It’s that time of the season again! Top Chelsea story of the day is Wayne Bridge’s move to Man City. When rumours surfaced in summer that Liverpool were looking to sign Bridge, I wanted him to stay. This time around, I think it’s win-win for all, especially because of the sum involved. If the rumours are to be believed it’s in the region of £12m. For a 28-year old perpetually second choice left back, £12m is a very handsome sum. This is an offer Chelsea FC cannot refuse, given the current market conditions.

If they have a good deal, no problem for me. I think it’s better you ask Peter [Kenyon], because Peter knows everything that has happened. I don’t know what has happened yesterday, today, and I have a meeting after training with Peter when I will ask about what has happened, if we have a deal or not. If any club wants to buy some players from Chelsea, offer big money because if you play in Chelsea you are very good and we need to receive a big offer. After we will discuss internally and if the player agrees, it is no more my job. I am a coach. Money is not my business, it is a business for the board and owner, not for me.

Though he almost sounds that transfers happen without his knowledge, I think all he is trying to say is that if too good an offer is received, it becomes more of a board decision than a manager’s decision. Interestingly, he does not refer to his role as that of a manager. He calls himself a ‘coach’ which sounds inferior to a ‘manager’. He comes from the continent and he seems to stick those principles and practices. Looks like he has no problem in Wayne Bridge leaving for Man City. That means the cover for Ashley Cole would be Ivanovic or Paulo Ferreira. Or it could be someone who might come in. While I was thinking in those lines, Scolari surprises us with this:

Now is the time for transfers, for speculation, everything. Now is the time, every day in the newspaper 10 players come, 10 players out, we expect [this] and we say something when we receive offers, or we offer for some players to come to Chelsea. Until now, nothing. If I want players, I never say to the press before I say to Peter. Any name in the newspaper is speculation, managers that want to sell players. With my mouth, nothing. I am happy with my players here, I don’t want other players.

Only a few weeks back, he said this:

We lack an organiser who can get hold of the ball, get forward and energise our front line. I just have players who work on the ball. Deco, Ballack and Lampard can all shoot but I don’t have a player who can dribble. There is no point in me weeping or moaning or seeking blame. I have to find a solution – and that is what I will do.

He had openly said that he wanted a ‘dribbling playmaker’. Now with the sale of Wayne Bridge, he’d have about £12m to spend. But today he clearly says that ‘he is happy with his players and he doesn’t want other players’. I’m not sure if he really means it. I think he would sign a player or two from the sale proceeds. Who else is up for sale? Not Paulo Ferreira, because Wayne Bridge is going. Ferreira has played as full back on either sides and even occasionally played as a centre back.

So Scolari retains his countryman. I don’t say this with my tongue-in-cheek. Between Wayne Bridge and Paulo Ferreira, it makes sense to transfer list Wayne because Paulo would never fetch something like £12m. As money is a matter of big concern, Wayne is on his way out. But, it’s also a gamble from Scolari. If, God forbid, Ashley Cole is not available for something like a champions league semi final, would you feel confident about Ferreira taking the field against the one of the best players in the world? As I said, that’s a gamble, unless Scolari has other ideas.

I would love to see Scolari rotate his players. If he’s going to wait for injuries and suspensions to bring on second choice players, some more would show impatience and would like to move elsewhere for first team opportunities. With Bridge out, our set of second choice players are Alex, Ivanovic and Ferreira. Alex is a want-away player. Ivanovic was want-away player. Ferriera does not add too much value now. There is a strong case for Scolari to keep rotating his players to keep them happy and engaged.

One bright spot is that Scolari has talked about using the youth players. He says Mancienne, Bruma and Sawyer are all training with him. That’s good news. If I had seen the names Sinclair, Fabio Paim and Di Santo, I’d have been happier. Capello picking Mancienne must have been a bit embarrassing for Chelsea FC. We should have considered players like Mancienne for matches against league one and league two opponents. Even with 4-0 up in 70 minutes, Scolari brings on only Ferreira, while he should have handed a start to Ferreira and subbed him with someone like Mancienne. If we haven’t used these youngsters in the first half of the season, I doubt if we would use them in the busy business end of the season!

There are also some other interesting Chelsea rumours. Here are the big ones:

Cash from Wayne Bridge sale to fund the purchase of Luiz Fabiano: Why Luiz Fabiano is my question! When Scolari has Drogba and Anelka, he is unwilling to play them together and he’s even gone on record with this admission. That would mean he’s not going to play a two-striker formation. With Drogba not leaving (surprisingly no transfer rumours surrounding Drogba), why would we need another striker of Fabiano’s calibre? I would dismiss this rumour.

Ben Arfa to be bought from Wayne Bridge sales: Ben Arfa is young and he is a left winger. He is quick and fiery. Known to be a troublemaker. Is it Ben Arfa that Scolari needs? I’m not too positive about Ben Arfa. I don’t think he can bring anything better than what Malouda or Kalou can. I’d say, let’s stay away from him.

Alex to be sold to fund the purchase of Kleber: Alex was rumoured to have handed the transfer request. After that, Roman was supposed to have had a talk with Alex to iron out things. I hope that must have happened already. With Bridge going out, Alex is in fact, very crucial. For that matter, all the defenders that we have now will have to be retained because of Wayne’s move. And to sell Alex to AC Milan for Kleber? 28-year old left back from Santos. I’ve never heard of him. If anyone of you know, let us all know.

Malouda to be swapped for Cicinho: Yet another Brazilian finding his name in the rumours concerning Chelsea. As far as I know Cicinho is a right back, a brazilian type I mean. Why another right back, that too of Cicinho’s quality? If Scolari thinks that Cicinho can also play as a winger, I’m not sure if it would work.

Roman keen to sign Yuri Zhirkov: With his own business connections, Roman can land Zhirkov in London if he really wishes but 25-year old Yuri is quite an important player for CSKA too. As a versatile left sided player, he could fit as a replacement for Wayne Bridge as well as Malouda. I would take Yuri ahead of a Fabiano or a Ben Arfa considering who we exactly need now. Only rumour that excited me today. I’d check how this one progresses.

Funnily, there is no ‘dribbling playmaker’ in any of these rumours. May be some of our playmakers learnt to dribble since Phil made that comment! Also I see that four out of five rumours involve a Brazilian or a Portuguese. One thing I want to say is that these are rumours. It’s not that I believe in all these. Some come true, some don’t. I just have given my tuppence on the rumours. That’s it.

And finally, we’ve got a match to win tomorrow. One good thing about tomorrow’s opponent is that they are not Bromley. After Barnsley and Burnley, a game against Bromley would have psyched me out. I remember Southend United eliminating a full-strength Man Utd from league cup few seasons back. Even without this anecdote, Chelsea won’t take Southend lightly because we’ve been ‘upsetted’ twice by lowly opponents in the last 12 months. Scolari can say whatever, but he needs to win this match, win this rather comfortably. I’d have been more comfortable with a premier league opponent than this league one team. I think the Chelsea team are becoming a bit complacent quite easily or even plain lethargic at times. Against a league one opponent, at Stamford Bridge, I feel jittery. I know it’s a shameful thing to say, but that’s how I feel.

Some players would not play the game tomorrow due to injury, suspension or rest. Cech, Terry, Ballack and Bosingwa may not be playing. Some youngsters could be played. Drogba would surely play. No matter who plays, we gotta win. Scolari wins no brownie points by winning this match but if he loses this one, it would be another black mark on his short Chelsea career. It wouldn’t be a disaster though if we drop out of the FA Cup. The crowd at Stamford Bridge would demand a performance to offset the disappointment against Burnley. Kick off is at 15:00 UK. Doubt if it’s televised. Knock them over, Phil! Chelsea to win 3-0.