Which Didier Drogba Will Show Up to Play for Chelsea?

The 08/09 Premiership season kicks off in three weeks time, and like many Chelsea fans, I'm unsure who I'm going to see play against Portsmouth.

It's not the transfer speculation that has caused this uncertainty; it's the erratic performance over the last season of many players, most notably Didier Drogba

At 6-foot-2 and built like a ton of bricks, Drogba has consistently appalled me at the ease with which he goes to ground. If a challenge is bad, make the most of it, any manager would tell you that.

However, blatant diving brings the club and the game as a whole into disrepute, as well as leading to looks of utter consternation when a truly bad challenge goes unpunished. It's the 'boy who cried wolf' principle, Didier.

His constant challenging of referees' decisions further undermines his undisputed talent. Last season, a rule was brought in to prevent the intimidation of officials by players, whereby only the captain could speak to the referee.

Didier Drogba is not Chelsea captain, yet he spent most of last season running after the man in black. His petulance came to a head in the Champions League Final when, two minutes before the game was going to penalties, he slapped Nemanja Vidic in the face, right in front of the referee.

I have had people tell me, "Oh, he barely touched him." The point is, he DID touch him. He raised his hand to an opposition player in the dying minutes of the single most important game my club has ever played.

Drogba's action took us to 10 men, relieving us of one of our first five penalty takers and leaving it to John Terry to step up and take his place in the line-up. I do not blame JT for missing. I blame Drogba for putting him in that position in the first place.

So what now for the Ivorian? He has proven that he can perform in the league; he showed that in 06/07 when he scored 33 goals in all competitions for Chelsea.

But instead of trying to beat that record, he seemed to think that gave him the right to behave as he pleased in 07/08.

That, coupled with his expressed desire to leave the club and his comment after Mourinho's departure that he needed to "find a new source of motivation," have left many fans disillusioned with him.

The question is, can Big Phil Scolari make the difference that is so desperately needed in Drogba's play? He is undoubtedly a very skilled footballer.

His ability to hit a shot on the turn is one of the best I've ever seen, and on the rare occasions he uses his strength, he can beat anybody.

If Scolari can extract a true professional from under the pouting exterior exhibited by Drogba, we could well be on to a winner.

For now, though, if Drogba left Stamford Bridge, I wouldn't shed a single tear.