August is upon us, which means the start of a fresh English Premiership campaign is only a few short weeks away. Inevitably, the spectacle of the World Cup took the summer focus away from the wheelings and dealings of club soccer. But now that Italy's triumph and Zidane's disgrace have faded into the recent past, i can take stock of Chelsea's fortunes in the offseason and make some primitive conjectures about the forthcoming footie season.

Shevchenko, Ballack, and the World All-Stars. For the fourth season running, the seemingly limitless wealth of club owner Roman Abramovich has allowed the Blues to pursue the biggest and brightest players, regardless of their current club affiliations or desire (or lack thereof) to move to England. This year the Londoners finally convinced long-term target Andriy Shevchenko to leave AC Milan, forcing the Italian club to accept a gargantuan £30 million bid for the player. Bayern Munich midfield general and free agent Michael Ballack was also lured by the Chelski millions, joining the club on a free transfer. The bitter, protracted fight between Chelsea and Manchester United over Nigerian teenage phenom Jon Obi Mikel was also resolved, and to no surprise Chelsea won the player and indifferently agreed to pay the mancs £12 million in compensation. Promising striker Salomon Kalou and third string keeper Hilario round out our summer buys. Not a bad offseason's shopping. However, the question as always is how José Mourinho will convince his pack of superstars to coexist.

Back four? Perhaps foremost in Mourinho's contemplations is how to organize his traditionally stalwart defense. With the sale of one-year misfit Asier Del Horno to Valencia, the need for a solid, preferably attack-minded left back intensified, and despite intense media speculation the purchase of England starter Ashley Cole from Arsenal has yet to materialize. In the past Mourinho has remedied his lack of a conventional left back by moving defensive guru William Gallas into that position from his prefered role at center back. However, Gallas has repeatedly declared his intention to leave Chelsea this summer after five successful years at the club. This battle between wantaway player and reluctant club has escalated with Gallas's absence from Chelsea's preseason camp in the United States. It is especially worrying since the partnership of Gallas and skipper John Terry in the heart of the back four has been the most stable and effective combination. If Gallas forces Chelsea's hand and leaves, Ricardo Carvalho will get his wish to be a regular member of the Blues' starting 11, but for me Gallas is the prefered option.

Eidur and Duff leave on the cheap. The most shocking Chelsea development of the summer was for me the departure of personal favorite Damien Duff for the unbelievable price of £5.5 million. Newcastle were the lucky benefactors of the deal, and receive a skilled and established winger who can create and score goals. I will remember Duff for his emergence in the Champions League campaign of 2003-2004 during his first season with the club, and particularly his breakaway goal in the second leg against Barcelona in 2005. I wish him the best at his new club, where he will be a starter whenever he's healthy and will get the playing time he couldn't regularly find at Chelsea. Newcastle however is coming off a disappointing season, and as yet are not poised to penetrate the upper regions of the Premiership table. Manchester United and particularly Tottenham were reported to be lining up considerably larger bids for the player, but Chelsea sold him for loss of £12 million to the northerners. The only reason i can deduce is that the addition of Duff to Spurs or United would've made them considerably more formidable foes, while Newcastle remains a work in progress.

Speaking of Barcelona, the man i once regarded as Gianfranco Zola's successor at Chelsea was sold to the Catalans. Eidur Gudjohnsen, who like Duff struggled to regularly win a place in the starting 11, joins the fantastically talented Spanish side who must remain favorites to defend their Champions League win in 2006. Another player i regard with the utmost respect, and who i wish continued success. One must predict however that Gudjohnsen will occupy the role Henrik Larsson left at Barça, namely coming off the bench as an attacking midfielder or striker to replace the prefered Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Ludovic Giuly, or Deco.

United get skinned on Carrick. Preparations for the upcoming season must of course consider the success our rivals have had in revamping their squads. The inability of Manchester United to bolster their squad in the transfer market has been big news, with the giants missing out on both Duff and Gudjohnsen as well as Franck Ribery and apparently Mahamadou Diarra. Worryingly, they've also lost Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid, and rumors persist that tensions between Cristiano Ronaldo and manager Alex Ferguson and World Cup nemesis and United teammate Wayne Rooney will force the departure of the Portuguese winger. The mancs finally sealed their first purchase of the summer last week, shoring up their defense with the addition of Tottenham holding midfielder Michael Carrick for the outrageous fee of £18.6 million. And people talk about Chelsea overpaying. Carrick will hopefully bolster the beleaguered United defense, which has suffered since the departures of Jaap Stam and more recently Roy Keane. Question marks remain over United's offense however, despite the presence of superstar and rising Wayne Rooney. Despite a dip in form, Van Nistelrooy was a proven goalscorer for the team and his departure will not easily be addressed by the lackluster Louis Saha or the return from injury of Alan Smith.

Arsenal get Rosicky ... hrm. The Gunners' big move came before the World Cup as they signed Borussia Dortmund midfielder Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky proceeded to instill fear in me as i saw him singlehandedly demolish the U.S. in World Cup play with Czech Republic. However, he couldn't duplicate those highs in his country's next two group matches, and the Czechs were knocked out of the World Cup early. He enters an Arsenal midfield newly deprived of goal poacher Robert Pires, who left the club for Valencia, but still featuring talents like Freddie Ljungberg, Cesc Fabregas, and the possibly unsettled Jose Antonio Reyes. Thierry Henry remains the Premiership's deadliest striker, and the youthful Arsenal defense is solid despite the departure of the experienced Sol Campbell. The Gunners have in recent years been somewhat schizophrenic, excelling in either the Premiership or Champions League but not both. Nothing they've done in the offseason has convinced me they've bucked this trend, but we'll have to see how they perform on the pitch.

Liverpool sign a couple of shady characters. Chelsea's most consistent nemesis in the last few years, the scousers continue to loom as legitimate challengers to the Premiership throne. Analyzing their squad, striking has been the consistent problem, with beanpole Peter Crouch failing to take the league by storm and other strikers failing to impress manager Rafael Benitez. Of those, Fernando Morientes has now returned to Spain, and the unhappy Djibril Cisse has been sent on loan to France, broken leg and all. In their place, Benitez has brought in former Blackburn and Newcastle discipline case Craig Bellamy and Birmingham City winger and ex-convict Jermaine Pennant. Two players with undisputed potential, but also considerable off-field baggage. Benitez has worked wonders in producing a unified and well-balanced squad, and time will tell whether his gamble on these two delinquents will pay off. Steven Gerrard is desperate to win the title with the hometown club he stuck with despite flirtations with a big Chelsea payday, and sooner rather than later he's going to have to make good on his promises.

Shevchenko
Robben			J. Cole
Lampard			Ballack/Essien
Makelele
Bridge		Terry	Carvalho/Gallas	Ferreira
Cech

Blue review. Chelsea now boasts a squad featuring Petr Cech, John Terry,Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Essien, Arjen Robben, and Andriy Shevchenko, each certainly in the shortlist for best in the world at their respective positions. How will they coexist? The past two years have shown that José Mourinho can massage the egos of his stars and convince them to sacrifice for the common good, and he will have to exercise that talent once more. I've conconcted a potential 4-5-1 starting lineup, which i think best exploits the strengths of the squad. Problems persist though, as without the widely anticipated signing of Ashley Cole we're forced to start Wayne Bridge, who has played well in his time at Chelsea but isn't the most impressive left back i can think of. Also, Ballack and Essien will be competing to partner with Lampard in the attacking midfielder positions, assuming Robben and Joe Cole will occupy the wing slots needed for a successful 4-5-1. As stated above i'd prefer Gallas in central defense, but pending the outcome of his feud with club management, Ricardo Carvalho may get the nod. Again, not an entirely unpleasant possibility, but not my preference. It's a squad with excellent depth at every position, and one that should quite rightly be expected to be winning every competition it enters. However, as with most all-star teams, the question is whether the whole be less than the sum of its parts. A worrying prospect, but one that i have every reason to believe Mourinho and co. will successfully avoid.

Liverpool awaits in the Charity Shield match in less than two weeks. Game on!