather than later.

 

Alright, I'm going to throw numbers around willy-nilly and see if we can make some sense. How much did The Emirates Stadium cost? £300m? Assume it'll also take roughly £300m for Chelsea to purchase a nice piece of land and build a 50000+ seater stadium. Do an Arsenal with the naming rights, and that covers half the cost. They can probably finance up to about £100m (just making a guess) through future season-ticket sales. All that's left is £50m, which I'm pretty sure can be found from the other sources of revenue that they have (whether it's their £12m/year shirt sponsorship or whatever). All those numbers are just random guesses, but to me, it seems as if it won't cost that much for Chelsea to push themselves into Real's and Manyoo's league. And all this with the assumption that Abramovich actually does nothing.

[brummie]

Don't Chelsea actually owe RA a massive amount of money, ie the money he put into the club was loaned to the club? If so, then the only thing that will fuck Chelsea up is if he calls in those loans.

 

What annoys me most is that they are now in the position where there are enough horrible little scrotes running around playgrounds all over the country in Chelsea shirts to guarantee their place as one of the country's top clubs for the foreseeable future.

[Tooj]

People are forgetting one thing.

 

Jose Mourinho.