Лампард Рийдингтэй хийх тоглолт бол жирийн л тоглолт ямар нэг ревенж байхгүй ээ гэжээ... хэхэхэ... хөөрхий Хиларио ч нэлээн айдастай л байгаа байх даа...
It's amazing what you can learn on the train. Not the jam packed, eyes down, plugged-in commute, but the Friday evening Waterloo to Edinburgh express.
It was on this bullet locomotive that a conversation with the excitable, beer imbibed young professional opposite me rammed home the realities of the commercial enterprise of elite football clubs.
At the launch of Chelsea's revolutionary new website a fortnight ago, Peter Kenyon envisaged Chelsea becoming "internationally recognised as the world's No1 football club by 2014". The former Umbro man used words like 'dynamic', 'brand' and 'sustainability', but these were simplistic compared to what the young professional had to offer as he told me all about how this website will work.
I first heard the phrase, "Build it and they will come" in Kevin Costner's movie Field of Dreams and this is particularly apt in the context of Kenyon's vision. The young man works for Premium TV, the company responsible for overhauling Chelsea's internet presence.
The flashy site, all sliding screens and streaming video, has been fully equipped with a "converged digital media strategy". This means that it is capable of incorporating all forms of media as they gradually morph into one form. Television, radio, fan forums, mobile access, video exclusives; they'll all happen at chelseafc.com. This is great in terms of interactivity and sets a precedent for the fans' everyday involvement with the club, but here comes the sinister bit.
Aware that not even Roman's empire will be built in a day, Chelsea want to use the website to grow their international fan base by means of a 'sticky' interface designed to keep fans on the site for longer and make sure they return sooner. Furthermore, the monitoring of the traffic through the website is outsourced by Premium TV to several different web analytics companies.
These companies compile demographic data which shows Chelsea's marketing men who's viewing what on the site, where from and for how long. This information can then be used for targeting new fans. You can just imagine Kenyon licking his lips at the prospect of being able to pinpoint which village in Mauritius needs a bit of blue love.
It's all very Orwellian but Chelsea aren't the only club to function like this by any stretch of the imagination. All the major clubs do it, just like any other corporation around the world - though it does make you wonder how helpful access to this information really is. Manchester United became the biggest club in the world by playing attacking football and stirring the emotions, so Chelsea won't overtake them with pretty graphics and seamless links.
Chelsea could win the Premiership eleven times and the Champions League five without coming near to displacing United in the game's affections. It's only possible to fall in love with a big club through joyous admiration, not grudging respect.
United's attacking verve also makes them vulnerable and it is this human element that is the key to their popularity. How can would-be fans across the globe possibly plump for Chelsea with their three-stripe armour, steely resolve and percentage play when Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo are steaming down the wings?
The new Chelsea website may be 'sticky', but Chelsea will soon find they come unstuck. When, in late January Ronaldo, Rooney and Henrik Larsson combine to score a goal of such buccaneering brilliance that Gary Neville is actually seen to
, "All for one, and one for all!", the penny might finally drop.
Kenyon and Jose Mourinho can coax and cajole fans with slick screens and silver trophies until they're blue in the face, but they can't engineer those golden moments.
гэж байна...