For Chelsea fans, the news of John Terry spending a month on the sidelines could mean a bad start. After all, it created a big fuss last season when both he and Petr Cech spent a great deal of time just watching the other lads challenge for the four  trophies.

Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko failed to shine as they used to and the rest of the Stamford Bridge family were hoping that another late goal would be scored by the African wonders, Michael Essien and Dider Drogba. Without Terry, the first four matches of the season could prove to be more crucial than ever. Paying more attention to the first match, we are not only looking for a good start, we are also looking to set a new record of 64 unbeaten home games.

On the other hand, the absence of the Chelsea captain could also give other defenders, especially new signing Tal Ben Haim, an opportunity to form a good relationship with Ricardo Carvalho at the centre. People are doubtful of what Ben Haim can do and this may be his time to prove himself. During the Community Shield, Ashley Cole was pure class in containing Cristiano Ronaldo.

'Supporters of top clubs have become arrogant, predicting how many goals they will win by'


Chelsea also have to make a statement that they are not just a one-man team. Last season, Drogba found the net in crucial moments to keep our hopes of winning four trophies alive. With the African Cup of Nations coming up early next year, where he and many others will be gone for a month, this could be problematic, unless our summer signings step up to the plate.

There is no doubt Florent Malouda will shine; pre-season he was on top form and his equaliser in the Community Shield was excellent. Peruvian Claudio Pizarro is already warming up and I predict that he will perform even better than Shevchenko. The Ukrainian star will have to work twice as hard to make sure he doesn't spend the whole season on the subs bench.

Of course, as a football fan, it isn't all about Chelsea talk. Will it be another two-horse race? While last season's chase was exciting, having other clubs challenging for the title would be most welcome. Who will be the challengers was decided early on by the big gap between second and third places. Rafa Benitez decided big spending is the way to go. It might be reasonable to believe that this year Liverpool will be contenders. If not, fans could at least keep hoping that the huge amount of money shelled out would save them from being outplayed by consistently well-performing clubs such as Tottenham and even Everton.