Lampard dives and Chelsea prove winning isn't everything

Chelsea have won the double and credit where credit is due, they have deserved it. Firstly their manager is a good chap and deserves a lot of credit for the way he has gone about his business this season, it has been quite out of character for Chelsea FC. Secondly in pure footballing terms they have been the best team in the country, they are hard to break down and have some top class attacking players. Anyway enough of the praise, despite their success there is a malignant undercurrent at Stamford Bridge and it has been the case ever since a certain oligarch started artificially pumping millions into this small west London club.

The way their players have gone about their business on and off the pitch this season has been a shambles to say the least, John Terry is the tip of a very very embarrassing Chelsea iceberg. In recent weeks we have seen Drogba's petulance, Lampard's squabbling and diving, Cole's niggling, Anelka's whinging, Terry's breeding and family show. This bunch will never be popular in the eyes of neutral football fans, they will never be remembered fondly as all round great players and good men, they did the former and forgot about the latter, they won things but didn't do it with class, they have shown to me and many others that there is much much more to life than simply winning things and short term achievement, the way one goes about things is infinitely important and Chelsea have forgotten this. From Abrahmovich to Kenyon, from Drogba to Cole, Chelsea have the win at all costs mentality, this is true, but at what cost?

In contrast Pompey are another story and perversely the way in which Roman's money has resulted in hyper-inflationary transfer fee and wage rises has been a big part in clubs like Portsmouth going under. Of course they also have themselves to blame for some woeful financial mismanegement. The Chelseas and Man Cities of this world have chucked millions around and it comes at a price, other clubs have tried to compete, but the results are unsustainable and many clubs are dying as a result. Arguably the game we love is a at risk of losing its heart, its soul, as a result of this wanton spending at the top.

Surely something must be down to stop the unsustainable loss making spending that some clubs are engaging in, the beauty of winning is being lost, winning at any cost does not make sense for the long term interests of the game. Chelsea may be thriving but the game we love is not, clubs with big hearts and great fans like Pompey are withering away before our very eyes. So this year Chelsea win the double, but they continue to make massive losses, while record numbers of clubs go into administration, is it just me who thinks something is going badly wrong here? For me everything come at a price, winning is not the be all and end all, the process is all important, if we lost sight of this fact then we will have a game left but it will have no soul, and a game with no soul is lifeless.