Finally, we’ve got him. I’m so bloody excited that he joined. I’ve been really really waiting for this signing. I was a bit subdued in my expectation for this signing because the Robinho fiasco last season taught me a great lesson in football transfers, as it did for Chelsea FC. I know we are welcoming both Ancelotti and Zhirkov this week. but of course I’m talking about Zhirkov because I’m neither excited nor was waiting for Ancelotti. But I’m very hopeful that Ancelotti would do a good jod and he has shown as the positive signals so far.

I’m very pleased with the signing of Zhirkov who was the best player of the Euro 2008 (no, it wasn’t Arshavin). He is a complete left sided man. Looks like he will anything on the left – defence, midfield, attack or even being the linesman. So he can step in for Ashley Cole as well as Malouda. Zhirkov could just be the player that can come in the second half and change the game. He is a very good dribbler, has great control on the ball and can be a great supplier to the likes of Drogba, Anelka and er . . Lampard.

Ancelotti has officially been unveiled at the Stamford Bridge. His first interview was quite impressive. He certainly sounds like someone who knows what he’s doing. He also sounds very confident of his abilities and his team’s capabilities.

I think Chelsea is a strong team, a great team, a physical team that plays very well and can be improved with some creative players. And we are looking for these players. But you can be creative not only with creative players. You can be creative with creative ideas and a creative organisation. You can change the idea of the team with the same players. I would like to have a team that plays well, plays good, creative football and naturally I would like to win. For a coach it is important to win but it is important to build a team with good characteristics, to play well, to play with organisation.

I have a feeling that we’re in for just one more top signing. Ancelotti has done the basics as of now. He’s got a decent second choice goalkeeper, a young and promising english striker and a very skillful and pacy left wing back. It feels like a complete team now but may be, just may be one top player would certainly put us on the front foot.

Meanwhile, Ancelotti has attempted to clear the air on John Terry. If your remember, Terry said that he was not sure if he would be the captain under Ancelotti in the sense that the new manager is free to make his choice. I thought that comment came from nowhere but Ancelotti has now very clearly that Terry would be his captain.

John Terry is a symbol of this team and he will captain next time, and in the future. He said he wants to stay forever at Chelsea and we want to keep him forever. Now there is a question from Manchester City, the price – but for Terry, no price. Terry will be captain of Chelsea forever. He said that he wants to stay, there is no problem for him, and for us the story continues. I spoke with Terry one month ago when I came to the club and he welcomed me, and after he went on holiday and returns on July 9. I will speak with him because he is the captain and I want to have a good relationship with the captain and all the players, but the captain is an important person in the dressing room. He [Terry] is very close to Maldini, for professionalism, quality, and I think he will be the best captain for Chelsea. I think that there is not a player that makes a team. A lot of great players can make a great team, if they work together to reach the same objective in the season.

Very good. Now that every man and his dog has talked about how Terry breathes Chelsea, I just hope that Terry says the same thing once he returns from holiday. This Terry-Man City story must be quashed by this weekend.

Man City have been trying to get John Terry since the Sheikh took over and I have always laughed it off. In fact, the last time I laughed it off was yesterday. Now it appears that there could be some fire that has caused the smoke. If the Sheikh thinks he is gonna test Chelsea’s resolve by making an offer that cannot be refused, he’s wrong. Roman does not have to sell players to raise money, especially a club legend like John Terry. But if you ask me whether Man City can make an offer that JT cannot refuse, I don’t know. I’d wait for JT to come out in the open to say that he doesn’t want to move at any price.

The John Terry situation is not the same as the ‘Kaka to Man City’ situation. Kaka had always said that he did not want to leave Milan. It was Milan who sold him. When it was so clear that he was going to be sold, he just made a choice of Real Madrid over Man City. Terry similarly, will have to come out and say it loud and clear what he wants to do.

In terms of options left, it is very simple. If Terry wants to move, I see no reason to hold him back. For all his Mr.Chelsea image and the way the fans and supporters worship him, if he wants to go, let him. Even if he hints that he would consider moving, that bonding between him and the blues would be over. Ancelotti’s reactions to this bid makes me worry. Actually, it tells me that Terry is pondering over a transfer. Why would a Chelsea manager, that too a new one who’s not even taken charge officially, need to request Terry to make his stance clear?

There is also this theory that he is not clarifying only because it might help his contract negotiations. That’s typically the kind of advice you might receive from an agent. If that turns out to be true, it is sick. JT is one of the best paid footballers and at 29 years, it’s very unfair of him to expect more from Chelsea. If some other club pays him that and if that’s what he wants, good for him. In Chelsea, I think he’s paid very very well and if I were Roman, I would not want to improve the contract by a great deal.

All I request Terry is to call the press and appear with a big grin on his face saying “stop joking, will ya?”

In other transfer news, we have Sneijder, Dzeko and Zhirkov. I’m just waiting for the signing of Yuri Zhirkov. I hear that he is an exciting player. Not many players are called ‘[insert your country name] Ronaldinho’. His versatility and ball skills make him a very interesting player to see in a Chelsea shirt. With Ashley Cole’s agent back to his best, I just can’t wait to see Zhirkov at the Bridge. I’m a big fan of Sneijder. He is superb player who’s yet to peak. He is quick, has great technique and his weak foot accuracy is better than that of the strong foot of many. I’d be delighted if he signs for Chelsea. he can play on either wings and can be a great asset. With our chances of signing Pato getting weaker by the day, we seem to have turned our heads towards the striker that Milan is chasing. Any 24-year old striker that has a dream season like he had, is bound to attract attention. I think the linking of Dzeko with Chelsea is purely a fantasy.

The next week will be interesting. John Terry situation and some signings to be sorted out next week. Let’s hope for the best!

Yippee – we’ve made a signing! I’m absolutely delighted with the free signing of Ross Turnbull! He is a decent young keeper and if he’s coming for free, there is nothing better than that. As I said before, we needed a goalkeeper who is decent and also willing to wait for his first team chances. I think Turnbull fits the bill rather well.

John Terry has responded to the allegations from Makelele. I wrote nothing when that Makelele news broke out because I thought he was trying to sell more copies. Now Terry has refuted that claim and has also added a few more witnesses for his claim. He says that he was the one who along with Lampard and Drogba gave a phone call to Roman at 2am in the early morning to convince him to keep Mourinho. I believe him. In the process, he also reiterated that he has never had a better manager than TSO in his career. So let’s put that to rest.

Meanwhile, City have bid for John Terry. They wouldn’t learn. Would they? Meanwhile, we’re all set to give one back to City. Daniel Sturridge has been out of contract and since he is a 19-year old, Man City have a say on how much they need. News is that Chelsea have taken it to the authorities. In such cases, mostly the decision would favour the player and in this case Daniel must be waiting to move to Chelsea.

There is nothing much happening from Chelsea’s side. There are still rumours that Ancelotti would succeed in persuading Andrea Pirlo to join Chelsea. The Pirlo debate has been dividing the house for sometime, which makes it a perfect topic for a poll.

That’s it. Short post today. Hope we sign someone this weekend. Cheers!

While Ancelotti has given his interview in English and all that, he hasn’t really come out to say what he plans to do for this season. I don’t expect him to share the secrets but at least the fundamentals like: (i) What is the squad size we have in mind? (ii) Are we looking to buy players? (iii) Which positions are we looking at? (iv) Are we planning to offload some players? These are some very basic questions which can be answered while keeping the secrets close to his chest.

The good news of the week: Florent Malouda has signed a 4-year contract with Chelsea FC that keeps him here until 2013. That’s great news from variuos perspectives. I like Malouda very much. He is very talented and works very hard. He is good spirited and works for the team. He is very much back in form and would soon reach his heights of Lyon days. The fact that Malouda is given a four year contract tells me two contradicting things. Either Ancelotti might very well be keen on playing 4-3-3 or he is not going to play 4-3-3 but he needs a low maintenance winger just in case he plays 4-3-3.

There’s a rumour that Chelsea have signed the 18-year old Czech goalkeeper Jan Sebek on a long contract. If it’s true that’d be very good news. He is young, he is Czech and he is going to be an understudy for the great Petr Cech. If Jan Sebek is a decent goalkeeper already, he would learn immensely in this role and would be a good back up from the club’s point of view.

If rumours are to be believed, the entire AC Milan team would sign for Chelsea FC and move over to London. And Chelsea will have a squad of about 47 players. Hold. Let’s look only at the rumours that borders on the news. Andrea Pirlo is the biggest of all rumours. Some of us worried to hear this rumour, because he is another 30-year old ‘past-his-prime’ star from a slower and weaker league. He is even seen as the next Deco. I doubt though. Deco was certainly on the wane when he quit Barca. Barca’s management and fans wanted to see him quit. Pirlo has not waned. He is still ace at what he does best. The Milan fans absolutely want him to stay. He has at least couple of years of top level football left in him. I like Pirlo a lot. How will he fare in the premier league? It’s just so hard to predict. I’d say, if he is available on loan, I’d grab the offer.

Then comes the Pato rumour. When Pato moved from Brazil to Europe, Chelsea were also in the race to sign him. I remember that I was so confident that we would sign him that I put him his image on the sidebar calling him Chelsea’s young sensation. Like any latin american footballer would do, he chose a south european club. His moving to Milan was such a disappointment for me back then. Now, there seems to be a chance of snatching him back. He apparently loves Ancelotti and wants to work with him, irrespective of the climate and the language of the place of work. He could be expensive but he might be worth it. He is young, he is very promising (more than Bojan Krkic) and he is tipped as a future footballer of the year. How many of the current crop of young players can you say would be a footballer of the year in the future? This kid is special. If we can get him, we must.

Essien’s agent has dropped a bombshell that he would take offers from Real Madrid and Barcelona very seriously. He is an agent of a top footballer. He is just doing his job. Essien has clearly mentioned how much he loves Chelsea and that he wants to stay with Chelsea. Something tells me that he would never leave Chelsea. I could be very naive in saying this. We are not in a generation where footballers stay in the club for more than 5 seasons. I think the days of one-club footballers like Maldini are gone. Anyway, I still think that Essien would remain at Chelsea. While successes do create that team spirit, it is the occasional failures that create the bonding with the team and the club. I think Essien does feel that sense of belonging with the club. I read this line from Mikel, “I stay with Chelsea and win the champions league”. Lovely!

Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you once again to every single one of you for your support this season. Each of us in the dressing room and behind the scenes fully appreciates the lengths you go to all year round to support the team, whether it be at the Bridge, or at away games around the country and in Europe. I would also like to say a special thank you to Guus Hiddink, who has been just brilliant since he arrived here in February. He came at a difficult time when things looked like they were slipping away from us, so to lead us to an FA Cup Final and within a whisker of the Champions League Final, is a great achievement.

That said, third place in the league isn’t good enough for Chelsea anymore. It’s our worst finish since Mr Abramovich bought the club and we all know we need to do better. It is fantastic to win the FA Cup but we want more and that’s the way it needs to be for us these days. We will all enjoy the time we have off now and come back for pre-season as determined as ever and of course looking forward to achieving great things with the new manager Carlo Ancelotti. This year we are off to America for four games in the summer, and we’ll be hoping to see some big crowds against an impressive line-up of opposition. Enjoy your summer and see you next season.

It’s interesting to see that JT says third place is not good enough and it’s worst we’ve finished under Roman.

Surprisingly, still no transfer action at Chelsea. No one’s come in and no one’ gone out. You hear that Roman has bought the most expensive yacht (£300m or something) in the world. Things must now be better for Roman who was rumoured to sell Chelsea to buy a yacht. He was seen bidding world record amounts for Kaka sometime earlier and I just hope he did not dump the Chelsea transfers in the sea.

With Real Madrid in a rampant mood, as always, off the pitch, they tempt evey football player. Lots of pluses playing for Real Madrid. They are the biggest club in the world. Their record is unparalleled. You get to play in sunny spain. You’re in the Spanish capital. You get to play in the team where Kaka and Ronaldo play. You’ll get all the money you want and more, unless you’re name is Robinho. Players like Ribery and Villa are all just probably waiting for a call from them. Who wants to play for Chelsea FC when Real is calling?

In a way, I’m happy that Real is spending big bucks. Last season, we saw from Man City and Tottenham that money spent has little to do with where you end up on the table. Let Madrid spend £200 million in this summer alone. I’m still waiting for more poisonous comments on how they are killing football with their money. If Man City took the limelight off Chelsea last season, Real Madrid has wiped us off the bad boys map. Good for us.

We should forget these 5-star targets whom the Madrids, Barcas and Milans are after. Enough of this Kaka, Villa, Ribery nonsense. I’d love to see them here but it appears completely improbable now. There are some good 4-star and 3-star targets. Players like Tevez, Podolski, Schweinsteiger etc. These players are all young enough to be called next generation players for Chelsea. As in, they can stay here for another 4 or 5 seasons. There’s a rumour that Ancelotti called Tevez and offered to take him at Chelsea. I’m a big fan of Carlos Tevez and I’d love to see him in Chelsea colours. Also there is this great Real Madrid sale that seems to offer gems like van der Vaart, Sneijder, Robben, Huntelaar etc.

While I can come up with a wishlist of who I want to see in Chelsea this summer, I’m still not sure what system Ancelotti wants to play. That would be very crucial for our transfer business. If he is going to continue our 4-3-3, we are well off already and a little bit of strengthening would help. If he is going to play his 4-3-2-1 christmas tree, then few of our players would become redundant, say Malouda, Kalou, Di Santo etc. The rumours about Malouda being offered to clubs is worrying. I have always like Malouda and with his resurgence, I simply don’t want to leave him. Also this means we could very well be changing our system for this season. With offers flying from Kaka to Ribery to Tevez to Zhirkov, I just wonder what is that we want to do? What’s the vision that we have in mind?

We don’t have to be Real Madrid. Let’s buy players for football reasons and for football reasons only. Let’s look at what system we want to play. Let’s look at whether we have the right players to play that system. Let’s look at what and who we lack and go for the roles and not for the players. Exactly, we should have roles in mind and find the players that would fit that role. When we bought Shevchenko and Ballack, we went for the players and not for the roles. We should not commit that mistake again.

What are our priorities now?

Now, the team looks rather complete. There is no need for a overhaul or exodus which was a popular cry in the middle of the season. We have the some key players who keep the team together. Some new players have stepped up to the challenge. Some near-failures have resurrected their form and probably, careers. We have very little need to be worried about. We are not in a situation like Arsenal for starters. While there are so many places that need not be filled or worried about, there are a few spots of bother.

In the goal, we have only Petr Cech and Hilario. Of course, we have the youth keeper too. When you’re aspiring to win everything on sight, this is not the situation you want to be in. Cudicini was a great second choice and I’d doubt if we would get such a fantastic second choice keeper who is also willing to be second behind Petr Cech. Unless, Ancelotti promises first team football, atleast in domestic cups, we may not get a good keeper who’s worthy to replace Cech in times of need. May be, we need to be looking out for young, prodigious keepers. Strangely, none of the transfer rumours involving Chelsea ever talk about a goalkeeper.

While we lost Cudicini in the mid-season, we also lost Wayne Bridge who was in the same boat as Cudicini. Very good player in his position but always second choice to a better player in the squad. Bosingwa did a fantastic job at the left back against a certain Messi over two legs in champions league semifinal. We also have Ivanovic or Ferreira who can step in if needed. But if this situation continues, the left back position would be seen as a chink in the Chelsea armour and teams would start targetting and exploiting that position. There are rumours about Zhirkov joining Chelsea but just like the goalkeeper position, the left back that joins must be willing to play second fiddle to Ashley Cole. That is, if the Ashley Cole pay hike rumours are true.

Nothing needs to change in the midfield. I have always said that we have the best midfield in Europe with Essien, Lampard, Ballack and Mikel. No need to change that. Essien and Mikel should absolutely stay with us. I would not swap them for anyone. Ballack has reportedly got his one year extension. I thought if we had to sell one midfielder it had to be the German captain. With the rumours around his one year extension, that seems to be out of question.

In attack, we have Drogba, Anelka, Di Santo, Joe Cole, Malouda and Kalou. Most of us have been saying that attack is one area which we badly need to bolster if we are win anything next season. Drogba was typically blowing hot and cold last season. Anelka was slotting in the goals but he didn’t look like the one that would win us the premier league or champions league. Di Santo hardly got any time on the pitch but he did the job for me whenever he came in. Joe Cole was not available for most part of the season and I’m still not convinced if he is consistent enough for us. Malouda was everyone’s bunny until February and then we saw a brand new Florent Malouda, the one we thought we bought back in 2006. Kalou has been decent. He scored and created some important goals though he did not play much. So that’s been the story of our attack this season.

We have the players to win trophies for us. What we lack is some magic. Some world beater that would make the jaws drop. That’s why we were after Robinho. That’s why we are after Ribery. We need a player or two who would create something out of nothing. A player who would, on his own, will be able to win crucial matches. I don’t think the club is trying to replace a player because we don’t have the kind of player that we are looking for. So anyone that comes in must be a first team starter who would give a run for the money for the current bunch of attacking players. This new player could be a winger or a striker. I see that Chelsea were interested (who’s not?) in David Villa. Also pato has been dropping hints that he would join Ancelotti. So, if it’s going to be a striker then that’s a strong message to Drogba or Anelka or both depending on which formation Ancelotti wants to play. In any case, if we get an attacking player, we certainly need to offload some. Probably, it is Kalou or even Joe Cole.

With Roman’s little romance with Kaka this summer, we pretty much know about two things: (a) Roman wants to buy new players (b) Roman is willing to spend the money. That’s great news. This summer could very well be the busiest ever in terms of high profile big buck transfers. We have seen Kaka’s transfer break the world record (in pound terms) and that record could not stay for more than 2 days. Ronaldo has moved out of Man Utd.Tevez could be gone too. Scholes and Giggs won’t play this season. And none of these players have good second choices. So, Chelsea must be the favourites for next season’s premier league. I hope Roman and Kenyon make the right purchases because I think we are just two good buys away from premier league and champions league.

Well, he didn’t say exactly that. He almost said that. He said, ‘I belong to Jesus’. But, who’s gonna wait for the last word now. I’m sure the journos want some drama, just like it happened with Robinho and Berbatov last summer. Looks like they will see a very eventful summer this time around too. Just when it appeared that Kaka would be unveiled as a Real Madrid player soon and only formalities are left, Chelsea is reported to have made an audacious 73.5 million bid for Kaka.

I don’t know how much truth is there in this. Why would Chelsea need Kaka? We have one of the best midfield players in Europe with a beautiful balance of attacking and defensive players. Even if he joins where would he play? That’s why this sounds like pure fantasy. With Ancelotti at the helm, it makes it easy for the Press to create such rumours, I’ve started seeing those comments like ‘attrocious money’, ‘how can a player be worth so much’, ‘it stinks of greed and stupidity’ so on and so forth.

Practically, people have saved all their comments and remarks that they made during the dramas of Ronaldo-Madrid and Kaka-Man City and are just reproducing them now. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – if clubs buy players for tens of millions, so be it. If Roman can afford the player, he will buy. It is the market that decides the price and not the goals and assists. Modern football is much more than just what happens on the pitch. Every transfer activity is good for the economy and redistribution of money.

I want the smaller clubs to start competing for top places and teams. I’m sorry that they are rarely the beneficiary of such big money transfers. But I don’t want Chelsea to do what UEFA is supposed to do. Let Chelsea and other clubs get the players they want to get and let UEFA take care of the regulations. Chelsea is not the first or last club to make a big money purchase. In that respect, we’ll never be able to match the Milans, Madrids, Barcas and Uniteds. So, I hope the over-reactive folks slow down and stop barking at the wrong tree. Everytime a big money transfer is on the cards, you have people abusing the clubs, players, agents and owners. Strangely, they don’t seem to ask these questions to UEFA!

All said, 73.5 million is about 30 million more than what I would pay for Kaka. Scolari wanted Robinho but we couldn’t get him. May be, Ancelotti wants Kaka. We may not want to disappoint our manager again. I’m not sure how Roman saw the Roninho transfer fiasco. I thought Real Madrid acted like third-rate classless bastards to sell Robinho to Man City in the last hour. It surely left a bitter taste in my mouth. If Roman also had felt the same way, this is his chance to give it right back to Real Madrid. It could be the most expensive way to show your middle finger but that’s how it works with billionaires right?

I know straightaway that Kaka is not who we need. Kaka cannot fit into the Chelsea system as it is. We already have players like Lampard and Essien who I won’t swap for Kaka. But still, it would be sensational to see Kaka in Chelsea colours. But you know what, the club website has denied these rumours:

We have never made an offer to AC Milan for Kaka and therefore not one at this extraordinary level. As a consequence we have not discussed a salary with the player either. Any reports to the contrary are totally untrue.

This is way too different than saying that we are not interested in Kaka and no part of the rumour is true. If you look at the above lines, what Chelsea FC says is true. We have not made an offer. Probably, we made only a query. Then the club, unnecessarily, goes on to comment on the magnitude of the amount as well. And totally unnecessarily, the statement also says that we have not discussed the salary with Kaka. Obviously, you can’t do that until Milan accepts the offer, after it is made, that is.

I’m not too anxious about this as I see it so clearly that Kaka would sign for Real Madrid soon. But hey, this could be fun, if Roman wants rub Real Madrid on the wrong side. Let’s see how this one develops

The Italian connection is back. Carlo Ancelotti is our new manager. This does not come as a surprise. Rumours around his taking over Chelsea have been going around for some months now. The topic of Ancelotti managing Chelsea has never been a cheerful topic among the Chelsea fans. He does not quite divide the house but it’s fair to say that he does not seem to have a huge fan following among the Chelsea fans. I’ve always seen Chelsea fans either hating the sight of him as the Chelsea manager or simply hoping that he comes good.

His appointment has caused mixed reactions. I’m a bit indifferent at the moment. I belong to the ‘I hope he comes good’ category. He has the pedigree. He has the track record. He has the personality. Still, there is something about him that does not make me gung-ho. To be honest, that’s how even Guus Hiddink appeared initially and now I love him so much. All that I want Ancelotti to do is to keep the pride of Chelsea while trying to win the trophies.

In two seasons, we have seen Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti. Certainly not anyone’s idea of stability. When Scolari was brought in, there was a lot of club talk about stability and time, but when the shit hit the fan, Roman called the bluff. So Ancelotti should clearly know what’s expected of him. We might say that stability is the need of the hour; the players might want a long-term manager and the club’s image would also need the manager to see out his contract, but, if the results are not there, you’re out. As simple as that. Remember, it’s again a three-year contract!

If you look at his CV, it’s hard not to raise certain questions. In his seasons at Milan, he has won the Serie A only once! That’s the only league title he has won in all of his 14 years of coaching. But what must have impressed Roman is that he has won the champions league twice during this period. I’ve told you many times that if you’re going to offer me champions league and premier league, I’d happily take the latter. The club seems to get obsessive about the champions league. That’s the only way to explain this appointment. See, Ancelotti’s career as a player and manager has all been in Italy only. He has managed Milan in Italy for 8 years and has won one Serie A title! I’d even call that poor. But he is in special company with two champions league titles.

I have some really unpleasant memories of Ancelotti. First, his champions league final defeat to Liverpool. That was simply unbelievable and unpardonable. And then, his Milan team succumbing to the Arsenal team in the champions league couple of seasons back. There were some great matches too. Especially the way Milan despatched Man Utd in the champions league semi final was a treat to watch. In Milan, he has certainly drawn a lot of criticism for his tactics. He is known for his obsession for the 4-3-2-1 (christmas tree formation) which made the team more defensive and less adventurous. Would he continue with Chelsea’s successful 4-3-3?

I’d feel more confident if Ancelotti could bring in a few exciting names to Chelsea. I see rumours on Ribery, Kaka and the like. I’d love to see Ribery play for us. Imagine Ribery and Joe Cole playing in the left and right respectively! It would be great, isn’t it? As I know a thing or two about rumours, I won’t build up my hopes. Whatever said and done, Essien is not leaving anywhere. He is a Chelsea player, he would remain to be so. Like with any new Chelsea manager, the least he could do is to cause a mess by distorting rather than improving what’s already working well. I’ll wait for Carlo to settle down, use the three months of transfer window wisely and start the campaign strongly.

We always wanted a manager who can speak English. When Hiddink joined, I was pleasantly surprised by his command of the language. Ancelotti is still learning to speak English. Not sure if he was inspired by Jose Mourinho’s interview in Italian on his day one, Carlo has given his first interview in English in the club website. He does not sound like a great media communicator, at least in English. But his interview has some key points which I want to mention here.

Tell us about your approach to management, your philosophy?

It’s not easy to speak about my philosophy even in Italian so it’s more difficult to speak in English, but I try. I like to be close with the players, close with the company. I like to speak with the people. I believe in teamwork. It’s the most important thing to create a group that work together to build a dream. For me this is the most important thing. The players and the company to have a strong organisation, very strong discipline, to have the right motivation. I hope to do this together because this is the right way to arrive to success.

And in terms of football on the field, are you a coach that has a system you take with you wherever, Reggiana, Parma, Juve, Milan — do you take that system, do you play a certain way in tactics and formations?

I change it, not every year, but I change it depending on the characteristic of the players, it depends. For example in Juventus there was Zidane, he was an offensive midfielder and I built the team for Zidane. First you have to know the characteristics of the players and after you can put a system for the players.

So to you personally, what qualities do you think you will bring to Chelsea football club as a coach?

I want to bring my experience, I want to bring my individual quality. I think to win is important. I think to work together is the most important thing to win. To have great motivation and have a right objective. But in Chelsea it’s easy to find objectives. Win the Champions League, win the Premier League, win FA Cup, win Carling Cup. To win all is naturally not easy, but the right way is to create a group of people that work well together.

These responses speak a lot about himself, his methods and his idea of the job on hand. Sounds promising!

We are back to the business of ‘giving time’ to our new coach. As much as I want to give him time, he must know that his official match would be against the defending champions Manchester United. Would be great if he starts of by beating the title holders.

We are at that time of the year when we talk about ‘giving time’ to our new manager before we judge him. As much as I want to give him time, he must know that his first official match is against the defending champions Manchester United. That shows how much time he has. Let’s cut the crap. You don’t get settling time at this level. Just start delivering already.

Anyway, let’s all very warmly welcome Carlo Ancelotti! May his season be filled with trophies!

Hats off to the Blues and Golden Guus! Special thanks to Drogba, Lampard and the man who keeps proving me wrong – Nicolas Anelka! That’s it for now. Enjoy the win. See ya!

Guus is leaving. There is no doubt about that. He has never kept us in doubt in this regard. He’s always been saying that he would go back to Russia. It’s the media and us who have been cooking stories in a hope that he would do otherwise. I don’t think he is someone who would break an existing contract because he gets a big money job in his buddy’s club. He looks far more principled and dignified to do such things. He has been with us only for just four months and the impact he has created in this team is phenomenal. Which other caretaker manager has his name sung, gets a standing ovation and gets such a fantastic goodbye?

Meanwhile, let’s not underestimate our opponents. Everton are a fantastic team capable to beating the big four. David Moyes is an outstanding manager who’s capable of masterminding a trophy win for Everton. While I seriously hope that we win this for Guus Hiddink, if we don’t, I’d still be happy for Everton and David Moyes. The Chelsea players have said this already. We have to win this for Guus. I think we would. He has been a great ambassador for Chelsea FC that he deserves a very good last match.

Here is what Guus says about Chelsea FC:

I think this team has personality if you see the individual players. What I had as a reaction from my time here, people are changing a bit their minds. They are going to like more and more Chelsea. I think that’s an achievement, not just in England, but also abroad, that Chelsea is recognised now as a big club. I think the way the club presented itself in recent months is what people recognised, the way of playing, the character, the fighting spirit and the good players. You have the attention when you play the Champions League and top duels in the Premier League, and Chelsea has won a lot. I think the image of a club is very important worldwide, there is always this up and down in winning a trophy but the overall image is important in the world of football.

This is why I want Guus Hiddink back as Chelsea manager. I hope he ends on a high with a trophy today. Let he resume his Russia duties. Once that’s over, I want him to come back and take the Chelsea job from whoever is here. With what I’ve seen of Hiddink so far, mostly, anyone else would be a compromise.

Here is for a 2-1 win for Chelsea. Let’s bring home the FA Cup again!

Expectations from the champions league final? We aren’t even playing in the finals, are we? Didn’t UEFA knock Chelsea out of the competition in favour of their favourite sons from Catalunya? Still, I’ll watch the champions league final tonight, purely out of the love for football. All said and done, both Man Utd and Barcelona are great teams, and a champions league final involving them must be a spectacle for any football fan in any corner of the world.

I do have some hopes and expectations from this final. Firstly, I want Man Utd to win it. Hard to say, but I say it, let Man Utd win it. Because they deserve it better than Barca. As we all know and have seen, Barca are champions of a weaker league when compared to Man Utd. As all teams have rolled over to allow them play their game to their strengths, they have also got on to the moral high horse on the playing style. Whereas, Man Utd have won the league against toughest of competitions from teams like Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and even the top half teams. Man Utd plays are a more complete football team when compared to Barca.

How do I want Man Utd to win this match? I want Man Utd beat Barca by completely crushing them or by incredibly dodgy referee decisions. Option 1: Let Man Utd completely crush Barcelona that they have nothing to say after the final. Let them teach Barca a footballing lesson in attack and tactics. For once, I want Barcelona to openly admit that they were beaten by a side and they deserved to lose. After the match, I want Platini to say that the better team won. Option 2: Let Man Utd win through some extremely dodgy goals that would keep Barcelona crying for weeks and months. Yes, I mean it. Let the match be decided by the lone goal late in the extra time but let that goal be a penalty from a blatant dive from you-know-who. Or let there be some half a dozen clear handballs in the box by Man Utd but none of them gets called for a penalty. These things happen, you know!

The press builds this up as a Messi vs Ronaldo battle. I want Ronaldo to win this battle. I think these two players personify their teams and their philosophy. Ronaldo is a more complete player when compared to Messi. Keeping Messi quiet is not that hard. We had our right back play at left back and still made him invisible. Ronaldo is much much more consistent than Messi. Until a couple of seasons back, Ronaldo was a choker and he’s grown immensely since then. Ronaldo can play against any team, any league, any competition and at any stage. He’s a monster now. Hats off to him. Forget Messi, Barcelona as a team has always been poor in the last 6-7 seasons against English opponents.

UEFA and Platini would be hoping that Barca wins the trophy. Platini would even shed tears of joy if they win. But my final prediction: Man Utd 2-0 Barcelona. I think Barca will run around in circles and play their triangles all night but Man Utd will find the straight line that leads them to goal, that is, unless UEFA has fixed the final too.

The premier league is over, finally. As we come to the end, there are two pluses for us from the premier league. One is, we finish third which means we don’t have to play qualifying rounds for next season’s champions league. Two is, it is a Chelsea player who got the golden boot of the premier league.  Plus, I have this little satisfaction that we gathered 80+ points in the league.

Full marks to Nicolas Anelka who managed to score 19 goals in this difficult season. I’ve been one of his biggest critics all along. He has pissed me off to no end at times. He’s been downright frustrating as well. Once Guus the magician walked in, I’ve started to see a transformation in Anelka. More commitment, more efforts, more desire and hunger and more importantly better attitude. Congrats to Anelka. It’s quite a feat to get the golden boot in a league where you have the likes of Drogba, Lampard, Ronaldo, Torres, Gerrard, van Persie, Adebayor, Berbatov, Rooney etc.

Special mention on Ashley Cole. I’m delighted for him. This season, he has eliminated Arsenal from the FA Cup and he has thrashed and ripped them to pieces at their own backyard where the goons booed every single touch of his. He must be pleased. And now, this goal. He said only a couple of days back that he wants to score more goals for Chelsea and he started that today. I’m sure we’ll see that side of Ashley Cole next season or next weekend if I’m a bit more greedy.

For the first time since 02-03, Chelsea has finished outside the top two. In other words, first time in Roman’s era. As Jose Mourinho once said, there are champions and there are others. As long as we are not the champions, the place in the table is only of academic interest. But the rules and regulations have clearly shown why 2nd and 3rd are no different while 4th is really a step down. From that perspective, as long as we are 2nd or 3rd it must be fine especially after our mid-season collapse.

Back in January, if you had offered me a third place in the table, I’d have bitten your hands off. Scolari left us in such a state where we would have ended up between Everton and Aston Villa instead of Liverpool and Arsenal. Roman made a timely intervention to save the season. The objective of this season changed from champions to champions league spot. Hiddink has achieved just this plus a fantastic run in the champions league halted only by UEFA. Also, as a bonus he might even win us a trophy next weekend.

It’s a short post today. I’ll sign off now. In the next few days and weeks, we will discuss various things such as the new manager, players to go out, new players to come in, short term tactics, long term strategy, transfer rumours and football news from the rest of the football world. We’re just a match away from another trophy. Here’s hoping that the boys will finish the job this weekend. Cheers! Enjoy!

I’m back Chelsitos! I’m back just in time for the last premier league game of this season. While this is a very key match for Sunderland, one might think that this game is of no consequence for Chelsea. That’s not entirely right. Chelsea are still in with an outside chance to finish runner-up in the premier league. I can say it is still mathematically possible and not very improbable. All that we need is Tottenham to beat Liverpool and Chelsea to beat Sunderland by 5 goals or something. Both these results have happened before but we just need them to happen on Sunday.

Sunderland are still not out of danger. If they are beaten at the Stadium of Lights, they would stay up only if few other results go in their favour. We have some interesting relegation battles on Sunday – Sunderland vs Chelsea, Aston Villa vs Newcastle, Hull City vs Man Utd and West Ham vs Middlesbrough. Expect Sunderland to go for a draw. A draw must keep them up unless incredibly both Newcastle and Hull City win their tough matches against all odds. Man Utd may not have a great motivation to win their match but they might want to sign off with a win. Aston Villa needs to win to confirm their fifth place in the table. So, a draw must be okay for Sunderland.

Under these circumstances, Chelsea need to beat Sunderland by about half a dozen goals and expect Spurs to beat Liverpool. Spurs must be looking to beat Liverpool to get a respectable 7th place in the table. But what I believe is, if Chelsea manage to break Sunderland’s defence and take a lead, the score could end up anywhere. For Sunderland, 0-5 is the same as 0-2. Chelsea need not have to rest any players. If anything, they need to play the first team so that they are all fit and ready for the FA Cup final next weekend.

I think Chelsea would get a big win on Sunday. Anelka must score and must get the golden boot. I’d like to see the whole team rally around Anelka to faciliate him get the golden boot. We saw that in the last match too when Drogba laid off one for Anelka while he could have blasted it himself. I want to see more of that on Sunday to see Anelka win it. Just before the second leg against Barcelona, probably I was the only one to predict a 2-0 win for Chelsea. It turned out to be a 1-1 but if you had seen the match, we were right on the money for a 2-0 win. Now, for this match, I predict a big 4-0 win for Chelsea.

The good thing about Chelsea now is, the smiles are back. As we get closer to the end of a difficult season, even after several heartbreaks and disappointments, the smiles are back. You see smiles, happy faces, celebrations everywhere. I would expect Chelsea to play with complete freedom, flair and celebration. It should be a very good match.

Meanwhile, Frank Lampard has been voted by the fans as the Chelsea player of the season 08-09. He also becomes the first player to win it thrice.  He fully deserved the award. I don’t think there was any competition as he was miles above the second best. Apparently, I voted for him. Michael Mancienne has won the young Chelsea player of the season award. Bit strange. He has not played too many matches to win this award. Capello picked him. That shot up his popularity. In the few matches he played in the Chelsea first team, he did rather well. But I didn’t see him as the young Chelsea player of the season as such. In my view, John Obi Mikel could have won it again, though he was in the running for the senior award too. Also, Essien’s goal against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge was voted the Chelsea goal of the season. It was a great goal but I would not have complained if it was won by Alex’s free kick against Liverpool or Lampard’s delicious chip against Hull.

While I was away, Chelsea sported the new home kit. I’m still not sure if I like that or not. It certainly does not look like the conventional football jersey. I guess the players would look like robots with this revolutionary design. I like the adidas’ three stripes on the sleeves and the fact that it has a disconnect from the three stripes in the shoulder. Actually, this design, this new home jersey reminds me of an armour. The kind of armour that was worn in the medieval days. Adidas probably had that in mind while designing this, perhaps. I probably need to see it more often to like it more. I’ll buy it anyway because it’s a Chelsea jersey!

This one is for the FIFA 09 buddies – EA and Adidas are coming up with an update next week to replace the Chelsea’s old kit in the game with this new kit of 09/10. The updates would be for XBOX 360 and PS3.

While this jersey was unveiled, Adidas also launched a Chelsea campaign called ‘the 12th man’. It is actually called ‘every team needs the 12th man’. Watch this movie on the 12th man campaign featuring Michael Ballack (he is staying then!). Unlike Barcelona who have the referee as their 12th man, Chelsea FC have you and me as the 12th man following and supporting the blues, be it from the Stamford Bridge or from your drawing room couch. Like you have always done, go ahead and show your support for Chelsea FC.

By the way, the last fortnight was quite significant for BlueChampions. For various reasons, I’ve been contacted by The Guardian, Adidas, Setanta and, hold your breath, Chelsea Football Club. Lots of things happening in the background but when it comes to the foreground, you’ll be the beneficiary. Stay tuned for more exciting times. This time, BlueChampions would be busier in the off-season period too. More details would come later. Don’t go away!

How about that for a revenge! Great response and reaction from Chelsea. Arsenal won at Stamford Bridge in Nov 08. They beat us 2-1. I’ve been waiting so long for the return leg. I’ve been waiting for the payback time. I wanted Chelsea to beat Arsenal at the Emigrants. Today, Chelsea paid them back. And they paid them back in double. I’m so happy today. It’s always a great feeling to knock the goners. Today, we didn’t just knock them off, we just simply thrashed them. I heard that Arsenal were on an unbeaten run. 21 matches unbeaten and thrashed at home 4-1. If we were a bit better up front, we would have scored 7 or 8.

A spot in the next champions league is confirmed while Arsenal are forced to play some meaningful qualifying rounds next season. By the way, the only thing that was difference between Wednesday night and today was the referee. And yes, the score line t00. But heck, Arsenal were more threatening that Barca were in 180 minutes of football, home and away. You know what, Abidal got himself sent off against Villareal as they were held to a 3-3 draw with a 90th minute equaliser from Llorente.

Back to this match, as always we took time to wake up. As a result, the first 15 minutes were nervy. Once we settled in, there was going to be only one result. The first goal was a beautiful header by Alex. Drogba’s delivery from the free kick was probably the best thing he did all day. The way Alex headed it in was pure technique. Arsenal know how well Alex can head because it was him who headed them out of the champions league a few seasons back. The second goal was mindblowing. That was Nicolas Anelka’s best Chelsea goal ever. To score such a goal, against Arsenal, at Emigrants, after the champions league semi final, is just simply magnificent. That was the Anelka I have known and seen in Bolton.

The third goal was a good attacking move made better by Ashley Cole’s superb run. Toure putted that in for an own goal but if he had not, Drogba was right there to finish it. It was at this time Bendtner was in. He had his pants on. Essien and Bosingwa together let Bendtner rise above all to score a good header. The fourth goal was again a nice attacking move. Lampard sent a little through pass as Malouda broke the offside trap. I was disappointed to see him not finish it but luckily it had to be him to make it 4-1. There was a hint of offside when Malouda finally scored but that’s fine, I still remember that van Persie goal.

There were at least four clear cut chances that must have been finished with ease. There was even this one-on-one for Lampard that was wrongly called offside. Chelsea were getting stronger and stronger as the match progressed. Arsenal did what they always do. Passing around to an extent they lose the focus and objective. Chelsea defended very very well to restrict them with the opportunities to shoot. Later in the second half Arsenal started delivering crosses into the box and Bosingwa was very uncomfortable with them. Just when I was thinking that Bosingwa could be our leaking weak link, Guus brought on Ivanovic for Bosingwa. Brilliant substitution.

One great positive out of this match was Petr Cech’s goalkeeping. He was just too good today. He was very confident. He commanded his area with authority. He made a few brilliant saves too. Especially, his save of the close range shot from Silvestre was absolutely world class. I only hope that his rare blip in form is over and he is back to being his usual best.

Statistics-wise this was a very even match. Chelsea had 51% possession. Arsenal had 20 shots of which 6 were on target. Chelsea had 18 shots of which  5 were on target. Arsenal outfouled Chelsea by 19 to 14. The column which mattered showed clearly that it was not an even match. 1-4. Now we’ve got just two more matches to go. Finishing second is a difficult task now. Chelsea have Blackburn (home) and Sunderland (away) while Liverpool have West Brom (away) and Tottenham (home). Chelsea must win both and Liverpool must win neither. Highly possible but probability could be low. Anyway, I’m ecstatic that we beat Arsenal at Emigrants. I’m reminded of one typical Arsenal fan’s words after their defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi finals – “Come to the Emirates – the home of football. We’ll teach you a lesson”. All right, thanks a lot!

P.S: I’m away on holiday for the next one week so please help yourselves in the comments section. Cheers!