Patience i$ a Virtue

Since the arrival of new owner Roman Abramovich and manager Jose Mourinho, Chelsea has become a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks to the deep pockets of Abramovich, as well as the shrewd tactics and gamesmanship of Mourinho, Chelsea has become the team to beat in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.

Like a child in a candy shop, Mourinho always wants more. And this year, after the success of the Portuguese experiment, Chelsea has added Germany's captain Michael Ballack (free transfer), Cote d'Ivoire's Salomon Kalou (transfer fee undisclosed) and John Obi Mikel (16 million pounds), a young Nigerian midfielder who has shown a lot of promise, to his star-studded squad.

But the crown jewel of them all is Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, bought from Milan at a staggering 30.8 million pounds, a record for the Premier League.

But is it money well spent?

Mourinho has been known as a quick-reacting and sharp-witted manager, who is not hesitant to make switches on the field when things aren't going well for the team. His decision to replace an ineffective Asier Del Horno with Damien Duff after just half an hour in the match against Portsmouth, has sparked the team to a comfortable victory.

And when Shevchenko revealed in early May that he might want to leave Milan, Mourinho and Chief Executive Peter Kenyon decided to act quickly by making an offer that Milan and Shevchenko could not reject. Eventually Shevchenko signed with Chelsea on May 31.

But weeks later, it was confirmed that Milan has also been involved in the match-fixing scandal, and would eventually be docked a massive 44 points and 15 points for the past season and this coming season respectively, and is banned from this year's Champions League as well.

Had Chelsea not acted THAT quickly but shown a little bit of patience, they may benefit from the expected player exodus from Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio and Milan. It would have cost Chelsea far less money to lure the star striker.

Don't get me wrong, Shevchenko has always been one of my favourites, and is worth every penny of whatever price they are willing to pay. But by reacting too quickly, Chelsea has, unwittingly and unwisely, raised the price for their target which Milan, now in all sorts of trouble, may now be willing to sell at a far lower price.

Abramovich is a rich man, and Mourinho is a man of great pride and respect. But I wonder whether such lavish spending would have any adverse effect on the team in the long run.