Joe Cole's return will help to swing title Chelsea's way

Scott Minto
14 Aug 2009

Chelsea fans are still waiting for the 'marquee' signing that will help end Manchester United's domination of the Premier League of the last three years. But I don't believe the club have to go out and blow £70million on an attacking midfielder like Franck Ribery.

A fit-again Joe Cole is every bit as good as the Frenchman and could just be the difference in the crucial new role at the head of the diamond in Carlo Ancelotti's 4-4-2 formation.

Joe is so versatile that he can play in a number of positions, but he was born for the role just behind the front two. And with the new formation not having the width of the 4-3-3 system, he is the perfect man to give the team the creativity they will need.

Frank Lampard will start the season in that position as Joe is still injured. And while Lampard is intelligent enough to play that role with great success, I feel he would be even more effective in the hub of the midfield.

There is nobody better in world football at timing late runs into the box where it is so difficult to mark, and playing further up the pitch will make it harder - but not impossible - to find the space he has found with regularity in the past.

Behind the front two, Lampard will also find it harder to control and dictate the tempo of games in the way that he's used to, although I'm sure he will drop off and help out central midfield.

Along with Joe Cole's impending return - he should be back from the knee injury he picked up in January at Southend in the next month - keeping John Terry has been the club's other major 'signing'.

He's not only crucial on the pitch, but Ancelotti was right to say he is the symbol of Chelsea off it. No one is bigger than the club but the inspirational Terry comes close.

Of the players who have arrived, all three will find it hard to break into the team. Ross Turnbull is unquestionably Petr Cech's deputy but the £18m spent on Yuri Zhirkov looks to be a very good investment. I don't see the Russian getting a midfield slot until there are a few injuries but a big plus point is that he can play at left-back if Ashley Cole ever gets injured.

Daniel Sturridge is an interesting player. The forward has got bags of talent and confidence and while he's far from the finished article, he looks like he's got a big future at the club.

The striking department is a worry for me, though. If Didier Drogba or Nicolas Anelka get injured for any length of time, I'm not sure there's someone there to fill their boots.

Salomon Kalou has great talent but has yet to make that breakthrough while Andriy Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro have struggled to make an impression at the Bridge.

So while the Blues are more than covered in defence and midfield, all Chelsea fans will be hoping that the Drogba-Anelka combination play the majority of the games.

Ancelotti himself has already made a great impression on the fans. He flew back with a trophy from the pre-season tour in the states, beating Inter and AC Milan in the process, and the Community Shield has been added to that too.

But of course, it's the Premier League and Champions League that matter and while the fixture list has been very kind at the start of the season, he knows he must hit the ground running.

It's a three-horse race for the title for me. Liverpool have lost Xavi Alonso and Manchester United have lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. But with Chelsea keeping Terry and Joe Cole on the verge of a return, I believe Chelsea's talismanic captain will be the one lifting the Premier League trophy in May.