Runner-up

[BaZ87]

But Arsenal have always been a club who have been notoriously tight with their finances. We've had a small stadium, and now have fairly lagre repayments to pay on the new one, so don't really have the spending power to pay big wages. But my point was that even we can push ourselves to pay large amounts when we think the player is worth it. Chelsea clearly think Ballack (have to say I thought you were talking about Shevchenko here) is worth it. Whether he's merely a squad player or not is nothing but empty debate until we've Chelsea have actually played a few games, because none of us are Jose Mourinho.

Firstly Arsenal have just built the most profitable stadium in the UK, so money won't be too limited to them. Not too sure on Arsenal being tight as well; how can a club that pays £12m on a 16yr old and £2.5m on a 14yr old, be called tight.

No, I'll admit I don't, but I've known enough businessmen in my time to know that most of the succesful ones are anal to the point where any loss is unacceptable to them.

Put it this way he didn't make his money the same way other "business men" normally do.

I'm not neccesarily saying they will either. For all we know, a freak wind might make a tree fall on Mourinho's head tomorrow, he'll lose all ability to manage, and they'll drop out of the Premiership in a season, RA will leave, and their losses will spiral horribly. Or they might win every trophy they possibly can from now until eternity, and make more money than Bill Gates. But regardless of what I think will happen, I do believe that the Chelsea board, or Kenyon, or someone, has a plan to try and make the club work. If not least for that mythical day when RA "gets bored and leaves". Otherwise, why would they invest in a youth system instead of simply buying in proven talent, or cut the squad down instead of simply loaning out the likes of Crespo and Duff forever, until they needed them?

So Whats your point? All i was initially saying is i don't believe that Chelsea will be a profit making company in the next 3 years.

The thing is, I don't think Chelsea are simply aiming to be as big a club as say, Arsenal, or Spurs, in terms of worldwide support, because yeah, they're hardly that far off anyway. It's much more ManU at their peak level here, or Real Madrid and Barca, or AC Milan. The biggest of the big clubs, who are known the world over, even to non-footballing fans. That's the point when you can start making a shed-load of money from people the world over imo.

Even if Chelsea do become one of the mega brands like Man Utd etc, that doesn't mean they will automatically make money. The only one of the top clubs to be successful as a business is Man Utd; even they were reliant on David Beckham (as seen with there profits/sales dropping since he's left) and Man Utd didn't (and still don't) have 6-7 players on £100k a week.

Duff didn't want to play for Liverpool or Spurs and I'm not sure they could force him to as such

Im afraid i don't quite beleive that. I just can't think of one reason why he would join Newcastle over Liverpool (or Spurs).

The Chelsea 'brand' is growing well, that's a major part of becoming profit making:

Like i said above, being a huge brand doesn't mean making money. Do you honestly beleive Chelsea will be making a profit in 3 years?
There sales/turnover may become the biggest in the world but the expenses will just be too much.

 

[HangTime]

I was having a think today and I reckon with a couple of shrewd buys, UEFA cup football wouldn't be out of the question for West Ham. Then again given their financial troubles a couple of years back I'm not entirely sure where all their money has come from to buy the likes of Ashton, so the probably don't have much left in the kitty.

 

[Weebull]

So Whats your point? All i was initially saying is i don't believe that Chelsea will be a profit making company in the next 3 years.

Your initial argument seemed to be that you didn't think Chelsea had any grand plan for turning a profit, because of the way that they're spending currently. I think they do, otherwise they wouldn't be investing in areas other than buying players, and while they're still overspending now, I think we will see the club try to sort that out over the next few years. You didn't mention this three year target until a couple of posts in. And why three years out of interest? I thought the plan was to be making a profit in five or ten years time or so?

My point was that it's quite possible that Chelsea will be turning a profit by then, just that you couldn't be 100% certain either way.

 

[JohnnyG]

Im afraid i don't quite beleive that. I just can't think of one reason why he would join Newcastle over Liverpool (or Spurs).

Ask him, at his unveiling press conference he said his heart told him to go Newcastle, that's where he wanted to go.

Do you honestly beleive Chelsea will be making a profit in 3 years?

I never said I believe it, but the plan is to break even by 2009 then start making a profit

 

[Gilly]

Im afraid i don't quite beleive that. I just can't think of one reason why he would join Newcastle over Liverpool (or Spurs).

Didn't want to play in pink, didn't want to play for a non-Chelsea London team.

Seriously, could be any reason at all. Maybe he doesn't like Harry Kewell, who could blame him? Maybe he's been out in Newcastle and knows how much hotter the girls there are than in Liverpool?

 

[BaZ87]

Your initial argument seemed to be that you didn't think Chelsea had any grand plan for turning a profit, because of the way that they're spending currently. I think they do

I never said anything about there plan, they may well have a plan, i just think its impossible to fullfill.
As for the 3 year thing, thats what Chelsea have said not me.

Ask him, at his unveiling press conference he said his heart told him to go Newcastle, that's where he wanted to go.

Oh please, well i don't beleive him.

I never said I believe it, but the plan is to break even by 2009 then start making a profit

Not saying you did, i was just asking if you beleived that they would.

Didn't want to play in pink, didn't want to play for a non-Chelsea London team.

Seriously, could be any reason at all. Maybe he doesn't like Harry Kewell, who could blame him? Maybe he's been out in Newcastle and knows how much hotter the girls there are than in Liverpool?

Well like i said above i don't beleive that, i don't think he would turn down the opportunity to play for his supposid boyhood club, play in the CL and have a serious chance of winning trophies to play for Newcastle.

Anyway both these points are for another thread but there just my opinions on both of them, i could be wrong

 

[Gilly]

Heh, boyhood club.

Just like Kewell

 

[BaZ87]

Exactly, proves my point about Duff supposidly going with his heart. All players either support the club etc when they joining

 

[Gilly]

Exactly, proves my point about Duff supposidly going with his heart. All players either support the club etc when they joing

/WHOOOOOSH

 

[BaZ87]

/WHOOOOOSH

i did notice the sarcasm, thats why i said i didn't beleive Duff

 

[Gilly]

I didn't understand the second sentence of your post. Doesn't matter

 

[davestar_delux]

Maybe he doesn't want the pressure that comes with challenging for trophies.

Probably just wants first team football though.

 

[Mr Nice]

Duff's a mercenary. He joined Newcastle because Spurs have a strict salary cap.

 

[JohnnyG]

Oh please, well i don't beleive him.

Not saying you did, i was just asking if you beleived that they would.

OK, the only other reason would be that Chelsea didn't want him to go to Liverpool or Spurs as it would have been a daft business move selling him for an extra £2m or so to a competitor.
I hope they will & it's looking good so far by all accounts

Duff's a mercenary. He joined Newcastle because Spurs have a strict salary cap.

“I’m just a kid really, all I want to do is play,” he revealed last week at the training ground. “The money side’s not important to me. I don’t want to be one of those guys who plays ten games a year and picks up their cheques. I can’t do that. I want to play.”

 

[BaZ87]

I hope they will & it's looking good so far by all accounts

Just been reading an article in the inderpendent;
RA's first year; Spent £170m on players, £150m Turnover and only recorded a loss of £80m
Last Year; Spent £60m on players, £140m Turnover and recorded a loss of £140m.
Doesn't seem to being looking good to me. There turnover dropped, they spent £90m less on players and there end of year loss went up by £60m. Im afraid there actually going backwards.

 

[JohnnyG]

There were exceptional circumstances in last years loss, or did the article not contain them?
I'm afraid you just have to accept the fact that they might become profitable, don't squirm

 

[BaZ87]

The only exceptional circumstances that the Times (was Times not Inderpendent ) have stated were crazy wages on players and Peter Kenyon.
Of cource there's a possibility of them becoming profitable, i don't think it will come true though (niether does the article im reading)

Edit\ they do mention other exceptional circumstances; taking huge losses when selling on players, gave Veron as an example

 

[JohnnyG]

They lost about £25m when they terminated the Umbro contract & had none of the £100m from Adidas to cover or anything from the Samsung deal. £5m or so on the new traning ground, £20m or so lost on Veron & Mutu. The turnover was down due to selling Chelsea Village Travel

 

[BaZ87]

Even with the Umbro deal and with the £20m (even without taking off what they eared this year from the equivilant deals) per year they will be making on there new Samsung and Addidas deals. They will still be at a loss of £80m (roughly). The losses on players will continue and how does selling something contribute to losses, surely they made money when they sold Chelsea village?

 

[JohnnyG]

88m loss 2004, 140m loss 2005 = 52m more.
Umbro deal = 25m, Veron & Mutu = £22.8m & 5m for Academy = 52.8m
So without the exceptional losses we would have been .8m better off than the previous year, that's without any money at all from the Samsung deal.
I said the sale of Chelsea Village Travel affected turnover as you mentioned it dropped