With the dust now settled on the last season, it is time for me to issue my end of the year assessment report on all things Blue
The Team. A superhuman effort all round. Everything that could go wrong did, and I don’t mean only on the injury front, and we end up with two cups, second in the league and unlucky losers in the Champions League semi. Make no mistake this was a great season in the circumstances. My vote: 8
The Manager. Responsible for all of the above. The bloke won 5 major trophies (not counting the Community Shield) in 3 years at the club. And we thought Ranieri was good. My vote: 9
Petr Cech. If we doubted his importance before his injury, now there can be no doubts. He came back from a life threatening injury as if he had been away for a cup of tea. A hero. My vote: 9
Ashley Cole. By his own admission he had an average season. In my crooked mind I blame his arrival for us losing Gallas, which is not the best piece of business in the world. My vote: 6
Claude Makalele. Maka had a below par season by his stellar standards but he is still the best holding midfielder in the game. The odd tackle was missed and some passes went astray. He has a fight on his hands next season from John Obi Mikel. My vote: 6.5
Michael Essien. A god. Enough said. My player of the year by a mile and then some more. My vote: 11 (out of 10)
Ricardo Carvalho. He has cut out all the niggly things I used to hate so much about him and was the best centre half in the Premiership last season, surpassing even JT. My vote: 9
Andrij Shevchenko. We thought be bought the best centre forward in the world but didn’t quite deliver. We have to hope that this was his settling in season and the real Sheva turns up next season. My vote: 6
Frank Lampard. Frank seemed out of sorts sometimes although he delivered what is now his usual 20 goals. He had a slightly modified role compared to previous seasons but still came up trumps in the big moments such as his goals in Barcelona and against Blackburn, not to mention his sublime assist in the Cup Final. My vote: 8
Khalid Boulahrouz. I thought we had signed an outstanding player after the Barca home game. But it was all downhill from there reaching rock bottom with his sending off at Arsenal. He is probably looking for a new club as I write. My vote: 3
Joe Cole. Not much of a season after 2 serious injuries. His absence meant we were less creative up front which lead to accusations of us being a boring team to watch. My vote: 5
Didier Drogba. Just one rung below Essien in my eyes, mainly because I think he still goes down too easily sometimes. But he has answered all his critics, the undersigned included, with a string of heroic performances and several match winning wonder goals. My vote: 10
John Obi Mikel. A slow start was transformed when Jose’ gave him more playing time in the second half of the season. We now know what all the fuss was about in the scramble to get him out of Manure’s grimy clutches. My vote: 4 for the first half of the season, 8 for the second half
Michael Ballack. I will go against the grain on this one and say that Ballack had a good season. He does not have an eye catching style but puts in a hell of a lot of work for the team. An extra three or four goals would have had everyone ranting and raving about him. His loss at the end of the season coincided with our worst run of results under Jose’. My vote: 7
Geremi. Too slow, too many wasted crosses. Probably the end of the road for the likeable Cameroonian. My vote: 4
Arjen Robben. When Robbie is in the team we look a different class. His lack of heart is more than compensated for by his skill and ability. If he has an injury free season he will be Player of the Year. You read it here first. My vote: 7
Wayne Bridge. For as long as I live, Bridgey will be the bloke who gave me the best footballing moment in my life, his goal at Arsenal. He certainly looks a better bet in a Chelsea shirt than Ashley Cole and provided many a cross that lead to goals this season. My vote: 7
Lassana Diarra. The lad had a run at right back when we thought he was the real thing. He lost his way and was back on the bench for the latter end of the season. He now has a fight on his hands with Mikel to be Maka’s successor and he looks like he is losing it at the moment. My vote: 6
Paolo Ferreira. At one point he lost Jose’s trust but ended the season as a regular in his favourite position and snuffed the Man U show pony out of the game at Wembley. My vote: 6.5
Salomon Kalou. Like Mikel started slowly and came good towards the end of the season. I can’t see him ever being a regular starter but us certainly useful coming off the bench. My vote: 6.5
Carlo Cudicini. Got injured at exactly the wrong time when he could have had a run of 20 games in the team. Ended up with a handful of games in which he was his usual competent self. My vote: 6
Shaun Wright-Phillips. Started showing glimpses of his true capabilities. Shaun is a confidence player and if Jose’ gives him a good run in the team he will be up there with the Joe Coles and Robbens of this world. My vote: 6.5
John Terry. His absence, along with that of Cech, was the reason why we did not do the domestic treble. The nine points we lost when he was out injured cost us the league. He did not reach the form of the previous two seasons but was still the second best centre half in the league after Riccy. My vote: 7.5
Hilario. I will try to avoid any puns here. He came to Chelsea as third choice behind the best two goalkeepers in the Premiership and ended up making 18 appearances. Unfortunately he was not of the same class as Big Pete and Carlo. But then who is? My vote: 5
Richard Micallef
