Chelsea Blues - short guest blog post by Riz Hafiz

It's a good portent that a London club wins the Champions League when the city is hosting the Olympics. But any neutral big-ups are nullified, at a stroke, when you see the unedifying antics of John Terry..the most shameless, in your face footballer going. It shows he has no regret for what he has done while the case is impending.. it leaves a huge distaste in the mouth. Get to the back of the victory bus; it's called keeping a respectful, low profile. You could say Hodgson has picked him because of his clout; as is quite evident Terry is a force unto himself and the manager was afraid not to pick him.

Then there's Torres also undermining the win; he causes trouble wherever he goes. This wasn't the time to try and overshadow the moment; it wasn't about him. He was the option, albeit an expensive one, he wasn't going to dislodge focused Drogba.

When your hands are in the fate of others it can go against you as Tottenham found out. Having lost 5-1; the bigger the match the bigger the implosion, their destroyers in chief delivered that final blow. Arguably Spurs stopped playing as a team when it began to dawn on some individuals that it would indeed be another false dawn. The 5-2 against Arsenal was the seminal bad result and the team will break up.

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So it comes to an end

So another season comes to an end. Manchester City the noisy neighbours gatecrashed the party in style. They did it in Fergie time. Fergie might have been pleased had it been the other way round, but this time he had to watch his team do their bit and still find it not enough. By United's standards a season bereft of trophies is not something they enjoy. Manchester City looked dead and buried for the title even when Joey 'psychology' Barton opted to end the season in the most unsportsmanlike way. Frankly I cant imagine him playing until October if he does play again for QPR. City eventually picked up and the rest is as thee y say history.e

Arsenal stuck one in the eye over their North London rivals Tottenham. For most of the season the Gunners were playing catch up and it would seem that Champions League footy would be a no go. I don't know if Arsene had words with the media and planted the Harry for England campaign in the world, it seemed to upset the boys at White Hart Lane. Spurs suddenly self destructed which included a capitulation in the FA Cup semi final against Chelsea. It came down the last game and it was all to play for. West Brom nearly gave a great leaving present for Roy Hodgson and a gift for Spurs. Once again Spurs fans would be left wondering what may have been when the games came to an end.

Liverpool departed with Kenny Dalglish, 8th place a League Cup win and FA Cup runners up may have been good for other clubs, but not for Liverpool FC as Dalglish found out. The search for a new manager began and ever since various names have been linked and rejected but Roberto Martinez of Wigan and Andres Villas Boas formerly of Chelsea have now been connected in high regard. One thing that can be said of Kenny Dalglish for all his pitfalls and errors of judgement, is that he united a club that had not been so long from being on the brink of administration. The club had new owners and Roy Hodgson had been removed.after a start not seen at Anfield since the early 50s.

Chelsea had a bad start, the players blamed the manager and his way of doing things. Chelsea were out of the top 4 and having a bad run. This inability to take collective responsibility for their on field performances lead to the departure of yet another manager at Stamford Bridge. Despite progessing in the Champions League and FA Cup it wasnt enough and the Portuguese manager was gone. In came Chelsea legend Roberto Di Matteo as Interim manager. He got the players 'united' and the club moved on. They went on a run in the league before dropping points against Newcastle which would make the move towards 4th place more difficult. This would lead to one night in Munich which would make history.  They would be the first London club to win the Champions League not only that they would beat German opposition on penalties. They had a week or two before won the FA Cup at Wembley. 

Newcastle fans had something to be pleased about. They finished a respectable fifth narrowly missing out on fourth, which although wouldnt bring Champions League, it would be a decent placing under the leadership of Alan Pardew. Pardew of course a man derided on arrival to the club after the departure of Hughton in 2010. Having signed some players that would make a difference to the season, Pardew rightly received Manager of the Year award. Next season barring a crazy self destruction I would expect the Toon to continue marching upwards.

Tottenham's failure to get Champions League football next season could prove costly. Luca Modric is rumoured to want away and this could see the Modric to Chelsea saga raise its head again. Bale has been linked with a move away but to whom will be a question. Of course he may very well put his loyalty to the club and stay with Spurs and fight to get Champions League footy next season. We will have to wait and see.

Two players that will be definitely at different clubs are Didier Drogba and Owen Hargreaves. Drogba who had wanted two years and not the one year that Chelsea offered, could not have signed off his Chelsea career in a better way by winning the Champions League. The last few days saw him staying and going but it took himself to finally say that his Chelsea career was at an end. Love him or hate him, his skill and knack for scoring will be missed in the Premier League. It will now be upto others new signings or current player and whinging Fernando Torres, to carry on the mantle. 

Owen Hargreaves was released by Manchester City. It was always a risky signing for the former Man United player who was beset by injuries, so it was no surprise that his time at City has come to an end. Whether he continues or hangs up his boots is a matter for him. I guess we'll find out in time.