Hello Guys! Let me start by apologizing for my long period of inactivity on the website, but that was owing to some professional and personal reasons. But that’s that, and I will try and be more active from now on. Now with no due, let me start.
It is no secret that Mr. Roman dreams of a Chelsea dominance in European Football, the kinds that Real Madrid and Barcelona have had. And for that he has signed in many cheques to provide the coach, or rather coaches, with the best ‘young’ talent from around the world. ‘You want him? Go get him’, seems to be his ideology, and now we have one of the most promising young talents in our squad. The likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Mata and Luiz and Schurrle and so on and on are just going to get better with time, but that leaves us with the question. What about the ‘Old Guard’? The Old Guard comprising of Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, John Terry, Frank Lampard and the newly acquired Samuel Eto’o. Oh yeah, we can all but forget Eto’o, he is just a guest and is already made up plans for his next destination after the season ends. And let’s leave Petr out too, as you know goalkeepers tend to excel further in their 30’s. About Michael Essien, well the poor man knows that he is loved at the club, but his performances doesn’t justify his presence, and so he remains silent. But what about the other three?
As a fan’s reaction you or I would say ‘WHAT? JOHN, FRANKIE AND ASH TO LEAVE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?’ Umm, no. Didier Drogba leaving was unimaginable for us for a while, but we got a reality check and things turned out just fine. (Except the fact that there is this huge void that none of our current strikers are able to fill in) Didier is enjoying his days at Galatasaray and if our three English legends are to leave, they will enjoy their spells elsewhere too!
Now again you will say, ‘WHAT ABOUT RYAN GIGGS? HE IS OLD, YET HE IS STILL PLAYING FOR UNITED!’ Yes he is, but count the number of games he gets to play these days. Do you think that playing that sparingly these three are going to like it? Even with the likes of Jose around, the player power that these three have is quite amazing, and it’s just because they are dealing with Jose that Ash hasn’t yet come out and criticized the manager. (Remember AVB?) Frank constantly reminds the world that ‘I am better when I play regularly.’
But quite spectacularly John and Frank have yet again had numbers and performances do the talking. Ash’s performances have become a little shaky. And even if they were okay, isn’t his exactly what we shouldn’t be looking at? Jose recently came out and said that ‘Ashley Cole might just earn another contract extension.’ How long with the one year deals? With Frank Lampard at 35, John at 33 and Ash at 32, they are not going to get younger. And with postponing the problem we are causing another problem to pile up. The younger players are having to wait and wait and wait! John is stunting the growth of David Luiz and the little experience that Tomas Kalas must be receiving. Ash is causing Ryan Bertrand to sit on the bench more than often and Frank’s presence is causing harm to a more suitable John Obi Mikel’s presence in the starting lineup. Van Ginkel is still injured so that leaves out one more candidate for the pivot role that Frank has seemingly owned this season. Not forgetting our long waiting young prodigy – Joshua McEachran.
Don’t misunderstand me, the idea of having these three end their careers with Chelsea seems magnificent to me. But since none of the three will take up the role that Paulo Ferierra took up, and since their wages are not affordable to be given to some stand in players, I think this season must be the last. We can push and postpone the problem, but it won’t go. Frank still might have atleast 2-3 top flight football in him, John and Ash will have more, but with the likes of Luiz, PVA, Ryan and Mikel waiting on the sidelines playing second fiddle, and our already favorite Luke Shaw up for grabs, doesn’t it seem that these are necessary sacrifices?
With the ideology that Roman has, he knows better than not to force them out of the clubs, fearing the wrath of the supporters, but for us to become a young, exciting squad, all three are too much of a load to shoulder. Their experience and passion might be invaluable, but the ‘Old’ Old Guard needs to make way for the ‘New’ Old Guard, don’t they? With the likes of Ivanovic waiting to form the ‘New’ Old Guard, along with Gary Cahill, Ramires, and David Luiz raring to deputize soon (more like the ‘New Guard’, rather than ‘Old Guard’), the future is already bright. And if you’d ask me, I’d keep one of the three for maybe another 2-3 seasons, preferably John Terry, but keeping all three is just like ‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Back,’ isn’t it?
Please leave your thoughts and views in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you.
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