Chelsea
Why Vialli hopes that Jimbo will fix it
Useful information
Smiles for charity: Wise, the Chelsea captain, shows his pleasure at winning the Charity Shield last weekend in te company of Gianfranco Zola, man of the match
Photograph: ADRIAN DENNIS  |
Summer summary: All the brave talk about signing British players proved to be exactly that: all talk. Perhaps Gianluca Vialli believes that foreign players who have played in England count as English. The one British player they do seem to covet, Gareth Southgate of Aston Villa, is not available, according to his club, who have rejected three Chelsea bids and are now accusing Chelsea of making illegal approaches to the player.
Transfers in: Eidur Gudjohnsen (Bolton Wanderers) £4m; Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Atletico Madrid) 15m; Mario Stanic (Parma) £5.6m; Sebastian Kneissl (Eintracht Frankfurt) free; Carlo Cudicini (Castel di Sangre) £150,000.
Transfers out: Chris Sutton (Celtic) £6m; Didier Deschamps (Valencia) £2.3m; Neil Clement (West Brom) £200,000; George Weah (Milan) loan return.
Looking forward to: Seeing a natural goalscorer, Hasselbaink, at work.
Worried about: Tendency to lose away to lesser clubs, suggesting that the big names don’t respond to lesser challenges.
Liabilities: Cuddly Ken Bates. His graceless reaction to the retirement of Pierluigi Casiraghi ("We gave him 20 months but he was still walking with a limp") was a classic Batesism.
Tactical profile: With fewer European distractions, the need to rotate (disturb the team, as it is known in some quarters) will be smaller, but keeping all the forwards happy will, once again, be tricky. At least the arrival of Christian Panucci to replace Dan Petrescu means that the team is up to strength at full back again, with three available on each side. A full back and a wing back on each wing is not an unknown Chelsea formation, but still does not guarantee sufficient width at times. Sorry, did you mention Gabriele Ambrosetti? Why? Accommodating four central midfield players will be a difficult task, which resulted in nonsenses such as Gustavo Poyet appearing wide on the left last season At least the departure of Didier Deschamps to Valencia could mean an extended run for Jody Morris. And let’s face it, after his alleged drinking excesses, he might benefit from a long run or two.
Style: Lots, but style alone will not win the Premiership.
One player they need: An English one.
Fans’ gripe: Ticket prices.
Fans’ big wish: The championship, for only the second time in the club’s history.
Up-and-coming prospect: Jon Harley, already spoken of as a future England left back after half a season in the first team.
Manager’s quality: Vialli is still learning the job, but his right-hand man, Graham Rix, will be available all season, so no tactical disruption this time round, and no excuses if the club does not challenge more consistently in the league this time. Ken Bates always signs off his contribution to the club programme with the words Viva Vialli — so watch out for any change there signalling that the man in the v-necked jumper is slipping out of favour.
Strange statistic: The single largest nationality group in the first-team squad is still British.
Likely disaster: Dennis Wise. Somehow he cannot stay away from the red cards.
New signing potential: Sutton had no chance in a team so lacking in width, but although Hasselbaink is less dependent on crosses, some variety in that direction might be rewarding.
Potential of their new signings: Hasselbaink scores goals out of nothing, while Gudjohnsen was one of the most exciting attacking players in the Nationwide League last season.
Ideal improvement: No silly defeats at places such as Watford.
Sure sign of a Chelsea fan: Bulging wallet
Least likely TV soundbite: "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, you’re doing a great job," Ken Bates.
Hollywood actor most likely to star in Chelsea: The Movie: Wesley Snipes as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Where it all went wrong last time: Watford, Derby, etc
Useful foreign phrases for fans: "Je veux jouer pour Real Madrid" (Frank Leboeuf) "Quien es Frank Leboeuf?" (Real Madrid).
Prediction: Third.
NICK SZCZEPANIK
Useful information
Squad: 1 Ed de Goey; 2 Christian Panucci; 3 Celestine Babayaro;
4 Jes Hogh; 5 Frank Leboeuf; 6 Marcel Desailly; 8 Gustavo Poyet; 9 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink; 11 Dennis Wise; 12 Mario Stanic; 13 Kevin Hitchcock; 14 Graeme Le Saux; 15 Mario Melchiot; 16 Roberto Di Matteo; 17 Albert Ferrer; 18 Gabriele Ambrosetti; 19 Tore Andre Flo; 20 Jody Morris;
21 Bernard Lambourde; 22 Eidur Gudjohnsen; 23 Carlo Cudicini; 24 Sam Dalla Bona;
25 Gianfranco Zola; 26 John Terry; 30 Emerson Thome;
33 Luca Percassi; 34 Jon Harley.
Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Capacity: 35,461 (42,400 when West Stand is complete)
Address: Fulham Road, London SW6 1HS
Telephone: 020-7385 5545
Clubcall: 09068 12 11 59
Official website: www.chelseafc.co.uk
The best Premiership site around, with live match broadcasts, up-to-date news, information for travelling fans and two webcams.
Unofficial site: www.fans-of.chelsea-fc.com
Many Chelsea supporters around the world are listed on this excellent site. Has chat forums.
Manager: Gianluca Vialli
Assistant manager: Gwyn Williams
First-team coach: Graham Rix
Chairman: Ken Bates
Ticket details: 020-7386 7799 (credit card booking); 09068 12 10 11 (recorded info)
Ticket prices: £25-£33
Cheapest/most expensive adult season ticket: £435/£715
Recommended radio station: Capital Gold 1548 AM
Programme: £3
Fanzine: The Chelsea Independent
Cost of adult replica shirt: £42.99
Training ground: Imperial College Sports Ground, Harlington
Directions to ground: nearest Tube station is Fulham Broadway. Parking difficult amid all those Vespa scooters and Ferraris. Nos 14 and 211 buses go past.
Pubs near the ground: None recommended for away fans.
