There's a sense that everything is falling into place
for Chelsea this season. Problem areas that
prevented a trophy last season have been
addressed, the squad has been trimmed and most
bookies are again making Chelsea favourites for
the Premier League crown.
Saying goodbye to long-serving players Frank
Lampard and Ashley Cole was hard, but the time
was right. Selling Romelu Lukaku and David Luiz
may not have been ideal in every Chelsea fan's
opinion, but the money gained from those bits of
business has been well invested.
And then there's King Didier being reunited with
mentor Mourinho. Drogba appeared to end his
Chelsea career in fairytale fashion when he scored
the equaliser and won a penalty on that
Champions League final night in Munich, bowing
out after eight years of fantastic service to the
club. After spending time in China and Turkey,
the lure of returning to Chelsea under Mourinho
with the opportunity to further cement himself as
a club legend proved too much.
Like an extended version of a film, Chelsea's
2014/15 season is set to be bigger, better and full
of even more special moments than last time and
here's why.
Transfers
Chelsea got their man in Diego Costa who, if his
pre-season form is anything to go by, will
hammer in the goals the team lacked last year.
Adding Cesc Fabregas as a replacement for the
departed Frank Lampard is another great move
and Filipe Luis was superb for Atletico Madrid
last season and is a fine addition to the squad.
Drogba returning for free should provide plenty of
influence and leadership in the changing room
along with impact off the bench. All four 'new'
signings at Chelsea this season have a clear role to
play in the coming year and undoubtedly make
for a stronger squad.
Pre-season
Pre-season friendlies are a time for clubs to
experiment and allow every player a chance to
prove their worth, which is what Chelsea have
done, so there's little point reading too much into
the results especially as they didn't come up
against the strongest opposition. Having said that,
there are plenty of positives the team can take
from them.
Diego Costa's four goals, including a dazzling solo
effort against Fenerbahce, will build the
confidence he needs to have a huge impact this
season.
Youngsters Kurt Zouma and Nathan Ake got good
run outs and Fabregas and Mohamed Salad
grabbed a couple of goals too. Meanwhile, both
Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois were given an
equal amount of playing time as Mourinho works
out who will be his number one.
Big Games To Look Forward To
As always, games against fellow title contenders
such as Manchester City, Manchester United,
Arsenal and Liverpool are always tasty affairs.
The showdown with Manchester City has the
added interest of seeing whether Frank Lampard
will make an appearance as well as being a
possible title decider.
Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge and especially
Romelu Lukaku will all want to get one over on
Chelsea when Manchester United, Liverpool and
Everton visit Stamford Bridge. On the other hand,
Cesc Fabregas will relish the opportunity to put a
few past his old club Arsenal in one of many
London derbies.
Predictions
Chelsea now have that striker Mourinho wanted,
along with two brilliant holding midfielders in
Matic and Fabregas, two world-class goalkeepers
and have hung onto last season's stars in Eden
Hazard and Oscar as well as strengthening the
defence.
Managerial stability is also on the horizon as
Mourinho starts the second season of his second
term and he and his team will be hungry for at
least one trophy after last season's empty hands.
As long as there are no major injuries or drops in
form, then there's no reason why Chelsea can't
win their third league title under Mourinho, the
FA Cup and at least make the last four of the
Champions League (Real Madrid and maybe
Bayern Munich could prove too strong).
A title-deciding late Drogba strike would be the
icing on the cake, but that could be being too
greedy.
Prediction: First in the league, the FA Cup trophy
and Champions League semi-finals.
By Graham Matthews, FTBpro.com Chelsea
fan
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