Heady days but Roman road could ruin the rest

Bates is anxious to play down the hysteria surrounding the arrival of Abramovich, but even the chairman must allow himself to think of the delicious irony of

the situation. He occupies a seat that has more clout, financially at least, than that of his major rival, David Dein at Arsenal. Should Abramovich decide to make an offer to Highbury for Thierry Henry, Bates might be unable to mask his joy. It would confirm the fact that there is a shift in the balance of power not only in London but also in British football towards Chelsea's Fulham Road headquarters.

Chelsea have burst into the elite group of clubs who still have the financial muscle to survive the pressures that have built up in the past few years due to inflated wages and massive transfer fees. Indeed, Chelsea are set to buck that trend and break all previous records if they embark on a frenzied summer spending spree before they begin their Champions League campaign in early August.

The £25m that Real Madrid paid Manchester United for David Beckham looked certain to be the biggest piece of business taking place this summer.

Even though many observers felt the sum represented good value for Real because of Beckham's marketing possibilities, it was still a clear signal of financial reality across Europe - even English champions United, it seemed, had accepted that they had to sell before they could fund the reconstruction of their playing staff.

Chelsea, thanks to the Russian benefactor, have been fasttracked into Europe's mega-rich inner circle when many big names in the game are sailing incredibly close to the wind.

Barcelona are prime examples. New president Joan Laporta and his right-hand man Sandro Rosell simply refuse to bow to the incredible wage demands of Holland's Patrick Kluivert.

They would rather let him go for a knock-down £1.2m. Contrast that with Chelsea's financial power and you get some idea of how their mind- boggling resources are out of line with the rest of the continent.

Indeed, Rosell said recently that the rest of the Spanish clubs were supportive of Barcelona's tough boardroom stance and were beginning to show a willingness to conduct their business in a similar fashion. He admitted that in Spain they now have to wait until Real move in the transfer market. They accept that they are unable to compete with Madrid financially and have to take their pick from the remaining players.

A similar fate may await the rest of the Premiership now that Chelsea are in a position to offer the cream of Europe's talent a better deal than they could get from anybody else.