Ken Barkway gives us his take on what the summer silly season will mean for Chelsea…
So the season has ended and despite the natural Chelsea unwillingness to count chickens, we partied hard, twice, once the chickens broke the shell, after the title was clinched with the hard fought win against Palace, and then deju vu visited all over again after the trophy was handed over at season’s end after the Sunderland game.
Proper season reviews have been done already by proper writers (read Claytons lovely piece elsewhere on this very site).
It seems only fit to offer a misty eyed farewell to half of the spine of what has been Chelsea’s greatest team.
Petr Cech looks likely to move on. Big Pete has been all but infallible for 10 years. He’ll be missed by all at Cobham where he is a hugely influential presence, a model professional, a highly intelligent and articulate man (in several languages) and a passable grunge drummer. He’ll certainly be missed by John Terry who had a telepathic understanding with Petr, he could knock a backward header from thirty yards or leave a ball and Petr would be exactly where JT expected him.
Petr has never been dropped for losing form; you can count his errors over that decade on one hand. How many players can you say that about? Ever since he sustained that horrific injury against Reading, there have been naysayers claiming that he’s not as good as he was. He is. He will be for a good few years yet for whoever is fortunate enough to obtain his signature. Since that injury he has won the golden glove, the double and then there was Munich, his quiet heroism was key to upsetting the odds that steamy night. Facing six spot kicks, stopping half of them, going the right way for all of them.
Which leads seamlessly to the other (noisier) vertebra in that spine….
Didier is definitely going. Didier was the stuff of Arsenal nightmares, their Golem, the ultimate big game player, a force of nature, a warrior. If there was a final he’d score. A player with such incredible presence on the big occasion it felt like he can win the big games with his strength of will alone
, never more so than in Munich.
Away from the pitch he is quite a different man, hospital building charity patron, doting father and modest, quietly spoken gentleman. I had the fortune to meet him away from being Didier Drogba superstar in the comfort of his own home, he said that he was “playing one more year, then that’s it”, I had naturally assumed he’d stay at Chelsea, perhaps leaning more towards coaching than playing, at Cobham he has worked closely with Costa and especially Hazard. Eden himself has recently credited Didier with persuading him to join Chelsea. It wasn’t to be though; MLS is increasingly looking his most likely destination. I hope he will return in some capacity after next season. In his two years in China and Turkey his family remained in the UK so it is likely that he’ll return in some capacity.
Which leaves the Captain, Leader, Legend as the sole survivor of the four man spine of that trophy harvesting machine. One day maybe they’ll get a much deserved statue. But statues for the living is a bit Arsenal so for now we’ll wish them all the very best.
What of the future?
The press has been in a frenzy of dribbling, bonkers speculation for months.
Apparently we have been on the verge of signing, Robert Green, Nathaniel Clyne, Paul Pogba, Sami Khadeira, Anton Griezman, Ronaldo, Messi, Bale, Higuan, Falcao, Benteke. Now I know FFP has been relaxed but hell will freeze over long before most (if not all) of these players pull on a blue shirt. Some have already moved elsewhere.
On the other side of the books, the gentlemen of the press have been on the verge of losing/disposing with; Cuadrado, Mikel, Felipe Luis, Oscar, Costa (?!), Remy, Salah. Again most of these will stay; I imagine that Salah will move on to Italy where his brand of high speed harem scarem football seems to better fit. Of course providing the price is right.
Jose has said he is happy with the squad and wants to retain his current squad. Undoubtedly a couple of players will move on for the right price. He has also been quoted as saying that he would like a defender, a forward and a midfield player. Now that could just be classic Jose talking and avoiding saying anything much. It does however make sense, quality depth is definitely required to compete on three or four fronts and it won’t all come from the youth set up. As to who will come and go, no-one knows hence the long, colourful and let’s face it, at best speculative list of suspects.
In the end I believe that in a similar vein to last year that Marina Granovskia will be getting good business done early in the window in order to get the squad rested and reconvened for pre seasons US tour, followed by the punishing defence of the English crown and a sustained tilt at the European one.
The recent policy of buying young talent which is likely to appreciate has been highlighted by the recently released research from the Football Observatory on player/squad values.
A quick scan of the players in the list demonstrates the appreciation in the value of players. This is the model, long gone are the days of buying at the top of the market.
Whatever happens it will be interesting.
Follow Ken on twitter @KenBarkway
