chelsea
Odds: 4/9
last five seasons
2005/06 – 1 (Premiership), 2004/05 – 1 (Premiership), 2003/04 – 2 (Premiership), 2002/03 – 4 (Premiership), 2001/02 – 6 (Premiership).
Cup progress 2005/06
FA Community Shield Winners vs Arsenal (n) – won 2-1.
Champions League Round of 16 vs Barcelona – lost 3-2 on aggregate.
FA Cup Semi-Final (n) vs Liverpool (a) – lost 2-1.
Third round of the Carling Cup vs Charlton Athletic (h) – lost 5-4 on penalties with the score 1-1 after extra time.
Top scorer 2005/06: Frank Lampard (midfield) – 20 goals.
players in
Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan – £30,000,000), Jon Obi Mikel (Lyn Oslo – £16,000,000), Salomon Kalou (Feyenoord – £3,000,000), Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich – Free).
players out
Eidur Gudjohnsen (Barcelona – £8,000,000), Damien Duff (Newcastle United – £5,000,000), Asier Del Horno (Valencia – £4,800,000), Carlton Cole (West Ham United – Undisclosed), Hernan Crespo (Inter Milan – Free), Jiri Jarosik (Celtic – Free), Dean Furman (Rangers – Free), Leonard Pidgeley (Millwall – Free), Filipe Morais (Millwall – Free), Danny Hollands (Bournemouth – Free), Dean Smith (Aldershot – Free), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth) – Loan), Anthony Grant (Wycombe Wanderers – Loan).
A season of Premiership dominance was the order of the day last season, with Chelsea winning the league by a clear eight points. The Blues won 18 of their 19 games at Stamford Bridge, drawing the other, and only looked susceptible to defeat after the title had been clinched.
The Champions League eluded manager José Mourinho for the second successive season, and his team lost in the first knockout phase to Barcelona. He has responded by signing two high-profile players this summer.
AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko, coveted by some as the best striker in the world, signed for £30m, while Germany captain Michael Ballack joined for free from Bayern Munich.
Shevchenko scored 127 goals in 208 Serie A appearances for Milan after bursting onto the scene with Dynamo kyiv in 1997. Ballack has proven himself to be a goalscoring midfielder, scoring 44 goals in 107 league appearances for Bayern Munich. and finding the net 31 times in 68 matches for his country.
A host of players have been kicked out of the club as Mourinho chases the Champions League grand prix. Hernano Crespo has gone to Inter Milan, Eidur Gudjohnsen has gone to Barcelona for a long time, Damien Duff in a stunning £5m move to Newcastle and Asier Del Horno returned to Spain, among others.
Verdict
Chelsea have strengthened a squad that no other team can match with two world-class additions. It has no value, but they will win the league again with probability 4/9.
