Chelsea's penny is worth spending
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Peter Kenyon has shrugged off criticism of Chelsea's spending by insisting the Blues have a much smaller squad than many of their rivals.
Kenyon argued the millions spent by Chelsea in pursuit of success was nothing more than taking advantage of market forces and refused to accept they were acting against the best interests of the game.
"We have taken a conscious decision that the core of our team should be English," said Kenyon. "It adds identity. If players do not play, they go backwards. It doesn't work to have a big squad."
Kenyon was speaking at the Soccerex conference in Dubai.
"When you look around, there are not that many players who can improve your team. There are lots who can do a job but to improve the team, that's when the market becomes very thin.
"We did not take a one-year view of Shevchenko. He was identified early on as a player who could improve us. Until then, our purchasing strategy was about buying much younger players. It's about getting the balance right between buying in and producing your own talent to create a winning team."
That balance, said Kenyon, also applied in terms of how many foreign imports it was sensible to employ.
FIFA and UEFA are both pursuing different quota proposals and Kenyon said: "Quotas are going to happen, there is no question about that.
"But we have to make sure we don't kill an element of the game that has made us successful. I'm all in favour of quotas per squad but if you start imposing how many you have to play in any 11, that's too prescriptive."
Kenyon argued the millions spent by Chelsea in pursuit of success was nothing more than taking advantage of market forces and refused to accept they were acting against the best interests of the game.
"We have taken a conscious decision that the core of our team should be English," said Kenyon. "It adds identity. If players do not play, they go backwards. It doesn't work to have a big squad."
Kenyon was speaking at the Soccerex conference in Dubai.
"When you look around, there are not that many players who can improve your team. There are lots who can do a job but to improve the team, that's when the market becomes very thin.
"We did not take a one-year view of Shevchenko. He was identified early on as a player who could improve us. Until then, our purchasing strategy was about buying much younger players. It's about getting the balance right between buying in and producing your own talent to create a winning team."
That balance, said Kenyon, also applied in terms of how many foreign imports it was sensible to employ.
FIFA and UEFA are both pursuing different quota proposals and Kenyon said: "Quotas are going to happen, there is no question about that.
"But we have to make sure we don't kill an element of the game that has made us successful. I'm all in favour of quotas per squad but if you start imposing how many you have to play in any 11, that's too prescriptive."
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