Chelsea's Reality Check Lost in the Post

Since the takeover of Chelsea FC by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2003, there are plenty of people who have held their breath, waiting for the club to fail.

After Mourinho's departure at the start of last season, and our subsequent failure to bring home any silverware, those people must have been rubbing their little hands together with glee.

They started a bit too soon though.

Since the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari as head coach, and with the addition of a few more world-class players, the Blues are finally realising the potential they have held for the best part of five years.

It's been a frustrating time since the takeover.

I remember before word broke that we were the richest club in the world, when I was ecstatic that we'd qualified for the Champions League so we could get some TV money to buy grass for the pitch, and possibly a midfielder to boot.

All of a sudden there was a new guy in charge, and he was throwing money away like it was toilet paper. We jumped on the let's rob West Ham's talent bandwagon, bagging a bargain in Joe Cole.

So many names were being banded around, I know I am not alone in being greatly disappointed that the biggest names we have been able to attract in the last few years have been Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, both of whom have best before dates that expired before they arrived at Chelsea.

While back-to-back titles in 2004-05 and 2005-06 showed what the cash injection had done for the club, a lack of pace and a lot of sloppy play has hindered us for the past year or so.

Scolari has turned that around. He's turned us from 1-0 to the boring Chelski, to a side that are scoring three or four goals on a fairly consistent basis, and I'm loving it.

The creativity that Deco has brought to a slightly jaded midfield has given us the edge we have been missing. We're playing the game the way it should be played and it's uplifting to see the squad finally fulfilling its potential.

Even the loss of Michael Essien for six months can't put a damper on things.

The players are enjoying it as much as the fans and we're still capable of getting results when we're not on top of our game. Salvaging a point from the United game proved that one, in case there was any doubt.

Our record of 85 games unbeaten at home in the league speaks for itself, and it shows little sign of ending any time soon.

During the Mourinho years there was so much focus on him, his ego and his attitude that it made him bigger than the team. While he is, and will be for a while yet, our most successful manager who brought us those back-to-back titles, he made it about him rather than the game and that was slightly disquieting. He spoke of being told who to pick by Abramovich, another factor in the queasy-stomach feeling.

Avram Grant was the complete opposite of the vibrant personality of Mourinho. With his "toad of toad hall" countenance, he looked constantly bored by the game and, again, did not create a consistent, stable atmosphere at the club. Many saw him as a pawn put in place by Abramovich so that he could see his multi-million pound signings in action, right for the team or not.

Scolari has the perfect balance of passion and poise. He is an excellent communicator and seems to have instilled a more positive mentality within the Chelsea camp. It has been many years since I have heard any manager talk as much sense as Scolari and that, combined with his professional attitude and his passion for the game, will be the deciding factor in our season.

So, thank you Mr Abramovich. Thank you for the silverware, the cash-flow and the players. One thing though; please let this manager do his job. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.