Life in Roman’s Empire: where does the real power lie at Chelsea?

Watching the Chelsea Napoli match on the box last night it was great to see the endeavour and heart showed by Terry, Drogba and Lampard in particular. Occasionally we were privileged with glimpses of Abramovich silhouetted behind the glass of his executive box, hunched forward in an agony of expectation – the typical fan.

Meanwhile, Chelsea bulldozed their way to the quarter finals with a style reminiscent of the team of old. Sturridge looked a bit dejected when taken off – his boots are like flypaper, the ball attached like glue. Surely he is Chelsea’s future? Torres came on, ran his heart out, looked desperate to please but a little out of sorts – overweight too, maybe. Meanwhile Cahill was fixed to the bench. Di Matteo has taken a step back to maybe move forward.

He slipped, nearly fell over, when Chelsea scored – that’s Italian shoes for you – designed for the catwalk, not the cuptie. It seemed symbolic. He has been criticised in the press for being disinterested when at West Brom. We all loved him for his goal in the cup final, and the way injury dealt his career such a blow, but can he be the new face of Chelsea?

It’s not likely is it? As the game drew to its thrilling climax Terry was to be seen giving instructions to Essien: he towered above Roberto, and that seemed a fitting metaphor, revealing where the real power lies within the club. Meanwhile Roman is a shadowy figure behind the glass of his executive box. When I watched him last night it made me realise, his fish and chips taste the same as mine, no matter how rich he is!

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