http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8434698.stm

I fully expect Private Eye to be all over that

The internal financial workings of football clubs must be nothing short of mind boggling when you consider some of the dodgy types involved...

£44m, almost nil

The losses usually include any debts so the club could actually be in profit on a cash basis and still make a technical loss.

So it was just a technical change. Chelsea's debt has been exchanged for a share in the football club and that share is owned by Roman's company....

Is it still virtually UK passport free, or do they have a few more token Brits in the squad now?

You're thinking of Arsenal. Chelsea actually have 3 out of the current England first choice 11 playing for them.

Jon

Terry, Lampard, Cole?

and arsenal have theo walcott

Hey, be careful now. Arsenal produce plenty of english players, problem is they are not good enough to stay at the Arsenal so we have to pass them on to other non-top-four clubs. Just because we don't play them doesn't mean we don't produce them.

I am in a very drunk state right now I can name Bentley and that other muppet we sold to Liverpool and they sold him to Real Madrid. He went to jail for drink driving. Steve Sidwell and Mathew Upson are others that spring to mind. Just because Chavsky buy Lampard and Cole from West Ham it doesn't mean they look after english interests.

I would hope that a guy like you would see through this...

and Aaron Ramsey. And plenty of others in their academy that grew up in the same post code as Arsenal's football ground. Just look at squads we played in Carling cup...

I thought Ramsey was Welsh? Or is that the other fellah. And I know Arsenal have a fertile local youth policy but the fact remains for their last league game the team was
Manuel Almunia, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, William Gallas, Armand Traore, Vassiriki Abou Diaby, Samir Nasri (Craig Eastmond, 85), Aaron Ramsey, Alexandre Song, Andrey Arshavin (Carlos Alberto Vela, 82), Da Silva Eduardo (Tomas Rosicky, 72)

So one English player in the starting 11 and one as sub, assuming Eastmond is indeed English. Which is less than Man United (2 starters, one sub), Chelsea (4 starters, 1 sub) or LIverpool (3 starters).

Finlay : Yes, those were the three I'm thinking of, although they have Joe Cole as well. They also technically have Michael Mancienne who has been in the England squad, although he's currently on loan at Wolves. IIRC the team with the most English players was always West Ham up until a couple of years ago, now I believe it's Spurs.

Jon

He is Welsh.

I know we don't play English players, but it is just not true that we don't contribute to a development of a local talent. We could go out this transfer window, sell the whole team and buy an English player for the every single position. Would that help? I doubt it...

I have no real opinion on that TBH, beyond the opinion that if there are good English youngsters they're probably better off at Arsenal than, say, Blackburn because I think they will end up being better footballers in the end for doing so. I don't think anyone would argue that Arsene Wenger teaches young footballers 'the right things', rather than the more regressive attitude that prevailed around english football say 10 years ago. However someone suggested Chelsea have no English players. All I did was point out that they do and that Arsenal are actually the member of the 'big four' with the least regular English players.

I'm not a supporter of the big four so I have no real axe to grind either way.

Jon

Just looked at Chelsea's 2009 squad - I stand by my previous comment
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