Marcel Desailly and William Gallas were immense at the back and I cannot remember the last time I saw Manu Petit play with such dedication and commitment. With the Champions League beckoning next season, it wouldn't surprise me to see some of our our, ahem, 'underachievers' perform to the best of their abilities on a more regular basis. Not naming any names of course...
Now it is time for Claudio Ranieri, Ken Bates and Trevor Birch to sort this club out in the summer. Who is to be offered a new contract? Who isn't good enough for this club? And, almost as importantly, who doesn't want to play for this club. We need commitment next year, and it will be interesting to see who stays for the Champions League push.
The futures of several players is still in doubt- Eidur Gudjohnsen, John Terry, William Gallas and Franco Zola to name but a few. Eidur, Gallas and JT simply want improved contracts- a fair enough claim by the two defenders, but can Eidur justifiably claim an improved deal? Did his performances this season warrant that? I don't think so.
He is only 24 and in his previous two years with Chelsea he has developed a reputation as a bloody good striker, leading to interest from Sir Alex Ferguson, who sees him as the perfect foil to Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Now it is time for Eidur to repay the faith that the club showed in him when they splashed out over £4million on a First Division player with known injury problems earlier in his career.
Gallas is another who shouldn't even be thinking of leaving. When Chelsea splashed out £6million on William, it is fair to say that the press thought we had gone mad- all that money on a virtual unknown outside his own country. Who's mad now- the boy was recently named in the Premiership team of the season at centre back!! He should sign his new deal and publicly shake Claudio Ranieri's hand and say "Thank you for reviving my career Mr Ranieri. I am one of the best defenders in the Premiership and in the France team- thanks to you".
Now to the old boys. Franco Zola, 37 years young, has yet to sign a new deal and his tone of voice yesterday suggested that it is a decision that is causing him much anxiety. Please stay Franco- you are the best player I have ever had the pleasure to watch and it would be so disappointing to see you quit when it is obvious that you have so much left to offer. You left the Bridge crowd bemused yesterday when you skinned Jamie Carragher twice (leaving him on his arse twice), went past Steven Gerrard with ease before knicking the ball around Danny Murphy and eventually running into Patrik Berger. And he smiled at the end of it all. What a player!!
And there's also Marcel Desailly, a 2 time Champions League winner, World Cup Winner, European Championships winner and countless French, Italian and English domestic honours. Apparently he has been told he can leave, to ease the wage bill. With all of his experience, I don't think we can afford to be without Marcel next season. Don't disrupt the great one, just let him get on with his job and he WILL do the business.
So there's plenty of food for thought this summer but, no matter what, one thing's for certain- Chelsea are in the Champions League once more!!