Chelsea: Taking the Throne

EXODUS A CERTAINTY

New Chelsea boss Ledley King has stated that the Blues will let go a high quantity of first team players in the coming days.

Now in the Sky Bet League Two after entering administration, Chelsea still have the likes of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas in their books, but moves are expected to be concluded in the coming days, according to King.

Chelsea are yet to let go of any of the stars, but King has warned fans to expect most, if not all, players to depart soon.

“It’s a position I have very little say in, but I have spoken to the administrators about our squad’s availability both before and after taking the job.

“We’ll undoubtedly let go a substantial amount of players, which I’m sure will be upsetting to see, but that’s just the nature of our situation.

“I have tried, and still am trying to keep a small number of players here with us, but our financial situation is delicate, so there is every chance that we can lose every recognised first team player.”

King refused to shed any light on the future of John Terry and Didier Drogba, two of the players who have spoken publicly about their wish to stay at Chelsea, regardless of playing in League Two.

A New World

After the cash flashing of the noughties that saw Roman Abramovich attempt to turn Chelsea into a European super force, the sideline shenanigans that Jose Mourinho brought to the Bridge and the occasional grumble for Avram Grant, it’s hard to believe just how hard the Blues have fallen in the space of weeks, now preparing for the new season in the Sky Bet League Two with a debt big enough to… well, it’s just really big!

The glitz and the glamour that came with the Premier League has been something new boss Ledley King hasn’t seen for a long time, seeking a managerial job since May 2012, the date the former Tottenham Hotspur captain called it a day from professional football due to the degree of his knee injury.

And so, the path of both King and Chelsea have crossed, leaving fans of most Premier League sides smiling ear-to-ear at the sight of seeing the Blues’ fans and their anything but artistic banners in the depths of English football.

Most fans, excluding those in Seven Sisters, north London, who’ll be sick at the sight of seeing their former club idol take control of bitter rivals Chelsea.

Many have voiced their discontent; others are far more reserved about the prospect of the ex-central defender putting the ‘King’ into King’s Road, to which the man himself appreciates.

“I’m not going to pretend joining Chelsea was an easy choice – it wasn’t. I questioned myself various times how the news of me becoming Chelsea manager would be received, and that factor did throw me away from applying at one point.

“But everyone must come to a point where they must think about themselves. I had a marvellous, albeit shorter than usual career at Tottenham and it will be a stage of my life that I will cherish forever.

“However, I thought to myself, ‘I’m not a player anymore. I’m an aspiring manager and this is the best opportunity I’ve had to get into management so far,’ and so I decided to meet up with Chelsea and accept their offer.

“At the time in which I was announced, I was bombarded with messages, some of them in a negative form, but you’re always going to get that sort of reaction. I’m pleased a large number of other Spurs fans did realise what this opportunity represented to me, so it’s reassuring to see that there was a bit of method behind the madness and that many fans will still reflect upon your name positively.”

Maintaining his usual low-key profile, King is relishing the challenge that bringing Chelsea back up the English tiers of football provides, confident he has both the attributes and weaponry to fire the Blues into League One next season.

“Promotion is a must, absolutely. The club needs results, and the sooner we get them, the stronger the club becomes again. But I’m not expecting it to be easy. As we’ve seen before, many teams have been relegated from the Premier League and gotten lost in the Football League. The competition in the lower leagues of England is like no other, so it’s to be respected.

“We will lose many players, we all know that, so we’ll have to see how we start off in the first couple of months, but beyond the first team lies a very strong core of young talent. Youth is the key here for Chelsea and it’s what I hope will get us to where we want to be.

“Nathan Ake, Isaiah Brown, Dom Solanke, all are players with big potential and ones I’m keen on trying to keep here at Stamford Bridge. We have more than enough potential to create a special comeback throughout the years.”

And just how special it would be? After having it easy for so many years under Abramovich’s rolls of cash, could Chelsea be about to embark on a journey that sees them become a top club again the hard way? Excluding the arrival of another sugar daddy, that really would be royal achievement from the man named King.

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JT CONSIDERING HIS FUTURE

Chelsea captain John Terry is rumoured to be considering his career as a footballer, following the west Londoner's relegation to the Sky Bet League Two.

The Blues’ skipper has been in negotiations with the club over a wage cut, but with little progress being made with Chelsea’s administrators, it seems Terry may decide to retire before the start of the season.

Terry is reportedly seriously considering retirement and looking for a coaching role with the club he’s captained for the majority of his career.

New boss Ledley King is thought to be open to the scenario of Terry, his former England centre back partner in Euro 2004, joining his backroom staff.

One man unlikely to remain at Stamford Bridge is Didier Drogba, who was among the group of more experienced players willing to stay at Chelsea.

Drogba has been placed on the transfer market and has the likes of LA Galaxy, Lille and former club Olympique Marseille all chasing the Ivorian.

One to Watch

Dominic Solanke

Clearly, the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa were among my best performers, but it’s a given almost that they won’t be with us in the coming days, so I decided to give the award to somebody I know will be in our squad. Solanke, a player of whom many fans expect big things from in the future, mixed in well with the stars in the squad and he could be an important figure for me here at Chelsea this season.

Verdict

It was solid pre-season in which we played teams much stronger than the ones we shall encounter in League Two. It is worth noting, however, that a fair few players that were picked won’t be at the club for long. On the basis that they were unhappy with the club’s financial situation, with their heads elsewhere, we did fairly well throughout. I’m expecting things to be different once we actually start competing officially.

The Clear-out

I could have written individual news reports for each transfer that has been made, but that would take far too long to update and get the story going. Therefore, I will list the transfers instead. Apologies, there are just too many to go through! :)

OUT

Eden Hazard – Paris Saint-Germain: £37,500,000
Nemanja Matic – Manchester United: £31,000,000
Petr Cech – Arsenal: £22,000,000
Gary Cahill – Manchester City: £17,500,000
Andre Schurrle– AS Monaco: £17,500,000
Cesar Azpilicueta – Paris Saint-Germain: £14,000,000
Loic Remy – AS Monaco: £9,750,000
John Obi Mikel – Real Madrid: £9,750,000
Filipe Luis – AS Monaco: £9,250,000
Branislav Ivanovic – Manchester United: £8,500,000
Mohamed Salah – Newcastle United: £8,500,000
Didier Drogba – AS Monaco: £1,000,000
Mark Schwarzer – Krasnodar: £425,000
Cesc Fabregas – Juventus: Loan
Oscar – Borussia Dortmund: Loan

Chelsea Squad 2014/2015

Goalkeepers

13. Thibaut Courtois, 33. Mitchell Beeney

Defenders

2. Todd Kane, 3. Kevin Wright, 26. John Terry, 5. Kurt Zouma, 37. Ola Aina, 41. Fankaty Dabo, 31. Andreas Christensen, 30. Alex Davey, 38. Dion Conroy

Midfielders

7. Ramires, 22. Willian, 35. Jordan Houghton, 20. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 27. Charly Musonda, 34. Lewis Baker, 34. Charlie Colkett, 17. Alex Kiwomya, 39. Reece Mitchell, 32. Jeremie Boga

Forwards

19. Diego Costa, 15. Isaiah Brown, 16. Dominic Solanke

BUCK TAKES OVER

Ex-Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has completed a shock takeover of Chelsea Football Club, following their entry into administration.

The news emerges as the club’s administrator, Tony Atkins, reported back to the Football Association to inform them of the new ownership of the west Londoners.

American-born Buck, the club chairman during Roman Abramovich’s reign, takes over via a consortium from his home state Washington and has shrunk Chelsea’s debt from the £900+ million down to £162 million, he confirmed.

“I’m delighted to return to this club and I’m here to pick up the valuable pieces that this club still has, attempting to fight back against our unfortunate situation.

“The club will still remain in a spot of financial bother, but with the good work that the administration and club manager did in offloading players quickly, we have been able to come in and diminish much of the debt with less risk of losing out financially ourselves.

“We are now in a position, and I’d consider Chelsea rather fortunate to have already made this transition, in which we can begin to look ahead and battle for consecutive promotions. I’m delighted to bring a form of stability back to the club.”

Buck also believes he saw enough of Ledley King and the team in pre-season to prove to him that Chelsea have the potential to recover fairly quickly, hence his faith in the former Tottenham Hotspur man.

“We know very well of Ledley’s struggles to land a job and the hunger he’s shown in taking this opportunity already says a lot about the character I portray him to be. He’s a fighter, and we need to fight.

“He’s done very well with some of the younger players in the squad in pre-season, and having offloaded much of the squad, I can tell you now that we weren’t the only ones ready to take control of the club. King has our full support and I’m confident he can keep us on the road to recovery.

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JT PENS NEW DEAL

Chelsea skipper John Terry has put to bed rumours of him leaving the club by signing a new three-year-deal with the Sky Bet League Two club.

Terry will remain with Chelsea until 2017, signing a new and improved deal of £195,000-a-week, making him the highest ever earner in League Two.

The Englishman expressed his delight at sealing his stay at Stamford Bridge, stating his focus is entirely on Chelsea’s path back to the Barclays Premier League.

“It’s common knowledge that I’ve been exploring different ways to stay at the club, so to sign a new deal, especially after the financial troubles we've had, is a fantastic feeling for me.

“I owe a lot to Chelsea, so staying was the least I could do. I was fortunate enough to still be at the club as [Bruce] Buck came in. His arrival made things easier for me to stay, financially, but I hope this can rub off on the remaining players here and launch a comeback.”

“The main thing for me wasn’t the money, I just wanted to stay at the club which has gifted me the opportunity I’ve had as a professional footballer. My current deal takes me to 2017, so I hope that by then we’ll have just been promoted to the Premier League and perhaps, at the age of 36, I’ll be in talks for a few more years here.

The ex-England captain, along with the majority of Chelsea first team players, looked set the leave the Blues’ following the relegation of the club that had found itself in administration after Roman Abramovich’s departure.

Terry did, however, publicly state he would search for a resolution for his stay at Stamford Bridge, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season.

Although his partner in the cause, Didier Drogba, left for AS Monaco, Terry is believed to have looked into the possibility of retiring and becoming part of Ledley King’s backroom staff.

However, the arrival of Bruce Buck as the new club chairman has turned things around financially, and with a good percentage of Chelsea’s debt cleared by the American’s consortium, Chelsea were able to tie down their beloved club hero.

Terry, along with Thibaut Courtois, Diego Costa and Ramires, will be in line to start Chelsea’s first game of the season versus Northampton Town at Sixfields.