Has Hiddink really got the Chelsea dressing room under control?

Salomon Kalou and William Gallas – foes now, teammates next season?
(Picture: Reuters)

SALOMON Kalou has caused a stir among Chelsea and Arsenal fans by saying that he is a fan of Arsene Wenger and is very open to playing for the current Arsenal manager (see story here).

The 23-year-old made the comments right after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League, and hot on the heels of recent revelations of a fractured Chelsea dressing room under the reign of former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

While Didier Drogba has whined – one too many times – about wanting to leave in the past, and shocking rumours of a player mutiny (with Drogba, Petr Cech and Michael Ballack being fingered as the main culprits), Kalou is the first player outburst to come out of the Chelsea dressing room since the arrival of Guus Hiddink.

It’s all Roman’s fault

LUIZ Felipe Scolari’s 224-day reign as Chelsea manager has ended late last night Singapore time, after the London club gave him the boot following a string of poor results in the Premiership.

Ironically, his much-detested predecessor Avram Grant survived longer in the Blues hot seat than the Brazilian, lasting 227 days after taking over from Jose Mourinho in late 2007.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Much has been said about Scolari’s management style, language barriers and the transition between managing national teams to clubs.

But I feel that Roman Abramovich is to blame for making Chelsea into an English version of Real Madrid, sans the success.

What is wrong with Chelsea?

APART from Manchester City’s 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with League One side Southend was arguably the biggest shock in the competition this weekend.

In today’s The New Paper, Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari hinted that his players are suffering from a crisis of confidence in front of goal after his $81m frontline – consisting of Joe Cole, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou – only managed a goal against a team 55 positions beneath them.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Chelsea looked awesome during the start of the season, with Deco pulling all the strings in a side that is already formidable. But the season has been a topsy-turvy one for them thus far, to say the least, and to me, Scolari has to take the blame for the mess.

Mourinho never had to deal with players coming up to him and complaining about training sessions being too lax, nor did he allow anyone to disrupt the atmopshere in the dressing room, like how Drogba seems to be doing right now.

Right now, it seems like the Sergeant Major has lost the command and authority he usually holds over his troops, and if he doesn’t get his “soldiers” into shape soon, his Russian czar may be breathing down his neck very soon.

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