Euro 2004 has wound to a close, the European leagues have long since wrapped up the 2003-2004 seasons, so now we direct our efforts towards preparing for the next campaign, to begin in August. New Chelsea manager José Mourinho has already made a name for his stern pronouncements of the way the squad will be structured, quashing talk of waves of transfers and instead seeking to construct a 21 player squad with a defined pecking order. To achieve this, Chelsea have inverted last summer's mantra of "Buy, buy, buy!" and have begun offloading players who, while comforting to have around, were just not going to break into the first team regularly. Juan Sebastian Veron's whining got him sent back to Italy on loan to Inter Milan after a more or less fruitless year at Stamford Bridge, Jesper Gronkjaer and Mario Melchiot are off to Birmingham City, while Marcel Desailly and Mario Stanic have been released from their contracts, ostensibly retiring. The biggest exit was that of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, a world class but slowly aging striker who was released from his contract and immediately snapped up by Middlesbrough. That one is the most troublesome as JFH still appears to be in form, and now he'll be lining up against Chelsea at least twice next season.

Our new arrivals have been limited to Arjen Robben, a Dutch youngster who made a name for himself on the wing for Holland in Euro 2004, Paulo Ferreira, who decided to follow Mourinho from FC Porto before Euro 2004 and proceeded to have an awful tournament for Portugal at right back, and Mateja Kezman, a prolific striker who played with Robben at PSV Eindhoven but mysteriously attracted little attention from the big name clubs. A deal for Olympique Marseille striker Didier Drogba may be proceeding, as Mourinho has given an ultimatum to Hernan Crespo that either he gives 100% to Chelsea or he can leave. I personally think Crespo could be a 20+ goal scorer in the Premiership, once he gets through the rough transition from footie on the continent. He seems ready to follow fellow Argentinian Veron's lead and run back to Italy though, so Drogba may be our Mourinho-mandated fourth striker.

While Mourinho's dealings certainly appear more considered and strategized than last summer's "let's buy him, too!", it's a bit of a let down to no longer be contemplating a squad featuring David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Pavel Nedved, and Alessandro Nesta playing at Stamford Bridge. Hopefully we can keep everyone happy with this more manageable team size, and allow younger players like Joe Cole and Scott Parker to develop without getting frustrated by not being regular starters. The striker situation is problematic as, unless Crespo gets his head screwed on straight, we still don't have a 20 goal scorer in the mold of Thierry Henry, Ruud van Nistelrooy, or (dare i say it?) JFH. Mutu started strong last season but fell off dramatically. Gudjohnsen is a good foil for a target man but won't be lighting up the scoring tables. Maybe Kezman and/or Drogba will become a first season sensation, but that may be a tall order for young imports during their first season in England.

So here's the squad as i see it now, leaving off the younger players like Alexis Nicolas who shouldn't really count against Mourinho's 21 as they may play 15 minutes all season. I count 19, so we have two slots left that should probably be filled with a defender and another striker.

Goalkeepers
Carlo Cudicini
Petr Cech
Marco Ambrosio

Defenders
1. John Terry
2. William Gallas
3. Wayne Bridge
4. Paulo Ferreira
5. Glen Johnson
6. Robert Huth
7. Celestine Babayaro

Midfielders
8. Claude Makelele
9. Frank Lampard
10. Damien Duff
11. Arjen Robben
12. Scott Parker
13. Joe Cole
14. Alexei Smertin
15. Geremi

Strikers
16. Mateja Kezman
17. Eidur Gudjohnsen
18. Adrian Mutu
19. Hernan Crespo/Didier Drogba

Can we unseat the Arse with this bunch? We've certainly got the individual talent, it's a question of how they gel. Luckily the leaders of the team (Terry, Lampard, Gallas, Lampard, Duff) have been together for a year (or more) and should find their feet quickly. Our new additions have a lot of promise, but can Robben, Kezman, Ferreira, et al. hit the ground running? Stay tuned!

On a mostly unrelated note, Michael found the 1909 Chelsea squad photo on eBay. Don't think there were many Argentinians, Portuguese, Dutch, French, or Serbians in this team. Hell, i doubt any of them lived outside of SW6.