Soccer Drills For Youth

Despite their outstanding domestic record of late, a team full of World renowned stars and a bank account that most clubs would only dream of, Chelsea’s current owner Roman Abramovich faces a complex issue over the next couple of years. Debt is the spectre which follows Chelsea at the end of every season and despite Mr Abramovich’s generosity in writing off large chunks of the clubs debt, fixing the problem will be the key issue for Roman Abramovich.

While Chelsea’s massive soccer apparel sales may bring in revenue, as will the transfer of a player or two away from the club, sponsorship deals and prize money winnings, the fact is that Chelsea’s overhead far exceeds the revenue generated and so far it has been the owner that has absorbed these debts. UEFA’s uptake of tough new rules regarding the eligibility of teams entering their competitions with reference to being financially profitable, means that Chelsea have a need to find a long-term solution to this problem.

Addressing this thorny issue began last summer when a few first grade players were allowed to leave the club. Players like Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Deco did not have their contracts renewed while Ricardo Carvalho was sold to Real Madrid and manager Carlo Ancelotti did not replace them with established stars, instead promoting youth from within the club’s junior ranks. This slashing of staff successfully had the effect of minimising the wage bill, but even these player cuts have not fully resolved the issue of club debt.

Mr Abramovich’s main objective for Chelsea is that they become regarded as not only the biggest name in the English league, but European and World Soccer too. Currently either Real Madrid, Manchester United or Barcelona enjoy the title of the ’biggest’ club in the world, depending on how you wish to define the criteria for that title and there are two big reasons why Chelsea, despite Abramovich’s large spending and a policy for paying huge wages, have struggled to match the levels set by the trio of soccer giants: The gate receipts collected by the relatively small Stamford Bridge and the appeal of the clubs merchandise worldwide.

For several years now, there have been muted rumours that there are talks to address the limited size of Stamford stadium in the near future. Stamford Bridge may, if rumours are true, soon be part of Chelsea’s past, rather than their future. While no specific details have been confirmed by any sources at the club, speculation has been rife that Mr Abramovich has been considering moving the club into a brand new stadium, with a capacity of atleast 60,000, and such a move is required if Chelsea are to realistically hope to achieve the title of the world’s biggest club.

The switch to the new and improved ground would have marked and immediate effects on resolving Chelsea’s financial standing. A greater capacity, if the fans can fill it, will result in Chelsea earning far more a year from spectators. The increased revenue from a new ground will be incredibly beneficial in helping the club follow the new guidelines UEFA wants in use in time for the start of the 2012 season.

Also, building a new home ground will enable Chelsea to negotiate a lucrative sponsorship deal over the name of the ground, as neighbours Arsenal did when selling the naming rights to Emirates stadium.

A new stadium would also have an effect on increasing the merchandising sales that the club generates as the new ground would give the club increased publicity, particularly in the potentially large customer markets in Asia and the USA.

For Chelsea to achieve their long term goals, now is the right time to invest their owners cash on the club’s infrastructure, rather than on player wages and huge transfer fees. If Mr Abramovich is ready to move Chelsea onto the equal level as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United, then it is required he invests his money into a bigger stadium as that is a required step that this great London team must take if it is to achieve the levels of greatness to which they are aiming for.