is plotting

a Roman

conquest

Audley must pick up pace

THE only way Chelsea will not dominate the Premiership in the future is if Roman Abramovic gets bored and walks away.

The poaching of Peter Kenyon from Manchester United has signalled that the London club has overtaken Old Trafford as the most powerful club in the country.

Chelsea may have spent £120 million on players in the summer but it is the signing of the United chief executive which is the most significant in terms of telling us how big Chelsea are and will be in the future.

This development has proved they are able to get anyone from any club whether it be on the pitch or in a managerial or executive position. That ability will ensure they take over from United as the new kings of English football.

Kenyon is regarded inside the game as far and away the best man at his job in the country.

United desperately wanted to keep him but they could not compete with Chelsea. When you can take a prized asset away from the biggest club in the country with such ease it indicates serious power in the hands of the Londoners.

It also signals the fact that Abramovic is looking long term. He wants his club to be run better than the rest and to spread the Chelsea word around the world -- and who better to handle the job than the man considered to be the best in the business.

This season may be too early for Chelsea to mould themselves into Premiership champions, an honour which will surely go to either United or Arsenal this season.

But, after that, it will be Chelsea leading the pack with United, Arsenal and the rest playing catch-up.

Time is

running

out for

Audley

Time for

Audley to

up pace

BOXING CLEVER?: Harrison is taking a cautious route to the title

AUDLEY Harrison will run out of time unless he speeds up his world title ambitions.

This week's simple but effective victory over yet another unknown shows he is being too cautious.

When he returned from Sydney with Olympic gold in 2000 he said he would give himself four years to become world champion.

His chances of becoming world champion in the next year are non-existent and, as he will be 32 next month, his hopes of ever taking the world crown could disappear before he ever gets round to fighting any serious contenders.

Harrison talks a good game and is big news in Britain but, on the world stage, he still only stands 93rd in the top 100 list.

It is understandable he does not want to be rushed. But no athlete ever won anything significant without stretching themselves and taking risks.

Share scheme

risks fan fury

FANS of Bristol Rovers and Bristol City will be alarmed at the agreement of their clubs to share a new 30,000-capacity stadium.

Supporters are fiercely proud of their home grounds and the thought of sharing is a non-starter.

Imagine the furore if City and United, Liverpool and Everton or Arsenal and Spurs announced they would be ground-sharing.

Every football ground has its own look, feel, history and, therefore, identity which their fans cherish. Bolton fans wouldn't want to share a ground with Manchester United just as Bury fans would reject proposals to ground-share with Rochdale.

It doesn't matter if a club has 2,000 fans or 50,000, they all feel their club is unique to them. And they don't want that feeling diluted by sharing a place often understandably described as their spiritual home.

However, in these financially stringent times it doesn't make sense to have football stadiums lying empty on a Saturday when they could be used by another club who could share the operational costs with their neighbours.

After all, it doesn't seem to have done much harm in Italy where AC and Inter, Roma and Lazio and Juventus and Torina all get along nicely in the same ground without affecting the inter-club rivalry among their supporters.

Pulling power

I CAN'T believe Nicolas Anelka cannot find the dream woman he says he needs to complete his life.

The athletic, multi-millionaire 24-year-old French Premiership star says he has everything he could possibly want except a woman and he will never feel fulfilled until he finds her.

Well if he gets himself along to Bolton on a Friday night he might get lucky.