Mad Brit Diary

Can Chelsea buy its way to happiness?

(Friday, August 15, 2003) -- OK, the Mad Brit was feeling pretty calm recently. He had just found a rare T-Rex CD digging around an old record store and was stocking up on Branston Pickle for the winter. Then his eyes zeroed in on all the goings on up the Kings Road in London where fashionable club Chelsea was piling up on overpriced talent in hopes of buying a English Premier League championship.

The late Marc Bolan must be turning in his grave, muttering his famous statement, "You can't fool the children of the revolution." Soccer fans around the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your hard earned wages. Join the revolution against greedy soccer bosses and clubs that want to put a hole in your pocket. Transfer fees, wages and ticket prices are out of control.

All you Mad Brits must be nuts to pay the prices EPL clubs are sticking on those ticket stubs. Stay at home watch and watch the game on TV or tune to the "Teletubbies".Chelsea, or call it Chelski, is out of control. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who took over the club recently, has opened his purse big-time and the rubles are gushing out.

You want to see Chelski take on the Arsenal Parisians? Then get ready to fork out $79 for a ticket. If you can't afford that, you can get a seat with a "severely restricted view," according to the Chelsea website, for $41. "Severely restricted?" What does that mean? You pay 40 bucks to look at a brick wall and the 18-yard box at one end of Stamford Bridge.

This stinks more than rotten fish and chips. The Mad Brit, who was raised in the back streets, thought soccer was, as Pele once said, a "poor man's game." Forget it. Even blue-collar club Birmingham City is charging $56 to watch the club play Tottenham Hotspur today. The MB remembers paying $1.50 to watch Birmingham match in a First Division game back in 1999, when the team had "one pound ticket weeks" for one of the stands.

What gives? To see a Manchester United game will cost you over $60 a match and that is a third higher than Bayern Munich. If you want a cheap ticket go see Middlesbrough, you might get a ticket for $26 if you're lucky. Even newly promoted Portsmouth is charging $40 for its cheapest entrance.

Just look at what Chelsea has purchased this summer: Wayne Bridge (Southampton), Damien Duff (Blackburn), Geremi (Real Madrid), Glen Johnson (West Ham), Yves Makaba Makalamby (PSV Eindhoven), Jurgen Macho (Sunderland), Marco Ambrosio (Chievo), Joe Cole (West Ham), Juan Sebastian Veron (Manchester United) and Adrian Mutu (Parma). And club coach Claudio Ranieri is also after Real Madrid's Claude Makele for $11.2 million.

It's amazing. Can you buy a championship? It's debatable. Blackburn Rovers did it when steel magnate Jack Walker pumped millions into the team and won the EPL title in 1995. "You can buy the title if you've got good judgment, though the situation I see at Chelsea is that they've bought young players and maybe they need experience and time," said Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson. "Chelsea might not do it this year but look at what they've got for the future."

According to the BBC, Chelsea has spent $118.4 million, more than three time than any other team. Manchester United spent $38.4 million, Tottenham Hotspur $17 million, Liverpool and Birmingham $13 million and Blackburn $11 million. The rest of the EPL teams spent less than $10 million apiece and five clubs included Leeds and Newcastle didn't spend a penny.

Some say the money now being pumped into Chelsea will filter down to the smaller English teams. Chelsea buys Duff from Blackburn which in turn buys players from the lower division, such as Millwall. Still, at least English stadiums have come up in the world. For those kind of prices, you expect a decent bathroom. The Mad Brit remembers the stinking swamp called a bathroom at the a Milwall's old Den a few years back.

So what does this season offer? The MB is wondering how will Manchester United will fare without David Beckham. Probably OK, but can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replace Beckham in the middle on the right? Will Tim Howard deal with the pressure in goal? Arsenal hasn't changed much. The Gunners blew an 11-point lead last season. Will they choke again?

Newcastle is young, but goal-producer Alan Shearer is 33. Chelsea may have spent zillions, but does it have a real all-out goal scorer? And who will win the ball in the middle of the field? Liverpool must produce this year. Maybe newcomer Harry Kewell will make the difference. Blackburn has Brad Friedel at the back, but can he keep saving the team? Everton has no fresh faces and may still be in a rebuilding process. Southampton needs to do better on the road. Manchester City has David Seaman in goal, which will be fun to watch, but Nicolas Anelka must produce more.

Tottenham Hotspur's American newcomer Bobby Convey will score 20 goals and lead the team to its best position in 20 years. Hey, just joking. Middlesbrough has got to win on the road and produce for the loyal fans. Charlton Athletic has a solid well-coached team that will likely survive for a fifth season in the EPL. Birmingham City has David Dunn and Christophe Dugarry to keep it alive. Fulham will struggle all year unless it can bring in some big-time players. Leeds lost so many big-time stars that a mid-level position will be a success.

Bolton's foreign legion will keep it alive and may even surprise us. Portsmouth's new adventure in the EPL could be a long one with the experienced players it has. Leicester City's stay in the EPL could be short. No star power but a lot of heart. Wolverhampton could defy the critics and stay up.

From the Financial Times: ". . . with (Tim) Howard seemingly on the cusp of a stellar career in Manchester, we have the unmistakable makings of a trend: the soccer-challenged United States is becoming the world's finest incubator of goaltending talent."

Is America's Women's United Soccer League sending mixed signals? On the one hand, USA Today reported that the league is seeking to expand by two teams by 2005, but stories coming out of the press in California are reporting that some teams in the WUSA are looking to sell or even go belly up. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that league sources are saying that the New York Power and the Carolina Courage, owned by AOL Time Warner, and the Philadelphia Charge, run by Comcast, are all looking to sell, and the San Jose CyberRays could be on their last legs.

"On Sunday, this could be the end of something really terrific in San Jose," U.S. team star Brandi Chastain told the Chronicle before the CyberRays last match of the season. "All these people who have been so supportive of us the last three years deserve a place to come. I hope it gets done. We are not done fighting for it, to keep it. We need it to exist."

The WUSA is desperately seeking investors for the 2004 season. "I think it's coming down to the nitty-gritty," CyberRays star Tisha Venturini-Hoch told the San Jose Mercury News. "Now, more than ever, we need the support of fans and the support of sponsors. That's the reality.''

Both Venturini-Hochs and Chastain were founding members of the league in 2001.

Professor A.G. Nigrin writes:

Hi Mad Brit! Thanks for your eloquent writing on Tim Howard. Have a Bounty bar on me! I just finished watching the Charity Shield Game in Cardiff between Man. U. and Arsenal and was happy and proud to see Tim Howard win his first game for Man. U. on British soil."

Lisa Napoles says: "Mr. Mad Brit: I found a comment of yours a bit strange: 'If Howard achieves this, he would be the most famous American player and one youngsters in the States can look up to, especially black kids who tend more to play basketball.' I don't disagree that if Howard ends up starting for Manchester United, he'll be the most famous American playing in the EPL, nor do I disagree that American kids will respond to his success. I just wonder why you singled out black kids in your comment, and why you think that they would "especially" look up to Howard. Children's local leagues aside, American youth in general "tend more" to play anything more than soccer.

"In the United States (as I believe they are in the United Kingdom), black populations are concentrated in urban areas. Due to the obvious space requirements, there are more basketball courts for public use than there are baseball diamonds and (American) football fields. This contributes to the prevalence of black athletes in the National Basketball Association, and that is what draws black youth to play basketball."

John J. Eastman writes: "Hooligan, keep up the good work! It's refreshing to read journalism that doesn't just lavish at a very mediocre U.S. squad, both players and very marginal coaching. Your player analysis are right on the money, much better than (Robert) Wagman's pathetic attempts at I guess justifying the existence of some of these players at that level."

Busta902 says: "The FIFA\Coca Cola World Rankings are good for a laugh here and there, but seeing the U.S. men's national team, as much as I'd like to believe it, placed a spot above England only proves its inefficiency. I couldn't care less about the five-point differential. On the other hand, I still believe that the U.S. men's national team is underrated."

Alan C. Brook writes: "The fairy tale. Let's not forget the Tourette's Syndrome in this Tale that Hollywood might find improbable. Personally, I love the way Tim Howard gets FIRED up when he makes a great save. The emotion is palpable. Watching him in those goalie wars at the MLS All-Star Game last year, I thought that it was almost a waste (maybe even cruel) to have all that energy stay in one area for much of the game. He has the attitude, he has the tools, and now he has the manager. I think he has a long career in front of him as the Reds' keep."

Tom Buttcock-Emerson says: "Scott Knapper confuses first touch with one touch. Josh Wolff's pass to Brian McBride was a beautiful one touch. First touch would indicate that there are other touches to follow. Being a good one-touch player is very different than having good first touch. The key is the ability to control the ball. Wolff does not have particularly good first touch.

"John O'Brien, on the other hand, is one of the few Americans with a world class first touch. His pass to Clint Mathis had nothing to do with first touch, though it said volumes about his vision and passing ability. Mathis' ability to control the pass with his first touch, placing the ball into stride and away from the defender allowed him enough space to get his shot in. That is the first touch I'm talking about and probably the reason (U.S. coach) Bruce Arena continues to play Mathis despite so many lackluster performances."

John C writes: "Tim Howard going to Man. United barely made a ripple in the mainstream press. To think this is going to make more kids play and stay with soccer is dreaming. Outside of New York, David Beckham is known by the mainstream, Tim Howard is not."

Alfred Randall said: "Hey MB, Doesn't anyone remember John Harkes? Harkes blazed the trail for all of these younger players to walk on in England. The bottom line is the younger players are more talented and should achieve more than Harkes. One thing they must find for themselves is the heart that Harkes showed in every match."

Doug Kieffer writes: "Am I the only person in the world (other than my fiance) that thinks DaMarcus Beasley is amazingly overrated? His first touch is poor and he seldom is able to dribble past an opponent one-on-one. Most of his passes are backward and many of the balls he plays sideways or forward give the recipient very little time to react because there's a defender hot on his heels."

Juan Sabalones writes: "Good article about Tim Howard and his effect on U.S. soccer. I think we may be surprised at how many of the current pool may soon be moving overseas. The news about Bobby Convey should reinforce the "Howard effect." He reminds me of a young Colin Bell but without the touch. It has been a while since I've seen someone cover so much ground so energetically. It seems like he just wears opponents down. Hopefully his touch will improve dramatically with time and playing in the Premiership."

Heard a rumor, have a gripe or a tip? Feeling lonely? E-mail the Mad Brit at themadbrit3@aol.com.