Though it would be unfair to hold their wealth against them, we can insist that their financial muscle does not buy them the right to throw their weight about. They have assumed an unappealing arrogance, perfectly illustrated by the way they are said to have summoned Cole to a west London hotel to discuss a possible transfer - and then denied it ever happened.
This "tapping" of another club's contracted player is not uncommon, but if the Premier League allow Chelsea to get away with a case of this significance what kind of message would that send to the rest of the professional game?
