Best and Worst of 2009: Chelsea

Best Moment: Chelsea 0 - 0 Hull. Not their finest moment? Perhaps. But it was Big Phil's last stand... last straw, whatever... and it was his firing after this match, and Hiddink's subsequent hire, that turned Chelsea's season around. Under Scolari, Chelsea were an under-achieving side composed of pampered stars. Is it notable that the Hull match was Quaresma's only start for them? Under Hiddink they became a team whose best players were put out in an organized fashion. They became a force again, kept from a title challenge in the Premier League only by their earlier failures and from the Champions League final by some um, unique refereeing and a stunning winner.

Best Transfer: Does Hiddink count? If it has to be a player it would be Bosingwa. He gave Chelsea balance and especially earlier in the season he was a great attacking outlet. At 26, he's in his prime and that's not something you can say about a lot of the Chelsea players. Especially...

Worst Transfer: Deco. He was going to be Scolari's midfield general, pulling the strings and dictating the play. In the end he was just Scolari's pet, keeping his place in the side due to his manager's loyalty rather than his form. That being said...

Best Start: Deco's free kick goal in week 2 promised so much. But poor form and then injury (age related in both instances?) saw him fade away into irrelevance. Rumors are that he's wanted by Inter, and perhaps he will thrive in the slower pace of Serie A. Honorable mention would have to go to Nic Anelka who raced out to a league-leading twelve goals before Drogba returned from injury -- is it just me or are all of these things related? -- and Scolari benched him claiming that the two couldn't play together.

Best Finish: Anelka again. After being restored to the starting line-up he got back to scoring goals and finished the season as the Premier League's leading scorer. Honorable mention goes to Florent Malouda whose smart running, and some great finishing, finally began showing why he was one of the most exciting attacking talents in Ligue 1 when Chelsea signed him.

Biggest Disappointment (injury): Joe Cole and Michael Essien. Chelsea sure could have used Cole's guile on either wing, if only as an option off the bench. And when Essien came back to Chelsea he quickly showed how essential he was to their game.

Biggest Disappointment (non-injury): Has to be Deco again, but it could also be Ballack. Both were big signings meant to take Chelsea's midfield to a world class level and both have failed to make an impact at the club. Honorable mention could go to Petr Cech who just hasn't been the same keeper since, well... his injury. Okay so maybe it's the wrong category, but he's no longer the world's best and sometimes flirts with not even being a safe pair of hands.

Biggest Achilles Heel: Their squad is older and not as deep as their rivals at the top of the Premier League and across Europe. They will need a smarter transfer policy going forward as they can't compete with the likes of Real Madrid, or unbelievably, Manchester City in transfer fees anymore and nor are they as attractive a destination as Barca or Milan. While their first eleven can be as good as any, they may need more rest and possibly more motivation. A deeper, younger squad could provide both.