Hey there! Long time, huh?
I moved to Chennai a couple of weeks ago and since then my life has become more hectic, faster and busier than ever. Priorities have changed and a lot of things have had to be reorganized. That leaves little time for posting here. Still, I’ll have something to say every now and then.
My experiences in this new city and a lot more will soon follow. 
Andriy Shevchenko.
AC Milan legend.
British record transfer.
Chelsea flop.
Now back to AC Milan for one last hurrah.
These lines efectively sum up Shevchenko’s career during the past few years. He arrived at Chelsea from AC Milan for a hefty amount and a massive reputation as Europe’s finest striker. He left yesterday with his reputation diminished and his confidence shattered. Not to mention being branded the Premier League’s most expensive flop ever.
The good old times...
The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but it appears to be a regular sale rather than a loan move. Whatever it is, it’s definitely something which will benefit both parties. Chelsea seem to have offloaded one of the highest earners at the club, thus significantly lowering the wage bill, Shevchenko on the other hand, will be hoping to rediscover his old form on the familiar hunting grounds of Italy.
Like most others, I had pretty high hopes from Shevchenko when he arrived at Stamford Bridge. But he failed to live up to the expectations. Injuries and the team’s unfavourable playing style hindered his game. But no one can point a finger at him for not trying. The man gave his all when playing in a Blue shirt. It wasn’t lack of effort by any means. His first season in English football didn’t go too well, and injuries took their toll on his second. I waited 2 years for him to finally come good and silence his critics, but guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Although he scored some cracking goals, most notably the one against Sp*rs, he just could not justify his price-tag and age was also catching up with him.
Did ya see that? Did ya? Did ya?
Anyways, he was one of my favourite players at the club. Never whined, nor complained about how he was treated at Chelsea. And if there’s one thing that’s missing in today’s footballers, it’s dignity. Sheva may not have shown his true ability, but he carried himself with dignity, unlike a few others at the club (Drogba, I’m looking at you). And now he has left in a dignified manner, without uttering anything against Chelsea, instead just expressing his delight (or was it relief?) on his return to Milan.
Here’s wishing him all the very best for his future and hoping that he’ll be remembered as an AC Milan legend, rather than a Chelsea flop.
Chelsea have put an end to the uncertainty surrounding Frank Lampard’s future by officially announcing that the England international has put pen to paper on a mammoth 5 year contract. So now all the speculation linking him with a move to Italy and joining up with former manager Jose Mourinho at Inter has been put to rest. Good news for almost all Chelsea fans, I reckon
5 more years!
I won’t get into the entire story of contract talks stalling, Inter’s advances, Lampard’s demands from the club or even Frank’s deafening silence on the whole subject. You’ll find loads of news stories on these all over the web. But what has embarassed me most is the way in which the club has announced this today.
There was an announcement on the club’s official site today that a ‘World Exclusive’ news was to be announced at 5 PM GMT. That probably got lots of people wondering whether we’ve secretly signed up someone like Kaka or Robinho? Or are we moving to a new stadium? Several questions arose, some of which were straight out of a football fanatic’s fantasies! The club had successfully managed to create all sorts of hype and hoopla while raising expectations to an unreasonable and an unrealistic level, I’m afraid.
And when the clock struck 5 (or 10:30 PM IST), the ‘big’ news was made public.
“Frank Lampard has signed a new 5 year contract with Chelsea.”
Err.. What? Excuse me? Is that all? Is this what all the hype was about? Okay, so he’s finally signed a new deal. After holding the club to ransom over his demands. After a brief flirtation with Inter. After staying silent for so long that supporters started doubting whether all that badge-kissing was just out of habit rather than his love for the club. Well anyway, it’s a good thing for Chelsea and even better for Frank Lampard. After all, who in the world would offer a 5 year contract worth a rumoured 150,000 pounds a week to a 30 year old? Maybe that’s why they called it a ‘World Exclusive’.
The 30+ club
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that he should have left, but I feel Chelsea FC have embarassed themselves over this saga. After refusing to budge from their earlier stance of awarding only 2 years contracts to players over the age of 30, they’ve now left themselves open to demands from other players who fall in the same age bracket. Take Michael Ballack for example, who now has 1 year left on his contract. Would he not be within his rights to demand a contract of a similar length, if not a similar payscale? Ballack is a great player, but he’s not Frank Lampard so he’ll probably be given short shrift. Doesn’t bode well for dressing room harmony, does it?
Agreed, Lampard has been here for 7 years and has been a brilliant asset, but all this haggling over a new deal has left a bitter taste in my mouth at least. Well let’s just hope that we don’t have to witness any more such tedious dramas which ultimately lead to the club bowing down to a player’s demands and making a ridiculous spectacle of it all. Here’s wishing Frank Lampard all the very best and hoping that he continues to score 20 odd goals every season for the rest of his career at Chelsea. CAREFREE!!!