Chelsea's sporting director Frank Arnesen says the Blues'
big spending days are over.
Frank Arnesen has admitted that the global credit crunch
means Chelsea days as
football's big spenders are over. Chelsea laid off 15 scouts last
week as part of a series of cost-cutting measures at Stamford
Bridge and the club’s sporting director has admitted they will have
to be self sufficient in future.
Arnesen said: ‘A structure is now in place and even though the
credit crunch has meant Roman Abramovich has hit the financial
brake and asked us to cut deep, we have cut down significantly on
scouts and other activities.
‘We are at the same level as Real Madrid and Manchester United
and we are getting close to the time when the club can carry on
without Roman’s money. ‘The process here in Chelsea is now so far
along that 80 per cent of the dreams I had after the switch from
Tottenham are now being put into place. 'There is no turning
back.’
Despite Arnesen’s claims that the club is on a sound financial
footing, Chelsea announced losses of just over £70million for the
last financial year and are creaking under £736m of debt.
Despite the impact of the credit crisis, Chelsea manager Luiz
Felipe Scolari has been told there is money available to strengthen
the squad in the transfer window. Scolari wants a striker to
provide competition for Didier Drogba who, at 31, is struggling
with a series of niggling injuries, and Nicolas Anelka.
Arnesen claims he is solely responsible for providing Scolar
iwith a list of possible signings, although it seems doubtful that
he had any influence over the arrival of Brazilian Mineiro on a
free transfer.
The Dane added: ‘I don’t have any problems working with Roman
because he is an intelligent businessman who has earned his money
as so many others have. ‘I have been responsible for scouting for
first-team players since the summer of 2006.
'In my first year my job was to scout players under the age of
19, but it seemed foolish that our network was only looking at
players under 19. 'Roman understood that so I was handed a mandate
to recommend players for Jose Mourinho, then Avram Grant and now
Scolari.
'If Scolari says he needs a centre forward then it is my job to
come up with a list of targets. 'I have about 1,000 players listed
in my computer. ‘All of this has happened over the last two
years.’
