All eyes now turn to Andriy Shevchenko. Can he prove he is
in London for more than the money, the golf and the social circuit?
Freed from the intimidating presence of Didier Drogba, who is out
following a knee operation and unlikely to play again for Chelsea
until after the African Nations Cup in February, Shevchenko takes
on the mantle of senior striker.
Avram Grant is backing the Ukrainian to rise to the challenge and
prove he is not past it at 31, but the situation still has the
hall-marks of Sheva's last chance. Chelsea will spend in January,
with Bolton's Nicolas Anelka the top target as they chase at least
one striker. Everton's Yakubu is also on the radar, having played
under Grant at Maccabi Haifa.
If Shevchenko does not dazzle in December, there can be no
long-term future for him at Stamford Bridge. Grant said: "I think
Sheva will revel in the responsibility. I hope he will. He is a
great player, still. He's done a lot of things in his life as a
football player and now he has a chance, although I can't say he
will play every game."
Shevchenko was given the nod ahead of Claudio Pizarro against
Sunderland and responded with the opener, a flying header in the
23rd-minute. Grant said: "With Sheva it is a matter of
expectations. If you look at last season, he scored 14 goals and
this year he's got four so far. If his name wasn't Shevchenko, you
would say that was OK, but because he's called Shevchenko you
expect him to play well."
Shevchenko scored 14 in 51 appearances in his first season at
Chelsea, after his £30million move from AC Milan. This season he
has four in 12.
