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Chelsea FC

It's Time for the Title!

Well, within the week, we start a new season with a new coach and yet again many new players.  This is the first closed season in donkeys years that we have offloaded more players than we bought.  Hasselbaink, Gronkjaer, Melchiot, Desailly, Crespo, Veron, Sullivan, Macho, maybe even Mutu.  It is not lost on us true blue fans that several of the players we got rid of are ones that we bought for megabucks last summer.  I hope Roman Abramovich has learned the lesson - you can't win major trophies with loadsamoney and a Biggles Soccer Book for Boys Annual.  Nor can you win trophies by willfully undermining the manager, as happened all too often last season.  But now is not the time to look back, it's time to look forward.

It was hard to be impressed with Jose Mourinho when he first joined Chelsea Bank.  For one thing, the way he walked out on FC Porto 40 seconds after winning the Champions League was witnessed by the whole of Europe.  Then his opening speech at the Bridge, when he slagged off Claudio Ranieri by saying that at least Chelsea now had a great coach in charge, was breathtaking arrogance (and funnily enough, he now thinks it will be hard to win the league next season!).  But I have been impressed with his handling of Peter Kenyon / Roman Abramovich.  We haven't  signed  any 30-something players past their best and looking for one last payday. (No, it's Middlesborough who have taken over that crown!).  Instead, we've gone for younger, less well known, hungry players - Drogba, Kezman, Ferreira, etc are hardly household names.  His idea of tightening up the squad numbers is a good idea.  We need players who are ready to play next game if needed to.

I have been impressed so far, Jose.  But here's the rub.  I will regard it as failure if Chelsea don't win the Premiership or the Champions League this season.  I also believe that most supporters will now see it as failure.  Why?  For several reasons:-

• Because Claudio Ranieri was fired for failing.  He finished 2nd in the Premiership and got to the Champions League semi-finals.  You  only need to do marginally better than this to win one of them.

• Because never in history has a club spent the amount of money we have on players over a 15 month period.  Real Madrid, Man U, Barcelona, Juventus, can only dream of spending what we've spent.

• Because we now have a united Board, which is united behind the manager.  We didn't have that last season, with Trevor Birch & Ken Bates leaving the Board mid-season, while RA and Kenyon in particular had it in for Claudio Ranieri.

• Because of our rivals, Arsenal haven't changed, with Wenger and Vieira both having question marks about their future.  Man U have done little to strengthen their side, and their "class of 93" (Giggs, Scholes, the Neville sisters, Keane) are starting to decline.  Liverpool are starting from too far behind, although I think they will do a lot better this season.  Frankly, the rest aren't at the races.  Chelsea have spent c£80 million this summer alone!

• Because in our last 3 seasons, we have finished 6th, 4th, and 2nd.  There is only one logical next step.

Other supporters might think me arrogant for thinking this way.  But, let's face it, if we don't win one major trophy then we will have failed.....and everyone will be laughing at our folly in spending supercash, and firing a manager all for nothing.  And let's get another thing clear, winning the FA Cup or League Cup does not count as a major trophy here.  Yes, it would be nice to win one of them.  But, did you notice Man U players dancing round the Millennium Stadium after winning the FA Cup?  Did you hell!  Why was that?  Because they knew that their season was defined by how they did in the Champions League and the Premiership race, and they knew that the FA Cup was only a consolation.

In short then, Roman / Peter / Jose, it's one of the two major trophies or bust for you this season.  Thankfully, I think we will win one.  Remember, Chelsea's only ever championship took place in our 50th year.  This year is our centenary.  Oh, and if you do win it this year, don't leave it another 50 before you do it again!!

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