Money can only buy players, only hardwork gets success!

I’m sick and tired of people making fuss about Chelsea’s spending power, Abramovich’s deep pockets etc to escape from their mediocre performance. All these big clubs especially the G-14 clubs have spent millions and millions all through the years. AC Milan and Inter have spent more than a billion (yes, billion) pounds from 1990 till now. Berlusconi does have deep pockets too and he was the prime minister of Italy and he was the most influential Italian then who happened to be the owner of AC Milan. And now, one Russian businessman bought a non-G14 club and started to build a team and I dont know why people feel as if this is the first time such a thing happened in football history.

And still, it is quite possible to have an expensive squad and still not win any silverware for three seasons. Ask Real Madrid. So, it is insane to give all the credit to the deep pockets when the manager and the players are working hard to get the points. Of course, the transfer budget has definitely helped but that was not the sole reason. When Jose Mourinho won the UEFA Champions league with FC Porto, he broke all barriers on who can win and with what. I strongly believe that even if Jose had the same budget as the other old men in the league, he would have still won the title, may be the race could have been closer.

If Chelsea ends up with 100 points and Arsenal/Liverpool end up with 98 points, you can understand their frustration in not having enough budget etc. When there is a 20-point gap, they should just stop talking and start winning. After all they have 36 non-Chelsea matches where they can win and draw and not lose. If they show up with a sub-standard performance with a faulty strategy, you can’t hold Chelsea or their money, responsible for this.

The club team management is not fantasy league where you’re given 100m and you gotta choose 15 best players for each position. In reality, they are all humans. They need to be managed, motivated, trained to play together and they need to have excellent teamwork. With money comes the gloss, the world class star players, their egos and their greedy agents. I would say manage a team stars like Chelsea now and to make them win titles in this thundering fashion is just not that easy.

In any case money doesnt guarantee anything here. Despite showering love, affection and lot of money, Crespo still left for Italy because thats where his heart is. Damien Duff quit because he wanted play more first team football. So money doesnt guarantee you as much as you think. Thats why I find it ridiculous when someone says Chelsea has bought the premiership title. Chelsea only have the edge. It is like USA winning a series of gold medals in the Olympics. Thats easy and natural with all the advanced and sophistcated training facilities they have. USA and UK compete with a lot of poorer countries in the Olympic events. We dont say they have bought the gold medals. Yes, they have an edge because of the technology and funding they might afford. But when the same happens in football, we see it through tinted glass.

Football is business. For that matter, any sport is business now. In the framework of the law, you try to make as much profit as you can. Thats what would happen to every club. I just fail to understand the need for suggestions like salary cap, transfer budget ceiling etc. Guys, life does not have anything like that. It is full of inequalities. Some are rich and some are poor and so are the clubs. Money is just like talent. You acquire it and if you have enough, you flaunt it and if you dont, you do what you can do within your limits.

And no, football will not die. Premiership will not become boring. Since the inception of FA Premier league in ‘92, barring Blackburn Rovers, only three teams have won the title in 14 years - Arsenal - 3 times, Man Utd - 8 times and now Chelsea - 2 times. If the predictability of the title winner is any indication of a boring season then we have had a decade of boring seasons. Atleast with the Chelsea invasion, there are three contenders now for the title (okay, make it four with Arsenal). I would say the permier league is entering a very interesting phase where no team can relax, including Chelsea.