A new era for Chelsea?

In case you’re wondering where the World Cup coverage is, hang on just a little while longer. I’ve got something massive coming up, so wait for it.

Was talking to Dixon in the morning and he talked about how Theo Walcott chose Arsenal over other clubs (namely Chelsea) because of the chance to play with Henry. While Dixon is more concerned with how this proves that the ‘good’ players don’t always go for money, I think it’s also a good example of how clubs use their star players to attract new talent to the club.

Real Madrid did for several years, but their policy was limited to attracting other big players and not youth. Most clubs though tend to bank on their success or barring that, their money, to woo players. Then again few clubs have legends like Henry.

I wonder why Madrid never tried to entice young players by offering them the chance to play with Zidane and Ronaldo? I’m not so familiar with the Italian league, but I doubt that Milan and Juve are using their star players to attract youth.

This brings us to Chelsea and their recent signings, Ballack and Shevchenko. This is a golden opportunity for Kenyon and Mourinho to bring good young players into the club without breaking the bank time and time again. Money talks, but as Gallas and several others have found out, money is not everything if you are not wanted. I’d like to see Chelsea spend less money on buying players and spend more time on cultivating an image of a club where players enjoy playing their football. Mourinho has a major role to play in this, as Abramovich talks money and has two world-class mercenaries – Kenyon and Arnesen, working for him.

And maybe it’s time United stopped throwing players out and started using the star power of Rooney (not Ronaldo, who’s a prima donna) and maybe Rio, Scholes and Giggs to bring in talent from within the Premiership as well as from Europe. You paid 30 mil for Rooney – might as well use the lad for something more than just goals.