Didier Drogba`s 3 match suspension was inevitable once he`d pleaded guilty. Perhaps it was his guilty plea which saved him a fourth game in the stands, as the sanction for throwing a coin back into the crowd could have been augmented as Drogba flipped the Burnley fans the bird.
Lest we forget, the game in question was Didier`s comeback after an injury. That injury, sustained earlier this season at Cluj, aggravated his recovery … from another knee injury, on which Drogba was operated over the summer break. That operation took place shortly after the Champions League final in Moscow. Lest we forget, during that final, Didier Drogba was shown a straight red card for slapping Manchester United`s Nemanja Vidic.
We`ll pass on the 'outrage` that welcomed how the man talked about this in his autobiography, when he declared that, had he known he was going to get a red card, he would have punched Vidic in the face. However, let us point out that those words were subject to an inquiry. Drogba was not punished for what was surely meant to be a tongue in cheek remark.
Arguably that particular red card cost Chelsea the game. With Drogba off for a completely avoidable red card minutes before the final whistle, Avram Grant had to rearrange the order of the penalty shoot-out takers. Since Anelka was unhappy at going early, John Terry stepped in. The rest is a history that we are still trying to get over.
So let us present a timeline of Drogba`s involvement at Chelsea these last few months. In May, the guy gets sent off in the Champions League final, which is already a disgrace. He played a key role in losing the biggest game in Chelsea`s history. Contrite? No. He starts mouthing off about moving away from Chelsea, flirting with José Mourinho at Inter, not to mention Real Madrid and AC Milan. He also declares that the collection by Marseille supporters to bring him back to the club which propelled him to the spotlights, was 'pathetic`. Presumably the proud and historical French club isn`t big enough for his ego.
In the meantime, Drogba is operated on the knees. He`s off the field for months. Over the summer, unfortunately, no big clubs come in for him. Change of heart, he declares that, actually, he wants to stay at Chelsea. It`s astonishing how the absence of any big-name suitors helps Drogba find his loyalty. As the transfer window slams shut, he is busy with his return to fitness, but somehow finds the time and the effort to publish his autobiography. Actually it`s a new edition of his existing autobiography during which he 'spills the beans` on that Champions League game. What a moment, the Chelsea fans will be queuing around the block for that book.
On his first start of the season, the Champions League game at Cluj, he succumbs to another injury, suffering a relapse that will keep him off the pitch for a good 6 weeks. His return is the fateful game against Burnley.
We are detecting a pattern here, which is that Drogba has become a serious liability for Chelsea. After all, we can also mention some other big games when Drogba`s lack of discipline and self control has costed Chelsea dearly. In September last year, he was sent off in a Premier League match against Fulham. And in February 2005, he was sent off for two yellow cards against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, a game that Chelsea eventually lost. They were winning when he left the pitch.
Of course, we can also cite games when he has been absolutely unplayable. When Chelsea won 1-4 at Liverpool, although Drogba didn`t score, he was the architect of Liverpool`s humbling. Last season, when Chelsea beat Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final, it was Drogba also who put them to the sword. But he also courted controversy by celebrating one of his goals sliding in front of the Liverpool fans. The two goals he scored against Arsenal at The Bridge were a crucial moment last season. We can also remember how his goal against Arsenal in the Carling Cup final were the icing on the cake of a performance that Drogba bossed.
But just as Drogba had one outstanding Chelsea season, when he scored 33 goals during 2006-2007, he`s also had a few mediocre ones. One can try to find mitigating circumstances in the fact that he`s often injured. That adds 'injury-prone` to the problems with the player.
Drogba`s injuries, however, are not entirely his fault, they certainly are not the main problem, which is his lack of discipline. The frequent reds are hardly compensated by a glut of goals, nor is the smell of diving that surrounds the player, and for which he has earned a terrible reputation. Let`s just say that that reputation is not entirely undeserved. We can add to that the fact that the guy is very outspoken, to the extent that he is a disruptive influence on the dressing room. Last season he went on and on about José Mourinho`s departure, and never missed the opportunity to badmouth Chelsea Football Club, his employers. One would think that the £90,000 per week that the same Chelsea FC pay him might earn a modicum of loyalty. Apparently not, they don`t earn the club the right not to be insulted by their own employee. One would also think that a player who is a highly intelligent man would understand that throwing a coin back into the crowd was a pretty stupid idea for which he would get into trouble.
And now we have got to the stage where the player goes from red card to injury to another injury to a red card over 6 months, with one goal scored in the process. He`ll be out for another 3 weeks now.
Can Chelsea afford to have such a liability on their books, or should they try to offload as soon as possible?
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