03 Jan 2026 16:19:25
A minimum of 6 and a half years before a change of ownership is allowed under the terms of the sale agreed by Roman. Blue. co in it to make money as not football fans as Roman was, buy young, low and heavily incentivised contracts, if they fit the team keep them, if not trade on for profit, an army of sporting directors scowling the universe for players, snap up clubs worldwide to house the players coming in and grow the "brand" by playing and competiting on the biggest stages which are the premier league and the champions league. Drop in a victory at the inaugural club world cup and pick up another 100 million fans from across the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas and roll the band on.
Are they doing ok? I reckon the Clearlake investors will be very happy. As for us fans, they are happy to indulge us with new players, we have picked up a couple of pots, we are able to watch 2 of the planets best young players in Estevao and Palmer perform in blue, we will challenge in the cup competitions and may even have a run at a title in 2030. Is it all doom and gloom? or is it just part of the roller coaster ride that comes with supporting our beloved club? and I've seen a lot of ups and as many downs supporting this mob for many a decade.
03 Jan 2026 17:15:49
The thing is i don't see how they're in it for player trading. I think the value of 85% of the players we brought in has decreased. A player like caicedo is great, but his market value is £105m. That is a loss, and we've paid his wages too. This is hardly the brighton model.
Its diabolical the names we've signed. We will not break even selling the following names (including those already sold)
Sterling, Koulibaly, Slonina, Chukwuemeka, Cucurella, Casadei, Fofana, Aubameyang, Zakaria, DD Fofana, Badiashile, Santos, Félix, Mudrk, Madueke, Gusto, Fernández, Nkunku, Moreira, jackson, Gabriel, Ugochukwu, Disasi, Sánchez, Caicedo, Lavia, Washington, Petrović, Palmer, Hutchinson, Kellyman, Adarabioyo, Guiu, Dewsbury-Hall, Veiga, Wiley, Jörgensen, Neto, Pedro, Delap, Gittens, Estêvão Essugo, Sarr, Páez, Hato, Anselmino, Penders, Amougou.
03 Jan 2026 17:35:23
Its attempted player trading gone about as horribly wrong as could be expected.
for alll the enjoyment we get from watching palmer or estevao. id sacrifice it to be rid the regular suffering of watching the likes of tosin/badiashile/disasi/chalobah try and play centre back.
03 Jan 2026 17:39:21
There are a few players in there off the top of my head that are sold and we actually made a profit on. So I don't get your point.
03 Jan 2026 17:42:45
I guess it would probably depend if the club want to sell them and when but as I can remember we made a profit on Noni, Petrovic, Hutchinson, Casadei, and we will make money on Jackson and Guiu. I’m not sure about KK or some of the rest we sold. I will think about the others when we sell them.
I’m personally not that interested in blues of players, I’m more about how I judge their abilities. I’m happy enough with the squad we have, would I like some different players? Yes. The problem is my choices wouldn’t be everyone else’s choices.
03 Jan 2026 19:07:02
Chelsea forever blue, yes we made a profit on maybe 5 of them. We will make some horrible losses on most of them. Which is why i said we will likely not break even overall. Do you both honestly think we will make an overall profit?
Im glad you're happy with the squad tomb but objectively we do not find ourselves in a good position after spending 1.5 billion or whatever its up to now. Horrendous.
03 Jan 2026 19:26:34
Greenaway, wow, you have the same level of ambition as the owners;” we may have title run in 2030”: don’t expect Palmer and Estavou to hang around. I think Palmer will go in the summer.
03 Jan 2026 20:00:55
Standard, all clubs make money and lose money when they buy and sell players.
You prefer to use our gross spend as a measurement of player change at our club, that’s fine and it’s a fact that works for your argument. I prefer to use nett spend (not very accurate) as a measurement of player change, as it works for my argument. To be honest and as I’ve said many times before I find the argument of transfer fees debilitating. My guess is it’s a me thing!
My guess is Liverpool had the biggest gross spend in the last window. I’m not a Liverpool fan but my mates tell me that generally those signings haven’t hit the ground running. It happens but by the end of this season or next season fans might well be saying they were all astute signings.
We also judge a player negatively and then find they are brilliant when they change club or if the club itself changes manager.
One other point. I have been saying since our owners took over that we are now a trading club. So taking Jimbo’s point if PSG real want to make a ridiculous offer for Palmer or Estavao, I think the club will sell them. Like lots of clubs we are run by businessmen not first and foremost fans.
03 Jan 2026 20:18:43
Jimbo, we may well have a run at the title earlier than 2030 and you yourself said we have 7 core players who are ready to challenge, add a couple more and who knows we might challenge sooner but come on, only 1 team can win the premier league each season and we are not there at the moment, surely you can see that? I will be happy to pick up more pots over the next few seasons and build towards a sustained, ongoing title challenge but like everyone else hope it comes earlier.
When did Arsenal, who you reguarly compare us to last win a title? 24 years ago and counting?
03 Jan 2026 21:06:09
Greenaway, when do I ever mention Arsenal? TSome of the 7 players I referred to won’t stay because understandly they will want to join a club who had ambitions to win big trophies and want to play under a top class coach.
03 Jan 2026 21:25:07
Tom. I am talking SOLELY about the aspect of us allegedly 'player trading'. My reply was against that notion because I don't think wed sign 115m caicedo and 100m enzo if all we want to do is churn a profit. We would have went for a player who we could actually sell for more money than we bought him for.
You can use net spend also if you like tom, it still does not paint a pretty picture under the new owners. I've made my position clear that I disagree with the recruitment. There has been some that have ended well and some that have proved me wrong. Long lay the latter continue but on a forum where we talk about the football club, I am putting my opinion out that I don't think it will.
03 Jan 2026 21:34:46
Tom, it won’t be ridiculous offers: they will pay market value. The club will be happy to make profits especially the SDs who can cosy up to the owners to show what a good job they are doing and then waste in on players like Garnacho and Gittens.
03 Jan 2026 21:45:06
Standard, I think it was RBD who posted a nett spend table and it was interesting but I freely acknowledge that nett spend isn’t the most accurate measurement but neither is fans post signing valuation.
I think Caicedo’s valuation is way over what we paid for him but I think that Enzo is now worth less than we paid for him. What on earth does it prove? I think that Caicedo is one of the best midfielders of his type in World football. I also think that Enzo will be sold to Real Madrid this summer for a significant fee. What on earth does it prove?
Team success can also have a positive or negative effect on a players valuation. If a club is successful then its players values generally go up. That maybe why the club spent big on Enzo and Caicedo as they believed they would bring success and increase the players valuations. This maybe me being cynical but just maybe that’s why it’s important for the club to be successful, the owners would probably be adding value to there business.
One day someone will write a book on what I consider to be a subject like nailing down a jelly. There will probably be only one copy sold??.
03 Jan 2026 21:57:58
Jimbo, I consider the reported offer that PSG were considering last summer for Palmer (£200m) as ridiculous. If that was to happen and if it was considered to be “market value” I will be happy.
I think Gittens will be a good investment but at the moment he isn’t playing as well as I hoped but things can change. Unlike some I think Garnacho has just been ok. I have no idea what he will be valued at in the future but like Gittens if they were sold now I’m sure the club would lose money.
Like other clubs some you win some you lose.
04 Jan 2026 10:32:38
I really don't know if you do this on purpose. You are talking about the owners now operating as a trading club. If they buy a player for 20m and sell him for 5m. That is a loss.
You can scream 'what does it matter what does it prove' all you want but if its a trading club and we make losses on players that is a failure in your chosen parameter.
04 Jan 2026 11:34:15
It means they would have lost £5m in the case you put forward. They could then buy a player for £20m and sell him for £25m it’s then a profit.
Also, that is not my chosen parameter. I have virtually no interest in the transfer value of a player. My interest is how I see his ability and if it makes sense for the team.
My guess is the club buys a players a player because they believe he is a good player and will help the team. If the team is successful the value of the club probably increases. Just one more small point, a loss or a profit is only realised when that player leaves the club not while he is still playing for the club.
What I have a problem with is when from a position of just a fan guessing it looks like the club have bought a player because they think they can at least sell him in at a profit. Of course if that player proves himself and increases his value then the club has a win, win situation. Sadly a player like Delap might have been that sort of signing.
04 Jan 2026 13:01:08
20m to 5m is a 15m loss tom. In your scenario even with flipping the other player for a profit its a loss. And this is only in FFP terms. Overall for the club its a bigger loss because of wages and insurance etc.
That is my entire point. I do not buy into this notion that 'player trading' for profit is the goal. If it was, it has been a disaster thus far.
I think the owners want success, and I just don't like the strategy because there isn't balance. For me that's simply it. I think delap is a win win signing, I think many of them have been win win signings. My issue is the sidewards step we've taken with our wingers over the last 3 years. Weve spent an enormous sum (one that we almost certainly won't recoup) and they're on the same level as pulisic sterling and whoever else we had back then.
04 Jan 2026 13:44:54
Standard I did reply to your post but it disappeared. My guess is most posters are fed up with the topic so unless it suddenly reappears. I will just drop the subject.
04 Jan 2026 13:48:26
I’m sorry, I said I couldn’t be bothered with the topic anymore but can I suggest you read the post from RBD at the top of the page. Probably the best post I’ve read on this site in many a long year.
05 Jan 2026 11:39:54
Sterling and pulisic were not good players for us. You need to have a word with your self if you think they was.
If you had mentioned hazard, Willian then fair enough but sterling is a rat, and an awful buy to which the owners know this.