London, England - From cutting down on the number of free match tickets for players to rumours that even meals at the training ground have to be paid for, it is clear that the credit crunch is hitting Roman Abramovich as hard as anyone.

Now a new financial survey claims that the Chelsea owner's wealth has plummeted by 3.8 billion pounds ($8.3 billion) in a year - from 10.8 billion pounds to 7 billion pounds - to send him tumbling from the top of British football's rich list to a humbling third place, reported The Independent.

To add insult to the injury inflicted on his wallet, the Russian tycoon has not only been overtaken by a fellow Premier League club owner but also by a man who is part-owner of a club in the second-tier of the English game.

According to the list by FourFourTwo magazine, the new owner of Manchester City Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is now No. 1 with a personal fortune of 15 billion pounds.

He is joint-owner of Championship side Queens Park Rangers along with Formula One's Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore.

Abramovich's financial woes have left Chelsea with a January transfer chest that is virtually empty.

And manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is angry that he cannot even spend the 12 million  pounds that came from Wayne Bridge's transfer to Manchester City.

It does not help that the Blues have failed to win consecutive League games for two months and again dropped points when drawing with Fulham on Dec 2, a result they matched after lowly Southend forced a replay with a late equaliser in the FA Cup last Saturday.

Matters will come to a head on Sunday when they take their stuttering form to Old Trafford in a League clash with Manchester United. It will have a crucial bearing on where the title ends up this season.

Midfielder Frank Lampard said: 'A game against United will always be a table-topping clash and it's in our minds that we dropped some relatively easy points over the last few weeks, so we're in a position now where we really want to get a result.

'We go to win the game or not to get beaten. There is still a long way to go regardless but it is a very important game.'

Lampard is confident that they will be able to break down the champions.

'United always give you a bit of time on the ball and we need to make the most of that with passing and moving, and hopefully we have the players up front who can score goals.

'We know we have it in our means to beat them.'

Despite United's open style, Scolari is afraid to go with an attacking line-up by playing strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka together in a 4-4-2 formation.

He said: 'I will play 4-4-2 when I have a winger who can play on the left and with his left foot. Florent Malouda is the only player who can play with his left foot and he is injured. Everyone else is right-footed.'

In other words, Scolari has run out of ideas after a prolific start to the season, which included an opening 4-0 win over Portsmouth.

Deco was outstanding and the new full-back, Jose Bosingwa, provided terrific pace out wide.

But opponents have adapted. Doubling up to deny Bosingwa overlapping opportunities has become a default strategy, reported The Guardian.

Deco's influence has dwindled since opponents opted to condense the midfield. With Michael Ballack also sluggish at times, Lampard has been the only one of Chelsea's offensive midfielders to perform consistently.

'If United win, they will go above us in the table,' said striker Salomon Kalou. 'We spent last season running after them, and we saw that if they get in front of you, they are difficult to catch, so we know what is at stake.

'We have to prove we are the Chelsea of old.'

Easier said than done.

They are no longer the richest club in the world...or the most daunting.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jan 8, 2009.