Chelsea News Story

08 January 2009 03:39 BST

Chelsea - A fan's view

Good, bad or just the same old, same old. What the fans made of the 2006/07 season.

A season where two domestic trophies were won can never be deemed a failure, but despite ending the year on a high at Wembley, Mourinho and his squad will look back to the defining moments of the last term that undid their bid for an unprecedented quadruple.

Perhaps most telling was the decision to bring in Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack; players whose Premiership form has been well short of their massive reputations. Ask any Chelsea fan worth his salt if he would trade in Eidur Gudjohnsen – offloaded to Barcelona last summer – for either of those two players and he would jump at the chance. Injuries to key players at key times also did not help, but a squad of champions should be able to deal with whatever adversity throws at them. Ultimately, Mourinho's decision to drop the 4-3-3 formation that won him back-to-back titles and switch to a diamond 4-4-2 has hindered the team more than it has helped, so don't be surprised to see a change in tactics and personnel for the beginning of the 2007/08 campaign.

Grade: B+

High Point

Back in the time before Manchester United barricaded themselves in at the top of the league table, Chelsea played out perhaps the game of the season in a breathtaking, albeit ill-tempered, 2-2 draw against archrivals Barcelona during the Champions League group stage. Drogba's last-minute equaliser at the Nou Camp is the only time I can honestly admit to losing it due to football this season.

Low Point

Unquestionably going out of the Champions League at the semi-finals for the third time in four years – the second time Liverpool have beaten us at that stage since 2005. It was not just the manner of defeat (penalties) either, but the team's unadventurous performance over the two legs.

Fan's Player of the Year

-Michael Essien-

Golden Boot winner Drogba can feel rightly aggrieved to miss out on this accolade as well as Chelsea's player of the year award itself to Essien, but the Ghanaian deserves it for being the Blues' driving force in midfield, despite spending most of the season either in central defence or at right-back. A genuinely superb footballer.

Needs for Next Season

If Mourinho wants to keep his job he will need to deliver the Champions League that Abramovich covets above all else, and to do that he needs a fleet-footed striker equally at home on the flanks who can play off Drogba, a right-back who can keep up with Ashley Cole and some cover at centre-back. The Portuguese tactician will also have to decide whether Ballack and Shevchenko deserve a second season at the Bridge, although that depends on whether the ultimate decision rests with him after all.

Matthew Champion

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