Ready to make some history, eh? Let me be honest with you. I’m not too much into this double of premier league title and an FA cup title. A double of premier league and champions league would be something very special. I’m not undermining the importance and challenge of winning an FA cup title by any means. It’s a great effort to win the FA cup when you are also draining mentally and physically with premier league exploits. It’s just this double does not sound as big to me as it’s made out. The one thing this double reiterates is Chelsea’s dominance in the domestic level. When a team wins the premier league and the FA cup, that’s a conclusive proof of their superiority in the country.

I’ve bee saying in this blog for many weeks now that FA cup was not the priority at all when the premier league was yet to be won. Hindsight says we have managed both these pursuits very well. Now that we are in a final, against Portsmouth, you just have to go there and win it and call it a double. In terms of desire, both teams could be equally passionate about winning ‘this’ trophy. Portsmouth wants to win this trophy so they can end this wretched season on a high. Having been relegated, they have the opportunity to topple the premier league champions (oh yeah, that’s us, Chelsea!) while they’re walking out the door.

Chelsea wants to win this title so they can be 7th team ever achieving this for the 11th time in English football history. The rarity does make it a great feat but I still wonder why has it happened on only so few occasions. By winning the double, Chelsea can formally announce that Jose Mourinho’s ghosts have been exorcised. In the past few seasons, Chelsea haven’t spent much in the market. In fact, Chelsea has ended up spending less than clubs like Spurs and Sunderland. This double would also be a great re-instatement of fact that we have a great squad already. And the double means more purchasing power for Carlo Ancelotti.

I’m excited to see Carlo winning things and thereby getting a free hand on whom to buy and whom to sell. As subtly put by Ron Gourlay, Roman would still like to question and challenge transfers, not with an intention to approve or disapprove, but just to ensure that they all agree on what’s good for the club and that they are on the same page. Ancelotti winning the double in his first season in England makes him the Don here. That means more respect, more freedom and more control. So, winning the double could be a fantastic finish for an outstanding season for Carlo.

The season’s not over, the world cup has not started but the transfer rumours are all over the place – Ashley Cole to Barcelona, Essien to Real Madrid, Ibrahimovic to Chelsea, Fernando Torres to Chelsea etc. You can know my views on the transfer rumours and possibilities on www.twitter.com/bluechampion. As I’m on twitter practically all the time, I’ll also break news as soon as they are available from any source. Okay, let’s get back to the finals.

Apart from toppling the champions on their last day of a relegated season, Pompey’s other motivation could be that Grant would like his little revenge over Roman. We saw Jose Mourinho doing one over Roman in the champions league. Grant would love to do the same. What’s more satisfying for Grant than beat Roman’s champions with his relegated side in cup final? I think Pompey dream run would come to a sad end on Saturday, just like what happened to Fulham this week. I fully believe Chelsea would win and win emphatically. With Chelsea in this form, ‘cupsets’ just don’t happen. I know Grant is one lucky manager (not a snide remark but a statement of fact) but the match would not be decided on these moments. The moments of luck can only tilt the matches that are even. I think Chelsea would dominate the proceedings on the pitch and the scoreline would exactly reflect that.

Would I play the youngsters? No way, not until the match is secured. Having come this far, this is no time for experiments. We have great talents but tomorrow we’ve got a job to do. If we get to a stage of comfort like we got against Wigan last weekend, I’d surely bring in youngsters to get the feeling and experience of being at the Wembley in a cup final. These are moments that connect the young players more to the club and the team. We have a first team that can do the job in the first half so I think we’d see some young players or Carlo can sentimentally allow certain players to make their last appearance or such stuff.

So what’s the worrying thing for me this Saturday? It’s not Terry’s fitness (or his father’s confession), it’s not Chelsea’s complacency, it’s not Avram’s ass, it’s indeed the Wembley pitch. With world cup around in a few weeks, and a rain forecast for Saturday, we don’t want to lose anyone for injuries because of this bad Wembley pitch. The one good thing about Wembley is, Didier Drogba is gonna score.

Chelsea will be deemed the home team for this match and hence will wear blue while Portsmouth will play with white shirts and pink shorts (whoever thought of it!). So there’s a good news for you (while I want to hide the bad news that Chris Foy would be officiating this match). Those who are psyched out at the lovely dark away kit of ours can sleep peacefully tonight as we line up in blue. Let’s gear up for the last piece of action from the Champions (oh yeah, that’s us again). Sorry if I’m arrogant, I think we will win this one 4-0. If Drogba scores them all, he reaches the 40-goal mark for this season. Any bets on this? Let’s go do it. The Champions for The Double!

I had not known about Elliot Quince until he mailed me. Now I know what a fantastic illustrator he is. He has this love of football and drawing and a desire to help his community – now he has combined this all. He is planning to draw 32 illustrations of top footballers, one each from each country in the world cup finals. These drawings will be exhibited at the Offside Gallery in Islington, UK. Anyone can buy these paintings. The price of each of these exquisite illustrations range from GBP 100 to 300. The money collected from the sales would go to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. Why this hospital? There’s a reason.

If you would like to buy, please do – here is the link. If you want to spread the word, please do – here is the website. I’ve put some of his very brilliant work. This is just a sample while you can visit his website and see the rest for yourself:

It’s a pity that he has not drawn the likes of Lampard, Terry, Malouda, Anelka etc. It would be great to have such an illustration of a trophy holding Chelsea team. Anyway, my personal favourite in his work is Lionel Messi. I think it’s a fantastic illustration. It captures the essence of Messi – the youth, the childish innocence, the baby smile, the lovely combination of his hairstyle, his nose and his teeth. I love it.

That’s it. Let’s do our bit. Catch you later.

They sweated out blood to bring us these glorious moments of sheer ecstasy. Look at the exultant faces of Ballack, Joe, Fereira, Belletti and the pure passion they share for this club. May be, they won’t make the starting line up next season, but can you ever deny their commitment. Bear with me for the long post but it’s the least they deserve.

Cech

Many including me, were skeptic about his stature as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But what a turnaround by the man in the second half of the season. He bloody stuck two fingers to the critics including me and made some awe-inspiring saves throughout and deservedly got the Golden Glove. And I don’t get heartache anymore when seeing Chelsea defend setpieces :-)

Hilario & Turnbull

They stepped up when it mattered. Hilario against Liverpool, and Turnbull against Inter come to mind. Never let us feel the absence of Cech.

Paulo & Belletti

Paulo has been with Chelsea since Jose. Spent most of his time warming the bench, and did you hear even a whisper of discontent? And when the time came, he showed everyone he still is a player who always puts in a 7/10 performance every match. He would be missed by every blue out there. Belletti also put in some decent performances in the group stage of the Champions league. A very good utility player. I wish him luck at Brazil and I would seriously miss those chants of ‘Buuuullettiiiiiii’ from the fans to urge him to send his 30 yards screamer across the goal.

Ivanovic

Its so sad that he didn’t get any accolade for his outstanding display throughout the season. By far the most consistent Chelsea performer this season. Bosingwa’s injury, had brought this maestro to the front, and at a rather unknown position for him. He outshone every RB in the PL to claim his place in PFA team. A true legend in the making. The able successor of JT.

Terry

Controversies & media took the sheen of our leader for some time. But if at some point the team looked lost for direction, it was this man’s calm and assured leadership that brought that lost intent back. Be it the call for huddles, or a pep talk he was always there. Leader Legend.

Carvalho & Alex

Carvalho for the first half of the season, looked like bringing back the old dream Terry-Carv combination that had become nightmare for strikers. But an injury to him meant that Alex had to step in and perform. And boy did he shine. He was that sturdy wall which we had always relied on, when Terry was out of form. Iva-Alex, the future of Chelsea defense is in safe hands.

Ashley Cole

He along with Iva formed one of the most envied fullback combo in the world. Had he not got himself injured, would have easily ended up displacing Evra in that PFA team. Chelsea goal of the season award (against Sunderland) to a defender tells you a lot about his attacking talent. Kudos to the world’s best Leftback.

Yuri Zhirkov

Too prodigious a talent to heat the Chelsea bench. Incisive runs into the final third, searching crosses any striker would love to be at the end of, resilient defense and all other attribute that a bench player lacks. How many times have you seen a player with his head so profusely bleeding coming up with a MOTM performance. He redefines commitment.

Deco

Another Chelsea player who might leave us next year. Some of his passes are still vivid in memory. A player who thrives & blossoms in space. He looks such an artist with the ball. He deserved this glorious end and a gift to such an illustrious career.

Ballack & Mikel

Ballack might not be with us next season, but Ze-german’s memories would still be. Calm & composed. Weliterally lost no match when he played. Its still a mystery as to what he brings to the team. An attacking MF for his country, and a brilliant one at that, effortlessly transforms into a holding midfielder for Chelsea. His chase of Ovrebo, might be embarrassing for Uefa. But he reflected every blue fan that day. Only one complaint; wished he knocked down that retard following his run. Mikel has to still score for Chelsea, but with the most absurd shooting legs in the planet it really seems difficult to see him in the score sheet in the near future. May be he should try to aim the corner flag next time. Apart from that he has shown excellent game breaking ability this season and has age on his side.

Essien

Had it not for his injury, Chelsea might have walked off with the title with 5 games to play. One of the best Box to Box MFs in the world with a stupendous run with the ball and cannon ball shoots.

Lampard

PFA can f*** off, the pundits can f*** off, Chelsea-haters can f*** off. Don’t be bothered about them Lamps, they aren’t worth it. The most underrated footballer ever in history. These idiots will know when he is ‘Gone’. He epitomizes Chelsea.

Malouda

Before the season started, he was the one who was top in our ‘To be axed’ list. He had a silent first half of the season, but had other plans for the next half. And once on song, he looked like our replacement for Robben but with an added attribute – physicality. Marauding runs & pinpoint crosses got him the votes from players to win the Chelsea Players’ Player of the season award.

Joe & Kalou

Both players capable of occasional brilliance. Joe’s restricted celebrations indicated he might be his way out. It would be so terrible to see him in any other colour than the Chelsea blue. But I would still pray for him to gatecrash into Capello’s team. Kalou deservedly earned his starts with performance which was promised when he arrived. If only he could back it up with some consistency.

Anelka

Some here incapable of even lacing his boots might comment ‘ He is useless and has his moments like the fluke assists and the fluke odd goal. He is as lazy as they come and a sight for sore eyes’. But true blues know why he is such a genius & selfless player who can drop down from his regular position to help his mates get to better scoring positions. For a record, he was involved in all four 7+ goal matches while Drogba managed to play in only 2 of those. The best ever January transfer in Epl.

Drogba

It just defies logic that this was the first time he won the Chelsea Player of the season award. He is right up there with Zola, JT, Lamps as Chelsea legends. Unplayable at times, and his defending qualities mean that he is one of the most complete players in modern football. Golden boot for a player who started his career as a defender.

Carlo Ancellotti

Finally the media got one thing right. He achieved one thing that no Chelsea manager has ever managed not even the flamboyant, tactical genius, TSO; He made look Chelsea beautiful. He gave an identity to Chelsea that Roman craved for.

In his first season, he won the title, breaking the odd records in his way. The one thing adorable about him, was that he was never rigid with formations. He altered them to suit the personnel. He played the team as the players wished it to be, not the players to suit his beloved diamond. And all this, without a hint of arrogance or cunning mind games (Jose & SAF being pioneers). He inherited the squad from Guus, and didn’t need any recruitments to achieve all this. Imagine what he could do with his own team. Simply a ‘Fantastic’ Manager.

What a day! I mean, WHAT A DAY! This was the best day in my years of following football and supporting Chelsea. On Sunday, we had to match the ex-champions’ result to win the title. We bloody doubled it. So this is the fourth instance this year where Chelsea have scored 7 goals or more in the league. This is incredibly incredible by any incredible standards. While just a win could have won the title, we went about smashing records and winning in such style that no team has ever done in the entire history of English football.

I would like to thank Carlo, Terry, Lampard, the team and the staff for they brought me so much happiness and joy that I can’t explain. Winning this league title has just been a great experience. It’s been a real rollercoaster ride where there have been moments of scare, moments of excitement, moments of fear and more importantly, moments of joy and relief.

JM once said, “at Chelsea, we don’t talk about history, we make them”. That’s what is happening at the moment. Carlo Ancelotti comes to England and wins the league in his debut season. First team to score seven goals or more in four matches in a season. The goal tally of 103 goals is the biggest in the premier league and is only 8 short of the all-time record which was made in the 42-matches-per-season period.

This fourth premier league title of Chelsea also marks our third title in 6 seasons. Drogba wins the golden boot by a margin. We have done the double over Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal. Oh yes, we’ve done a triple over Man Utd, including that opening day community shield win over them. The other important statistic for the season is, this is a trophyless season for Liverpool and Arsenal, while ManYoo won the league cup.

This picture is for your Arsenal-loving mates!

While we are celebrating like there’s no tomorrow, I would like to thank the players and staff that have been instrumental or played their part in this historic success. I would write a separate series of ‘Architects of the BlueChampions’ where I would like to talk about the people that we need to thank for this success. That’s for later, probably after the FA Cup final.

Now that we have won the league, we have already starting about who to stay and who to buy. To be honest, I don’t want any of this bunch to leave. I’ve seen the victory celebrations several times now (I had recorded that whole thing). Every time I look at the joy in the face of the players that are lifting the trophy and running around like mad men, I do get this strong feeling ‘these are my players, they are part of this family’ and that ‘we should keep them all’. But that’s not practical, is it? It’s very obvious that we might see the departure of at least 5-6 players – Belletti, Deco, Joe Cole,

Meanwhile, there is some interesting comment about the summer business. Here is the chief executive Ron Gourlay:

We have a mature side but we also have a very experienced side. If the correct player of the quality that Chelsea requires is available in the summer then the funds are there for us to take that opportunity. What happens is that manager Carlo Ancelotti will identify any player that is required for the club going forward then we’ll take it from there. Roman is always interested. He’s very engaged with the football club, he likes to understand the decisions that we come up with and our thought process, which I think is quite normal for an owner. He may not veto but he will certainly make sure that he has every right to question and ask our thought process.

It’s all looking very good at the moment. Let’s wait until we have done the double before we start talking about the buys and the sells. There is time. There is the world cup. Let’s revel in this moment. I got up yesterday morning and truly, truly checked in the internet on my mobile to see if we are really the champions. It’s a bit surreal that I didn’t even know how to react, from a blog point of view. I’ll gather my senses and wits and put a good show in this blog. It puts more pressure on me as this is the blog of the CHAMPIONS! Wow! How I love the sound of it!

When the SkySports interviewed Ancellotti, I guessed he would say and yes he did his first word as in fact “FANCASTIC”. Like oH mY bLUE said, Ancellotti must be called as The Fantastic One!

TFO got the substitution spot on, saving the heroes for the Wembley! Joey tracked back well and supported Belletti!

Some interesting sights:
Drogba doing lots of talking during the warm-up session;
Drogba and Nico warming up side by side;
Melchiot sharing a light moment with Terry right after the toss (I guess Melchiot said something like this: “please don’t score double digit goals”;
Roman Abramovich’s reactions to every action on the ground;
Branislav Invanovic taking the whole length of the field singlehandedly, I thought it was Lampsy. Ivanovic is surely the unsung hero of Chelsea. And he is very passionate too!
The huddle at the start of the second half, Terry took the initiative, awesome leader!
Belletti taking the fans on with his hand during a throw in;
TFO giving a wave to the fans after Ray Wilkin’s help, yet again!
Essien doing the good work: spraying champagne!
Hilario is one guy who was celebrating till exhaustion, he is so passionate;
Lampard, in his interview also took after TFO’s word: Fantastic!
Red nose was dark purple yesterday, saw it during the interview!

Drogba’s childishness:
He could score the penalty, but had he missed it, would we ever be able to forgive him? NO! Not even if we win because he would have given us agony when the event is all for happiness! So, Lampsy took it and converted it and dedicated it directly to Drogba, how sweet is that! But Drogba was bit unhappy and he became more selfish with his long-range attempts. But everything was cleared and Drogba’s conceding to his “mistake” was spot on! Anyway congratulations to Drogba for bagging the golden boot, it is sweet, more so because he snatched it from Rooney! And don’t forget that Lampsy made his first goal and Lampsy offered him his penalty! The penalty: WOW!

Trivia:
• ‘Easy questions please because my level of wine is high!’ TFO joked.
• Jack Cork scored a wonderful header for Burnley in their awesome 4:2 thrashing of tots! It is all good for Chelsea!
• Red Nose said that Rooney’s injury is not to be worried about, English fans are you listening?
• Dorgba loves Wembley, he just cannot stop scoring at Wembley!

2009-10: Chelsea’s special season:

• Drogba’s golden boot;
• Double over the other three;
• Didier Drogba has scored at Anfield, the Emirates and Old Trafford this season.
• Giving hope to manure till the death of the season;
• English double (I am confident);
• Lampsy having the last laugh (at the PFA);
• New EPL record of highest number of goals (103) scored in a season (earlier 97 by manure);
• 103 goals, a club record (earlier 98 goals);
• Highest goals scored at home in a season (71);
• Chelsea Youth winning the FA Cup;

I am a Frank Lampard fan and here are the brief points to be noted about ‘Lampsy 2009-10’:

• highest EPL goals (22);
• highest assists (17)
• most successful penalty taker
• highest goals as a midfielder
• scored a ‘qua-trick’ (against Villa)
• least fouls (23) in all appearances (36): Astounding!
• not a single card!

Manchester City did a league ‘double’ and Everton took five points out of six from us. But the remaining 3 sides to have beaten the Blues have been bashed at the Bridge: Tottenham 3-0, Aston Villa 7-1 and Wigan 8:0!

I am short of all the adjectives, even the Cambridge dictionary is failing me!

Lastly, to those non-blues: Stand the blue wave if you can!