Sixty seven thousand fans will watch Chelsea play Seattle Sounders today at Qwest Field. Approximately 700 tickets are still available from Ticketmaster, but if you don’t live in the Seattle area, you can watch the game in the U.S. on ESPN2 at 3pm ET.

Yesterday, Chelsea played a practice at Qwest field in Seattle in front of 4,500 supporters. Before the session began, Chelsea players kicked mini-soccer balls into the crowd and then proceeded to go through their warm-up drills (see above video) before playing an eleven-on-eleven practice game (see video below).

Thanks to EPL Talk reader Matthew Gardner for sharing his photographs with us of Chelsea’s practice from yesterday. View the Chelsea training slideshow on Flickr.

In the meantime, be sure to follow EPL Talk on Twitter for the latest updates from Chelsea’s US tour, as well as the breaking news stories involving Premier League clubs.

Graham Smith, longtime goalkeeper in English Football and current manager in the United States. Smith recently recommended Anton Peterlin to David Moyes, and now the midfielder has been transferred to the Toffees. Here Smith’s thoughts on Burnley’s promotion to the EPL, and his memories of playing in England. He also discusses his views on the current state of the Premier League. Following the interview we hear from Misha Sher of Soccerex on his thoughts about Real Madrid’s spending spree.

During day two of Chelsea’s US tour, the squad visited Seahawks training facility in Renton, Washington. Chelsea players Frank Lampard, John Terry, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack took tips from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (pictured) before heading over to their 4pm PT training session at Qwest Field.

Chelsea are preparing for tomorrow’s 3pm ET game against Seattle Sounders, which will be televised live on ESPN2.

If you’re going to the game and are interested in taking pictures or writing about your experiences, please contact me at thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com

Was I dreaming or did I really see Sir Alex on television this week, complaining about the high prices of players in today’s transfer market? This man once helped set the standard for the ÜBER-BIG SPENDING. He would never hesitate to bring in enough top players for nearly two starting XIs worth of winners. He was always willing to go over the top to get what he wanted. (Inspiring the 2006 hit single: £18m for Michael Carrick, are you serious?) We are in trouble if it’s gotten so bad Sir Alex is upset. It’s like your severe alcoholic uncle suggesting you organize an intervention for someone else in the family. Well, my God… how bad is Aunt Sadie doing if Uncle Ted thinks she needs help?? Alarm bells galore.

And yes: Florentino Pérez is Aunt Sadie.

Pérez has pushed the roof of the market so far into the stratosphere, the £7m Sir Alex spent on Andy Cole in 1995, a record at the time, seems like bargain basement prices and even the £29m spent on Rio Ferdinand in 2002 can now barely raise an eyebrow. Pérez is out to make Roman Abramovich look like a pre-holiday Ebenezer Scrooge. He has made it clear: no price it too high, and no club debt is too deep. (I just hope he loses interest in Xabi Alonso soon. That saga is getting staler than a horny drunk following the cute waitress around the restaurant.)

Surely, when Real Madrid agreed to pay out £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex had expansive plans for the new cash.  It wasn’t so long ago such a heap of funds would be good for three or four world class players. In this market, he’d be lucky to get two out of it. And, ironically, the bundle he got for his star number 7 helped cause the price hike now causing his transfer window migrane.

I hate to be caught agreeing with Sir Alex: but this market is insane.

The money one would need to shell out for a David Villa or an Ibrahimovic… it hurts my head just to think about it.

Of the English clubs, nobody outside Manchester City seems to be making big moves. I know it’s early but this transfer window seems to be lacking the usual buzz. Is everybody waiting for that perfect move? Or are they all as frustrated as Sir Alex? They must be.

It’s always been money. We’re always shocked when the prices go up. But the record-breaking amounts this time around are beyond staggering. There’s a jump in the curve. The train is about to fly off the tracks.

Hopefully, these recent moves are merely spikes in the transfer market’s heart rate. Not signs of cardiac arrest. Hopefully, the fees of Ronaldo and Kaká are brief anomolies and not signs of a new standard. I’m hoping most of the big clubs turn their backs on these ridiculous kinds of prices, and as a result the prices won’t sustain. Real and City can’t buy everybody. They don’t have room. 

Transfer fees have skyrocketed because the clubs with the best wares think United, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc are willing to pay (that or they are overpricing through the roof to hold on to their goods). If the English clubs turn to inexpensive lesser-knowns over the pricey sure bets, then perhaps the market will shift back to relative sanity in future windows.

However, if these high prices insist on kicking their stinking feet into the winter and next summer, I hope (perhaps naïvely) that the backlash will see English clubs turn more and more to their youth systems. Like a giant market reset button. Bring up the kids and give ‘em a chance. You can’t afford the next Cristiano Ronaldo? The next Thierry Henry? Make one.

Well, that’s an exaggeration. But Ronaldo himself was not a sure bet when he first came to United. His world-classiness came later. The next cheap genius could be out there somewhere. The winning lottery ticket. Liverpool  just bought Chris Mavinga from PSG. United have signed Mame Biram Diouf from Molde FK. And Arsenal are always going after the young and the unknown—(well, they may have gone too young at once last season, but when this crop ripens, who knows?) Point is any of these players could blossom into the next superstar. With the proven talent getting too expensive, it may be the best time ever to give new players a chance. 

Through a combination of taking risks and developing youth, clubs could undermine the current demands of the market’s top shelf. Otherwise, if enough clubs give in to these ridiculous fees, £60m+ will soon become the new standard for the best players and Ronaldo won’t be the last to hit the £80m mark. And £100m is just around the corner…

Where will it end? (Wait… I’m really not sure I want the answer to that question.)

Manchester City supporters poked fun at their cross-town rival Man United this morning by hanging this poster on the Victoria Bridge in the city (see above picture).