In the real world of football, winning the Premiership and FA Cup double in your first season would buy automatic sainthood.
However, in the world of Chelsea FC, it buys you nothing but bigger expectations.
Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti probably enjoyed that double for about an hour (the length of time it took for the open top, team bus, to travel down the Kings Road back in late May) before the phone rang.
“Carlo, it’s Roman, got a minute? Look, great season but I want the Champions League. Get it for me or ... you’re gone!”
That being the case, I’m sure the Italian was watching the World Cup through his hands as his players sacrificed life and limb for their respective countries. Did they care what the Italian was going through?
Ultimately though, it wasn’t the South African adventure that is befuddling him. It has been his club's own preseason that has created the biggest headaches. Looking at the Blues' injury list, his plans are close to being in tatters.
Last season’s top scorer, Didier Drogba, will probably miss the start of the season due to a groin operation (why didn’t they operate immediately after the Ivory Coast’s exit?).
Alex is out for close to a month after injuring his thigh in training (is he really a starting center back?).
Petr Cech re-aggravated that calf problem he suffered in the Champions League versus Inter and he’s looking at a month on the sidelines (do Hilario and Russ Turnbull inspire confidence?).
New signing, Yossi Benayoun is out with a groin strain and is doubtful for the opening against West Brom on August 14th (he’s not the new Alberto Aquilani, is he?).
Finally, there are still no definitive return dates for Michael Essien who suffered a knee ligament injury in January, and John Obi Mikel who had knee surgery in May. Assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, believes that both will be fit for the Prem start, but then again, what else can he say?
Ancelotti must look at this list and think that there is a curse hanging over Stamford Bridge when you recall last season’s MASH ward when the squad was decimated.
Injuries though aren’t the Italian’s only concern. He needs to persuade a couple of high profile and vital members of the team that their futures still lay in West London.
With Jose Mourinho installed at Real Madrid, a trio of Blues favorites maybe tempted to make the flight to Spain. Ricardo Carvalho is the favorite to land at the Santiago Bernabeu, however Mourinho would gladly take England teammates Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard in a major power grab.
Ancelotti has insisted that Ashley Cole is going nowhere, while Lampard still has three years remaining on his contract, but the feeling persists that these two may want a new challenge.
Cole endured a torrid time in the tabloids and would gladly settle for the 'quieter' life in Madrid, while Lampard has achieved everything the English game has to offer. Both men became better players under Mourinho and it doesn’t get more attractive than Real.
Then there are the players that have already left or at least have their bags packed. Deco wants a return to Brazil, while Joe Cole and Michael Ballack have both been allowed to leave without a penny coming into the coffers, which leads to questions surrounding the transfer kitty.
Just how much is available to Ancelotti? To date, either the Italian is being prudent or Roman Abramovich has turned the spigot to a dribble.
Benayoun was a freebie, while the rumored $70 million bid for his Liverpool colleague Fernando Torres has gone very quiet. Benfica and Brazilian defensive midfielder, Ramires is a fine player, but with the eventual returns of Essien and Mikel, why buy like-for-like?
18-year old Neymar would raise eyebrows if he became the world’s most expensive teenager, but Ancelotti is conservative by nature and surely won’t take a punt on untested youth.
I think if we are going to see a bold decisive move it will be for Kaka. A player/cash trade with Real seems like the logical solution for the Brazilian who is just plain miserable in the Spanish capital unless he rejuvenates under Mourinho.
All-in-all it feels like there is more turmoil at the home of the double winners than stability. Ancelotti is surrounded by fires, the squad appears on paper weaker than last year and his brief has been significantly raised.
Another failure in the Champions League would almost certainly signal the end of his reign, while the pressure to repeat and repel the challenge from the rest of the Premiership will be massive.
Testing and challenging times ahead for the champions of England but certain sainthood for Carlo Ancelotti if he brings home the one piece of silverware he’s very familiar with -- but Blues fans aren't.
Nick Webster is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the English national team and the Barclay's Premier League.
