Roman Abramovich's 5 years at Chelsea: Good or bad for football?

Everyone has an opinion about Roman Abramovich.

The Russian oligarch pitched up at Stamford Bridge five years ago this week, with a wad in his pocket and mission to conquer Europe.

The cash Roman has splashed is eye-watering .. but has he been good or bad for football?

We asked Gordon Taylor and Richard Bevan. They agreed to disagree.

GORDON TAYLOR says: He's been good for the game

Roman Abramovich has been credited with helping make the Premier League the best in the world.

Players' chief Gordon Taylor claims Chelsea's billionaire owner has made the Premier League No.1 by buying many of the world's brightest stars.

And Taylor claims this has had a knock-on effect at Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, who have also all bought big to compete with the Blues.

"Because of the money Roman Abramovich has spent since he's come in, he's raised the bar significantly," said Taylor.

"He is one of the main reasons why the Premier League is now the most dominant league in the world - a fact reflected last season in the Champions League, where three of the semifinalists were English clubs.

"Look at the world stars he's brought to Chelsea - Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Petr Cech. He paid for all of them and the last five years have been a magic carpet ride for Chelsea fans.

"He's raised the competitive edge of the Premier League.

"Whereas before it was a Big Two of Manchester United and Arsenal, now it's a Big Four with Chelsea and Liverpool also in the mix.

"He made Chelsea's rivals raise their own standards to compete with them. Look at how well Manchester United have come back under Sir Alex Ferguson, while Liverpool went out and signed Fernando Torres.

"He was the first foreign multi-millionaire to see the attraction of the Premier League and, really, he set a course for others like the Glazers and Hicks and Gillett to follow.

"I know everyone has their own view - and Michel Platini is not happy with the effect he has had on the English game - but it would be churlish not to recognise the good he has done in the Premier League."

Abramovich is bankrolling new boss Luiz Felipe Scolari's rebuilding job at Stamford Bridge, despite having already spent several hundred million on players.

Taylor praised the ongoing commitment, and added: "What's clear from watching Roman Abramovich is that he loves his football. He loves Chelsea and has a huge desire to see them succeed.

"He's not a 'here-today, gone tomorrow' character and he's proved that by continuing to put his hand in his pocket to back his manager, whoever that may be.

"He also likes to see football played the right way and he wants Chelsea to play attractive football. That's one of the reasons why he sometimes gets frustrated."

Taylor is always keen to look out for the interests of British players and says the Russian has always been prepared to spend big on home-grown talent.

"He's not built a team totally dominated by foreign players," said Taylor. "Yes, they've bought Ricardo Carvalho and Nicolas Anelka, but they've also bought Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips - and nurtured John Terry, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole.

"That English heart is very important to Chelsea and that has been the cornerstone of their success under Abramovich."

RICHARD BEVAN says: He's been bad for the game

Roman Abramovich has been accused of being ruthless and meddling in team affairs.

League Managers' chief Richard Bevan claims Abramovich's love of the game means he wants a big say in the running of his side.

Bevan heard how Abramovich told friends in Russia that he decides what happens on the pitch to the extent that he even picks which players to buy.

Abramovich is already on to his fourth manager in five years in Luiz Felipe Scolari and Bevan said: "I was told that at a dinner in Russia, Roman Abramovich said he wanted more involvement in the football side of the business. It was his true love.

"He said that he had contributed 30 per cent to the club regarding on-the-pitch activity, which is unusual from a chairman's perspective, and you can take it from that he was signing players.

"Maybe that was because Avram Grant was a close friend and they spoke regularly. I'd like to think he'll sit back a bit more and let Scolari get on with the job."

Bevan claims Abramovich showed his tough streak when he sacked Grant as manager, even though the Israeli had led Chelsea to their first Champions League final.

"It's not a normal club, Chelsea," he said. "Roman Abramovich is one of the world's richest men and he wants trophies. He wants short-termism. He wants to win tomorrow.

"There are half a dozen clubs around the world which operate like that if they do not achieve what they define as success.

"The slightly disappointing thing from our perspective was that in July they said they had met with Avram Grant to set out their medium-term and long-term goals, but they then removed him after such a short time."

Chelsea legend Pat Nevin claims Abramovich's policy of hoovering up the best players has hurt the England team.

He cited the examples of Scott Parker and Glen Johnson, whose England careers went into reverse when they moved to Stamford Bridge.

"Scott Parker looked like he was going to be a regular in England squads for years to come when he went to Chelsea and look what happened," said Nevin.

"It was the same with Glen Johnson, who also struggled.

"If you are a young player and Chelsea come in for you, it is hard to say no.

"But it's harder and harder for young English players to make their mark . At somewhere like Chelsea they won't break through until they are 22 or 23.

"If you're going to be an international player, you need to be playing regular first-team football when you're 17 or 18.

"Those five years are vital to your development. The very, very best players like John Terry do make it, but for the rest it is hard.

"I feel England have suffered because of this, although it's not just about Chelsea. It's happening at all the big clubs."

THEN AND NOW

PRE-ROMAN

Last Premiership game of the 2002-03 season. Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1 - May 11 2003.
Starting XI: Cudicini, Melchiot, Gallas, Desailly, Babayaro, Gronkjaer, Petit, Lampard, Le Saux, Hasselbaink, Gudjohnsen

LAST GAME

Champions League final, 2007-2008 season. Man 1 Chelsea 1 - May 21 2008.
Starting XI: Cech, Essien, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole, Ballack, Makelele, Lampard, Malouda, J Cole, Drogba

ABRAMOVICH BY NUMBERS

6 The total number of trophies Chelsea have won. including..

2 Premiership titles. They were successful in 2005 and 2006.

1 FA Cup. They beat Man Utd 1-0 in the 2007 final

2 League Cups. They beat Liverpool (2005) and Arsenal (2007)

2 The number of Abramovich women - When he bought Chelsea he was married to Irina. He divorced her in 2007 for current squeeze Daria Zhukova.

£11.7billion The number of billions Roman has in his bank account according to the Sunday Times Rich List

Abramovich shopping bill season-by-season

He transformed Chelsea from also-rans into title winners. Here are the players he paid for .. plus the bosses' wages

June 2003-04 Total: £130.6m

Damien Duff - £17m
Wayne Bridge - £7m
Joe Cole - £6.6m
Scott Parker - £10m
Glen Johnson - £6m
Seba Veron - £15m
Hernan Crespo - £16.8m
Claude Makelele - £16.6m
Adrian Mutu - £15.8m
Geremi - £7m
Alexei Smertin - 3.4m
Claudio Ranieri - £10.6m (£2.6m per year & £8m payoff)

June 2004-05 Total: £98.2m

Didier Drogba - £24m
Ricardo Carvalho - £19.8m
Paulo Ferreira - £13.2m
Arjen Robben - £12m
Tiago - £8m
Petr Cech - £7m
Jiri Jarosik - £5m
Mateja Kezman - £5m
Jose Mourinho - £4.2m

June 2005-06 Total: £59.6m

Michael Essien - £24.4m
Shaun Wright-Phillips - £21m
Asier Del Horno - 8m
Lassana Diarra - £1m
Jose Mourinho - £5.2m

June 2006-07 Total: £70.2m

Andriy Shevchenko - £30m
John Obi-Mikel - £15m
Salomon Kalou - £8m
Khalid Bourlarouz - £7m
Ashley Cole - £5m
Jose Mourinho - £5.2m

June 2007-08 Total: £51m

Nicholas Anelka - £15m
Branislav Ivanovic - £9m
Jose Mourinho - £20m payoff
Avram Grant - £7m (£2m per year & £5m payoff)

Total = £409.6m Plus cost of club (£140m) = £549.6m

Total spending on players: £378m

Most expensive signing: Shevchenko (AC Milan) £30.8m

Avram Grant: £24m on 3 players

Jose Mourinho: £225.8m on 24 players

Claudio Ranieri: £128.2m on 25 players