However, whilst the presenter himself never fails to amaze me with his delusional take on the latest football news, the show – which Durham presents alongside former England cricketer Darren Gough – is more often than not a very entertaining listen; even more so of late given the astonishing number of Spurs supporters who frequently call in to proclaim their side as the “English Barcelona.”

If by that, they mean hard not to dislike and misguided of their place within the history books, then I suppose they have a point.

Last week, though, Durham provoked an interesting debate with regards to the future of our very own Daniel Sturridge. According to “talkSPORT sources”, Carlo Ancelotti is on the verge of sending the 21-year-old striker out on loan. Now, I think it’s fair to say that there is very little substance in this particular piece of information, and quite what such a ridiculous move would achieve is anybody’s guess, but if there is even a hint of truth in the rumour, then maybe Carlo really is losing the plot.

Sturridge is, quite simply, a very talented footballer. Of course, there are undoubtedly aspects of his game which need improving – none more so than an over reliance on his left foot – but he is young, hungry and most importantly, English. He has certainly impressed when called upon, and his goals in last season’s successful FA Cup campaign, when he scored in the third, fourth and fifth rounds, proved instrumental in securing Chelsea’s passage to Wembley.

The point is, we should be nurturing his talent, not stifling it. Cameo appearances as a substitute are certainly not the way to get the best out of him, and neither is playing him as a wide man. Particularly in recent weeks, Ancelotti has a habit of throwing Sturridge on for a ten-minute spell in which he is expected to salvage the game for us. It’s unfair, not to mention slightly unrealistic. Ancelotti had the perfect opportunity to play Sturridge through the middle when Didier Drogba was suffering with malaria but chose not to, and it sends out all the wrong signals.

Only a few weeks ago, Newcastle hit-man Andy Carroll made his eagerly-awaited England debut in the farcical defeat against France. This is the same Carroll who only last season was plying his trade in the Championship; the same player who has, on a number of occasions, played alongside Sturridge for the England Under-21s. Whilst the pony-tailed Geordie’s career appears to be going from strength to strength – albeit via the Crown Court – what is happening to Sturridge?

Elsewhere, Danny Welbeck – who is currently on loan at Sunderland from Manchester United – is beginning to flourish playing regularly under the tutelage of Steve Bruce at the Stadium of Light. Welbeck was a constant thorn in Chelsea’s side during the Black Cats’ 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge last month and has since gone from strength to strength. Performing every week has clearly given him the platform to showcase his unquestionable ability and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. On current form, it won’t be long before a certain Scotsman is on the blower calling him back to play alongside Wayne Rooney.

Ancelotti was eager to eulogise about the wealth of young talent at his disposal earlier in the campaign, but if the likes of McCeachran, Kakuta and Bruma et al really are the future of the club, they are going to need minutes on the pitch. The manager’s reluctance to start Bruma during the aforementioned Sunderland debacle spoke volumes, and with both Malouda and Kalou failing to produce a good performance for over two months, surely now is the time for the likes of Kakuta and Sturridge to be starting games.

Sturridge’s attitude, contrary to what many people believe, has been spot on of late, and the boy is both intelligent and articulate, something which cannot be said of a number of other players of the same age. He won’t, however, put up with being a sparingly used substitute for much longer, and who could blame him?

Playing regularly at his age is imperative, and make no mistake, he will look elsewhere if necessary.

Scott Parker was once deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge, look at him now. What we could do with a player of his ilk in the middle of the park at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Let’s not let another one slip through the net.

Now, not even the most ardent of Chelsea supporter would disagree with Ancelotti’s view that the side needs freshening up. The best defence in the country have conceded 10 goals in that four-game sequence and, as a unit, simply haven’t been good enough. However, Stamford Bridge regulars would be well within their rights to argue that the Italian is making an example of the wrong players.

As anybody who has watched Chelsea of late will testify, the main reason for their defensive problems has been the poor form of goalkeeper Petr Cech. There is no doubt that Cech has been a wonderful servant since joining the club in the summer of 2004, and the £7 million which the Londoners paid Rennes for his services was an astute piece of business. The Czech international’s recent performances have been heavily scrutinised, and rightly so, but while the player has certainly done enough during his time at the club to warrant a dip in form, the worry for Ancelotti is that this particular dip shows no signs of slowing down.

It hasn’t always been that way though. Cech’s arrival in SW6, while hardly met with scepticism, didn’t set any pulses racing. A relatively unknown quantity, most Blues fans believed Carlo Cudicini was good enough between the sticks to sustain a title challenge, and didn’t see the need for a replacement, but it wasn’t long before they had changed their tune. A clean-sheet on his debut – a 1-0 win against Manchester United – was a sign of things to come, and on March 5, 2005 Cech set a then new Premier League record of 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal. A string of sublime performances were instrumental in helping the club win their first title for 50 years.

Having been presented with a special award by the Premier League for breaking the record, not to mention the Golden Gloves, for keeping a record 25 clean-sheets, it was thought things couldn’t get any better. Cech, however, proved the doubters wrong, with Chelsea retaining the title the following season, conceding only 15 goals throughout the whole campaign – another record.

Many of his critics point to an October evening back in 2006 as the most significant reason for Cech’s fall from grace. In a Premier League encounter at the Madejski Stadium, against Reading, Royals’ midfielder Stephen Hunt challenged Cech early in the game, leading with his knee. The tackle appeared unnecessary, with the chances of Hunt winning the ball pretty slim, and as he collided with the goalie, Hunt’s knee smashed into his head. Cech was rushed to hospital, and underwent surgery for a depressed skull fracture, and doctors said it almost cost him his life.

The challenge, somewhat predictably, sparked outrage, and Chelsea manager at the time, Josė Mourinho was particularly scathing in his criticism of Hunt, referee Mike Riley and the South Central Ambulance Service. After three months out, Cech returned to the Chelsea goal for the 2-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield in January 2007 wearing a protective headguard. Following that fixture, he reverted to type, embarking on a run that saw him go 810 minutes without conceding a goal, and culminating in him being awarded the Player of the Month Award for April – the first goalkeeper to win the award since Tim Flowers in 2000.

What made Cech so dominant during those times was the way in which he commanded his penalty-area. He was, and still is, a fantastic shot-stopper, but the problems Chelsea have been suffering from of late stem from his inability to judge whether or not to come for high balls pumped into the danger zone. Every team that has won the league have been built on rock-solid defences.  Chelsea, during their back-to-back triumphs, along with both Manchester United and Arsenal in their respective periods of dominance, have had some mesmeric attacking talent at their disposal but, ultimately, they wouldn’t have been able to scale such dizzy-heights without a reliable defence.

With games coming up against both Portsmouth and West Ham, Chelsea will feel they should be taking maximum points without too many problems. This, then, could be the ideal time for the manager to give Petr Cech a rest, and take him out of the spotlight for a couple of weeks. Both Hilario and Ross Turnbull are more than capable of filling in for a few weeks, and a run of games would do Turnbull in particular the world of good.

Ancelotti has chosen to stand by Cech up to this point, publicly backing him when the goalie has clearly been culpable. Whether or not he feels dropping Cech could further chip away at the already brittle confidence levels of his keeper only he knows, but any further mistakes, particularly at such a crucial stage of the season, would leave him with no choice.

The 2-1 defeat at Manchester City a couple of weeks ago was a big blow for the Blues, and while they certainly weren’t at their best, they could have left Eastlands with at least a point had it not been for Cech’s bad positioning for Carlos Tevez’s winning goal. Similarly, earlier in the season, only Florent Malouda’s  last-minute strike spared Chelsea’s blushes at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke City, after a horrible Cech blunder allowed Abdoulaye Faye to head the home side in front.

The notoriously difficult festive period could go a long way to deciding the fate of both Cech, and Chelsea. A few clean-sheets, coupled with some decent performances, should see the career obiturary writers putting their laptops away for the time being. Any further mistakes, however, and both will be hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Any player that has picked up the award for best goalkeeper in the Champions League on three separate occasions undoubtedly still has a great deal to offer, and don’t bet against Cech, so often the butt of opposing supporters’ jokes, with regards to the protective headguard, having the last laugh.

Granted, when he entered the field of play it was more or less party-time anyway. The game was beyond any doubt, Joe Cole and Michael Essien were pulling the strings, and Wolves simply wanted the referee to put them out of their misery. However, given all the furore surrounding his transfer, the youngster could be forgiven for not hitting the ground running. Well, tell that to poor old Richard Stearman; it would have been easy for Kakuta to keep it simple on his professional debut, but it appears there is nothing simple about this young gem, as he showed by turning Stearman inside out within a minute of coming on, before firing inches wide.

That was just the start. From that moment onwards, every time Kakuta was involved, the 42,000 inside Stamford Bridge held their collective breaths and lurched forward to the edge of their seats in anticipation of what was to come, in a similar vein to the way they did when Arjen Robben first burst on to the scene in west London almost exactly five years ago.

It’s important not to get too carried away with young players, particularly those that have been talked about in such glowing terms. However, on this evidence, Chelsea appear to have some player on their hands. It was only a fleeting appearance, but surprisingly for a creative player, especially one so inexperienced, Kakuta is very disciplined. Though clearly blessed with an array of skills that your average midfield workhorse could only dream of, he doesn’t want to do it all on his own. With a first touch to die for, coupled with the ability to spot and execute a killer pass, Carlo Ancelotti will be wrapping him up in cotton wool over the coming months.

It isn’t often that this is said, but Chelsea could be the perfect club for Kakuta. A player of his talent will get games, but he won’t play every week, not by any stretch of the imagination, and in the long-term that can only be a good thing. He is also surrounded by experienced heads who will give him the right advice and encouragement, players such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack, not to mention fellow countrymen Nicholas Anelka and Florent Malouda.

One player Kakuta could certainly benefit from talking to is Joe Cole. Cole, like Kakuta, was a hot teenage prospect. The burden on his young shoulders was even bigger given the fact he was English. All the talk of him being the “new Gazza” seemed slightly unfair, even though it was meant as a term of endearment, but Cole, to his credit, took it all in his stride and made the breakthrough under Harry Redknapp at West Ham. Later in his career Cole came under fire from Jose Mourinho, when the self-proclaimed “special one” questioned his ability as a team player. Never one to sulk or moan, Cole went away, worked at the areas of his game Mourinho had criticised, and became a better player. He is certainly someone Kakuta could learn from.

It’s been a busy week for the young Frenchman. After his exploits against Wolves on Saturday, he was back in action on Monday night in slightly more familiar surroundings – a Chelsea reserves home match against Birmingham City – before heading off with the senior squad for the Champions League trip to Porto. Whether or not he will be included in the squad for Sunday’s massive clash with Arsenal at the Emirates remains to be seen, though if the Blues are chasing the game late on, he would certainly be a viable option.

With Nemanja Matic, Fabio Borini and Jeffrey Bruma all developing and getting a taste of big-game action recently, not to mention the continued progress of Sam Hutchinson and Miroslav Stoch, it appears Frank Arnesen might not have been sitting in his office, twiddling his thumbs and picking up a giant pay-cheque after all.

The emergence of Kakuta alone, however, should be more than enough to bring a smile to the face of any Blues’ fan, regardless of the circumstances he was acquired in.

Well, not quite, but four wins out of four under the stewardship of Guus Hiddink, including three clean sheets, and things are certainly looking a lot rosier than they were after the 0-0 draw at home to Hull four weeks ago.

It’s no secret that results under Luiz Felipe Scolari were a major cause for concern. However, recent performances have done nothing but add fuel to the rumours that all was not well behind the scenes during the Brazilian’s brief tenure. It was said that certain players were not happy with Scolari’s training methods, and felt they weren’t being worked hard enough. Performances at Old Trafford and Anfield did little to suggest otherwise, and Hiddink’s arrival has coincided with smiles returning to the faces of what appeared to be a split camp.

The English trio of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole made no attempt to hide the fact that they thought Scolari had been mistreated, and that a number of their handsomely-paid team-mates needed to look a little closer to home when searching for scapegoats. That’s not surprising though is it? The three aforementioned players are good, honest, dependable professionals; even if Boris Johnson was installed as their new boss, they would get their heads down, and get on with the job in hand, no arguments.

No, it was lesser players, well, lesser characters anyway, that spat their dummy’s out when things weren’t going to plan; the likes of Drogba, Anelka and Ballack, senior players that should really know better. True, the two strikers will feel that they should have been given the opportunity to play alongside each other more often, but it’s hardly a reason to start sulking and wallowing, is it? In the case of Ballack, well, you sometimes wonder what planet these players are on. Barring the final few months of last season, the German captain has done absolutely nothing to warrant his £130,000 per-week salary (nice work if you can get it, given the current economic climate), and it is surely only a lack of decent cover that has kept him in the side until now.

There can be no doubting the Dutchman’s immediate impact though, because those three have certainly stepped up to the plate in recent weeks, and solitary Drogba strikes have secured a vital three points at Portsmouth, as well as a slender lead to take to Turin, for what will be a true test of Hiddink’s well-documented tactical nous. Go for the early away goal that could kill the tie, or sit back, keep it tight, and hit them on the break; it should make for an interesting, albeit slightly nervy, evening next Tuesday.

With the zonal-marking system an unpleasant distant memory, Petr Cech seemingly on his way back to proving he is the best in the business, and the return of Ricardo Carvalho imminent, an upturn in defensive performances is surely a formality. Let’s not forget, 1-0 victories were the foundations on from which the second Premiership success was built on, and nobody was complaining then.

Michael Essien came through 90 minutes for the reserves on Monday night unscathed, and with a goal to his name, and having his energy and drive in midfield, alongside Frank Lampard, who has surely put the Gerrard / Lampard debate to bed in recent weeks, will be a massive boost to our assault on four (that’s right Fergie, four) trophies.

With a tricky, yet hardly frightening, trip to Coventry on Saturday, followed by that massive test in Turin three days later, the next week could ultimately define the rest of our season; let’s just hope the recent resurgence is a sign of things to come.

The days that follow a painful defeat are never enjoyable. Our minds are consumed by what ifs, if onlys and why didn’t hes, yet they are ultimately wasted thoughts, because as we are all only too aware, once Mike Riley blew his whistle to signal the end of the game at Anfield, as well as any lingering title aspirations we may have harboured, the damage was done: three points lost, no second chances.

True, the decision to send Frank Lampard off and allow Steven Gerrard to stay on the pitch would have been laughable had it not been so crucial, and 11 versus 11, who knows what would have happened. Yet deep down, even the most ardent of Chelsea supporters would have to admit that we didn’t do enough to win the game. In the space of three weeks we’ve conceded five goals without reply against our two biggest rivals; you can almost hear the chuckles of a certain Portuguese chap as he gets stuck into his copy of Gazetta Dello Sport.

Sadly, however, recent events and performances have conspired to make this slightly more than just an inquest. All is not well at Stamford Bridge, from the board right down to the players, and it was almost impossible to argue with Alan Hansen when he declared on Match of the Day 2 that “Chelsea are in disarray”.

There is no doubt that we are a club in freefall, and the dizzy heights of back-to-back Premiership successes seem like a lifetime ago. We haven’t been spending a lot of money recently, but worryingly, even if Roman does decide to splash the cash again, we are not the attractive destination for a player we once were. Even more worrying,  however, is that it is not inconceivable for Roman to be thinking right now, what the f*** has happened here?

Most die-hard Chelsea fans who haven’t jumped on the bandwagon in recent years fully appreciate the good times; after all, why wouldn’t we? When you can remember being beaten 6-0 at QPR in March 1986, or getting stuffed 7-0 at Nottingham Forest in 1991, moaning about our current plight is akin to complaining about a migraine to somebody with a life-threatening illness.

However, what makes the current situation so hard to stomach, is the fact that it is all of our own doing. Make no mistake, everything was in place for Chelsea to dominate football, both domestically and in Europe, for many years.

With one of the worlds best managers at the helm, and an owner who was prepared to back him to the hilt financially, a squad was assembled which ticked all the boxes. A young English core, which gave the side enough of a backbone to overcome scrappy affairs up north, combined with the continental flair, touch and technique needed to produce a moment of magic in order to break down a resolute defence. Team spirit was never in doubt either; this lot were like brothers, and Jose was the father figure. They would run through brick walls for him, and each other.

Roy Keane complained in 2000 that, on the back of Manchester United’s treble success of the previous year, they had failed to strengthen the side. He was proved right when Alex Ferguson’s men were eliminated in the quarter- finals by Bayern Munich the following season. It seemed Mourinho had heeded Keane’s words, and after romping to a first Premiership title in 2004/05, he recruited Michael Essien and Shaun Wright-Phillips, as well as recalling Hernan Crespo from his loan spell at AC Milan, to replace the departing Mateja Kezman. As reinforcements go, these three would improve any squad in the world.

The 2005/06 Premiership triumph wasn’t as comfortable as the first, but it was never seriously in doubt. The season’s low point came in the FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford, when dreams of a domestic double were shattered at the hands of… yes, you guessed it……Liverpool. Mourinho’s team selection that day left a lot to be desired, particularly the deployment of Paulo Ferreira on the right side of midfield, and maybe alarm bells should have started ringing.

After winning our second title, however, things started to go wrong. Signing Michael Ballack on a free transfer seemed questionable, but that was nothing compared to paying AC Milan £30m for the services of Andrei Shevchenko. It was this transfer in particular, that cast doubts over the manager’s relationship with the owner. Shevchenko was Abramovich’s mate, and it was evident from the start that Jose didn’t want him. As Ballack, Shevchenko and Ashley Cole arrived, consistent performers such as Gudjohnsen, Gallas, Duff and Crespo moved on; it was puzzling to say the least.

What followed could hardly be described as a bad season; FA Cup and Carling Cup winners; runners-up in the league and semi-finalists in the Champions League. Something wasn’t quite right though. Certain players, most notably Arjen Robben and Ballack, fell out with the manager, and it was made public that Abramovich and Mourinho were no longer on speaking terms.

After falling short in the two most important competitions, we needed to make a statement of intent in the transfer market, to give our rivals something to worry about. Mourinho’s relationship with the board was at breaking point though, and they were no longer prepared to back him. The purse strings were being tightened and it was time for him to wheel and deal, Barry Fry-style. The one player who could single-handedly win a game, Robben, was sold to Real Madrid, to be replaced by Florent Malouda. Claudio Pizarro, Tal Ben Haim and Steve Sidwell were the other additions. Fergie must have been laughing as he went out and snapped up Tevez, Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson; the tide was turning.

The season started badly and Mourinho was gone only a few weeks in. Avram Grant came in, and to his credit, steadied the ship. We finished the season only two points behind United in the league, and were the width of a post away from Champions League success against the same opposition. Many Chelsea fans felt, however, that the facts didn’t tell the whole story. There may have only been two points in it, but over the course of the season, United were streets ahead of us, winning games with a swagger we could only watch and admire. As for the heartbreak in Moscow…. well, the Champions League is just a cup competition really isn’t it? Anybody blessed with a half-decent squad and a bit of luck can win it. Just ask Rafael Benitez.

What has happened since that night in May has not made for pleasant viewing. Grant was given the bullet, harshly some might argue, to be replaced by Big Phil Scolari. After spending the whole summer courting top transfer target, Robinho, only to be gazumped by Manchester City at the last minute, we went into the new season with two new signings, Jose Bosingwa and Deco.

After a bright start, things have gone from bad to worse. Where Stamford Bridge was once a fortress, it’s now nothing more than a playground where the kids from the local estate come to mug the posh boys. 14 points dropped in the Premiership, plus a Carling Cup exit at the hands of Burnley, and a 1-1 draw against Southend in the FA Cup is a woeful return.

In the games against our title rivals, we’ve taken a solitary point from a possible 15, drawing once and losing four; again, woeful. The Champions League saw us scrape through in our final group game. Nothing wrong with that, you might say, but when the group is made up of Roma, Bordeaux and FC Cluj, it should never have come to that.

The recent games at Anfield and Old Trafford have painted a pretty grim picture. Five goals conceded, and barely a shot on target in return, just isn’t good enough. Petr Cech is not the keeper he was a few years ago; still a great shot stopper, but his positional play is poor. The back-four look like complete strangers, and it’s no coincidence that we have fallen apart defensively since Steve Clarke’s departure.

In midfield, John Obi Mikel and Lampard have performed admirably, but they are not helped by the constantly under-performing Ballack and Deco. Ballack appears to have only one gear, whilst Deco, barring the first two games of the season, has been invisible. These two have been there and done it all; sadly, they don’t seem to want to do a lot more, and the return of Michael Essien can’t come soon enough.

Amazingly, we could have snapped up Rafael Van Der Vaart for less than Deco; that’s not the Chelsea way though. Why buy a talented 24-year-old who is hungry, when you can buy a 30-year-old has-been? Only someone as poor at his job as Peter Kenyon could hail that deal as a “bargain”.

Which brings us to our attack. It’s no exaggeration to say that Tottenham, a team that are in a relegation dogfight, have more attacking options than we do:  Pavlyuchenko, Bent, Defoe and Keane? I would swap those four any day of the week for Drogba and Anelka. And let’s not forget, we are relying on Malouda and Salomon Kalou to inject a creative spark into our play; Spurs have Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric. Yes, of course Joe Cole is still a Chelsea player, but as he has been ruled out for the season, he is not much use to us right now.

Malouda is without a doubt one of the worst signings we’ve ever made. He contributes absolutely nothing, can’t beat a full-back, can’t cross, doesn’t score goals, and worst of all, he doesn’t care. The French winger epitomises everything that’s bad about modern-day football.

The manager may have turned up with an impressive CV, but that counts for precious little if you can’t back it up with results, and in that department, Scolari has failed spectacularly. He doesn’t seem to be able to inspire the players either, and quite frankly, doesn’t appear to care too much.

Tactically he doesn’t seem to have a clue. When Liverpool won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in October, he played Nicholas Anelka as a lone front-man; Anelka barely had a touch, and Jamie Carragher and co will seldom have enjoyed such a comfortable afternoon. In the return fixture at Anfield on Sunday, the selection of Didier Drogba in that role was imperative to Chelsea’s success; but no, Scolari opted for the same selection and tactics as he did in the first game, and ended up with the same outcome – egg on his face.

You really get a sense of how far we have fallen when things are going wrong. When previously we could call upon the likes of Gudjohnsen, Robben, Duff and Crespo to come off the bench and change the game, Scolari now seems to think that Juliano Belletti is the answer to all our problems. True, he doesn’t have the options previous managers have enjoyed, but with all due respect, Belletti is no match-winner.

Scolari is not the only one to blame for our recent problems, however. There always seems to be something going on behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge, and it is astonishing that Frank Arnesen is still in a job. The man entrusted with unearthing future gems has failed to produce anything of note, and to think we paid Tottenham £5m for his capture. It is also a wonder how Peter Kenyon can justify his salary. Our chief negotiator often resembles one of the bungling contestants on The Apprentice trying to pull off a deal. He chases Robinho all summer, yet when Manchester City make a £32m bid, he refuses to go any higher, stating that we won’t be held to ransom. That’s all very admirable Pete, but why change the habit of a lifetime? We’ve always paid over the odds for players, so surely if you’ve been chasing someone for months, an extra few million quid isn’t going to make much difference.

If rumours are to be believed, we were still attempting to sign Robinho up to the close of the January transfer window; now I may be being stupid here, but didn’t we sell Robinho’s current club a player (Wayne Bridge) a matter of weeks ago? Surely some sort of deal could have been agreed which catered for the needs of both parties. Kenyon’s negotiation skills, or lack of them, really make you appreciate Colin Hutchinson, and the sight of him leading the players up to collect their medals in Moscow was as low as it gets.

A major overhaul of the playing squad is needed in the summer if we are to seriously mount a challenge to Manchester United’s dominance in the next few years. Whether or not Scolari is the man to take us forward, only time will tell. Sadly for the Brazilian, time is the one thing he might not have.

The Robinho story seems to be gathering momentum on a weekly basis, and while it’s pretty obvious to anybody with a football brain that he would be an improvement on the likes of Malouda and Pizarro, just how good is he? He’s hardly set the Bernabeu alight, and if the figures being talked about are accurate, then that sort of money could surely be spent more wisely.

However, on the positive side, there were certain performances last season, Wigan at home springs to mind, where we were crying out for a bit of flair, and as good as Joe Cole is, he shouldn’t be the only player in a squad littered with internationals, capable of unlocking a tight defence.

Robinho is also a young player, and while the experience of a Deco could prove vital in our quest to win the Champions League, if Scolari really is looking to build for the future, acquiring top young talent is a must. Now is the time for Frank Arnesen to step up to the plate and show us what exactly it is he does, because while Tottenham have been busy snapping up young gems such as Dos Santos, Modric and Bostock, it appears Arnesen has been topping up his tan in sunnier climes.

The departure of Steve Sidwell for £5.5M (a rare good bit of business conducted by Peter Kenyon) should signal the beginning of the end for a number of players. If Shevchenko, Pizarro, Malouda, Ben-Haim and Belletti follow the flame-haired midfielder out of the exit, few tears, if any, will be shed in the Matthew Harding stand.

As Man-Utd look to add Dimitar Berbatov to an already potent attack, and Arsene Wenger promises more new arrivals will join the ‘new Zidane’, Samir Nasri, at the Emirates before the season begins, it’s imperative Scolari and the boys get off to a flying start. With early games against United, Tottenham and Liverpool, not forgetting a tricky opener against an ever-improving Portsmouth side, that is hardly a guarantee. Therefore, a good bit of business in the transfer market over the coming weeks takes on extra significance. Mr Scolari…..it’s over to you.