ALL THAT GLISTENS IS NOT GOLD

So. The Community Shield is over, and the 11th encounter between Rafael Benitez's Liverpool Jose Mourinho's Chelsea went in favour of the Reds. A meaningless match for some, especially those Chelsea fans who stayed away and left the Blue half of the Millenium stadium unfilled, but there was plenty on display for the Premiership to ponder.

Inconceivable last year, but this season's Chelsea team looks thin on the flanks. Both in midfield AND defense. Geremi is a midfielder playing as a full-back, Paolo Ferreira looks uncomfortbale when run at, Joe Cole is a central midfielder played out of position on the wing, and Arjen Robben spends so much time on his backside one wonders if he has an inner ear problem.

On top of that, Frank Lampard has demonstrated that he has to be the dominant midfielder in the middle of the park, and his effectiveness is drastically reduced if this isn't the case. Given that Lampard had a disastrous World Cup alongside Steven Gerrard, the logic of signing Michael Ballack appears flawed. Lampard only shrugged of his torpor when Ballack went off injured in the 26th minute. By then however, he should have already received a red card for a petulant kick at Boudejiwn Zenden.

As at Real Madrid, it is painfully obvious that Claude Makelele is Chelsea's most important player, and that without him on the pitch they lack strength and discipline through the middle. It is unlikely that the dimunitive Frenchman would allowed John Arne Rise to pick up a headed clearance on the edge of his own box and run the length of the pitch before firing a 25 yard shot past Carlo Cudicini. A shot which Cudicini should have saved and Petr Cech would have. Even so, Makelele is 33 years old, and his motor will not continue to run forever.

According to some, Roman Abramovich's ambition - and so Chelsea's - this year is to win the European Cup. It is the one club trophy you really cannot win without Lady Luck on your side. All the money in the world cannot buy luck, and so come the end of the season Chelsea may still be looking enviously at the trophy with the big ears.

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE.... HULLO? ANYBODY THERE?

Every summer, the opening of the transfer market is greeted with cries of pessimism. "The prices are overinflated," or "the top players only go to the top clubs, which is uncompetitive," they naysay. This year the Italian Serie A scandal threatened to turn the whole market on its head, with a veritable smorgasbord of talent hoping to leave Italy. As a result, prices should have been driven down, due to the laws of supply and demand. But has this actually happened?

To start with, just look at some of the players available at the start of the sales: Carlos Tevez, Javier Maschereno, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack, Franck Ribery, and Fernando Torres. And all those without even mentioning players based in Serie A! These players (Van Nistelrooy apart) all have one thing in common: they have all been linked with the Chelsea.

"The Chelsea effect: a transfer phenomenon where a club buys players it does not always need, or pays vastly over the odds for players because resale value is not considered. Observance of transfer regulations is not necessary. See Abramovich, Roman."

It is one of the worst kept secrets in football that Chelsea bought Shaun Wright-Phillips to prevent him for signing for Arsenal... £21 million for only 10 starts: not many clubs could afford that! Michael Ballack was also close to signing for Manchester Utd as a replacement for Roy Keane in a deep lying playmaking position, before an abrupt about-face brought him to Stamford Bridge. As soon as big clubs notice a player, his value triples as agents get involved and he is linked to Chelsea. A case in point: Franc Ribery. Playing in the French Lower leagues two years ago, two decent performances in the World Cup, one good season for Marseille, and he is linked with a move to Chelsea and valued at £24 million. Madness!

Prices have risen because of one club, or rather one man: Roman Abramovich. Within the Premier League, Man Utd have just paid £18.6 million for Michael Carrick. A fine player, but as yet unproven on the big stage. For that money, Alex Ferguson could have signed Patrick Vieira, Fabio Cannevaro, and David Trezeguet. All proven, high class players, in their prime, and capable of providing instant success. But the transfer fee itself is not the only problem. The players mentioned all command high basic wages in excess of £3 million a year. Not many clubs can afford that, especially now that the top Italian clubs (apart from Inter) have been removed from the mix.

Take the example of Atletico Madrid's Fernando Torres. The 22 year old striker has been long linked with a move away from the Calderon, but was never going to move from a club where he is first name on the team sheet in a World Cup year. Sitting on the bench at Chelsea or Barcelona is not known to help a claim for an international starting place! A decent showing during the World Cup has helped Torres keep his value, and Atletico let it be known that he would not be sold cheaply.Unfortunately for them, the Serie A scandal has meant that players like David Trezeguet or Luca Toni were available for less than the Torres' £25 million pound asking price. So there were no takers, and Torres has said that he will stay for the two years remaining on his contract. One can imagine the late Jesus Gil looking down in apoplexy! Effectively, this means that a little over 12 months from now, Torres can agree a pre-contract with whomever he wants, leaving Atletico with nothing to show for their nurturing of a potentially great talent.

Every post World Cup transfer market is usually extremely busy with players being traded to and fro, as the latest one tournament wonders are sold for big money. This year it hasn't happened. A combination of the Italian scandal and l'effet Chelsea looming over football like 2001's monolith has helped ensure that, in the short term at least, most clubs have managed to hold on to their coveted players. Although the Bosman law is an ever present danger, a lot can change in the next couple of years. Who knows, maybe salary caps and transfer budget controls will be in place sooner than we think...

ITALIANS FEARING THE ROD ESCAPE WITH SLAPPED WRISTS

Forced to rush decisions and appeals through the sporting courts, the Italian FA (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, or FIGC) have announced the punishment to be meted out to the quartet of clubs involved in the biggest domestic scandal since the Totonero affair in 1982.

How odd it must be to be an Italian football fan at the moment! On the 9th July, Fabio Cannevaro hoisted the World Cup into the air, making Italy the second most successful team in World Cup final history, behind Brazil. However, seven players from the starting eleven were from the clubs involved in this massive affair (Lazio, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Juventus) and were facing a summer of uncertainty.

Earlier this year, wiretaps that had been part of the now infamous doping trial involving Juventus were released to the media. Those tapes revealed:

• the then Juventus general manager, Luciano Moggi, putting pressure on Pierluiggi Pairetto, the vice-chairman of Uefa's referees' commission, to appoint a referee who would be "favourable" to Juventus.
• that Moggi and former Juve chairman Antonio Giraudo allegedly detained referee Gianluca Paparesta and his two assistants in a changing room after Juve's 2-1 loss at Reggina in November 2004. They apparently berated the officials for not favouring Juve during the game.
• that Moggi leant on government minister Giuseppe Pisanu to permit matches to be played despite the imminent death of Pope John Paul II - Juventus were scheduled to play against Fiorentina, who had two players suspended and two injured.

In separate cases, Moggi was also being investigated in Naples and Rome for illegal gambling and the running of a business owned by his son, Alessandro.

Stefano Palazzi, FIGC's prosecutor, originally called for Juventus to be relegated two divisions and for AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio to be relegated one. He also recommended point deductions and that Juventus be stripped of their 2005 and 2006 titles. This, to me at least, seemed fair in light of the severity of the offences. Even if Juventus were at the centre of the web, the other clubs had colluded with them and were implicit in the transgressions.

FIGC handed out the initial punishments and the inevitable appeal followed. This was made all the more pressing by the 27th July deadline for the registration of clubs involved in European competition. Amid fears of a fan backlash and rioting, the appeal was rushed through and the punishments drastically reduced.

• Juventus: Stripped of 2005 and 2006 titles, out of 2006-2007 Champions League, relegated to Serie B, three home games behind closed doors, and deducted thirty points for 2006-2007 season. On appeal, the points deduction was reduced to seventeen.
• Fiorentina: Relegated to Serie B, out of 2006-2007 Champions League, two match stadium ban, deducted twelve points from 2006-2007 season. On appeal, the club were reinstated to Serie A, and the points deduction increased to nineteen.
• Lazio: Relegated to Serie B, out of 2006-2007 UEFA Cup, two match stadium ban, deducted seven points for 2006-2007 season. On appeal, the club were reinstated to Serie A, an dthe points deduction increased to eleven.
• AC Milan: Stay in Serie A, one match stadium ban, deducted fourty-four points from 2005-2006 season, fifteen points for 2006-2007 season. On appeal, the 2005-2006 points deduction was reduced to thirty, and the 2006-2007 points deduction was reduced to eight. With the penalties imposed on the other clubs, this crucially allows AC Milan to play in the 2006-2007 Champions League third qualifying round.

In my view, this was an opportunity missed. Italy is the county of conspiracy theories, in all walks of life, and none more so than football. The general consensus is that the big teams, and especially Juventus, get helping hands from referees (Alessandro Del Piero's clearly offside winner twenty minutes from time in La Vecchia Signora's 1-0 over Udinese in February 2006 has been often cited by Calcio fans with regards to the current scandal. It is also worth noting that Udinese's Sulley Muntari received a second yellow card for a non-existent foul in the thirty-seventh minute during the same match. The result put Juventus eight points clear of second placed Inter, rather than six if they had drawn). This would have been the perfect opportunity for FIFA, as world governing body, to make a statement of intent and clean up Serie A. The problem is that too much money is at stake, and FIFA do not want the world's press wondering about the content of their bank accounts.

So, despite all the media frenzy, the actual sentences handed out are relatively light, and might be reduced even further now the clubs have proceeded with an appeal to CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee. This is mandatory before any appeal can be lodged in the civil court. As a result of this, the start of the Italian season has been delayed by two weeks until September 9th. CONI hope to have a verdict by August 25th. Meanwhile, UEFA have allowed AC Milan to participate in the Champions League, a curious ruling when one considers that Marseille were banned for match fixing in 1995. Silvio Berlusconi pulling strings, perhaps?

Given that the corruption uncovered is so extensive, can the FIGC be expected to self-regulate this mess? The acting FIGC boss Guido Rossi has pushed through Serie A's biggest rule ever reform, ending the reign of Franco Carraro as FIGC's president (a huge change: Carrero having presided over doping problems, false passports, and tax skulduggery – whilst only ever doing what the big clubs wish), ending Adriano Galliani’s ludicrous conflict of interest via his positions with both Milan and the League, and even moving towards a new collective TV rights deal (rather than individual payments to each club). It is a brighter, cleaner and fairer Calcio – and all in the space of just three months. And yet still suspicions remain... Would any true professional want to play in a league where the sporting achievements are suspected of not actually being sporting?