Premier League Preview: Chelsea

Last Season: 3rd

Pre-Season Prediction: 1st - Intelligent summer signings should see the Blues claim their fourth Premier League title amid stiff competition.

Last season was something of a disappointment for Chelsea fans. Much was expected after the eagerly anticipated return of the Special One, but little was delivered as a team overflowing with creativity produced little excitement or flair throughout the season. The blame was placed on a well-documented lack of a prolific goalscorer but the reality is this Mourinho seemed uncomfortable with the team he had inherited. A long Champions League run did plenty to cover up what was otherwise a difficult season for Chelsea as Mourinho failed to live up to his legendary status.

Now heading towards the second season there is a renewed sense of optimism after a busy transfer window so far. The shock signing of Cesc Fabregas will replace the hole left by Frank Lampard whilst Ashley Cole has also been replaced by Luis Felipe. Joining Felipe from Atletico Madrid and potentially solving the striker problem is powerhouse Diego Costa although after a forgettable World Cup fans may have second doubts about the Brazil-turned-Spanish striker. Unquestionably though, the best piece of business was offloading wandering defender David Luiz for £50 million. After his shocking-at-best performances in the World Cup, PSG must be frantically searching for the receipt.

Chelsea is perhaps the one squad in the league that has depth in almost every position. Although Mourinho has never been favourable to youth, there are enough prospects to cover any major injury crisis with the likes of Kurt Zouma and Nathan Ake particularly exciting in central defence. Perhaps one more multi-functioning full-back could be required but any disappearance of the Chelsea ethos through the loss of Lampard and Cole will have been suitably replaced by the returning Didier Drogba.

Excitement has slowly been building as Blues fans have got to see their new stars in action over the summer although their first real test against Werder Bremen played out in an extremely disappointing 3-0 defeat. In a shocking turn of events, Mourinho was quick to blame the referee instead of his own team but the reality is that it was a lacklustre display from a team with creativity supposedly flowing through their veins. That said, both Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas are off the mark after pre-season fixtures including a rather tasty free-kick for the latter.

If Mourinho can inject a bit of excitement into his team and move away from the somewhat negative tactics he used last year then we could have our runaway champions. Notoriously strong at home, Chelsea will be a tough contingent for any team and their early transfer activity should ensure the squad is ready and united for the upcoming season. Don't be surprised to see another long Champions League stint as well.

Key Man: John Terry - The lone survivor of Chelsea's veteran English trio, responsibility for leading the team will be larger than ever for Terry this year. Approaching the twilight of his career, he still plays a hugely important part of the team and was unlucky not to make last seasons PFA Team of the Year after being arguably the best central-defender of the season. With a couple of young defenders breaching the wall into the first team, Terry will be vital in guiding and ensuring they get the very best out of their potential and ability. It may also be his last season in a Blues shirt so will want to go out with a bang.

One To Watch: Andre Schurrle - Often neglected as a member of the starting eleven but has proven his quality over the last year on both a national and international level. His success as an impact substitute for Germany at the World Cup will have reminded Chelsea fans just what a quality player they often have waiting in the wings. He will have a hard job breaking into the midfield three of Hazard, Oscar and Willian but will be looking to pounce should any of them have a lapse in form, bringing plenty of flair and dynamism to the team in the process.

Best Signing: Diego Costa - Question marks remain over how effective the powerful striker will be in the Premier League but on paper he is the final piece of the puzzle that was missing for Chelsea last season. Costa provides the team with a proven goalscorer, something missing since the departure of Didier Drogba. Whether they manage to get the best out of him remains to be seen but Costa is a striker with athleticism and an explosive variety and will be a handful for even the best of Premier League defences.

Sports Ladder (21st-28th April)

UP - Greg Rutherford - Greg Rutherford is unfortunately always likely to go down as the forgotten man after the Super Saturday of London 2012 after collecting a gold medal alongside the poster boy and girl Mo Farah and Jess Ennis. As well as sharing his gold medal success he also, until this week, shared the British long jump record with Chris Tomlinson. However, this week he leapt a huge 8.51m to claim the British crown for himself during an event at the Olympic Training Centre.

UP - Couch and Barrow - All the talk during this weeks World Series diving event was about Tom Daley and which medal he would win. Well it turns out the answer is none as he finished fifth. Instead it was the women's pair of Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow who led the way for Britain, picking up a superb silver medal with 321.24. They weren't the only pair who leapt to success as Rebecca Gallantry and Hannah Starling narrowly took the bronze medal with a 302.88.

UP - Paddy Power - Paddy Power have become the ultimate trolls of the sporting world this year with a spat of hilarious and controversial publicity stunts and television adverts. After condemning David Moyes to unemployment last weekend with their Grim Reaper stunt they capitalised on the sacking, erecting a statue of Moyes outside of Anfield thanking him 'For Services to Liverpool Football Club'. They may be making enemies but at least they're doing it in humourous style.

UP - Rajiv Ouseph - It isn't often that the loose-wristed sport of badminton makes the sports ladder but this week Rajiv Ouseph collected Britain's first singles medal for four years when he last won a bronze medal. This time Ouseph was able to go one better, collecting a silver medal to go alongside his European Team Championship medal of the same colour from February. Perhaps in four years time he can go one better and get the gold.

UP - Broady Siblings - It's a rare occurrence that we get to applaud British tennis success but this week we got to congratulate not one, not two, but four British Champions for the first time since 2008. Whilst Eleanor Dean won in Antalya and Alexander Ward won in Heraklion it was the two Broady siblings that led the way. With Liam winning in Bournemouth and Naomi winning in Namangan it was a fantastic weekend for them and British tennis. Success clearly runs in the family.

DOWN - Giro d'Italia - For many casual fans the Giro d'Italia is considered the second largest annual cycling event behind the Tour de France. Yet British interest will be decidedly short for this years event after a number of key withdrawals this week. Both Chris Froome and Sir Bradley Wiggins have joined Mark Cavendish in skipping this event in order to prepare for the Tour. At least it leaves us guessing between Wiggins and Froome for the Tour.

DOWN - Emile Heskey - Don't you just hate it when the public start a petition to get you knighted and the government throw those plans back in your face? The problems of the common man ey? Well that's what happened this week to Emile Heskey as a petition set up by Daniel McCarthy to get the England legend knighted was turned down by the government. Come on Mr Cameron, I know its a knighthood and everything but where's your sense of humour!

DOWN - Wirral Cricket Club - As a cricket club, you know you're having a bad day at the office when you have more ducks than a Chinese restaurant. Wirral's week was absolute quackers as they bowed out of a Cheshire League Division Three fixture with just three runs. It gets even worse if only one of those comes from your batsman and the other two are from extras. At least they saw the funny side, tweeting some old legends for some coaching advice.

DOWN - Jose Mourinho - He used to be the man who just oozed charm. The man we all loved for his quirky but brilliant nature. Since his return though he has just become increasingly dislikable. Whether it was his permanent delusion that they weren't in the title race, or the way he accused West Ham of '19th Century football', before playing in an identical way on multiple occasions. His multiple touchline runs and celebrations have lacked class and, to me at least, he is no longer the 'Special One'.

DOWN - Rafael Nadal - Well, well, well. Mr Nadal seems to be tumbling down the ladder in recent weeks doesn't he? Another huge loss on clay to further dent the world number ones confidence as he fell this week to Nicolas Almagro in Barcelona for the first time since 2003, ending a 41 match unbeaten run. This was also the first time he has lost to his fellow Spaniard. With the French Open approaching rapidly Rafa needs something to change, and fast.

Premier League Preview: Chelsea

The return of Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge has seen Chelsea become the Bookmakers favourites for the title. The newly Christened 'Happy One', has a squad full of quality and will certainly be challenging for the title but with Manchester City purchasing big name players and Manchester United losing none of their title-winning team from last year it is by no means a one horse race.

Chelsea have strengthened their squad with plenty of youngsters, most notably Andre Shurrle from Bayer Leverkusen but it is their pending transfer of Wayne Rooney which will certainly catch the eye if it goes through. Despite having two bids rejected, it is thought that Rooney wants to leave Old Trafford and there is still the possibility that this deal could go through. If it does, I think it is hard to see Chelsea not winning the title this year.

Last year Chelsea's year was disturbed by the sacking of Di Matteo and their successful Europa League campaign. With Mourinho back and order seemingly restored after an extremely successful pre-season, Chelsea will definitely be challenging for the title, and with the right squad rotation and man management it seems hard to see them not winning it
.

Key Player: Juan Mata - The starlet of a creative midfield, Chelsea will once again be looking to their playmaker to dictate play as well as score goals. The clever Spaniard was sometimes overlooked by Rafael Benitez last season but is without a doubt Chelsea's best player and deserves to start regularly due to his quick feet and mental prowess.

One to Watch: Romelu Lukaku - A number of players to keep an eye on including Brazilian star Oscar and the return of Michael Essien but after a fantastic season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, Lukaku will now be looking to establish himself at Chelsea. With Torres and Ba both struggling for form Lukaku could easily force his way into the team and with a whole host of creative players behind him and his power and presense up front he could certainly maintain a regular starting role.

Best Summer Signing: Mark Schwarzer - A surprising choice for some but with Thibaut Courtois on loan for another season and Ross Turnbull's departure to Doncaster in the summer Chelsea were lacking in a quality second keeper. Now, should Petr Cech get injured at any point, Chelsea fans will be safe with the knowledge that Hilario will not be given the responsibility.

Last Season: 3rd

Pre-Season Prediction: 1st - Mourinho's Chelsea will gather momentum as the season progresses and edge out the two Manchester clubs for the title.