The Chelsea Effect:
Is Chelsea good for football? Since his arrival in West London, Roman Abramovich has transformed Chelsea Football Club from a club on the brink of administration into one of Europe's biggest clubs. "Some will doubt my motives, others will think I'm crazy," says Abramovich, "It's not about making money. I don't want to throw money away, but its really about having fun."
After spending an initial £140m when he bought the club 2 years ago, £60m in stock and £80m in total debt, Abramovich has sanctioned the spending of over £250m in player transfers. According to Delloite, as of the end of the 2004/05 season, Chelsea's wage bill alone has topped £118m, £38m more than their closest rivals Manchester United.
Since the takeover, Chelsea has also sold players, but at a huge loss. Surprisingly, the only profit turned on a player was from the sale of Mateja Kezman to Athletico Madrid (£0.3m). Juan Sebastian Veron, who arrived from Manchester United for £15m, has spent the last 2 seasons on loan at Inter Milan and will subsequently spend the final year of his Chelsea contract at Inter with Chelsea taking a total loss on the initial investment. Midfielder Scott Parker came to Chelsea from Charlton Athletic in a deal worth £10m, and moved to Newcastle United this summer for £6.5m at a loss of £3.5m. The latest departure from the Blues was Tiago, who was bought from Benfica of Portugal for £10m and was sold for £6.5, another £3.5m loss. In a very different story altogether, the Adrian Mutu saga has not only done damage to he and Chelsea's image, but brought on a potential £7.8m loss on an investment of £15.8m paid to Parma pending the player's appeal of a Premier League ruling that he breached his Chelsea contract by failing a drugs test.
Despite these figures, Abramovich and Chelsea continue to spend money much to the dismay of their European rivals. 1"In the year before Abramovich bought the club, gross spending in the sport reached £187m, prompting talk of greater financial realism within a sport living beyond its means." Chelsea's overspending on transfer targets has prompted other teams in the league and across Europe to play a waiting game, "There is a price for Chelsea and a price for everyone else" Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stated after the £21m purchase of Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. He also said, "Clubs know they have plenty of money, so when Chelsea come in they will buy for £20m what costs £10m. There are 2 markets: one which Chelsea is in, which is quite lively and high and one which is without Chelsea, which is morose all over Europe."
Not only have Chelsea changed the landscape of the transfer market, but they have done so at the expense of the greater talent pool of European football and perhaps even have damaged the impact of its own players and their hopes of representing their country in World Cup 2006. Any football club regardless of its size or financial influence can only field 11 players at a time, and while Chelsea boasts 2 internationals at every position, playing time and the form of those left out must be sacrificed to the detriment of their country.
Domestically, the allure of Chelsea and its growing stature as one Europe's biggest clubs has been making waves across the Premiership, and some may say that it has disturbed the balance of one of the world's most competitive leagues. Having already signed the likes of Scott Parker (from Charlton), Wayne Bridge (Southampton), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Glen Johnson and Joe Cole (West Ham), Geremi (Middlesbrough) and Damien Duff (Blackburn), and attempting in vain to tempt Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Arsenal's Ashley Cole to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have thrown England's top flight into turmoil.
But with a Premiership title, a Carling Cup triumph and 2 consecutive appearances in the Champions League semi-finals in its first 2 seasons since the arrival of Roman Abramovich, its hard to question Chelsea's motives. And with the cream of the talent crop literally rising to the top, don't look for any challenges to their defense of the Premiership title or their dream of European glory. Chelsea Football Club may be the biggest spenders, but who says the rest of the world doesn't also have a price to pay?

1 Courtesy of TimesOnline reporter Ashling O'Conner