Wikipedia has no love for ‘cunning’ Chelsea

Ollie Irish

9th, July 2009

4 Comments

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‘I thought being Chelsea manager would be more glamourous than this.’
Ross Turnbull is the first signing of the Carlo Ancelotti era. The English goalkeeper, 24, was signed on a free transfer from Middlesbrough.
But I wonder if Ancelotti had anything to do with this transfer, other than to approve it. Apparently Chelsea took an interest in Turnbull last season, so he can’t be considered an Ancelotti signing.
I had to laugh at the Wikipedia entry for Turnbull, which assumes that there is a very logical reason behind the signing of a player who will see almost no first-team football next season. The entry goes:

‘On 2 July 2009, Turnbull joined Chelsea FC in a cunning ploy for Chelsea to overcome a new homegrown players rule from UEFA in which 8 homegrown players have to be named amongst a 25 man squad for the UEFA Champions league.’

A cunning ploy, eh? How very objective of Wikipedia to say that. It may indeed be true that Chelsea signed Turnbull to boost their homegrown pool of players, but the wording makes it sound as if Chelsea signed Turnbull for no other reason than to make up the numbers. Perhaps that is the case. It seems to me that Chelsea wanted a cheap, English keeper to make it easier to buy expensive, non-English outfielders.
Turnbull is a talented young keeper, but he is now a talented third-choice keeper and you wonder if at 24, it’s the best move for his long-term career.
EDITED I see Turnbull’s Wiki entry has since been changed to the more mundane: ‘On 2 July 2009, Turnbull joined Chelsea on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract.’
Very fast work by the Wiki police.

Posted in Chelsea, Transfers & Rumours

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4 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    “…you wonder if at 24, it’s the best move for his long-term career.”
    Speak for yourself. I wonder no such thing.
    Perhaps you should be more concerned about your own long-term career prospects if this standard of article is typical of your output.

  2. Ollie says:

    Defensive kneejerk bullshit from a Chelsea fan who sees a story about his club and assumes it’s negative.
    And explain to me how being a third-choice keeper in the prime of your career is a good move? Otherwise, move along. (A move to Chelsea worked well for other Englishmen like Scott Parker, SWP and Steve Sidwell, didn’t it?)

  3. EuroBlue says:

    The premise of your article is fundamentally flawed. Who is this ‘Wikipedia’ that you assume was responsible for this kind of language? er, there is no Mr Wikipedia frantically compiling a huge online encyclopedia, there are thousands of individual contributors. One of whom penned the Ross Turnbull page, and let rip with some not-very-complimentary remarks. Don’t worry, it will be taken down soon enough.

  4. Blue West says:

    Tricky dilemna for a 24-year old English keeper:
    Do I stay with a poorly-supported team that has lost its confidence and will play in the Championship at the likes of Swansea, Blackpool and Peterborough?
    Or should I sign for one of the world’s best teams, guaranteed a place in the Champions League squad and challenge myself to get back into England reckoning in World Cup year?
    Cunning? Simplesz.

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