Van Basten to Chelsea?

No is the official answer on this one. The Dutch legend was seen sitting VERY closely to Roman Abramovich during their game against Manchester Utd.

As with these things, most of the time it is just pure coincidence that a manager or player will be seen sitting beside a high-powered official at a club, but will spark wild rumours about big money deals, high-profile signings, and even love-interests in the case of a certain Sven.

It is most likely that this is pure speculation, but one can't help wonder what Van Basten was doing there. Unless he didn't get the memo about Robben moving to Real Madrid, the only Dutch player on show was Van der Sar, and surely he didn't need to do a scouting trip on a man with 121 caps (if he did, it was a waste of time considering Chelsea didn't get a single shot on target).

There are 4 main reasons a manager goes to a game:

1. Scouting (we've already ruled that out)
2. Invitation by friend (I don't think that van Basten and Abramovich were bestest mates at school)
3. Pre-signing (what the tabloids think)
4. To enjoy the game (what probably happened)

Reason 4 is the official reason and what most probably is the real reason. Can't a man watch a football game without being linked to either club in the news?

What's interesting is that Holland are by no means high and dry in terms of qualifying for the European Championships. With 4 games left to play (including a tricky away tie to group leaders Romania) starting mid-way through October, it's hardly high time to be watching essentially meaningless English matches.

Only something important should be able to track Marco away from his scouting duties, when coupled with the fact that his Dutch contract runs out next summer, makes for very interesting speculation indeed.

So what do you think? Do you agree with me in saying that it was pure coincidence? Do you think that Van Basten has already penned the contract? Or do you have some secret photos of him and Roman playing cricket together at school?

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Desailly in 'Shevchenko will win Champions League for Chelsea' shock claim

"For the moment, he is not performing. Let's wait and I'm sure he will help Chelsea win the Champions League"

The only way Shevchenko will help Chelsea win Europe's Premier Competition, is by keeping the bench warm so that when Drogba comes off after scoring a hat-trick, his arse-muscles wont tighten and snap.

Sheva's recent scoring record does not bode well. In his final season at AC Milan, he racked up an impressive 19 goals in just 28 appearances. Compare that with his 1st season at Chelsea, where he managed to score less goals than Fulham full back Carlos Bocanegra. Yes, that's the left defender of the 17th placed team last season. (Don't worry Andriy, you scored as many as John O'Shea...)

Noone can deny his poor recent record, just as noone can deny his incredible finishing skills that were so clearly on display in Milan. The question is, what the hell happened?

There are a few possible explanations:

• The Premier League has a quicker pace than Serie A


• Striker's thrive on confidence, Sheva's getting none from Mourinho


• Quite frankly he's fat and old


• He's mistaken the ball for Christopher Samba's head (sorry, had to be said)

Well I think we can discard the 3rd one, he couldn't have gotten that used to English cuisine in the summer of 2006. And even though the first reason is valid, it doesn't excuse the poor touches and League One style finishing he displayed against Blackburn at the weekend.

In the word's of Alan Shearer, a striker needs love. Before we get into any sort of debate about Mr Shearer's pre-match 'love' routine, he has a point.

While signing for AC Milan, Shevchenko had nothing but positive press and instant backing from his then manager Alberto Zaccheroni, which turned him in one of the greatest strikers to grace Serie A. 127 goals in 208 games speaks for itself.

Compare that with the situation when he signed for Chelsea. Supposedly signed by owner Abramovich as opposed to manager Mourinho, coupled with Drogba's early impressive form, will have destroyed his confidence. You can visibly see it every time he picks up the ball and just doesn't seem to know what to do with it. It's incredible and deeply saddening that this is the same man who scored a goal of pure genius against Inter Milan in the Champion's League 3 years ago.

Unfortunately for Andriy, as long as Mourinho's in charge and Drogba's still banging them in, he will never be able to capture his old inspired form. Not only is it a shame to both him and Chelsea, but to the footballing world that a previous great has fallen so far.

As for Desailly's other comment about Chelsea winning the Champion's League...

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