Under Todd Boehly, Chelsea FC have spent almost 1 billion Euros in the past two transfer windows. In the three transfer windows of the Boehly era, the club have exceeded 1 billion GBP in total transfer spend.
On one hand, you must love this if you’re a Chelsea fan, because you don’t have to worry about the club having resources for player recruitment.
Chelsea at West Ham United FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Aug 20, 4:30pm, London Stadium, London, UK
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea West Ham
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea FC 45% West Ham United 28% Draw 27%
PL Form, Position: West Ham United D, 1pt, 13th Chelsea FC D, 1pt, 11th
And yes, that was a serious concern back when it was first realized that Roman Abramovich was leaving.
So that’s a positive, but on the negative side, how does Chelsea balance the books here? What about Financial Fair Play?
What was the point of off-loading all those surplus players in June and July, getting a good amount of money in return, when all you’re going to do is get more players while spending like a drunken sailor?
This approach to the window is runaway capitalism; on steroids.
Why would you repeat last year’s critical mistake of building a bloated squad, where numerous players will be benched and then you create all sorts of challenges in the dressing room?
Why self-sabotage team spirit, in the name of extremist laissez-faire capitalism like that?
These are all questions that are far beyond the scope of this post, but they are all factors when it comes to predicting a first team selection.
I don’t have the answers to issues stemming from the Boehly cowboy capitalism, capitalism without constraints approach to the transfer market.
But I do have a guess at who manager Mauricio Pochettino might select for his first team on Sunday versus West Ham.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction at West Ham United
Sanchez; Axel Disasi, Thigao Silva, Levi Colwill; Malo Gusto, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Ben Chilwell; Connor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling; Nicolas Jackson
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.