It’s no secret I’m a Chelsea fan and I’ve been one since 2000. Those were the days when Ruud Gullit was player / coach, Dennis Wise wore the captains armband and Chelsea had tons of non-English players in their squad. Well, not much as changed about that stat, but the quality of English players in the team has definitely increased.

What has changed at Chelsea?

Firstly, they’ve changed kit sponsors. No longer does Umbro don their shirts, but the famous 3 stripes of Adidas, and I’m for one very pleased. Just take a look at the World Cup kit sponsors and have a look at the quality teams sponsored by Adidias, and scroll further down and see that only England and Sweden are sponsored by Umbro. Doesn’t that some something?

Secondly, their squad. They’ve sold a couple of players, and bought a couple of players, but I think the most important factor is that their defence has stayed pretty much the same. Have a look at the previous winners of the Premier League, and most of the teams that have won have done so by letting in the fewest goals. They have lost Del Horno in defence, but if they could replace him with Ashley Cole from Arsenal, well their defence will look even more rock solid. Terry, Carvalho, Gallas, Ferriera, Bridge, Geremi and most importantly Cech and Cudicini, currently make up their defence, which conceded the fewest goals in the Premiership last season.

In the midfield and upfront, They’ve lost Gudjohnsen, Duff and Crespo. But Ballack and Shevchenko will be welcome changes to their squad. I also think Essien might have a really awesome season for Chelsea, as he has gone through and is starting to adapt to the English playing style, and judging by his World Cup, seems ready to show why he is considered one of the best players to come out of Africa.

The one thing that people have been saying is “this is a new look Chelsea”. Since when? Chelsea’s play focuses around a couple of core players - Lampard, Makelele, Cole and Terry. They playing style is also dominated by these players and that certainly won’t change this season. We will just have to see which other players will shine, and bring some of their unique flair to Chelsea and to the English game.

In

• Andriy Shevchenko (Milan)
• Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich)
• Salomon Kalou (Feyenoord)
• John Obi Mikel (Lyn Oslo).
• Hilario (Nacional)

Out

• Carlton Cole (West Ham)
• Eidur Gudjohnsen (Barcelona)
• Jiri Jarosik (Celtic)
• Glen Johnson (Portsmouth, loan)
• Damien Duff (Everton)
• Hernan Crespo (Inter Milan, loan)
• Asier del Horno (Valencia)

Just one last thing, have a look at Man United. Either Alex Ferguson thinks that his 1 signing in Michaek Carrick is going to make all the difference and turn United around this season, or they have completely lost the plot. With players like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gerard Pique, Quinton Fortune and Tim Howard leaving, do they really think their other players are going to fill the gaps? Heres to a United struggling to stay in the top 4 in England.