No, not Jonathan Woodgate branding house prices in London as "a joke" after revealing he was still living in a hotel more than a month after joining Tottenham Hotspur.

As an aside, I am sure the eight million people who call the capital home could empathise with the former Middlesbrough defender's plight when he said: "You could buy 10 penthouses up north for the price of something down here. When you see some of the houses, you think 'what?' House prices are a joke."

Indeed they are. Though possibly not as much of a joke as someone who earns £65,000 per week pleading poverty, but the modern day footballer is hardly renowned for his appreciation of life's sometimes harsh realities so I doubt Woodgate's comments came as a surprise to anyone.

No, it was the news that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has ploughed £578m into the club over the last four-and-a-half years that not so long ago would have come as a huge shock, but in reality came as a surprise to no-one.

In these days where takeovers are calculated in the hundreds of millions of pounds, perhaps the public's indifference is understandable. But it is still, when put in the context of English footballing history, a phenomenal amount and the question now has to be 'does the Russian feel he has got value-for-money?'

To the man in the street, the answer would no doubt be 'no' but then neither me nor you are worth in excess of £10 billion. Value-for-money being, of course, relative.

One consequence of Abramovich's investment has been the impact on standards at the very top of the Premier League with Arsenal and Manchester United having responded magnificently to the challenge of matching the Blues' expensively assembled squad. So much so, in fact, that it is Chelsea who are struggling to keep pace in the title race – ensuring a thrilling final few months of the season for supporters.

Some may disagree that it is Abramovich who has instigated this raising of standards but surely what is not in doubt is that Chelsea have been the big winners. Two Premier League titles and a host of Cups have been won by the Stamford Bridge club and that tally could grow further by the end of May as the Blues chase glory on only three fronts following yesterday's Carling Cup final defeat against Spurs.

And it is that pursuit of success that seems to excite Abramovich the most, so maybe he does feel £578m (and counting, of course, with Peter Kenyon's stated intention for Chelsea to break even by 2010 seeming optimistic at best) is, as the old saying goes, cheap at twice the price.