It’s an often repeated phrase that the worst thing a person can do is win the first bet they place, whether that’s in a casino or at a racetrack or a football match.
One you’ve felt that rush of a win, it’s hard to beat it, and even if you start losing, you’ve had a taste of the good times and want more. It’s all part of the psychology of gambling addiction.
Transfer chiefs hooked on deals just like fans
It’s much the same with Chelsea’s transfer strategy these days – it doesn’t matter how many times you lose money on a Joao Felix, hitting the jackpot on a Cole Palmer was such a rush that the sporting directors can’t wait to roll the dice again.
That partly explains why Chelsea are taking such a different approach to transfers at the moment. The conventional wisdom is to take things slowly. Blow things up at the start of the project if you need to, but once you’ve got a blank slate, fill it slowly and methodically. Don’t shake things up for the sake of shaking them up – let players develop and grow together as a team.
Chelsea are taking a different approach. They’re happy to sell or loan players within 6 months of buying them. Their idea is just to keep rolling dice until you’ve got sixes all round.
Chelsea’s disruptive approach could lead to first team regulars leaving regularly
This ownership’s approach to contracts was already pretty revolutionary, and now we’re seeing a similar “disruptive” angle on squad building. Take Noni Madueke for example. Ten years ago, no team would have thought of selling their 23 year old England international winger who was among the most regularly used players in the squad last season, especially not to a direct rival like Arsenal.
But it seems like Chelsea are considering doing just that, hoping to raise €60m which can be spent in the market on trying to find someone even better.
It’s a fascinating new approach and we’re curious to see how it works out in the long run. Sometimes conventional wisdom exists for a good reason – and sometimes it’s just old school thinking waiting to be blown away by someone brave enough to challenge the status quo.
Certainly for fans and journalists, it makes following the Blues even more thrilling in the summer than it was when Roman Abramovich was in charge.
We can’t wait to see what’s next.
