Chelsea doesn’t need more playmaking midfielders – we don’t need Pirlo, we didn’t need Kaka – we need forwards and maybe a holding midfielder. As much as I like John Obi Mikel, he is no Claude Makelele (but who is?). Personally I’d like to see a return to Jose’s “flying wings” 4-3-3 formation – a central and compact midfield featuring Lampard, Essien, and Ballack if he’s fit/healthy/not mentally insane, forward three spearheaded by Drogba or possibly Anelka, and some real true wingers like back in the day with Damien Duff and Arjen Robben.

Is Joe Cole returning this season?

Yup. That England Qualifier against Andorra (or was it Kazakhstan… i can’t remember) where we saw SWP coming off the bench, I thot he was really bad. Thanks to City for taking him off Chelsea’s wage budget.

But still, personally, i don’t like ancelotti as much as i like jose or guus. It’ll be interesting to see how he’ll manage to keep everyone fit, be it the relatively young Mikel and Sturridge or the relatively old Ballack and Pirlo (if they sign him… god please don’t).

I dunno, maybe he’ll pull an ‘08 Rafa Rotation Policy’ on us, heh?

Second, Sidwell wasn’t young and it was his choice to join Chelsea. What’s really funny is the fact he made just one more appearance for Villa this season than he did with us the previous campaign.

Third, SWP had plenty of opportunities — and floundered in nearly all of them. He was a regular first-teamer for patches of 06-07 and 07-08. Eighty-two league appearances in three seasons clearly debunks your claim that he didn’t play much.

I am not saying one is better than the other, but pointing out that Sturridge probably won’t play much. Like Sidwell. And SWP. And other young players whose careers arguably went backwards while at Stamford Bridge.

I think Steve Sidwell should intervene here…

If we don’t sign another striker (doubtful), then I think he’ll see significant action.

Ideally, I’d like to think he’ll be eased into the first team and, dependent on performance, could end up a valuable piece of the puzzle — off the bench, of course. Regardless, I definitely think he’ll find his way into the first team if he keeps his head. Maybe not this season, but fairly soon.