All this talk of why and how much we hate Chelsea is avoiding the more interesting question

[Monty91]

of whether we are still entitled to accuse them of buying success when we ourselves are now up to our tits in money.

Indeed, I believe the two most expensive players on the pitch yesterday were Ozil and Sanchez.

[Witharby 2-3 weeks]

If you think that has stopped they have dozens of players on loan and have paid nearly double the next team for their youth players.

Before FFP kicked in they lost a fortune stocking up.

In addition there are daft knobs who pay 50 million for Sideshow Bob and 27 million for Lukaku

They have their next 5 years spending money paid upfront

[Luis Anaconda]

[Classic Jorge]

[redgunamo]

[Witharby 2-3 weeks]

[Monty91]

than being successful off the back of a billionaire benefactor?

And if so, as our own wealth grows and FFP continues to level the playing field among the big clubs, will we one day not be able to take that moral highground?

[redgunamo]

[Berni]

won the lottery because one is meritorious and the other is just lucky.

[Monty91]

by building a stadium to accommodate them.

Is that really so meritorious?

[Classic Jorge]

The real head scratcher is the situation in Spain where Madbarca swallow up about 70pc of the TV money between them. I'm not sure that's very meritocratic

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

The United that dominated English football through the early PL years was based on massive investment in players on an almost annual basis. Chelsea have done it in recent year, City also.

The sums of money involved to buy success have simply escalated in line with the monies in football.

The accumulated cost of our team probably cost double that of Hull last season in the cup final, did we buy that cup win?

Real Madrid’s much heralded decima, hardly done on the cheap. The 4 teams left in the CL this season, some amount of money spent there.

Football is now a money game, a very non-romantic vision for which I expect Jorge will attack me. Irrespective of where the money came from, self-financed or oligarch backed, reasonable chance that if you spend ****loads more than others you will get success. You do of course get fleeting aberrations for which the relevant club and manager deserves enormous credit but it soon reverts to norm.

[Monty91]

is not particularly to the credit of anyone currently at the club.

So all we had to do is build the thing.

[redgunamo]

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

and moved us somewhere better. We got the name of the local tube station changed. Business decisions which still feed our success.

[redgunamo]

All the best football clubs are located in relatively wealthy cities.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

the television money would not be worth tuppence ha'penny.

[Snin]

man :-)

[Ashberto]

:-|

[Classic Jorge]

[Classic Jorge]

[Classic Jorge]

[Monty91]

Wenger brought them back into the stadium, but his impact on our *fanbase* - certainly in the UK - has probably been negligible.

[redgunamo]

At least they mostly have been.

[Snin]

never been so surprised imo

[Berni]

products of merit rather than luck.

[redgunamo]

[Classic Jorge]

Remove the naturally wealthy capitals from your equation and I'm not sure it really stacks up. Football is generally built on strong industrial towns.

[Classic Jorge]

but you've virtually given this one a sex change

[redgunamo]

Sorry :homer:

Point is, people had jobs so could afford leisure, hence decent football clubs.

[Mc Gooner]

I'd like to jump on her skeleton :hehe:

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Wenger brought steady, continued success with world class players which in turn attracts young supporters who you will realise grow up to become older often match attending supporters.

Witness young kids in City jerseys these days, something unheard of 5+ years ago though I expect it is perhaps not something you may see a lot off in London.

Football is also a lot cooler now than it was in the 90s when it had a bad reputation from previous years, it is now all shiny and glitzy, players are major celebrities. We attract a lot of casual support, people who like football who may never before have had a massive allegiance to us but want to attend games and (enormously importantly) can afford to. This is then coupled with the annual argument of ‘real’ or ‘true’ supporters being priced out.

In time these people develop an affection or whatever for us and become supporters like the rest of us.

To say his impact on our UK fanbase has been negligible I would suggest is incorrect.

[Classic Jorge]

I think the fundamental argument with uneven TV deals is that, whilst logical on the face of it, they aren't great for the long term sustainability of a league.

Witness the sheer amount of clubs, big clubs, going bust in spain. Even with their 'friendly' regional banks and governments.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

I thought that you were genuinely trying to argue that on a global stage the mass fascination with La Liga is not based around seeing Messi and Neymar, or Ronaldo and Bale, or the many previous years of Galacticos.


You and I may enjoy Villareal v Sevilla, but that is very much like Liverpool v Tottenham compared to the real top level fayre.


Yes it is unfair in creating, or trying to create, a level playing field but they are the two primary reasons why the league is valuable. I can understand them wanting a bigger slice of pie though I agree on the basic premise of sustainability etc.

Glad we finally agreed on something today.

[Classic Jorge]

Sorry, much like John McClane old habits die hard SW

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Not withstanding the fact that he is a very obvious Man United player in the making.

[redgunamo]

[Peter]

Unless you suddenly count the fa cup as success :-)

[redgunamo]

Even if that success is only the FA Cup :-)

[In Arsene we rust]

...ONLY because of the ridiculous amounts of money spent on their teams.

Neither team would have won the Premier League without it so the answer is yes, they have bought their success.

[Peter]

Is surely the noblest thing of all?

I hink ability to pay only becomes a factor when you want to accues a rich bloke of being tight :-)

[In Arsene we rust]

...signing for other teams, they really are a bunch of c*nts aren't they!

[redgunamo]

to win trophies unless you spend as much as Chelsea and Manchester City. Good job we didn't overhaul Chelsea after all :-)

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Mind you it was their decision

[Bergkamp's Brain]

[Peter]

[Nicosia Gooner]

:attentionseeker: