BlueChampions - The backyard of Chelsea FC!

Drogba has been on the headlines for some days now. He is in fine form but that’s no reason to find his name in the tabloid headlines anymore. All that he needs to say is something bordering on remotely controversial or at least something vague or ambiguous. Of late, he’s been pretty clear on what he wants to say and the Press have a new scapegoat from Chelsea to make up for the loss of Mourinho.

Just before the Valencia match, he had said that he wants to leave Chelsea. He said something is definitely broken with Chelsea and went on to score a brilliant winner at Mestalla. Later on, he apologised for his outburst and committed his 100% to Chelsea. He scored more and looked all fine until this news broke.

In France, a DVD titled “The Incredible Destiny of Didier Drogba” was released last week where he had made some damning statements, at least some thought so! So what did he say after all?

I was disgusted. I realised that signing for Chelsea was disgusting. It’s hard to explain. It’s hard to understand because most of all, people see the financial side, or even the sporting side. But I simply wasn’t happy. I said to myself ‘I couldn’t give a damn’ that Marseille have accepted a bid. Maybe that’s going to shock supporters of Chelsea, but I didn’t want to leave. I even did some things that were almost absurd, in order not to go to Chelsea, such as during the medical. Going to the hospital in Paris, I was praying they would find a problem with my knee, or a problem with anything so the move would collapse.

The problem with being honest is that we are not used to so much honesty. A false honey-coated diplomacy would help him keep his fans and add more but he wants to speak his heart out. The above text is what is being circulated in the Press. Let me try to put this in perspective.

It was in 2004, when Chelsea was not quite a major force in English or European football. Drogba loved it at Marseille. He wanted to play there forever. He did not want to go anywhere, may be not to a club like Chelsea. He was disgusted. I repeat, he WAS disgusted. That WAS his feeling when he left Marseille for Chelsea. For me, that’s understandable and okay as long as he has changed his mind. Has he changed his mind?

I think so. He loved playing under Jose. He appeared to love the club, the fans and the adulation he got. The British Press scared, annoyed and insulted him. He went on to win the golden boot against all odds. Then his mentor was sacked in an unpleasant manner. He was reported to have cried and cried inconsolably. He said he wanted to leave Chelsea as he was unhappy. He is certainly not the first player to say he is unhappy at his club.

In the same DVD, he has said this too:

I again wanted to leave after the second season and it was a really tough time. Chelsea fans were whistling and jeering me and I don’t know many players who would like that – being booed by your own crowd. I was being accused of going down too easily – all kinds of rubbish. I reckon people were also getting after the manager at that time and, perhaps, one way to get at him was to have a go at me – one of the players who was closest to him. To destabilise Mourinho it was easy to have a go at me. Now I’m really proud that, after my third season in England, I managed to change the way people in this country looked at me and saw me as a footballer. Mourinho changed to 4-4-2 which allowed me to express myself much better and I had my best season ever, even exceeding my time at Marseille, which had been my yardstick up to then.

Hardly any player pledges his career or life for a club. Players come and players go. So are managers. In one line, Drogba just said that he did not want to leave Marseille then and now he is unhappy at Chelsea. I don’t see what’s the big fuss about all this. Papers sold a few thousands of copies more than usual, thanks to Drogba.

Having said so much, Drogba is replaceable. He’s given us some nice memories. I like him as a player, as a contributor to team’s success, as a selfless individual who gives his all every time he is on the pitch. But he is replaceable. Chelsea FC has stayed mum to his rants. Roman clearly does not like such type of big-mouthed people (as we saw with Jose) and should already be weighing his options for January.

I’d like him to stay despite all this, but wouldn’t be too worried if he leaves in May.