So, the opening weekend of the new Premier League season is upon us and we haven’t got too long to wait to see how we’ll line up. But even this weekend won’t give us complete chapter and verse on this season’s Chelsea.
For a start, we’ve yet to see whether new right-back, Jose Bosingwa will make his debut against Portsmouth. Bosingwa limped out of the pre-season game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and was rumoured to be out at least until the end of the month with a thigh injury. However, he’s made an earlier return to training than expected, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Didier Drogba, despite having apparently fallen back in love with Chelsea over the past week (no doubt due to a lack of attention elsewhere), won’t be gracing us with his presence before the end of August. You see, whilst he might entertain everyone with his triple salko’s and double axel’s every week, there’s a price to be paid – and he’s spent most of his summer in rehab.
So who else could be on the missing list by Sunday? Well, we already know we’ll be facing a season without Makelele, who’s absence will be much more noticeable than that of Ben Haim and Sidwell. If Hull get their way Claudio Pizarro could be added to that list, although I doubt we’d notice either way. Roma as well by all accounts would like to see us start the season without Florent Malouda, although the player himself would very much like to be a part of Scolari’s plans. And if we believe everything we read, even Joe Cole could have left us by then for either Aston Villa or Liverpool.
But will there be any more new additions to the Chelsea family in the next few days? The world and his wife have been left in little doubt of our desire to bring in Real Madrid’s Robinho, however, with one offer already declined and the Spanish club refusing to play the game in a way Chelsea would like, the Brazilian playmaker is starting to look suspiciously like ‘the one that got away’.
Still, we can all rest easy, safe in the knowledge that Kaka’s on his way!
Blue is the colour
