After the Window: Chelsea

I apologize for the delay in getting past the first team transfer summary.  We are using the international break for a nice rustic vacation in Maine.  I’ve been trying to generally stay away from the internet, email, and the other things that I tend to use for both my day job as well as staying up with current events in the Premier League and posting to the blog.  That lasted for a solid 3 days before I felt the pull of the laptop – I guess that’s why I’ve gotten involved in writing a blog on top of a day job. 

As it appears that I’m not going to get to every team, I’m going to start with the ones that have made the most substantial changes and move downward toward the ones that didn’t do much toward the end of window.  Since we’ve already covered Arsenal, I’ll move on to Chelsea.

I LOVED what Chelsea did toward the end of the window.  They had the type of window that Arsenal used to have.  Pick up a few very high end kids and throw in a very strong continental veteran.  The difference?  The price of the high end kids that used to be Arsenal’s stock and trade has increased by a factor of about ten since this was Wenger’s strategy.  I don’t know all the details but my guess is that Chelsea ended up paying Mata and Lukaku (and their previous clubs) like they were already established stars rather than rising talents with the potential to be the “next” someone good.   The economics aside, the moves look excellent.  The only downside is that they probably won’t payoff in huge measure for another couple years. 

Blog Roundtable

It's been a while since we've had a good blog roundtable around these parts. Here's us trying to help each other through the perils that is Friday trading:

Jeremy Spitzberg: maybe it's the hurricane...
Jeremy Spitzberg: but I'm considering dropping Kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: for Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: requires Obertan in midfield though
Jeremy Spitzberg: ddg brown rangel kelly (to be sold to upgrade...) obertan hoilett watson silva suarez torres rooney
Neal Thurman: very interesting
Jeremy Spitzberg: could go kelly to lichaj
Jeremy Spitzberg: and obertan to cabaye or rtay (love the kicks, hate the position)
Neal Thurman: not looking at Briggs?
Jeremy Spitzberg: briggs @nufc or lichaj home to wolves
Jeremy Spitzberg: still want hunt though :-(
Neal Thurman: if Lichaj plays - looked like there were two options
Jeremy Spitzberg: he played (and scored in the Cup)
Jeremy Spitzberg: he played (and scored) in the Cup
Jeremy Spitzberg: barkley?
Neal Thurman: I did like watching him last weekend
Jeremy Spitzberg: the league/game too stacked at fwd this year
Neal Thurman: agreed
Jeremy Spitzberg: ddg brown rangel lichaj rtay hoilett watson silva suarez torres rooney
Jeremy Spitzberg: hmmmm
Jeremy Spitzberg: friday trading ;-)
Neal Thurman: nice
Neal Thurman: do like the lichaj option
Jeremy Spitzberg: TUP
Neal Thurman: could use an upgrade from Moses who is 50/50
Jeremy Spitzberg: how much $ do you have to spend?
Neal Thurman: not sure yet - on a ConCall :-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: k
Jeremy Spitzberg: barkley, cabaye, rtay all in the same range ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: taarabt
Jeremy Spitzberg: one last chance for him?
Neal Thurman: meh
Neal Thurman: like all the others better
Jeremy Spitzberg: fair enough
Jeremy Spitzberg: never seen you come off a crush so quickly
Neal Thurman: even more so over time if Barton arrives to take kicks
Jeremy Spitzberg: right
Jeremy Spitzberg: but for this week...
Neal Thurman: Still very "meh" based on what I've seen - his kicks haven't been incisive and there hasn't been anyone who looked particularly dangerous on the other end of the ones that have been into the box rather than (theoretically) on net
Neal Thurman: at least with a guy like Adam you could see the quality even when it didn't go well on kicks
Neal Thurman: feels more like a Dorans situation than a Adam/Brunt situation to me
Neal Thurman: great Championship level player, not so much at the big time level
Jeremy Spitzberg: interesting comparison
Neal Thurman: different players (Dorans not nearly as athletic) but the stat lines were similarly impressive in the Championship with combinations of goals/assists
Jeremy Spitzberg: this year's gary macsheffrey
Neal Thurman: another solid analogy
Neal Thurman: nice to see Yahoo FINALLY getting on the bandwagon with ads to the right and left of the usable screen - perfect for fantasy game
Neal Thurman: ok, off my call - if I stick with Kun then I have a ton of money for a Moses replacement (12.5) - if I go Kun to Nando then I have 6.5 for the replacement in midfield
Jeremy Spitzberg: in what universe should one be ditching aguero?
Jeremy Spitzberg: just asking ;-)
Neal Thurman: lol - weren't you the one who just suggested it?
Jeremy Spitzberg: yeah, but I'm an idiot
Neal Thurman: Ha
Neal Thurman: well, that and the fact that Kun's price hasn't gone up THAT much
Jeremy Spitzberg: they 1.5 for the week "helped"
Neal Thurman: right
Neal Thurman: so the options are Barkley + Torres or Brunt/Hunt + Kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: if you go with Hunt and he goes off, i'm going to be super, doubly pissed
Jeremy Spitzberg: and will have to make changes to match you
Neal Thurman: and don't get me wrong - that could be a big part of the fun
Jeremy Spitzberg: hoilett/watson to barkely/hunt ;-)
Neal Thurman: just trying to figure out how I feel about Hunt on the road vs. a solid team (Villa) vs. Brunt at home vs. a solid team (Stoke)
Neal Thurman: hmm - bad mojo picking players who will be facing off against each other? (Hunt/Lichaj)
Jeremy Spitzberg: indeed
Jeremy Spitzberg: trying to remind myself that i can get hunt for next week
Neal Thurman: pulled the trigger on Hunt for now but am still very up in the air
Jeremy Spitzberg: home to spurs and qpr next for wolves
Jeremy Spitzberg: Chris Herd is favourite to replace Luke Young at right-back.
Neal Thurman: trying to decide if I want to keep MRichards at a discount for next match (home to Wigan)
Jeremy Spitzberg: accding to yahoo
Jeremy Spitzberg: grrr
Neal Thurman: so that means that Lichaj is almost a lock ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: who the hell is chris herd?
Neal Thurman: the one I mentioned in Injuries and Suspensions as the likely competition for Lichaj for the RB spot at Villa ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: both started in midweek
Neal Thurman: Warnock rested?
Jeremy Spitzberg: not even on the bench
Neal Thurman: or did one play further up the field (likely to be replaced by Gabby/Albrighton)
Jeremy Spitzberg: herd replaced by beye on 87
Jeremy Spitzberg: lichaj on the left, maybe?
Neal Thurman: perhaps
Jeremy Spitzberg: herd not in the system
Jeremy Spitzberg: damn
Neal Thurman: still, a solid enabler
Jeremy Spitzberg: do i go briggs even though i have rtay?
Neal Thurman: but might go to Briggs just to be sure
Jeremy Spitzberg: wilson for stoke?
Jeremy Spitzberg: but don't like @wba
Neal Thurman: I'm not going to
Neal Thurman: excited for Boyata to Bolton (not for this week but eventually)
Neal Thurman: Barton to QPR official
Jeremy Spitzberg: i guess briggs doesn't need the CS to return value
Neal Thurman: RSC to Real Betis likely
Jeremy Spitzberg: got both left backs in that match :-(
Neal Thurman: could be worse - that match could easily be a 0-0 draw
Jeremy Spitzberg: except rtay listed as a middie
Neal Thurman: NUFC ugly in attack and Fulham always that way on the road
Jeremy Spitzberg: so no joy there
Neal Thurman: well, except that you'd get value on Briggs
Jeremy Spitzberg: damn friday trading!
Neal Thurman: :-)
Neal Thurman: always fun
Neal Thurman: my biggest regret is that I'm not doing the obvious thing and going in on Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: b/c he was worse than agureo
Jeremy Spitzberg: kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: easier to type
Neal Thurman: Kun away to a good team; Torres home to a bad one - should be an easy choice but I just don't believe in Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: 'for good reason
Neal Thurman: true dat - just going to be embarrassing if/when he goes off
Jeremy Spitzberg: yeah...
Jeremy Spitzberg: but which one? ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: either or both
Neal Thurman: heh
Neal Thurman: which is why I'm sticking with the one I got
Neal Thurman: plus, he's home to someone bad next
Jeremy Spitzberg: can Mata pull an Aguero this week?
Neal Thurman: seems unlikely
Neal Thurman: don't think he's THAT good
Jeremy Spitzberg: and Sturridge comes into play next week
Jeremy Spitzberg: this would all make a good chat post ;-)
Neal Thurman: it would - haven't had one of those in a while
Jeremy Spitzberg: something for this afternoon
Neal Thurman: ok - headed out for a few - back in a bit
Jeremy Spitzberg: k. i'll be out till afternoon
Neal Thurman: enjoy
Jeremy Spitzberg: brewery tour, so yes
Neal Thurman: sweet

Season Preview - Chelsea

Quick Reminder, Real Life

Sort of an odd season at Stamford Bridge wasn’t it. Never REALLY in the race for first but never REALLY out of it either. The Blues big names down the spine of the formation - Drogba, Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien and Cech - were all less than their best for varying reasons but all were still above average Premier League players when they played. The names brought in to supplement that core also had their ups and downs. Florent Malouda had a great first half but only an adequate second half. Anelka and Kalou were effective in spells and invisible over other spells. Ramires wasn’t ready. Mikel may never be ready. Big winter signings Torres and Luiz cost a lot of money with mixed results at best. Luiz was by far the better of the two although he seemed to have a penchant for making one big mistake per match. Torres was an unmitigated disaster. Chelsea are clearly a team between “generations” of players with half a roster of players heading toward the downside of their careers a few decidedly on the upside and precious few healthy and at their prime. It just wasn’t enough to compete with United.

Quick Reminder, Fantasy

You expect a lot from Chelsea players when it comes to fantasy. Lots of goals, lots of clean sheets, and expensive prices. Of note, FloMal was one of the best players going for the first two months of the season. Drogba closed the season very well. Luiz scored some goals which will be a great addition to defending points if he can settle down a bit, hold on to a place in the starting line-up, and avoid the bad cards and fouls in the box. Anelka degraded throughout the course of the season leaving us to wonder what his fate will be this coming season.

Summer Changes

What Makes a Good Squad Player

I had an interesting interaction with a reporter/writer that I was not familiar with until yesterday. His name is Tom Williams and he can be found on Twitter at @Tomwfootball. His original tweeted premise, on the occasion of Patrick Vieira's retirement as an active player, was spot on.

Measure of Vieira's impact: players like Abou Diaby mistakenly typecast as defensive midfielders just because they have a similar physique.less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyTom Williams
tomwfootball

There is an entire generation of lanky midfielders - mostly French or French-speaking West African - who have been labeled "next Vieira" while their managers, journalists and supporters attempt to push them into the "Vieira role", defined as box-to-box action with a heavy emphasis on the holding role. Not as holding-only as Makelele, but certainly far better and more focused on that role than someone like Pirlo or Alonso who is more deep-lying distributor.

As Mr. Williams indicates in his Tweet, it is a huge tribute to Vieira that the desire to find the next one of him caused managers to stop looking at a player's actual qualities and just assume that he should fit a certain mold. My response, which was perhaps a bit extreme but still valid at the core was that not only some players - most notably Yaya Toure - have been mis-categorized as holding midfielders by managers, the media, and supporters. There are also players, like Abou Diaby, who have been miscast as being better than they actually are because of the hope that they will eventually fulfill that "Next Vieira" promise.

@tomwfootball mistakenly typecast as DMs in the case of say Yaya Toure, miscast as top flight footballers period in the case of Diabyless than a minute ago via yoono Favorite Retweet ReplyNeal Thurman
nealjthurman

Mr. Williams didn't think very highly of my opinion of Diaby as being "miscast as a top flight player" which got me to thinking about what makes a good squad player.  I think we'd all agree (even Mr. Williams) that Diaby hasn't shown enough that even a bottom half team would buy him with the intention of him being a regular starter.  Between injury and lack of consistent production (either attacking or defending) he just isn't as good as midfielders currently starting in the Prem.  Higher up the table he wouldn't be rated as of high enough quality.  Farther down the table, his abilities might shine a bit more in comparison to current starters but his inability to stay on the field for more than a few matches at a time would make him a poor choice.

In an effort to re-examine my reply to Mr. Williams' Tweet, I started thinking about what makes a good squad player in an effort to determine whether I over-reacted in saying that Diaby has been miscast as a top flight player (at least in England).  Here's what I came up with as far as constructing reserves:

History Repeating

In your history books

Check out this post from the blog's first month back in 2004:

Fantasy Premier League Blog: The Roman Empire

We love the Fantasy EPL mentality that Mr. Abromavich has brought to Chelsea, but we're not sure he's picking the right guys up front. To prove our point, we'll be tracking the fantasy totals of Roman/Jose's current strikers against the ones they've kindly loaned out to their rivals (specifically Carlton Cole and Mikael Forssell). Even with a 3 striker to 2 advantage the Banished lead those still around by the narrow margin of 21.60 to 20.40.

After Week 1:

The Most Favored:
D. Drogba - 5.30
E. Gudjohnsen - 10.20
M. Kezmen - 4.90

The Banished:
C. Cole - 16.70
M. Forssell - 4.90

And now compare today's situation where Neal is giving us weekly updates on the respective goal tallies of Torres (1) and Sturridge (7).

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même.

Barn Door Team

Here we go again.

My barn door team after the weekend looks like this:

Progressive changes (regressive possibly, I'll leave that to you) after the jump.

Torres dilemma for Ancelotti

... and by extension, fantasy managers:

Torres dilemma for Ancelotti - Yahoo! Eurosport

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has yet to decide whether to start Fernando Torres in Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash against Liverpool.

Ancelotti confirmed his £50million signing was available against his former club but was considering introducing him from the bench.

A decision also needed to be made on new defender David Luiz, who was not expected back in London until Saturday after returning to Portugal, while Alex (knee), Yury Zhirkov (calf) and Yossi Benayoun (Achilles) were still sidelined.

Transfer Deadline Roundtable

In which we talk at length, briefly, about Torres, Carroll, Liverpool, Chelsea, and... West Ham?

Neal Thurman: Carroll for 35M? Really?
Jeremy Spitzberg: seems a bit desperate, doesn't it?
Neal Thurman: really does
Jeremy Spitzberg: how did it get to the point where LIV have no strikers other than Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: when they've been without Torres for such long stretches?
Neal Thurman: exactly
Neal Thurman: shouldn't Suarez be filling in that gap?
Jeremy Spitzberg: when was the last time someone came from the Dutch league and prospered?
Jeremy Spitzberg: who wasn't Dutch (RVN, RVP)
Neal Thurman: Ruud? RvP
Jeremy Spitzberg: jinx
Neal Thurman: um
Neal Thurman: um
Jeremy Spitzberg: kezman? maccarone? alves?
Jeremy Spitzberg: kuyt? ;-)
Neal Thurman: agreed across the board

Helpful Hints

Premier League chalkboard analysis | Michael Cox | Football | guardian.co.uk

A quick note to Liverpool's new manager - or it's current one if need be: Get, and keep, Torres closer to the opposition's goal!


 by Guardian Chalkboards

Fantasy football managers and Liverpool fans alike will thank you.

Torres injury update

Roy Hodgson hit by January freeze as Liverpool owner rules out transfer spending spree | Mail Online

Torres has at least been given the all-clear by Spain's medical team, after arriving with an ankle ligament strain, and assured he will be fit to face West Ham at Anfield on Saturday.

This is surprisingly definitive. Hopefully the news won't change, or equivocate, later in the week.

Torres ankle injury

Fernando Torres suffered ankle injury in Liverpool's defeat at Stoke | Football | guardian.co.uk

Liverpool have confirmed that their striker Fernando Torres has suffered an ankle ligament strain but will still report for international duty with Spain this week.

The Spain forward required treatment during the second half of yesterday's 2-0 Premier League defeat at Stoke but still completed the 90 minutes.

Torres will now be assessed by Spain's medical staff ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Portugal in Lisbon.

Expect lots of "should be fit to play" and "may be ready" and "doing everything they can to have star striker ready" etc. Just don't expect any definitive news on whether or not you should hold this otherwise no-brainer pick or gut him to buy Ngog.

Premier League Round Up

Stoke City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen hoping to return against Bolton Wanderers

Terry Assessment to Continue

Knee injury rules Doyle out

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres doubt for derby

Lennon ruled out of England game, Downing in

Jean Beausejour to miss Birmingham's trip to Arsenal

Injured Jagielka ruled out

Arsenal buoyed by imminent return of Cesc Fábregas and Theo Walcott

Frank Lampard optimistic of return for Chelsea's match at Aston Villa

Pavlyuchenko Blow for Russia

Finally, lost in this week's "blogasm" over Liverpool FC, I think we've lost sight of another similar, if not spectacular issue. Manchester United just reported financial statements that were about as bad as Liverpool's. They are also coming off a weekend where they benched their in-form striker and came away from another road trip with another draw. Were Liverpool not such a grease-fire of a club at the moment, I think SAF and Manchester United would be feeling a lot more heat.

Torres injury update

For anyone *cough*Mike*cough* who is still betting on Liverpool these days:

Liverpool Echo - Liverpool FC - News - Fernando Torres injury update - Liverpool FC star faces groin injury scan

FERNANDO TORRES will have a scan this afternoon to determine the extent of his groin injury.

The Liverpool striker was at Melwood on Monday morning to have the problem assessed and the initial diagnosis is that it is a strain rather than a tear.

Season Preview: Liverpool

Overall Outlook - I have to admit that I haven't really figured out what I think of Liverpool's chances yet this season.  They certainly have the talent on hand to break back into the Top 4 if everything goes their way but they also have most of the same cast of characters as they did last season when they fell to seventh.  The manager is new but the guy he's replacing has had more success than any manager in recent Anfield history.  There is some new talent but most of it all plays the same position - attacking midfield.  Hard to see how it is all going to come together.  Just a note, I'm assuming for the sake of this article that Masch will find himself at Inter before the start of the season and that one or more of the suggested replacements (Poulsen, et al) will arrive.

It begins?

With the World Cup not even cold yet, has the fantasy Premier League season begun?  Or at the very least, is it time to turn our attention to the League and the team's pre-season preparations?

[Roman Pavlyuchenko] stole the show with a superb second-half display, scoring twice and creating another goal as Harry Redknapp's Champions League hopefuls turned the screw after the break.

Jonathan Obika netted the only goal of the first half. The youngster profited from a mix-up in the Bournemouth defence and rolled the ball into an unguarded net after 36 minutes.

Andros Townsend set-up Pavlyuchenko to make it 2-0 before the two players combined again soon afterwards to create an opening for Danny Rose to score.

Pavlyuchenko completed the scoring with a deft lob after latching on to a long throughball.

In the same match, however:

[David Bentley] was forced off during Spurs' 4-0 win in the pre-season friendly at Bournemouth on Saturday and scans revealed Bentley had damaged right ankle ligaments.

A short statement on the club's official website confirmed Bentley would miss the tour of the USA to receive further treatment at Spurs Lodge.

Meanwhile, it's all happening at Liverpool.

• Torres' groin injury could keep him out for two months
• Insua is in talks over a move to Fiorentina
• Lucas could be on his way to Palermo

If 'arry Redknapp had been named the new boss at Liverpool we'd already be hearing about how they were down to bare bones.  And while I guess this could just be a case of "sell before you buy" for Hodgson, he will have to buy, buy quickly, and buy well.  

Bloggers of the Round Table - The Finale

Wow, seems like we've been at this forever (OK, less so to you guys since I posted it all pretty much at the same time while most of you were sleeping).  Trust us, we, the Blogger Round Table - Mike, Nik, Ses, Mohamad, Jeremy, and Neal have been furiously writing emails back and forth to make this happen for quite some time now.  If you want to catch up, you can do so by reading Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of the conversation before checking out Jeremy's summation and closing statements below.

If you are up to date then we'll get you right on to Jeremy's thoughts on Liverpool:

Bloggers of the Round Table - Liverpool Discussion Part 4

I don't know about you, the readers, but I've really been enjoying the discussion thus far.  Different views and some interesting options.  They continue now with some thoughts from Mike "The Fantasist" from Yahoo! UK.  If you're just catching on that this conversation is clearly the most in-depth discussion you'll find on the Interwebs about the Premier League this summer, here are the first three parts to convince you...Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3...

Now, on to Mike's thoughts...

Hi guys, sorry for the delay in replying.  It's clear that Liverpool need to spend this summer, but therein lie two major problems - cash, or lack of it, and the manager. With doubts remaining over both, it's not yet clear how best Liverpool can address their problems on the pitch this summer. But what is absolutely clear is that it is imperative both issues are sorted out before Liverpool can dip their toes into the transfer market. There's no real debate on whether the current ownership works for the club - it doesn't, financially or in terms of personality, and change is needed if Liverpool are to shake off their current malaise.

Rafa Benitez is another problem entirely and whether he stays or goes will shape how the club approaches their summer transfer activity.  If he stays, with the backing of any new owners, Benitez will have a great deal of work to do if he is to make up for what can only be described as some atrocious wheeling and dealing to date.  His preference will no doubt be to maintain the Spanish flavour which he has so far brought with him to Merseyside, meaning likely raids on his homeland.  But the question has to be: can Liverpool attract the likes of David Villa or David Silva? Without the draw of Champions League football, the answer has to be no. In which case, they will have to rely on Liverpool's great tradition as a European footballing giant and the promise that things can be turned around. But even with a rich Arab at the helm - and the sky high wages that go with that - prospective targets will take some convincing to move to Merseyside this summer. It's just not the same draw as it was five years ago.

At least Fernando Torres will stick around for another season if Benitez stays. And Steven Gerrard cannot leave the club, whether Benitez leaves or not, having so emphatically pledged his future to them a couple of summer's ago. Or is  it naive to hope that a footballer is capable of keeping to his word? [Neal's note, really? Do you even have to ask this question? Football players aren't to be trusted under any circumstances]

As for a technical director coming in to aid Benitez, it's certainly an interesting proposition. Clearly, Benitez needs some guidance on how best to spend the money available to him - the disastrous acquisition of Alberto Aquilani proved that - but many managers struggle to cope with an 'overseer' present and construe their involvement as meddling.  If such a role were to be created, Benitez would have to have a big say in who is brought in. A friend would be an ally, but an outsider could be perceived as a threat.

So what if Benitez leaves? It would certainly mark the end of an era, and his departure would likely herald a mass clear-out. Torres, Jose Reina, Javier Mascherano et al might well fancy their chances elsewhere if the Spanish-speaking community was broken up.  That would give carte blanche to whoever came in to immediately stamp his authority on the club, bring in whoever he likes and prove he is a wiser owl than Benitez in the transfer market. 

His first task would be to address the striking situation. Quite simply there is no strength in depth at the moment and, without Torres, no strength at all. The likes of Ryan Babel and David Ngog are not players who can turn games -the kind of players Liverpool need to turn things around.  It seems like whatever happens this summer, Liverpool cannot realistically expect to regain their membership of the top four, and next season promises to be one of consolidation rather than real progress.

And Jeremy gets the last word in…

Bloggers of the Round Table - Liverpool Discussion Part 3

Our esteemed blogger panel consisting of The Fantasist, YFF Assistant Manager, YFF Scout, Mohamed Kileeny, and your favorite bloggers from this here site (Jeremy and Neal) continues with our entry from Ses, the YFF Scout.  If you want to catch up on where we've been, you can see Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Bloggers of the Round Table - More Liverpool Discussion

The Blogger Round Table returns with Nik's comments on the future of Liverpool.  Nik is better known as the YFF Assistant Manager.  If you're just joining the conversation, you can see the beginning here...

Knee surgery rules Torres out for rest of season

Fernando Torres will miss the remainder of the season for Liverpool due to knee surgery, and his participation in the World Cup finals must be in some doubt as his club expect him to be sidelined for six weeks.

Torres, who previously underwent knee surgery in January, missed Liverpool's 0-0 draw with Fulham last weekend due to the problem and the striker will go under the knife on Sunday night after being seen by a specialist.

David N'gog
6.20
@Burnley

Get in while the barn door is open.

Meanwhile,

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti will allow Didier Drogba to decide whether he is fit enough to play on this season.

The Ivorian striker is currently nursing a groin injury, and may yet require surgery in order to cure the ailment.

He was in obvious discomfort throughout the Blues' 2-1 defeat at local rivals Tottenham on Sunday, but was unable to be replaced in the second half as Ancelotti had used all of his substitutes.

Drogba is now in danger of inflaming the problem and ruling himself out of action for a prolonged period of time.