They seem to be pretty dark days at Chelsea right now, with no manager and no players coming in until that little issue is sorted.  Now Mourinho, firmly installed at Inter, has chosen this precise rocky moment to issue the list of Chelsea names on his most-wanted list. But whilst most of us could live without Drogba – whichever side of Milan he chooses – when names like Essien and Cole come into the frame, that’s a totally different ball game.

The trouble with Cole is we all know we can’t trust him as far as we could throw him, but then we’ll never know who he’s going out to dinner with anyway.

But fear not, because it looks as if Mourinho’s just going to have to keep on wanting as far as Essien is concerned, with Essien’s agent insisting yesterday that our 25-year-old Ghanaian is going nowhere. Essien, under contract to Chelsea until 2012 was one of Mourinho’s surprisingly good buys and as such, has become a vital part of our midfield. So it comes as a huge relief to hear his agent inform us “Michael is very happy at Chelsea and that is where he will be playing next season.”

Michael Ballack has also chosen these seemingly troubled times to pledge his commitment to Chelsea, confirming his desire to end his playing days at Stamford Bridge.  Following heavy criticism during his first season, the German international who came to us on a free in 2006, has finally shown us what he can do for our midfield and he’s more than welcome to stay if that continues. With his contract set to run out in 2009, Ballack suggests he’d be more than happy to sit down and have a chat about it after the Euro’s.

If only it was that easy with Lampard eh?

Filed under: Current Players, Rants