I have always wondered what the key ingredient for greatness is – is it talent alone or is it something else, and after a long time it struck me. It’s the fire within one’s belly albeit the hunger to succeed.
Sure talent plays a vital role but it’s the desire to put whatever talent one has to good use that matters in the end. Going through an interview of Claudio Ranieri (a.k.a the Tinkerman), he pointed out that the most talented player he has worked with is Francesco Totti, and as a Chelsea fan I took some time to process it. But subsequently he admitted that the laid-back attitude that Totti had didn’t do him any favours and that the dedication of Frank Lampard is what made him the player that he is today.
Enough beating around the bushes, the reason I am writing is because I genuinely feel that this year will prove to be a vital one in Chelsea’s future. Perhaps this year the competition for the Premier League is the fiercest. We have genuinely five very good teams who will be vying for the trophy at the end of May. The usual suspects remains (Chelsea, United, Liverpool , Arsenal) and Man City & Tottenham too (Liverpool, title contenders!? – ed).
Each and every team has done what was required. United splashed cash on proven Premier League talent in Ashley Young and Phil Jones and a very young goalkeeper in David De Gea. Arsenal have again gone on to sign youngsters and let people say whatever they want but they will be up there at the end of the year.
Liverpool have taken the safe method by investing in recruiting English players and if Sir Alex is to be believed that is the way to start rebuilding. Now coming on to Chelsea I felt the buys were keeping the future in mind. They have assembled quite a group of talented young players from all around the continent. Out of these players the one who caught my attention is Romelu Lukaku.
The deal for this youngster has been mooted for a long time and eventually he has been snapped. And reading about him in the papers there is a genuine feeling that this player wants to be a part of the Chelsea family, there is a sense of wonder in his eyes, a sense of romanticism about this deal. But what I am waiting is to see is whether AVB can get the best out of him.
He has come in with a reputation where he challenges the players to unearth their latent talent while he helps them out with the tactical know-how that has served him so well in the past. So the question remains: Can the whole team come together and achieve something really amazing this season?
I say why not. With the unique mix of experienced players and the young budding players we can achieve whatever we want. The players must look within themselves to rediscover that ruthlessness that helped them amass a record 95 points in the 2004-05 season. And for the older players they must prove that they are not done. Fernando Torres must discover the character within him, that would prove that he isn’t a player who depends on talent alone but also on hard work, because we Chelsea fans tolerate a hardworking fool but not a lazy talented person (ask Shevchenko!) (just to counter with a spanner in the works – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink; lazy yet talented? – ed).
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