Chelsea FC: The Time Is Right for Major Changes for the Blues

When Chelsea won the Champions League, as an Arsenal fan, I was gutted. One of my club's fiercest rivals has done what the Gunners are nowhere near achieving—winning the biggest price in Europe.

But if I step away from the emotions that fans feel toward other clubs and assess the situation at Chelsea, it's going to be exciting times for The Blues.

Similar to Arsenal's troubling situations with a formidable striker possibly leaving the club, Chelsea's hero Didier Drogba has left the club on a free transfer. The end of an era. The departing legend of another striker from the Premier League.

Didier Drogba is prolific and has many attributes that makes him unstoppable at his best. He has scored in nine finals for Chelsea. He is strong and powerful, and he gives them a boost. It will be interesting to see if Torres can really make that step up.

However, everyone looking at Chelsea knows that the club needed a change because the players are getting old. After winning the Champions League and the FA Cup and letting their top striker leave for free, now is the time to make all the right changes.

Chelsea need to sort out their manager situation. Roberto Di Matteo has been a revelation at Chelsea, but no news have been heard since he won the Europe's biggest prize. The owner needs to pinpoint someone who can stay at the club for a long-term plan.

I have one criticism when it comes to Matteo's success. Have the players been unfair to Andre Villas-Boas?

When AVB was in charge, it seems that the players did not give him any respect and wanted him out. Of course, it did not help that he chose to pick the wrong Chelsea team week in and week out, but the man was trying to inject some young players into the squad.

Villas-Boas is gone now, but to back up my argument, he was the image everyone saw when Chelsea were playing in their second-leg match against Napoli.

At Stamford Bridge, it seems John Terry was alongside Di Matteo, barking out orders and even suggesting to the man in charge how to conduct the play. No matter what people say about this, this image would have never been seen with Sir Alex Ferguson.

I think it showed a lack of respect toward Di Matteo, and maybe the players changed their attitude once he was in charge because they did not see him as a manager.

Since the season ended, Chelsea have been on the right track. They released Kalou and Bosingwa and have already signed Marko Marin. It looks like they will sign Eden Hazard after beating both Manchester clubs for the Belgium international—something that Frank Lampard is excited about!

That's already two young, talented players coming to London to play for the European Champions. It is a step in the right direction.

As I finish this article, I have just read that Chelsea are close to agreeing on a deal for Hulk. The Blues will back in force next season!