From what I’ve seen so far, Chelsea seems to have more of a tech thumb than the other footie clubs (note one of my previous posts here). But the role of tech/new media in footie is still unclear. Then again, the role of tech/new media in footie is still unclear in many other sectors.
Still, I’m following ‘em.
Kinda Buck Rogers-ish. Personally, I’m happy with both my 07/08 Drogba jersey and my old school Umbro one with the Emirates logo.
Courtesy Carefree Chris via CFCnet.
I just discovered a REALLY cool fan-powered site called FanIQ which, like Bleacher Report, allows sports fans of all stripes to post their own their own sports stories for all the world to see. As Bleacher Report has partnerships with both Fox Sports and CBS Sports, its visibility is a little higher than FanIQ’s (Bleacher Report is pop music and FanIQ is punk rock). But not only do I designate FanIQ as a Coolsite, I also listed it on my Blogroll.
I discovered FanIQ when I came across one its recent posts, “The Fall of Chelsea – The Roman Empire.” The phrase “Roman Empire” directly refers to Chelsea’s current owner, Roman Abramovich. It’s a little long but an excellent read.
The gist of the article is this: the once can’t-miss Chelsea Football Club is currently misfiring on all engines. They’ve yet to beat one of the other top three clubs in the English Premier League (and you can’t win the league title if you do that) and are currently in fourth place, making them no shoe-ins for entrance into next year’s Champions League competition. The writer, jumbovonolyphant, places the blame squarely on Roman Abramovich’s shoulders, pointing to his well-documented micromanaging that’s led to good managers getting axed, short-sightedness, and creating an atmosphere that prevents Chelsea from bringing in young talent (as an FYI, I think that the last things is a big part of Chelsea’s problems). He does give him his well-deserved credit for raising the profile of the EPL.
The only part of the story that I’m not 100% on board with is jumbovonolyphant’s statement that Chelsea’s one the teams “affected by the credit crunch.” While the team may have spent too much too fast, they’re technically not having a credit problem. The teams that are (Manchester United for example) borrowed a whole bunch of money at a respectable interest rate to fund their businesses, whereas Chelsea got their cash straight from Abramovich’s deep pockets. Leverage is certainly part of his business and I’m sure that he’s feeling the pinch in some places, but I have a hunch that he’ll survive it. This is splitting hairs but it’s an important characteristic that’s getting loss in credit crunch discussions, that the less you borrow, the more prepared you are to ride out the storm. But this is just part of the story and not its basis.
I attempted to post my opinion about this statement on FanIQ but had to register as a site member to do so. I tried to join but the process took waaaaaaaay too long. I have to point this out because I’m not telling the author my opinion straight on-although not for lack of trying-and don’t want anyone to think that I’m hiding my statements from him.
Regardless of my feelings about the credit crunch statement, I still think that the story is well-written and makes valid points. Please read the story, and form your own opinion.
At a FIFA conference in Zurich, the Chelsea F.C. CEO gave his take on the current global crisis and how he thinks it’ll effect football clubs as a whole…including Chelsea.
A couple of things he said caught my attention:
“A lot of people misunderstand debt. Chelsea are not in the same position as other clubs. We pay no interest on our debt as we have no external debt.
‘Our “debt”, such as it is, is to the owner. He has invested the money in the club. And while that is currently in the form of loans, this can be turned into equity. I think our financial structure does give us some strength and competitive advantage.
‘There is nothing inherently bad in financing one’s business through debt. It’s the ability to make the repayments that is the issue. We don’t have those repayment issues. Companies all over the world are financed predominantly by debt, this is normal in business.”
His specific comments about Chelsea’s debt do carry some weight. The fact that they owe money to the club owner, Roman Abramovich, and not a financial institution do give the club a much better outlook than others.
His comments about “nothing inherently bad in financing one’s business through debt” tick me off for a personal reason. I’ve been doing a lot of personal finance reading and research for the past three years and view all debt as the eighth deadly sin. I may not own a multi-billion dollar club but if I did, I know that I would run it without using debt. Just the way my head’s screwed on.
…and the answer is A LOT!!!
Let me start off by saying that I am THRILLED that my Chelsea Blues beat Hull on 29 October. I was, however, disappointed by their 1 November loss to Manchester United: partially because I wanted to see the underdogs win and partially because when one supports Chelsea, throwing a little dislike to the Red Devils is the default position.
But while watching these two games, I had my BEST footie knowledge experience to date.
The Chelsea game was a mess for the Tigers from start to finish. Geovanni and Daniel Cousin did what they could but the entire defense (Boaz Myhil included) acted as if they did a few bong hits prior to coming on to the pitch. They gave up a goal with in the first three minutes and allowed Nicholas Anelka a goal. I mean, I love my Blues but Anelka is not exactly a goal scoring machine. Chelsea takes the match 3-0…a bit of a surprise but not a disappointment on my part. Hull City then goes on to lose at Old Trafford three days later, but it was a completely different game. Hull lost to Man U 4-3 but not after getting three goals off of the Red Devils and forcing them to work to preserve their lead. Any team that forces Manchester United to work deserves props.
Now while none of these end results are surprising when you think about it, the Chelsea game deserves a little scrutinizing. See, Chelsea’s good right now, they’re just not that good. Regardless of Anelka’s performance, he’s no Didier Drogba and can be locked down without much effort. And Frank Lampard may be the most consistent scorer for Chelsea right now but is he scoring that much? Nope. Hull could’ve beaten Chelsea last Wednesday, but played as if they didn’t want to. But it was WHOOOOOOOLE different ball of wax against Man U. Hull faced a marquee team which contains three of the current top scorers (Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimatar Berbatov) and puts three goals on them. This was without question, United’s toughest win to date as Hull pushed them to the limits, forcing Rooney to try and score and making sure he was unsuccessful at every attempt. Either they blocked him or they forced him to take quick shots, but the belief that he was the man this season in the EPL was, for 90 minutes, shut down by the Hull Back Four. Hull earned the respect of many on 1 November, including Manchester United. Why? Because they walked out onto the pitch with the confidence that they could win!!!!
And therein lies the moral of this post: that I learned that confidence is a key characteristic of any winning team, and it’s a must that Hull corner the market on it since it’s what’s really winning them games right now. As an example, let’s take a look at Chelsea again, particularly during the 2007/08 season. When José Mourinho vacated the Chelsea managerial post in October 08, everyone wrote them off for the rest of the season. Yet they not only made the UEFA Champions League final that season but also made sure that the EPL Champions didn’t get confirmed until the last day of the season. That’s confidence and that’s one of the many reasons why my Blues support is unwavering.
I’ve said before that Hull has such confidence and still believe that they have it. They just need to be consistent with it, especially if they want to stay in the EPL.
Anyone that’s read this blog knows that the current EPL season is causing me some internal conflict. I’m a “blue-till-I-die” Chelsea fan; however, I find myself passionately rooting for the Tigers in every game. And with the two due to meet up tomorrow, I found myself somewhat conflicted on who to root for. I LOVE Chelsea but how can one not root for the underdog?
I meditated over this and have decided to stick to my guns and root for Chelsea, but have acknowledged that Hull City could win it. Not only could they win it but they have a good chance when you line up each teams good points and bad points. Let’s take a look at those, shall we:
CHELSEA CAN WIN BECAUSE…
They have more experience: Chelsea’s been in the top flight for sometime now and it’s been ages that they’ve been anywhere else. They’ve been against the best and have beaten more than their fair share of top notch clubs.
They have a better manager: Phil Brown is great but Felipe Scolari is better.
They have the home pitch advantage: Regardless of Liverpool ending Chelsea’s loss-less home record, the Blues are still tough to beat at Stamford Bridge. Speaking of which…
They’re pumped to win after their Liverpool loss: Chelsea’s home record (86 home games without a loss) is phenomenal! Because the Merseyside Kings just ended it, the Blues are most likely seeking redemption from any source that they can get it….destroying Hull may be that source.
HULL CAN WIN BECAUSE…
They have the confidence: If you ask me, this is the primary source for the Tiger’s success. Simply put, Hull have either won or drawn games that many (including myself) predicted that they would lose, and one of the games that they won was against Arsenal at the Emirates. They know that they can beat the best when it comes down to it.
Their team “backbone” is stronger than Chelsea’s right now: By this, I mean that on each level of pitch formation (goalie, defender, midfielder, striker) lies a top notch player. And with Boaz Myhill, Ian Ashbee, Geovanni. and Daniel Cousin, Hull’s backbone is the strongest. Chelsea’s almost there, with Peter Cech, John Terry, and Frank Lampard. but Nicholas Anelka is the weakest link in the chain right now.
Peter Brown is still good at what he does: As I said before, Scolari is the better manager. On the other hand, so is Arsene Wenger and just look how Peter came off on that one. Yes, Hull City is confident that they can beat the best, as is Peter Brown.
Look REAAAAAAL closely at the standings: Yup, Chelsea’s in second place and Hull’s in third. Look at the games played though and you’ll notice that Hull is one of only two teams have beaten the traditional “big four”. That counts for something.
At the end of the day, I’m rooting for Chelsea but will be secretly happy if Hull takes it. All in all, I expect a good game.
BBC Sport quotes him: "We have four competitions this season and I’ll try to win all four. It will be very difficult but we have the team for it, we have the players for it…"
Well, at least he didn’t say "will" as the Special One did.
I want one!!! Only available at the Chelsea Megastore this coming season.
FYI, this story comes from Shiny Shiny, who’s parent is Shiny Media, whom I view as the UK equivalent of Gawker Media . Shiny Media has a network of sites covering all topics so Shiny Shiny is to Shiny Media what Gizmodo is to Gawker. SS also has their network of footie-related Pie sites that I check out sometimes.