Looking like this Drog has had his day

Last year he was still basking in the role as one of Jose Mourinho's untouchables but his latest actions have led many to wonder whether is he is just an unreliable.

Drogba's meeting with Inter Milan general manager Marco Branca and Mourinho's representative Jorge Mendes this week is just the latest slap in the face for the Blues' supporters. He had been expected to start against Bordeaux tonight to help Chelsea qualify for the knockout phase of the Champions League, but his commitment to the cause can once again be questioned and Nicolas Anelka may keep his place instead.

The 30-year-old has found controversy more than the back of the net over the past 14 months, having sulked more than most following Mourinho's sacking in September 2007.

Since then he has constantly expressed his desire to quit the club; admitted in his autobiography that he never wanted to move to Stamford Bridge in the first place and was sent off in the Champions League Final just before the team needed him most in the penalty shoot-out against Manchester United.

Of course, he retracted his desire to leave when a summer transfer failed to materialise and adapted his book when the English version was published to suggest any thoughts of leaving Chelsea were a thing of the past.

He has spent much of this season on the sidelines with a knee injury and still managed to make the headlines for the wrong reasons on his comeback against Burnley two weeks ago when he threw a coin at their fans, which resulted in a three-game ban from the FA.

What with Chelsea having climbed to the top of the Premier League and their Champions League group without him, the question is: would he be missed if he went?

Anelka has certainly benefited from his absence having started the majority of Chelsea's games this term, unlike last season where he was mostly on the bench after joining from Bolton in January for £15million.

He is the top scorer in the Premier League with 12 goals and has added a real potency to the attack under manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The fact Drogba is now cup-tied in Europe would surely rule out a move to Inter Milan in January anyway as the Italian club don't want the striker simply to secure a fourth straight Serie A title, but it is surely a matter of time before he finds pastures new.

Chelsea's first priority though will be to ensure this latest episode in the striker's turbulent Stamford Bridge career doesn't affect their bid to make the knockout stages of Europe's premier club competition.

Scolari is under real pressure for the first time since he took charge of the club in the summer as defeat against Bordeaux would mean their place in the next round was put in severe jeopardy.

Chelsea lead Group A with seven points from four matches, one ahead of Bordeaux and AS Roma, and will qualify for the knockout phase if they win in France.

Bordeaux lost their first two games before beating Romania's CFR Cluj home and away to revive their chances.

Scolari has also overseen a poor run of home form in the Premier League with just three wins in seven so far and they have a huge match against Arsenal on Sunday. But he has told his players that beating Bordeaux is the priority and said: "We lost one chance to qualify against Roma and this is the second chance for us. I think neither me or my players expect to waste another opportunity. This is the day.

"We respect Bordeaux. They have six points, we have only seven - it is not a big difference. They didn't start the competition very well, but are now in good condition.

"This match is important for us. I and my players are not thinking about Arsenal until tomorrow. If we are thinking about Arsenal when we play Bordeaux, we might lose again."

The fact Anelka attended the pre-match press conference gave a major clue that he rather than Drogba would be involved tonight.

He is certainly in the kind of form to maintain his place ahead of Drogba from now on but he warned against any complacency tonight against a Bordeaux team beaten 4-0 when the teams met earlier in the competition in London.

He said: "When the manager asks me to play, I play. I try to play my best on the pitch and to score and this is the most important thing. After that it's up to the manager.

"This will be a very tough match because both teams need points. This game will be different from the first one [in September], it will be much tighter."

Scolari's counterpart Laurent Blanc indicated Bordeaux would tread carefully at the Stade Chaban-Dalmas, saying: "There will be no revenge to take because there was not even a game in the first leg, we just watched them play."