I just returned from Romance Writers of America, which is a conference dedicated to all genres of romantic fiction. I love going to these events, because its a great way to connect with authors who are really kicking tires and lighting fires when it comes to book promotion. This group is made up of some of the savviest, most successful authors Ive ever known. And though their book marketing tactics may vary from author to author, there is a core set of beliefs and strategies that all successful authors adhere to regardless of the genre. You may not embrace every single one of these 14 habits right now, but its worth your time to adopt as many of them as you can, as soon as you can.

Being a successful author takes work. It takes patience and persistence and a strong focus on business. With 4,500 books published each day in the US, adopting these habits for success is no longer optional, its crucial to your success. So start digging in and working these areas and I promise youll quickly start to see a change in the trajectory of your book.

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14 Habits of Highly Successful Authors - HuffPost

Aug 20, 2017 at 8:30 am | Print View

Women and men will gather Saturday night, on Womens Equality Day, to add five more women to the ranks of those named Women of the Year.

The women, nominated by friends and co-workers, were chosen because of their commitment to improve the lives of area girls and women. Their names will be added to a list of more than 130 who have been honored by the Womens Equality Coalition of Linn County over the past four decades.

Women recognized in 2017 are:

Eden Wales Freedman

At Mount Mercy University, Dr. Wales Freedman serves as director of diversity studies and assistant professor of English. She is a well-known scholar who often speaks or writes on behalf of human rights issues important to women and minorities. She is a reader and reviewer for the interdisciplinary journal, Girls Studies, and a writing mentor of the Afghan Womens Writing Project, which helps Afghan women write and publish their experiences living under the Taliban.

These also are passions that she carries into her personal life where she is an active participant in movements and events intended to promote women and encourage equality for all people.

In recognition of her unwavering support of women and girls, it is only fitting that Eden Wales Freedman be recognized as Linn County Woman of the Year. Her investment in the eager young minds of her students and her little sister will pay dividends for years to come.

Monica Brown Challenger

An executive director of the Iowa Innovation Learning Center, Brown Challenger also is known for her work as the outreach and education coordinator for the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission and as managing director at Diversity Focus.

Her nomination predominantly focuses on her volunteer efforts on behalf of the Open Minds, Open Doors conference, which encourages middle school girls to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Brown Challenger has been a part of the event since 2000, and also has given her talents to the Black Inventors Camp, Kirkwood Community College Engineering Technology Academy, the 6th Judicial District Department of Corrections, United Way of East Central Iowa, and St. Lukes Womens and Childrens Center Patient and Family Advisory Council.

Monica sees a society that values equal opportunities and participation for women and girls, and works toward that vision daily.

Charrisse Cox

Cox was nominated primarily for her work on behalf of the Cedar Rapids-based Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success. She also is a long-standing educator in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, currently serving as the only teaching member of color at Johnson STEAM Academy. For the past 11 years, Cox has been a lead teacher at the academy.

Every day and in so many ways, Cox goes well beyond her assigned duties by providing added assistance and guidance to students dealing with barriers to education. She founded and leads a weekly after-school program during the school year known as The Expansion, which she works to populate with young people who would most benefit from its cultural focus.

Cox, an active member of Mount Zion Baptist Church, encourages young women and girls to realize their potential through education. She is aware of the economic inequities that continue to affect young women and girls of color and, according to those who work with her, begins nudging them toward success early in their academic lives. For many of these students, Cox has been the only woman in a position of community leadership who looks like them.

This is often demanding and thankless work, but Charrisse is one of too few who never give up on this task. Women, now grown, recognize and remember her influence.

Denise Bridges

Bridges is a staff member at the Area Substance Abuse Council who has worked within the school system to provide evidence-based education in relation to drugs and alcohol. It was perhaps that work that prompted her to help lead a large school supply drive for area families in need.

One young woman who was a part of a small group mentored by Bridges said she never thought higher education would be a part of her future until she began working with Bridges.

Bridges also has worked with the NAACP, Youth Think Tank, African American Preservation Society and a host of other community organizations that work toward equality in Linn County.

Four years ago, Bridges founded the annual Art of ACES event, which is held during child abuse awareness month and allows local youths to showcase artwork that has helped them to overcome trauma or mental illness.

She has formed long-lasting, trusting relationships with the girls and women she works with, serving as a mentor to many. She continuously models, encourages and provides them with strategies, resources and opportunities to promote positive life choices.

Barbara Chadwick

She has served on the Linn County Early Childhood Iowa board, and was president of the Iowa Public Health Association. As part of her current work with Linn County Public Health, Chadwick has advocated for equality through political action, and has especially sought to be a voice for underprivileged women. Co-workers say she leads her staff such that they are empowered to exhibit their strengths and reduce barriers for their clients.

Chadwick, once the local face of Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa, leads by example, encourages others to access inner strengths and inspires those around her to improve their own or their neighbors life.

Barbara has a compassion and drive that improves the lives of women (and others) who are the most vulnerable in our communities.

Attendees of the equality celebration Saturday evening at Kirkwoods Linn County Regional Center in Hiawatha will have an opportunity to hear directly from the award winners, as well as from the young woman chosen to receive a college scholarship. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. Local musical group Deep Dish Divas will provide entertainment and tell their own story.

l Comments: @LyndaIowa, (319) 339-3144, lynda.waddington@thegazette.com

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Equality coalition names five Women of the Year - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines (blog)

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Connecticut DCF finds success in domestic violence program for fathers

NEW BRITAIN >> Wigberto George Ortizs godsend came on his birthday. It arrived at his feet like a shell washed ashore by the tide, he said. He should have seen it coming, but his mind had been too busy with the storm raging in his head.

For weeks he had lived in constant torment. His mind was a prison. It was fueled, he said, by a twisted mixture of depression, aggravation, alcoholism and anxiety over what came next. It was all due to what happened when he and his wife decided their marriage was over. Their union had been troublesome. A few months prior, it had escalated. Ortiz had been charged in a domestic violence incident involving his wife.

Everything you could think of, that was me, Ortiz said. I was lost. I didnt know where I was headed.

There was no going back. But he didnt know that yet.

On his 38th birthday, he saw his wife in town. She was with someone else. At that moment, he said, it became clear what he needed to do. Whatever life he had lived before, it was time to release it. Whatever fantasy he had built in his head dissipated.

I realized at that moment that it was going to be just me and the boys, Ortiz said, referring to his four young children.

But his new focus was further sharpened by a program called Fathers for Change, a unique and relatively new service offered through the state Department of Children and Families to a selected few. Its purpose is to provide men involved in domestic violence situations a chance to rehabilitate through therapy by improving communication between parents and their children, as well as helping to reduce aggression. The program is one of DCFs community-based behavioral health services.

The program itself landed on my lap, Ortiz said. It changed my life. It made me become a man.

A non-traditional approach

Select families participate in the six-month program. Though about one in five DCF cases involve intimate partner violence, DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt said about 100 fathers and their families have been served by the program after it was launched in 2015.

DCF has about 16,000 annual cases in the state. The Fathers for Change, program is also available to men who do not have a legal involvement.

Mary Painter, director of Intimate Partner Violence and Substance Use treatment and recovery at DCF, helps supervise the program and said it has received high satisfaction reviews from fathers. Families involved report lower numbers of children being removed from homes, Painter said.

This is non-traditional, Painter said. We only use this program for families when its considered to be safe. The idea behind is we keep the family together. Traditionally, response to intimate partner violence is getting perpetrators out of the home. This takes a different approach.

Kleeblatt said DCF employees dont directly provide services. Instead, theyre provided by private providers, usually therapists and masters-level clinicians.

Painter said the program offers individual therapy with men, with an emphasis on in-home sessions if its safe, to help them regulate their emotional state and learn how to handle feelings of hostility. The service can also be delivered in the traditional outpatient clinic setting. Painter said fathers receive therapy based on their families individual needs. DCF will also try to find other services that could benefit families.

In Ortizs case, the programs ultimate goal was unsuccessful. The family did not stay intact. But calling his case a failure would be inaccurate: Ortiz is a proud father of four boys who now live under his roof. The boys are Vitally, 7, Lorenzo, 6, Marcelo, 4, and Matteo, 1.

During a recent afternoon at his home in New Britain, Ortiz quite literally had his hands full wrangling the energetic quartet. He would speak to one son while trying to hold on to another. This summer, he usually got up around 7 a.m. to get the oldest boys ready for summer programs. The night before, he would lay out their clothing and have them in bed by 8 p.m. The oldest boys are on the autism spectrum and took classes to help develop their speech, physical therapy and social skills.

I pretty much do what I have to do, Ortiz said.

Ortiz said he originally planned to do the program with his wife before they separated. He had enrolled in the program in December, starting his first session at his home in January with James Geisler, from the Child Guidance Clinic for Central CT.

His first session helped formulate his game plan. Each time they spoke, they explored another road Ortiz had traveled to learn how he ended up there. Ortiz said the sessions explored his past, forcing him to face realities he couldnt face by himself. He would recall his childhood and things he witnessed growing up. These were things that led him to act out the way he did against his wife.

Painter said this is the kind psychoeducational approach the sessions take.

They really teach them about the cycle of violence, what it is, what a healthy relationship is, Painter said. Fathers for Change is different in its really looking (at) a man not only as a man who perpetuated domestic violence but as family members and fathers.

Behavior exhibited by domestic violence perpetrators can often be traced back to events they witnessed as children. What we know about it is that there is a pattern thats intergenerational, Painter said, adding that girls exposed to domestic violence have a higher chance of being victimized. Boys, in turn, are more likely to perpetuate domestic violence if exposed to it.

(When) helping a man become better, then the next generation is learning the same thing, Painter said.

Ortiz said he would usually leave the sessions feeling uncomfortable, but to him that meant he had a positive session. Digging into the root causes of his situation gave him clarity.

Everything started to fall into place, Ortiz said. He said he felt like after every session, another part of his life grew more and more stable. Before starting the program, Ortiz said he wasnt skeptical. When he started, he had felt like he was fighting for his marriage. He accepted the changes as the program progressed.

There were other changes. Mornings became different. He would wake up and clean messes he had long ignored.

Those days became beautiful days, Ortiz said. I wanted that change more than anything in my life.

Life as a single father

A divorce was granted in May. Inside a nearly empty courtroom, But Ortiz would then face a judge on May 26 for a different but related reason. With things falling into place, Ortiz had his sights on his next, perhaps most important, goal: Sole custody of his children. It was granted.

Ortiz said the judge told him it was the first time had ever rendered such a ruling for a man.

There was nobody in the room, Ortiz said. He said some very nice things. Theyre personal. I keep those to myself.

He looked at his kids and noted how hard he fought to change. He knew the reason for changing his life wasnt solely about himself.

I feel like this is my gift for the change, Ortiz said.

On that recent day, Ortiz would pause every so often to speak to one of the boys, sometimes turning his head between two or three of them. Sometimes the boys were being too loud, so Ortiz would quietly ask them to hush. Two of them had to be put on time out for them to calm down. He held Matteo in his arms nearly the entire time he spoke to his other children.

I dont think you ever get used to it, Ortiz said. I have to adapt every day. You get up and fall in love with your children.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901

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Connecticut DCF finds success in domestic violence program for fathers - New Haven Register

Arsenal changed the game when they bought Mesut Ozil in 2013. Suddenly they were back in the modern transfer world and they announced their presence by shattering the club record on an internationally recognized superstar.

Thats some pretty cool stuff.

The problem, however, is still being taught to us on a daily basis. Because the problem lies in the formula that is required to achieve both personal success for Ozil and club success for Arsenal.

There is no denying what Mesut Ozil has. His silky smooth touch is unmatched. None can handle the ball better than him. And when it comes to brilliant, magician-like passes and creative flourishes, look no further than the German maestro.

But in case you havent been paying attention, there are some drawbacks to Ozils game, and those drawbacks all come down to one thing disappearing. There are simply games where Ozil disappears and in the infinitely disappointing game against Stoke City, that was the case.

He was the (negative) talk of the town after the match, other than Granit Xhaka of course, with renowned midfielder Steven Gerrard calling out the German for being a liability and a quitter (as quoted by the Metro).

Those are some pretty harsh words, but they really play into the unfortunate belief around Ozil, and thats that he is far more of a passenger than a driver, and I dont think that the Gunners are or have been equipped for what Ozil brings to the team.

The simple reality is that Ozil, in order to be at his absolute best, requires the absolute best around him. He needs to have superstars surrounding him in order to achieve the level of consistency that we want him to have because he simply does not have the ability to drive the team himself. We have tried. For four years we have tried, but he clearly does not have that gene.

And thats fine, not everyone does. But the Gunners do not have the supporting cast to really make Ozil pop and, until they do, this is the Ozil that we will get there some days, not on others.

There is plenty that makes Ozil special, but driving a team and being the primary force is not one of them. And I dont reckon that will change so long as this is the cast he has to work with.

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Arsenal simply not equipped for a man like Mesut Ozil - Pain In The Arsenal

Manchester United attacker Anthony Martial is hopeful of enjoying a successful campaign personally as well as in terms of winning titles for the team.

Martial struggled under Jose Mourinho last term but the Frenchman looks in good nick during the current campaign.

The 21-year old has now stated his ambition that he wants to enjoy a successful season by winning a lot of titles and do so, by playing for the Red Devils on a regular basis.

Martial said: "As a squad, we haven't really talked about specific aims for the season too much so far, but the goal is to win as many titles as possible.

"That is what we tried to do last year and it's what we are going to try to do this year. Personally, my main goal is to win titles and medals, of course. I also want to play the most. I have always wanted to play since I was young and so now I've got to do my best to win the title. I do set myself targets for appearances and goals but I keep that to myself."

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Man Utd winger Martial aiming for personal and team success in third season - Tribal Football

People always ask we: What are the keys to success in life and business?

Related:3 Keys to Winning in Business and Life

I could talk for hours on the subject -- particularly about whats worked for me. But, truth is, all successful people answer a bit differently. Thats why, when I meet people like Elizabeth Weil, a dedicated distance runner and one of the most successful women in the venture capital field, I ask them the same question. I want to learn from them.

As a child, Weil watched her mother take up running and swimming as therapy for a divorce. Shed wake up before dawn to get in a good swim or run -- every day, no matter what.Morning exercise was non-negotiable. She was out the door every morning around 4, because she knew that time of day was not going to be compromised by work or family or anything else, Weil says today. She could always get her workout in.

Today, Weil treats her run with the same reverenceeven with three kids (including infant twins) and an incredibly demanding career. For me, she says, running is a non-negotiable.Every job, every vacation, every business trip, I have my running shoes and I make time for it. Usually I get up very early, like my mother, and I just get it done. I feed one baby, I feed the other baby, and then I get out the door.

This doesnt mean that life doesnt occasionally happen in unexpected ways. Things do come up, but I still get my running in.

It probably helps that Weil surrounds herself with like-minded people. My husband is also an ultra-runner, she says. We joke that if going out to brunch was a non-negotiable, our relationship probably wouldnt work.

Related:The Morning Rituals of 10 of the World's Most Inspirational

When I asked Weil to boil her success down to a few takeaways, she answers immediately, which tells me that Im talking to a person with a clear and well-defined plan for success. With Weil, these four elements underlie everything else:

Working with great people, in a great location, and carving out time for non-negotiables are also parts of my long-standing recipe for success. However, Weils fourth elementhaving a personal advisory boardis a new one for me, and Im going to put that into practice.

Weil also talks about the fact that success in business is about more than just working your butt off. Admittedly, you need to work really, really hard in the job youve got if you want people to respect you and give you better opportunities. But you also need to be a people person.

Related:10 Ways to Be the Person People Like to Work With

I learned this the hard way because I didnt make time for people when I was at Twitter, she says. I was so busy with my job there that I didnt make connections for my next job. I tell people now, When you pop up for your next job, youll wish you had gotten to know more people.

You almost never get a job by uploading your rsum to a blind website. Jobs come from people you know, word of mouth, so you need to be good at your job and to also foster relationships.

The simple truth is that very few women are high-level decision makers at venture capital firms. Weil is one of only a handful. But it doesnt surprise me at all that she has made it to the top when so many others havent, because she learned how to be successful early on from her mom.

Related:50 Easy Business and Personal Goals Everyone Should Do

Another thing I take away from my conversation with Weil: Our kids watch us and they learn from what we do. We owe them the extra effort. My kids watch me with my non-negotiables, which for me are health and wellness and with the effort I put into my business and family.

My kids learn what it takes to succeed without me sitting them down and lecturing them. I live the lesson, and that is a pretty awesome parenting tool.

Joe De Sena is the founder and CEO ofSpartan Race, Inc. De Sena has been an entrepreneur since his pre-teens. From selling fireworks at age 8, to starting a t-shirt business in high school, to building a multimillion-dollar pool busin...

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Success Requires Knowing What You Won't Compromise - Entrepreneur

Id like to share the story of a good friend of mine. Its a Canadian success story. What is happening to his family, and others like them, should concern all of us.

The story

Warren owns a successful business in Burlington, Ont., and employs 125 people. He has poured his blood, sweat and tears into the business since starting it 25 years ago.

He has sacrificed much. He didnt spend enough time with his children when they were younger, because the business demanded his attention. Further, he put all his assets at risk over the years by making personal guarantees to borrow the funds necessary to grow the business. The early days were tough. He reminded me of a time when he had to take cash advances on his credit cards just to pay his staff. He took no salary for the first two years the business was in operation.

Warrens wife, Jeanie, made sacrifices, too. She gave up her full-time job to focus on their children and household, allowing Warren to focus on the business. Warren is the first to acknowledge that Jeanie has been as critical to the success of the business as he has been. Shes been a rock of stability at home. More than this, the equity in their home, which she helped to build while she was working, enabled Warren to borrow enough money to create a business that provides its employees with growing incomes, and has made many of them very well off financially.

Today, Warren and Jeanie are reaping the rewards of the risks and sacrifices theyve made. With the success of the business, Warren now has a good income. Jeanie shares in this success by receiving dividends from the company, as do the children, who have also made sacrifices over the years. None of the employees begrudge this familys financial success. On the contrary, they are grateful to be beneficiaries of the hard work and risks that started the business, which now provides them with good incomes.

The problem

Warren is irate. Tim, there is no way I would make the same sacrifices all over again if I were starting the business today. I simply wouldnt bother.

I asked him why he felt this way. The government today has changed the tax system so much, and is planning to change it again to stack the odds against the small-business owner. If I did this all over again, Id move to the United States first.

When the Liberals won the last federal election, they quickly increased personal tax rates on the financially successful often business owners to give more to others. Although Warren wasnt happy about the tax-rate increases made effective in 2016, he tolerated them because he believes he should pay a higher percentage of tax than people with lower incomes. He buys into the idea of a progressive tax system.

This Liberal government, however, seems so focused on the idea of redistribution of wealth that it completely fails to recognize that when a business owner becomes successful, and increases their income and net worth in the process, those employed by the business become better off as well. Successful businesses produce more, and more highly paid, employees.

When a business owner risks everything they own, is it so terrible that they should, say, triple their income and net worth, especially if it means the employees of the business double theirs, over time? Apparently this is a problem for the Liberals.

Proposed tax changes introduced on July 18 are designed to reduce the ability of business owners such as Warren to split income with family members, unless those family members have contributed meaningful labour and capital. I guess Jeanies sacrifices dont count here. I think Finance Minister Bill Morneau needs to explain that to her personally.

The proposals also will restrict Warrens ability to save money for retirement inside his corporation. The Liberals want Warren and Jeanie to be treated exactly like any employee who hasnt started an active business and owns a corporation. Perhaps Mr. Morneau should explain to Warren why the risks and sacrifices he made to create 125 jobs shouldnt provide him with any benefits greater than what his employees receive.

If the Liberals are trying to build a stronger middle class, as they claim, they will be doing exactly the opposite by penalizing small-business owners for their success.

Tim Cestnick, FCPA, FCA, CPA(IL), CFP, TEP, is an author and founder of WaterStreet Family Offices.

Click here for a detailed analysis of what the proposed tax scenarios will cost small business owners.

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The Liberals will only weaken the middle class if they proceed with proposed tax changes - The Globe and Mail

The CEO of the Success Academy charter schools forcefully distanced herself from President Trump in a Thursday note to parents and staff.

Citing Trumps response to the weekend violence in Charlottesville, Eva Moskowitz, who had aligned herself with the president over his pro-charter stance, ripped him in the message, which was emailed out to parents, and said she should have publicly denounced him earlier.

His comments have left many in our community feeling unsafe and uncertain about their place in society, Moskowitz said.

Its one thing to have a President with whose politics you disagree; its another to have a President who doesnt even seem to care about your welfare.

The repudiation comes after a period of guarded and politically perilous engagement between Moskowitz and the Trump camp.

While the lifelong Democrat voted for Hillary Clinton, Trumps vocal endorsement of charter school growth compelled some measure of collaboration and Moskowitz was even considered for education secretary at one point. She later endorsed his selection of Betsy DeVos for the post.

The Success Academy architect met with Trump after the election and gave a school tour to his daughter, Ivanka. A subsequent hosting of House Speaker Paul Ryan at a Harlem campus drew a block long crowd of jeering protesters and underscored Moskowitzs fraught political dilemma.

Those overtures offended many in largely Democratic New York City including some charter backers who deemed anything but blanket condemnation of the new administration as inadequate.

Moskowitz , a former city councilwoman from Manhattan, had been largely silent on Trumps turbulent presidency in recent months.

But in the wake of Charlottesville and a damaging racial gaffe by Success Academy board chairman Dan Loeb, Moskowitz aimed to thoroughly sever any associations with the Trump administration.

As I explained when I announced that I was turning down a potential opportunity to serve as Secretary of Education, I voted for Hillary Clinton and was sorely disappointed she didnt win, Moskowitz wrote. I am a Democrat and disagree with virtually all of President Trumps policy positions including those on healthcare, LGBTQ rights, civil rights, immigration, global warming, gun control, and tax reform.

I chose not to speak publicly about these disagreements, however, because I feel my responsibility as CEO of Success Academy is not to advance my personal beliefs on a broad range of political issues but instead to focus all of my energies on advocating for our kids and public policies that expand educational opportunity and parent choice, she wrote.

Moskowitz said her muted approach was wrongly interpreted as tacit support and that pre-existing charter school nemeses seized onto the perception to harm the sector as a whole.

In retrospect, I should have been more outspoken so that no one would possibly think that either Success Academy or I was tacitly supporting President Trumps policies, which are contrary to the values of respect, caring, and concern that are central to our mission, she said.

The missive made no mention of the controversy over Loeb, who used racially inflammatory language to rip state Senate Democratic leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins as beholden to politically potent teachers unions.

Meanwhile, hypocrites like Stewart-Cousins who pay fealty to powerful union thugs and bosses do more damage to people of color than anyone who has ever donned a hood, Loeb wrote in a Facebook post that he later deleted.

In a prior note this week, Moskowitz condemned Loebs language but said entrenched charter foes were unfairly latching onto the debacle in order to malign Success Academy and its mission.

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Success Academy CEO rips Trump in email to parents, staff - New York Post

Alison Bender and Liam Twomey look back on the latest from Antonio Conte, as he endures a tough start to the season.

There is not a single doubt that Roman Abramovich's reign as owner has seen the fortunes of Chelsea Football Club soar to unknown heights. Every conceivable trophy has been won while the club's global profile has been elevated to sit among the cream of football's aristocracy.

But no relationship is without its flaws and one of the common threads throughout the last 14 years has been the quest for something beyond merely winning. After Jose Mourinho led Chelsea to their first English title in half a century in 2005 and backed it up with another the following year, the need to win in a certain style suddenly became all-important.

The vanity purchases of Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres each came soon after a title was claimed, but instead of ushering in a period of dominance the team's top-flight supremacy was undermined on each occasion.

In the past few years the focus has switched to winning trophies while also turning a profit. Ostensibly the route towards this is by buying young players with potential who will either make the grade at Chelsea or be sold on for a tidy sum.

While this policy looks good on paper, in reality it presents a paradox. Trying to climb the summits of the Premier League and Champions League without constant reinvestment is like trying to scale Everest without crampons. It just isn't going to happen.

Financial prudence and the nurturing of young players is a noble pursuit though the Chelsea board are kidding themselves if they think it will lead to sporting nirvana at the same time. Either trophies or youth development can be realistically targeted, not both.

The last two decades have seen Chelsea supporters experience an extraordinary roller coaster of a journey. Given the relatively scant amount of silverware in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet prior to the last 20 years, most fans that remember what it used to be like should be able to accept the odd fallow period now and again.

But Abramovich does not do fallow, so whenever standards start to slip the fall guy is inevitably the unfortunate manager. Carlo Ancelotti was the first under the Russian to start genuinely blooding young players with Gael Kakuta and Josh McEachran featuring. But the crime of finishing second a year after securing the club's first and only double saw him summarily dismissed in the players' tunnel at Goodison Park.

The start of Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea seemed portentous after it was made clear that part of his brief was to provide a pathway for youth products to graduate to the senior side. Indeed, in 2014, he even asserted that so promising were Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Lewis Baker, Izzy Brown and Dominic Solanke that they were destined to play for England.

Within 18 months, Mourinho had been sacked by the club for a second time with none of those players having been provided sufficient opportunity to make an impact on the first team.

The aims and practices of the club seem to continually conflict. Instant success is targeted that precipitates significant outlay on major signings such as the arrival of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa in 2014 and N'Golo Kante, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso in 2016.

When success is subsequently acquired the club board then tighten the purse strings and demand that the team's exploits are repeated under completely different conditions.

The same seems to be happening this summer. True, Chelsea have spent the substantial figure of 130 million on Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger. But given the 60m received for Oscar in January and the 40m for Nemanja Matic, as well as the proceeds from the sales of Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake and others, the actual investment is not all that high. In any case, that trio have essentially just replaced the exiled Diego Costa, the departed Matic and the ageing John Terry.

Neither the first team nor the wider squad have been materially strengthened. At the same time, Chelsea'a brightest prospects such as Loftus-Cheek and Baker have once again been loaned out, making a mockery of their policy of promoting youth. The consequence is that Antonio Conte has been stripped of the resources to successfully defend the title, whether via his preferred route of signing experienced campaigners or by fielding homegrown talent.

In Friday's news conference ahead of the trip to Spurs, Conte was asked whether he regretted the club's decision to sell Chalobah and loan out Loftus-Cheek. His long pause and refusal to answer the question spoke volumes.

If history has taught us anything it is that Conte will be the one to carry the can if Chelsea's house of cards collapses. Everyone will know, however, that it is not the Italian that is ultimately to blame.

Phil is one of ESPN's Chelsea bloggers. You can follow him on Twitter @PhilLythell.

Read more here:
Chelsea's conflicting priorities sabotage club's long-term success - ESPN FC (blog)

With NFL training camps in full swing, much is made of every minuscule detail surrounding teams around the league. Yet somehow, one of the key members of the Broncos No Fly Zone, Bradley Roby, seems to be routinely overlooked.

The Broncos cornerback joined Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro on AM 1340 | FM 104.7 to talk about his role in one of the elite units in the NFL, and his ultimate markers of success for this season.

Im in the shadow but its all good. They have established names from being in the league for a long time so at the end of the day all that matters is making plays. If I make those plays then the recognition will come, Roby explained. My attitude is to just make them recognize me. Make them give me accolades. I dont really want that though. I just want to win, create turnovers, and get paid. As long as that happens, I dont care who gets the glory.

Bradley spoke extensively about the team and their goals, but tried to stay realistic and focused on the benefits of training camp especially when it comes to how his group may be disrupting the development of Denvers young quarterbacks.

You cant expect everyone to just go out and look like Tom Brady against us, because Tom Brady doesnt look like Tom Brady against us. Its hard to hold [Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian] to that standard against us, but our goal is to keep getting better at the end of the day, said the fourth-year defensive back. Going against us every day is going to make them better prepared for what they will see in the regular season. I feel like you should always work harder and put more pressure on yourself in practice so in the game its easy.

Listen to the full interveiw, including Robys thoughts on NFL player rankings, in the podcast below.

Catch Afternoon Drive with Goodman and Shapiro every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denvers biggest sports talk lineup.

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Team success more important than personal accolades for Bradley Roby - Mile High Sports