Debt-free but still Arsene complains

SO Chelsea look forward to the new decade effectively debt free thanks to Abramovich’s decision to write off his loan of €377 million.

That is some gesture and more proof should any be needed that the club are fortunate to have an owner for whom profit is not the main criteria for his investment. And here he is going into his seventh year and still no sign of getting bored.

Of course this has left some rather perturbed – I imagine Platini and Blatter have their heads together trying to think of another way to scupper the enemies of football now that our improved financial position will not prove a hindrance in the Champions League under the new rules they have been cobbling together.

Abramovich’s continued generosity also seems to have provided yet another pulpit for Saint Arsene to preach from. So Chelsea are “half-cheating” by having their debt wiped by our owner? One could argue that its “half-cheating” to plunder the academies of foreign football clubs for their talented teens and then try and pass them off as one’s own proteges? How anyone even remotely connected with Arsenal can lecture anyone on cheating is beyond me when theirs is a club effectively built by Henry Norris; a man banned from football by the FA for life for a plethora of crimes.

As for Wenger’s claims that football has always been about balancing the books – another pile of horse-dung – since when? When it was the Italian league which boasted the world’s best talent and most successful teams – does anyone for a moment think that they were trading within their means? Not a chance. And then there’s the Spanish giants – using inventive land (training ground) purchase deals with criminally over-inflated valuations to give an illusion of solvency. Football has never been about balancing the books because it’s an obsession – and obsessions and sensible spending are never suitable bed-fellows.

Ever since I can remember, various clubs have walked a fine line between feast and famine – and so it will always be. The Watford game was a timely shot in the arm that restored a little faith after a difficult December.

That said, Watford were awful – and if Loach really is the best England have between the sticks at U21 level, then the future really does look very bleak. But I want to take as many positives from the game as I can and there were quite a few. A decent performance and two goals for Sturridge in what could be a defining month for him will hopefully have settled any nerves he had and has shown the fans a little of what he has. A corker from Lampard will hopefully finally open up the floodgates; we are also beginning to see the talents of Zhirkov and yet more glimpses of Kakuta and Borini.

Hopefully our youngsters will be enough to save us from the perils of the transfer market as the rumours concerning Heskey will just not go away. We have obviously been linked with more talented players too but do we really want to be trying to integrate new players who have never played in the Premier League at such a potentially crucial point in the season. I would say not – even with a possible transfer ban on the horizon. We wouldn’t want to upset Wenger by bringing in better strikers than Arsenal have anyway – as surely that would be tantamount to cheating? One thing you will not be seeing in the transfer market is Joe Cole being hawked around like a second-hand Ford Fiesta as he has publicly made it very clear that he wants to stay at Chelsea. He has also stated that his agent will not be feeding the press tasty morsels of opposition clubs’ interest to try and ramp up the deal – how refreshing – take note JT...

Time to bury those Christmas ghosts and ensure that Chelsea are at the forefront of football for the new decade. * Contact: [e-mail]