Cloudy

There are no percentages in the rules, just hard numbers. We're allowed to lose 20 mill in each of the next 2 years then it goes down to 10. You can spend anything you like on transfers as long as it comes from revenue and not someone's wallet. Problem no 1 is that we are currently losing 40 mil per year and problem 2 is that our revenue has gone down 20 mil in each of the last 3 years from 280 mil to 240 mil. Having got rid of some expensive players last summer we're probably running at 20 mil loss this season. The board has probably allocated 20ish mil in the budget for transfers but the days of spending 50-100m are over.

Break even rules come in 1st of July this year so Roman can't spend anymore unless we don't make it into Europe. In that case, he can spend all he wants since it won't matter. As for Pienaar, if I were him, I'd reject all moves and go on a free this summer to get a better deal.

We couldn't agree personal terms which either means he was asking for too much or wanted guarantees of a starting place. Looks like THFC will get him. He was asking for 75k/week which seems fair enough given that's what we pay Yossi.

I also think this is our last chance with the current squad before we go into a transitional phase. I'd really like Lampard, Terry, Drogba to win a CL.

Thanks everyone and no problem A13, welcome back.

Being a fan of Zola, I always notice small skillfull players. He's a good player and has done well. But I don't see him wanting to come here because he knows he will sit on the bench. I'm pretty sure he has played in most of Everton's games and would probably move to a team where he will be in the starting lineup.

Frank talks about his injury which hasn't completely healed http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2263244,00.html I've had a similar injury where my tendon has come off the bone and spent a few months doing intense physio. Even now decades later, I still have to do exercises to keep it strong.

From the pre-match press conference: "Roman never asked me to win. He asked me that his team play exciting football, this is our aim." Sounds like Arsenal. How would most of our fans cope with not winning anything for the next 5 years?

Sadly, I think the situation will get worse and the suits will have a lot more say in how things are run. The new break even rules have come in a couple of years too early for us. Newspapers were recently saying we'll report a £40mill loss for last season which is really bad news as we have to get close to break even this season. Roman can't open his wallet even if he wants to as it will take us over the limit so we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. The problem is our revenue which has been going backwards. Even Man City have overtaken us in secondary revenue.

Recently retired and now have lots of time on my hands. I've finally managed to escape London and moved to Cyprus. I chose the username Cloudy because that's what my mind feels like at times so go easy on me! Cloudy