This weekend, Carlo Ancelotti compared his role at Chelsea to that of Ferguson at Man Utd, claiming his role was technical only: he is not the ‘manager'. This has helped kick-start the debate we love so much: should all power be placed in the hands of the manager, or can a more ‘continental' approach do the job?

Another weekend, another loss. Three weekends in a row, now: is losing becoming a habit for the champions? Well, no. But things aren't pretty on the pitch at the moment.
Off the pitch however, things are probably worse. Just as Chelsea seemed to be throwing a past of almost continual behind-the-scenes turmoil behind them, Ray Wilkins' departure chucked a large, slightly rusting spanner in the Cobham works.

Part of the price ‘big clubs' pay for their status is greater scrutiny of every win, loss, piece of individual genius and mistake.
Up until recently, Chelsea experienced a very specific type of scrutiny. A huge 2010 saw Chelsea not only win the double, but also become utterly ruthless in front of goal.

England's fortunate 2-1 loss to a rejuvenated French side last night saw another file added to the international side's library of underwhelming performances. The collection has started to overflow of late.
But it's all a bit confusing. Normally when England disappoint it's because John Terry has sown disharmony throughout the squad (through any number of tried and tested egotistical tactics) or is an over-rated Sunday league footballer.

Like last Monday, today's journey into work took an unfamiliar feel. Same bus, same journey, same dreary monotony...save one detail. Normally my morning routine involves catching up with the latest football headlines on Sky Sports News, before casting my eyes over the online news on the bus.
Not today, not last week.

Well, I can only apologise. If there are any readers out there who, starved of sensible, long-winded and tediously-wordy posts on Chelsea Football Club, have suffered withdrawal symptoms without a regular bridgeviews.co.uk fix, I would be surprised. But on the off chance that those people do exist, bridgeviews.