By contrast, saving means the keeping of what is there for a
long time, possibly life. While growth is not a primary concern, loss of the
capital is criminal. With Chelsea, Roman Abrahimovic should be understood as a
man who had money he could have hidden under his pillow for the next 60 or so
years. Instead of the pillow, he bought Chelsea as the mechanism of keeping the
cash.
Over the years, that vehicle seemed sensible and safe, such
that he continued pouring in any extra coins he could pick up in the street. If
they laid eggs, those would be a welcome bonus. The club represented his
personal wealth and retirement for him and family. As with a pillow, there would
be morning he thought a coin fell from underneath his head, and he would make
it his business, not his maid, to sweep the floor.
To draw a sharp contrast, Arsenal have been a true
investment. Menial amounts of paper money were thrown into the system and they
would mate and bear children overnight. As long as the fertility was in that
direction, peaceful nights passed by, the slot machine ringing, such that the
directors can hardly hear the fans crying for honours or trophies. There
is absolutely no need to change any winning formular, hence, Arsene Wenger will
be the equilibrium constant of the equation.
Having drawn the line and cleared the air over the extremes,
let us look at the history of Chelsea under the Russian billionaire.
Abrahimovic has always spent on players' purchases and wages without a wink.
The Blues coaches' salaries have always been cool. The vision of the returns on
the savings account would tickle even a small baby, but without peeping on the
Chelsea owner's savings passbook or audit reports of the club, thinking he ever
made bucks from football would be a long short.
Winning the English championship back to back under Jose
Mourinho and the FA Cup as well as the UEFA Champion's League among others
served only to stroke his personal ego. I would not bet on that having made him
a better man even among his peers. It could have attracted useful change to
reward his players more and even cushion the savings, probably by just
replacing the pillowcase.
The current problems, as preceded by similar ones, befell
Andre Villas-Boas when this pillowcase was dirty and could not be replaced.
Depleting the savings to cushion the saving is like selling your only pillow to
buy a pillowcase. Even the thought of that potential would draw the ire of a
mentally disturbed man.
The issue of pride and status would have mattered at the
Stanford Bridge, but to maintain a healthy wage bill, Chelsea needed to be
going as further ahead of the pack, any pack, all packs, as possible. This
attracted TV and fans. The commercial aspects made sure the huge wages budget
does not haemorrhage the piggy bank.
AVB was assigned to guard the situation. Many think the man
was able. Few understand how this was going to be impossible. At Manchester
United and Arsenal, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have been in the
business for a long time. The economic waters favoured them in trying times of
high and low tides. Their roots became deep in a way that made the institutions
almost their personal properties.
The wage bills and recruitment of personnel in tightly under
their control, exactly the opposite at Chelsea and for the reasons already
given. The two veterans have a say on the wage bill. They choose their pick and
call their tune. They pay the piper and face the music.
Chelsea bosses receive players whom they may not use. The
material being availed to them comes at a price. With that tag, the feeling of
invincible superiority. The well paid-gladiators, in due time, will know they
make more money than the boss. The financial advantage over the manager
addictively rubs off everyone and all control is lost.
Rivals like Man U and Arsenal will never have the players
earning above the managers, unless other arrangements outside the club
structures are made. This genuine concern shifts from the playing field.
Everyone starts looking over their shoulder. Instead of the
players knowing and adhering to the manager's strategy and not questioning
his abilities and credentials, the attention is elsewhere.
Playing on your mind now might be how investments are of
less interest than savings, or, why the clubs are not sacking coaches left
right and centre. The gamblers lose all and still hope they will win it back
tomorrow. They throw all the coins into the slot machine. They win some and
lose some. It is a common principle.
Time to build success and stabilise the situation is
limited. The constraints of trying to cement one's philosophy and implant
discipline are not helped by lack of interest of the owner in club politics.
This is not helped by the fact that when Abrahimovic goes to bed, he lifts the
pillow and sees the state of his savings. There is no only who could perhaps
survive the double-edged sword at the Bridge.
The Special One stubbornly built a side of mature warriors
ready for battle. The same battle weary war horses have been recycles beyond
repair. In trying to mould a new breed around the likes of Daniel Sturridge,
things were bound to be worse as those benched due to the presence of
youngsters threatened the up and coming boys.
It will take a character of Jose Mourinho to build another
team that excludes Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, Petr Czech,
Flaurent Mouluda and other veterans. That clean sweep has to happens
lightning fast and by the one who does not need to create a football profile.
They should be able to tell Abrohimovic his story right in their face.
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