Chelsea - The road ahead...

Well, only the football faithful will understand what I'll be talking about here, the others are advised not to read further if you have something better to do.
For quite a while this season, I have been concerned over the inconsistency shown by Chelsea and the season has started to go downhill for them after their defeat to Inter. I forecast a single trophy season again for Chelsea, and the only cabinet that will soon need expanding will be the one holding all the FA cups and nothing more. Chelsea these days reminds me more of the South African cricket team of a few years back, the biggest chokers in the game. SA have partly shed their tag since then, and Chelsea needs to do something to get out of the rut as well. Watching the same squad dish out more or less the same brand of football over time has made me question the club's reluctance not to develop some of its young talents over the years. For as much as Ancelotti has spoken about his desire to develop young talent this season, other than one FA cup game when 3 youngsters were fielded, he hasn’t really walked the talk. I can understand that a club like Chelsea has to win trophies with big names in the side, but it needs to develop its academy and have a sensible wage structure in place to become a long-term story. Abrahamovich has recently spoken of his desire to make the club self sustainable, which is a tough act to follow, given the space constraint in the stadium. A larger stadium is the need of the hour and if Stamford Bridge cannot be expanded (as many articles have made clear given the property disputes in and around the stadium), then a new location should be scouted rather than increasing ticket prices, which are already multiple times of some of the smaller sides in the country. But most of all, the club needs a look at its wage structure. Chelsea next season should bid farewell to some of its highly paid stalwarts who have not really produced a commensurate level of performance to justify their stay. So out with Deco, Farreira, Baletti, Ballack and Hilario for starters. Replacements should not be sought externally though but internally. Deco and Ballack's absence should be anyway made up when Essien returns from injury. Add Nemanja Matic to the fold, a youngster that Chelsea invested in last year and produced re-assuring performances whenever called on to do so, and Chelsea does not need any more cover. The best football Chelsea produced was when Duff and Robben terrorized Premier League defences by attacking the wings and interchanging positions. That time was 4 years ago and arguably Chelsea's biggest transfer gaffe till date hasn’t been the acquisition of Shevchenko but the sale of Robben to Madrid, something that was repeated by the La Liga club as Robben has become the fulcrum of Bayern's commanding performances recently. The Chelsea of the day needs that flair. While many would argue that the flame still burns in Joe Cole, I feel he needs a big kick up his backside to really up the level of his performances which have bordered on dismal after return from injury. This is where Chelsea should find a reinforcement, a name that immediately comes to mind being that of Dzagoev. That he is not off the radar means his signature will not come cheap but since he plays in one of the clubs which is influenced by Abrahamovich in the Russian league means that the deal should be finalized if he provides his blessings to do so. Chelsea has an abundance of talent in the middle of the pitch for it not to go looking elsewhere. Stoch should be recalled from FC Twente where he has become one of the dominant players this season, and Kakuta should be finally given a chance to show his real talent. With Molouda and Zirkoff thrown in as well, there is no dearth of flair in the Chelsea squad. Up front, despite talk all season, no reinforcements are required at all. Drogba's level of performance has convinced me that he is in his prime and with Anelka beside him in attack, a big name is not required. Anelka should ideally play in the space just behind Drogba, because for all his deadly accuracy, it is his movement off the ball and the dummy runs which makes him invaluable to the side. Add to the mix Sturridge, Kolou and Borini and Chelsea need no more strikers. Perhaps a case for extending Di Santo's loan spell makes sense, but to a better side than Wanderers who just play long balls in a hope to score. Maybe a Fulham or Wigan will make him a much better player and that is the way he should head. Bosingwa's return from injury means that Ivanovic can return to the centre of the pitch alongside Terry, with a slowing Carvalho still a dominant force but one that should be protected more often. It is a pity that Alex is in a side that has so many world class talents, for if he were in any other side, even United, he would have been a natural starter this season. But making sure he stays should allow Chelsea not to dip into their pockets for a defensive signing. There is a case for a left sided defender to be bought as a backup for Cole allowing Zirkoff to play further up the pitch, a position I believe he will perform much better in. A young goalie as a backup to Cech and Turnbull, who looked accomplished in the Inter defeat, should also be thought about. I reckon, these are the only 3 additions that Chelsea really needs, and the likes of Aguero who were demanding 200k a week as wages should be left for City or Madrid to pick up. No wholesale changes are required, but a wholesale change in the attitude is definitely the need of the hour.

London!!

Its my second time here in this brilliant city called London. It is perhaps as chilly as my last visit near Christmas and that suits me well, I will take chilly over humid and warm any time. When I compare this place to Mumbai, there are many many many things that are better here than in Mumbai; clean air and environment, polite and warm people, awesome food and drinks, better roads, less of crowds, better party and night scene, much better shopping arcades, wide open and green spaces…and I can go on and on. Yesterday I started thinking of things that are better in India or Mumbai and this place cannot match. And I came up with surprisingly few. If I take away the friends and family that I have in my home country, I can think of pretty much nothing that India can offer me that this place cannot match and better. Yes, maybe the quality of advertisements here needs to be improved. UK has some of the most appalling scripts and actors in the commercials, and our adverts back home are way better any day, even the DoCoMo jingle crap will beat back anything that these guys show on air. Maybe the operational timings of the shops can be better, I mean downing shutters at 7pm on a weekdays is hardly justified. But then that’s it. I almost feel like not going back to India at all. Of course, that’s not in my hands and I will duly complete my 3 week stint and head back to the city of crappy infrastructure, crowds, dust and humidity. So maybe I should enjoy my time here the best I can. And it may just be that there are many things that I cannot perceive right now, which might surface if I am here for longer. In that respect 3 weeks at a time may just be the ideal way to come to this place. Like they say, all good things come in small doses!