Chelsea were lucky that after the Carling cup final defeat, they had to play only West Ham and Olympiakos. The players got their act together, AG got his team/bench selection right and we simply dismissed them with 7 goals scored and none conceded. Once again, after the shock upset against Barnsley, Chelsea gets to play easier oppositions – Derby and Sunderland – before the big games.

What it does is give us enough time to re-coup and prepare for the biggies. Derby at No.20 in a league table of 20 teams. Playing at home, we are supposed to roll them over, batter them with goals from right, left and centre and give away nothing at all. As always I expect a commanding and strong performance that lets our rival know that Chelsea is still in the hunt. Once again, AG has a full squad (minus Cech) to choose from. So if there is one area we cannot go wrong, it is team selection. I would dump 4-3-3 out of the window and take 4-4-2 with Anelka and Drogba on attack. I would pair Lampard and Ballack as they seem to be getting along very well after all. I would drop Essien and have Mikel play in central midfield. Joe Cole should play as the right midfielder. Lampard would be the left midfielder while Mikel and Ballack are in the centre. I would go for a tried and tested bunch in the back four too – Terry, Carvalho, Ashley Cole and Belletti.

There were many news stories on Avram admitting that he can expect the sack if he does not win premier league or champions league. I don’t know how much of it were true. If Roman is going to judge Avram purely as the Chelsea manager and not as his buddy, he should be out if this ends as a trophyless season. We can accept a rophyless season if we are in some kind of transition. When we evidently see that the Chelsea we know is weakening by the day and in the process has not obtained anything new, a trophyless season is a criminal waste. As we see all our rivals are strengthening (if Rafa leaves, Pool will be strengthened) while are diminishing.

Though there are rumours that Roman will keep AG for the next season too and give him a 100m budget, that does not mean we will get the choicest of players. I do not see any hot prospect between 18 to 24 years to choose Chelsea. Franco di Santo is not a hot prospect, he is just an unknown commodity. By hot prospect I mean those players who have already caught the eyes of club managers and not just scouts. Of course the ‘get-rich-quick’ factor plays a major role but players are very particular about the manager they play for. Working under AG is an exciting prospect for Aguerro? I don’t know.

With Avram, it’s not just about his big stage failures. He has not brought anything new to Chelsea which did not exist before him. Also, he has not made an impression that he is the boss. He looks to be resigned to defeat and his insecurity is all over him. He does not give confidence to a fan like me. I don’t know how much he can motivate players. If the players don’t respect the manager, they won’t be playing as a unit as they won’t be executing the manager’s orders. Ten Cate has spoke to Dutch newspapers that the players intentionally leak news that are supposed to be within four walls. Now, I can seriously question the players trust, respect and confidence on the team management and also the team management’s ability to keep things under control. This is not a case where one or two players having strained relationship with the boss for not being played. That’s completely understandable. These look lot more serious.

Under these circumstances, players may feel fed up and look for somewhere else and new players may not join as they may not be excited to work under such circumstances. If Grant stays beyond the summer, that’s a bloody major decision by Roman. I hope he takes long hard look at the situation and takes a sensible decision.

Coming back to this match, now don’t even talk about anything less than a win. Arsenal are crumbling slowly but surely. Now we are within reach of both Arsenal and Man Utd. If Man Utd loses their next match and if we win our two games on hand (Derby & Sunderland), we will be just 2 points below the table leader. How incredible is that? When Chelsea plays Arsenal and Man Utd, we would be witnessing the season defining matches at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal ended our title hopes at the Emigrants last season. I would like Chelsea to return the favour at Stamford Bridge.

I’m sure we’re gonna beat Derby very comfortably at Stamford Bridge. Derby have managed just 10 points in 28 matches, the lowest of what No.20 teams have managed in other leagues such as La Liga, Serie A etc. They have score 5 goals in 14 away games while conceding 33. On an average they concede 2-3 goals in every away match. If Chelsea is really fired up and want to show a reaction, we must be scoring 5 or 6. Now the last thing I want to see is Avram Grant in the post match conference saying that we created goals by combinations, we controlled the game, we showed character after the defeat to mighty Barsnley etc. My advice to Grant: Let’s demolish Derby and act as if nothing happened because we are supposed to demolish them.

My prediction is a 4-0. I will update this post as we get more team news. Bye!