You’re getting a little impatient, aren’t you? There is so much happening in the transfer market while there is no action from Chelsea. It’s very strange for various reasons. We’ve got a new manager and that’s always the best excuse to spend millions. The new manager comes an ailing top team of another league. That’s another reason for purchases. Roman’s got the money and all rumours about his recession money drain is all wrong. That’s another great reason. Plus, more than anything, just like in a designer apparel shop, the best of the best gets sold in no time. Waiting may not really help you.

While Ancelotti has given his interview in English and all that, he hasn’t really come out to say what he plans to do for this season. I don’t expect him to share the secrets but at least the fundamentals like: (i) What is the squad size we have in mind? (ii) Are we looking to buy players? (iii) Which positions are we looking at? (iv) Are we planning to offload some players? These are some very basic questions which can be answered while keeping the secrets close to his chest.

The good news of the week: Florent Malouda has signed a 4-year contract with Chelsea FC that keeps him here until 2013. That’s great news from variuos perspectives. I like Malouda very much. He is very talented and works very hard. He is good spirited and works for the team. He is very much back in form and would soon reach his heights of Lyon days. The fact that Malouda is given a four year contract tells me two contradicting things. Either Ancelotti might very well be keen on playing 4-3-3 or he is not going to play 4-3-3 but he needs a low maintenance winger just in case he plays 4-3-3.

There’s a rumour that Chelsea have signed the 18-year old Czech goalkeeper Jan Sebek on a long contract. If it’s true that’d be very good news. He is young, he is Czech and he is going to be an understudy for the great Petr Cech. If Jan Sebek is a decent goalkeeper already, he would learn immensely in this role and would be a good back up from the club’s point of view.

If rumours are to be believed, the entire AC Milan team would sign for Chelsea FC and move over to London. And Chelsea will have a squad of about 47 players. Hold. Let’s look only at the rumours that borders on the news. Andrea Pirlo is the biggest of all rumours. Some of us worried to hear this rumour, because he is another 30-year old ‘past-his-prime’ star from a slower and weaker league. He is even seen as the next Deco. I doubt though. Deco was certainly on the wane when he quit Barca. Barca’s management and fans wanted to see him quit. Pirlo has not waned. He is still ace at what he does best. The Milan fans absolutely want him to stay. He has at least couple of years of top level football left in him. I like Pirlo a lot. How will he fare in the premier league? It’s just so hard to predict. I’d say, if he is available on loan, I’d grab the offer.

Then comes the Pato rumour. When Pato moved from Brazil to Europe, Chelsea were also in the race to sign him. I remember that I was so confident that we would sign him that I put him his image on the sidebar calling him Chelsea’s young sensation. Like any latin american footballer would do, he chose a south european club. His moving to Milan was such a disappointment for me back then. Now, there seems to be a chance of snatching him back. He apparently loves Ancelotti and wants to work with him, irrespective of the climate and the language of the place of work. He could be expensive but he might be worth it. He is young, he is very promising (more than Bojan Krkic) and he is tipped as a future footballer of the year. How many of the current crop of young players can you say would be a footballer of the year in the future? This kid is special. If we can get him, we must.

Essien’s agent has dropped a bombshell that he would take offers from Real Madrid and Barcelona very seriously. He is an agent of a top footballer. He is just doing his job. Essien has clearly mentioned how much he loves Chelsea and that he wants to stay with Chelsea. Something tells me that he would never leave Chelsea. I could be very naive in saying this. We are not in a generation where footballers stay in the club for more than 5 seasons. I think the days of one-club footballers like Maldini are gone. Anyway, I still think that Essien would remain at Chelsea. While successes do create that team spirit, it is the occasional failures that create the bonding with the team and the club. I think Essien does feel that sense of belonging with the club. I read this line from Mikel, “I stay with Chelsea and win the champions league”. Lovely!

Not sure how many of you got to see the ‘message to the supporters’ from John Terry. It’s a couple of weeks late but it’s still relevant. So here it is:

Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you once again to every single one of you for your support this season. Each of us in the dressing room and behind the scenes fully appreciates the lengths you go to all year round to support the team, whether it be at the Bridge, or at away games around the country and in Europe. I would also like to say a special thank you to Guus Hiddink, who has been just brilliant since he arrived here in February. He came at a difficult time when things looked like they were slipping away from us, so to lead us to an FA Cup Final and within a whisker of the Champions League Final, is a great achievement.

That said, third place in the league isn’t good enough for Chelsea anymore. It’s our worst finish since Mr Abramovich bought the club and we all know we need to do better. It is fantastic to win the FA Cup but we want more and that’s the way it needs to be for us these days. We will all enjoy the time we have off now and come back for pre-season as determined as ever and of course looking forward to achieving great things with the new manager Carlo Ancelotti. This year we are off to America for four games in the summer, and we’ll be hoping to see some big crowds against an impressive line-up of opposition. Enjoy your summer and see you next season.

It’s interesting to see that JT says third place is not good enough and it’s worst we’ve finished under Roman.

Surprisingly, still no transfer action at Chelsea. No one’s come in and no one’ gone out. You hear that Roman has bought the most expensive yacht (£300m or something) in the world. Things must now be better for Roman who was rumoured to sell Chelsea to buy a yacht. He was seen bidding world record amounts for Kaka sometime earlier and I just hope he did not dump the Chelsea transfers in the sea.

With Real Madrid in a rampant mood, as always, off the pitch, they tempt evey football player. Lots of pluses playing for Real Madrid. They are the biggest club in the world. Their record is unparalleled. You get to play in sunny spain. You’re in the Spanish capital. You get to play in the team where Kaka and Ronaldo play. You’ll get all the money you want and more, unless you’re name is Robinho. Players like Ribery and Villa are all just probably waiting for a call from them. Who wants to play for Chelsea FC when Real is calling?

In a way, I’m happy that Real is spending big bucks. Last season, we saw from Man City and Tottenham that money spent has little to do with where you end up on the table. Let Madrid spend £200 million in this summer alone. I’m still waiting for more poisonous comments on how they are killing football with their money. If Man City took the limelight off Chelsea last season, Real Madrid has wiped us off the bad boys map. Good for us.

We should forget these 5-star targets whom the Madrids, Barcas and Milans are after. Enough of this Kaka, Villa, Ribery nonsense. I’d love to see them here but it appears completely improbable now. There are some good 4-star and 3-star targets. Players like Tevez, Podolski, Schweinsteiger etc. These players are all young enough to be called next generation players for Chelsea. As in, they can stay here for another 4 or 5 seasons. There’s a rumour that Ancelotti called Tevez and offered to take him at Chelsea. I’m a big fan of Carlos Tevez and I’d love to see him in Chelsea colours. Also there is this great Real Madrid sale that seems to offer gems like van der Vaart, Sneijder, Robben, Huntelaar etc.

While I can come up with a wishlist of who I want to see in Chelsea this summer, I’m still not sure what system Ancelotti wants to play. That would be very crucial for our transfer business. If he is going to continue our 4-3-3, we are well off already and a little bit of strengthening would help. If he is going to play his 4-3-2-1 christmas tree, then few of our players would become redundant, say Malouda, Kalou, Di Santo etc. The rumours about Malouda being offered to clubs is worrying. I have always like Malouda and with his resurgence, I simply don’t want to leave him. Also this means we could very well be changing our system for this season. With offers flying from Kaka to Ribery to Tevez to Zhirkov, I just wonder what is that we want to do? What’s the vision that we have in mind?

We don’t have to be Real Madrid. Let’s buy players for football reasons and for football reasons only. Let’s look at what system we want to play. Let’s look at whether we have the right players to play that system. Let’s look at what and who we lack and go for the roles and not for the players. Exactly, we should have roles in mind and find the players that would fit that role. When we bought Shevchenko and Ballack, we went for the players and not for the roles. We should not commit that mistake again.

What are our priorities now?

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So who are we buying and selling this summer? If we were asked this question in winter, we might have come up with a list of OUT players and IN players. The reason is, under Scolari, the team looked somewhat incompetent to win anything big. Some players tested our patience and looked impossible to improve. We appeared to have too many weak areas and hence wanted a complete overhaul of the squad. Opinions have changed now. Opinions on Malouda have changed. Opinions on Bosingwa have changed. Opinions on Anelka have changed. Everything looks fine now. Full credit to Hiddink.

Now, the team looks rather complete. There is no need for a overhaul or exodus which was a popular cry in the middle of the season. We have the some key players who keep the team together. Some new players have stepped up to the challenge. Some near-failures have resurrected their form and probably, careers. We have very little need to be worried about. We are not in a situation like Arsenal for starters. While there are so many places that need not be filled or worried about, there are a few spots of bother.

In the goal, we have only Petr Cech and Hilario. Of course, we have the youth keeper too. When you’re aspiring to win everything on sight, this is not the situation you want to be in. Cudicini was a great second choice and I’d doubt if we would get such a fantastic second choice keeper who is also willing to be second behind Petr Cech. Unless, Ancelotti promises first team football, atleast in domestic cups, we may not get a good keeper who’s worthy to replace Cech in times of need. May be, we need to be looking out for young, prodigious keepers. Strangely, none of the transfer rumours involving Chelsea ever talk about a goalkeeper.

While we lost Cudicini in the mid-season, we also lost Wayne Bridge who was in the same boat as Cudicini. Very good player in his position but always second choice to a better player in the squad. Bosingwa did a fantastic job at the left back against a certain Messi over two legs in champions league semifinal. We also have Ivanovic or Ferreira who can step in if needed. But if this situation continues, the left back position would be seen as a chink in the Chelsea armour and teams would start targetting and exploiting that position. There are rumours about Zhirkov joining Chelsea but just like the goalkeeper position, the left back that joins must be willing to play second fiddle to Ashley Cole. That is, if the Ashley Cole pay hike rumours are true.

Nothing needs to change in the midfield. I have always said that we have the best midfield in Europe with Essien, Lampard, Ballack and Mikel. No need to change that. Essien and Mikel should absolutely stay with us. I would not swap them for anyone. Ballack has reportedly got his one year extension. I thought if we had to sell one midfielder it had to be the German captain. With the rumours around his one year extension, that seems to be out of question.

In attack, we have Drogba, Anelka, Di Santo, Joe Cole, Malouda and Kalou. Most of us have been saying that attack is one area which we badly need to bolster if we are win anything next season. Drogba was typically blowing hot and cold last season. Anelka was slotting in the goals but he didn’t look like the one that would win us the premier league or champions league. Di Santo hardly got any time on the pitch but he did the job for me whenever he came in. Joe Cole was not available for most part of the season and I’m still not convinced if he is consistent enough for us. Malouda was everyone’s bunny until February and then we saw a brand new Florent Malouda, the one we thought we bought back in 2006. Kalou has been decent. He scored and created some important goals though he did not play much. So that’s been the story of our attack this season.

We have the players to win trophies for us. What we lack is some magic. Some world beater that would make the jaws drop. That’s why we were after Robinho. That’s why we are after Ribery. We need a player or two who would create something out of nothing. A player who would, on his own, will be able to win crucial matches. I don’t think the club is trying to replace a player because we don’t have the kind of player that we are looking for. So anyone that comes in must be a first team starter who would give a run for the money for the current bunch of attacking players. This new player could be a winger or a striker. I see that Chelsea were interested (who’s not?) in David Villa. Also pato has been dropping hints that he would join Ancelotti. So, if it’s going to be a striker then that’s a strong message to Drogba or Anelka or both depending on which formation Ancelotti wants to play. In any case, if we get an attacking player, we certainly need to offload some. Probably, it is Kalou or even Joe Cole.

With Roman’s little romance with Kaka this summer, we pretty much know about two things: (a) Roman wants to buy new players (b) Roman is willing to spend the money. That’s great news. This summer could very well be the busiest ever in terms of high profile big buck transfers. We have seen Kaka’s transfer break the world record (in pound terms) and that record could not stay for more than 2 days. Ronaldo has moved out of Man Utd.Tevez could be gone too. Scholes and Giggs won’t play this season. And none of these players have good second choices. So, Chelsea must be the favourites for next season’s premier league. I hope Roman and Kenyon make the right purchases because I think we are just two good buys away from premier league and champions league.

Well, he didn’t say exactly that. He almost said that. He said, ‘I belong to Jesus’. But, who’s gonna wait for the last word now. I’m sure the journos want some drama, just like it happened with Robinho and Berbatov last summer. Looks like they will see a very eventful summer this time around too. Just when it appeared that Kaka would be unveiled as a Real Madrid player soon and only formalities are left, Chelsea is reported to have made an audacious 73.5 million bid for Kaka.

I don’t know how much truth is there in this. Why would Chelsea need Kaka? We have one of the best midfield players in Europe with a beautiful balance of attacking and defensive players. Even if he joins where would he play? That’s why this sounds like pure fantasy. With Ancelotti at the helm, it makes it easy for the Press to create such rumours, I’ve started seeing those comments like ‘attrocious money’, ‘how can a player be worth so much’, ‘it stinks of greed and stupidity’ so on and so forth.

Practically, people have saved all their comments and remarks that they made during the dramas of Ronaldo-Madrid and Kaka-Man City and are just reproducing them now. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – if clubs buy players for tens of millions, so be it. If Roman can afford the player, he will buy. It is the market that decides the price and not the goals and assists. Modern football is much more than just what happens on the pitch. Every transfer activity is good for the economy and redistribution of money.

I want the smaller clubs to start competing for top places and teams. I’m sorry that they are rarely the beneficiary of such big money transfers. But I don’t want Chelsea to do what UEFA is supposed to do. Let Chelsea and other clubs get the players they want to get and let UEFA take care of the regulations. Chelsea is not the first or last club to make a big money purchase. In that respect, we’ll never be able to match the Milans, Madrids, Barcas and Uniteds. So, I hope the over-reactive folks slow down and stop barking at the wrong tree. Everytime a big money transfer is on the cards, you have people abusing the clubs, players, agents and owners. Strangely, they don’t seem to ask these questions to UEFA!

All said, 73.5 million is about 30 million more than what I would pay for Kaka. Scolari wanted Robinho but we couldn’t get him. May be, Ancelotti wants Kaka. We may not want to disappoint our manager again. I’m not sure how Roman saw the Roninho transfer fiasco. I thought Real Madrid acted like third-rate classless bastards to sell Robinho to Man City in the last hour. It surely left a bitter taste in my mouth. If Roman also had felt the same way, this is his chance to give it right back to Real Madrid. It could be the most expensive way to show your middle finger but that’s how it works with billionaires right?

I know straightaway that Kaka is not who we need. Kaka cannot fit into the Chelsea system as it is. We already have players like Lampard and Essien who I won’t swap for Kaka. But still, it would be sensational to see Kaka in Chelsea colours. But you know what, the club website has denied these rumours:

We have never made an offer to AC Milan for Kaka and therefore not one at this extraordinary level. As a consequence we have not discussed a salary with the player either. Any reports to the contrary are totally untrue.

This is way too different than saying that we are not interested in Kaka and no part of the rumour is true. If you look at the above lines, what Chelsea FC says is true. We have not made an offer. Probably, we made only a query. Then the club, unnecessarily, goes on to comment on the magnitude of the amount as well. And totally unnecessarily, the statement also says that we have not discussed the salary with Kaka. Obviously, you can’t do that until Milan accepts the offer, after it is made, that is.

I’m not too anxious about this as I see it so clearly that Kaka would sign for Real Madrid soon. But hey, this could be fun, if Roman wants rub Real Madrid on the wrong side. Let’s see how this one develops

The Italian connection is back. Carlo Ancelotti is our new manager. This does not come as a surprise. Rumours around his taking over Chelsea have been going around for some months now. The topic of Ancelotti managing Chelsea has never been a cheerful topic among the Chelsea fans. He does not quite divide the house but it’s fair to say that he does not seem to have a huge fan following among the Chelsea fans. I’ve always seen Chelsea fans either hating the sight of him as the Chelsea manager or simply hoping that he comes good.

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His appointment has caused mixed reactions. I’m a bit indifferent at the moment. I belong to the ‘I hope he comes good’ category. He has the pedigree. He has the track record. He has the personality. Still, there is something about him that does not make me gung-ho. To be honest, that’s how even Guus Hiddink appeared initially and now I love him so much. All that I want Ancelotti to do is to keep the pride of Chelsea while trying to win the trophies.

In two seasons, we have seen Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti. Certainly not anyone’s idea of stability. When Scolari was brought in, there was a lot of club talk about stability and time, but when the shit hit the fan, Roman called the bluff. So Ancelotti should clearly know what’s expected of him. We might say that stability is the need of the hour; the players might want a long-term manager and the club’s image would also need the manager to see out his contract, but, if the results are not there, you’re out. As simple as that. Remember, it’s again a three-year contract!

If you look at his CV, it’s hard not to raise certain questions. In his seasons at Milan, he has won the Serie A only once! That’s the only league title he has won in all of his 14 years of coaching. But what must have impressed Roman is that he has won the champions league twice during this period. I’ve told you many times that if you’re going to offer me champions league and premier league, I’d happily take the latter. The club seems to get obsessive about the champions league. That’s the only way to explain this appointment. See, Ancelotti’s career as a player and manager has all been in Italy only. He has managed Milan in Italy for 8 years and has won one Serie A title! I’d even call that poor. But he is in special company with two champions league titles.

I have some really unpleasant memories of Ancelotti. First, his champions league final defeat to Liverpool. That was simply unbelievable and unpardonable. And then, his Milan team succumbing to the Arsenal team in the champions league couple of seasons back. There were some great matches too. Especially the way Milan despatched Man Utd in the champions league semi final was a treat to watch. In Milan, he has certainly drawn a lot of criticism for his tactics. He is known for his obsession for the 4-3-2-1 (christmas tree formation) which made the team more defensive and less adventurous. Would he continue with Chelsea’s successful 4-3-3?

I’d feel more confident if Ancelotti could bring in a few exciting names to Chelsea. I see rumours on Ribery, Kaka and the like. I’d love to see Ribery play for us. Imagine Ribery and Joe Cole playing in the left and right respectively! It would be great, isn’t it? As I know a thing or two about rumours, I won’t build up my hopes. Whatever said and done, Essien is not leaving anywhere. He is a Chelsea player, he would remain to be so. Like with any new Chelsea manager, the least he could do is to cause a mess by distorting rather than improving what’s already working well. I’ll wait for Carlo to settle down, use the three months of transfer window wisely and start the campaign strongly.

We always wanted a manager who can speak English. When Hiddink joined, I was pleasantly surprised by his command of the language. Ancelotti is still learning to speak English. Not sure if he was inspired by Jose Mourinho’s interview in Italian on his day one, Carlo has given his first interview in English in the club website. He does not sound like a great media communicator, at least in English. But his interview has some key points which I want to mention here.

Tell us about your approach to management, your philosophy?

It’s not easy to speak about my philosophy even in Italian so it’s more difficult to speak in English, but I try. I like to be close with the players, close with the company. I like to speak with the people. I believe in teamwork. It’s the most important thing to create a group that work together to build a dream. For me this is the most important thing. The players and the company to have a strong organisation, very strong discipline, to have the right motivation. I hope to do this together because this is the right way to arrive to success.

And in terms of football on the field, are you a coach that has a system you take with you wherever, Reggiana, Parma, Juve, Milan — do you take that system, do you play a certain way in tactics and formations?

I change it, not every year, but I change it depending on the characteristic of the players, it depends. For example in Juventus there was Zidane, he was an offensive midfielder and I built the team for Zidane. First you have to know the characteristics of the players and after you can put a system for the players.

So to you personally, what qualities do you think you will bring to Chelsea football club as a coach?

I want to bring my experience, I want to bring my individual quality. I think to win is important. I think to work together is the most important thing to win. To have great motivation and have a right objective. But in Chelsea it’s easy to find objectives. Win the Champions League, win the Premier League, win FA Cup, win Carling Cup. To win all is naturally not easy, but the right way is to create a group of people that work well together.

These responses speak a lot about himself, his methods and his idea of the job on hand. Sounds promising!

We are back to the business of ‘giving time’ to our new coach. As much as I want to give him time, he must know that his official match would be against the defending champions Manchester United. Would be great if he starts of by beating the title holders.

We are at that time of the year when we talk about ‘giving time’ to our new manager before we judge him. As much as I want to give him time, he must know that his first official match is against the defending champions Manchester United. That shows how much time he has. Let’s cut the crap. You don’t get settling time at this level. Just start delivering already.

Anyway, let’s all very warmly welcome Carlo Ancelotti! May his season be filled with trophies!