Though things move quickly in the footballing world – just look at what’s happened with the England managerial position over the last few days, there’s still something to be said in regards to learning from your mistakes. If the system of football your club employs isn’t working – change it. If your striker consistently fails to score – bench him. If your manager fails to deliver on his promises – fire him.
No club typifies this forward momentum better than Chelsea. Abramovich’s millions have ensured that the club can do pretty much whatever it likes. That means they can get away with making wholesale changes to their team and sacking the manager before he has been given a fair chance, because everything is done in the name of progress. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s a direct consequence of Chelsea being a forward-thinking, success-driven club.
Which is why I would be disappointed to see Chelsea repeat the mistakes of the past. By now it’s clear that dropping a heap of cash on one player doesn’t guarantee results. Just because Torres cost the Blues £50m, doesn’t mean that he’ll deliver that kind of quality. Spending this kind of money just opens you up to ridicule.
So what are we to make of the Star claiming that Chelsea are lining up a ‘mega-money swoop’ for Atletico Madrid’s Falcao? They claim that Chelsea have had a representative at almost every Atletico game for the past three months and have had their eyes trained on the former Porto-star.
The Porto connection is probably why this rumour has run on and on since last summer. Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas managed the 25-year-old striker whilst they were both at the Portuguese club last year. But would Roman Abramovich really be willing to bankroll a move that would see the two reunited at Chelsea?
There are claims that a Fernando Torres swap deal is on the cards, but I doubt Madrid would be very interested in trading in a man who always looks dangerous for somebody who never does. Which means that Chelsea would have to activate Falcao’s £50m buy-out clause.
For me, that’s just too big a risk. Unlike Torres he doesn’t even come with Premier League experience and there’s no guarantee he’d be a success. He may appear to be a natural goal-scorer, but Torres appeared to be naturally talented before he joined the Blues and revealed himself to be totally inept. After splashing cash on the likes of Torres and David Luiz (£35m) it just seems vulgar to drop another £50m on another player who may or not make it in the Premier League.
All this just makes me wonder – why aren’t Chelsea after the equally impressive but significantly cheaper Lukas Podolski?
What’s your take? Is Falcao worth £50m or should Chelsea be looking to keep their spending down?
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