Why it's not all doom and gloom at Chelsea

After a torrid couple of months, which have seen Chelsea part company with their manager and lose ground on the league leaders, Blues fans have every right to feel upset. But if you look closer, there are, infact, a number of things to be cheerful about

Luiz Felipe Scolari's sudden departure from Stamford Bridge may have left a bad taste in the mouth of many Chelsea fans, but in Guus Hiddink, they have a man more than capable of steadying the ship. Hiddink made a name for himself at PSV Eindhoven, where his uncompromising approach propelled the side to three Eredivisie titles and the European Cup in the late 1980s. Since then Hiddink has enjoyed a turbulent managerial career, ranging from triumph - guiding unfancied South Korea to the 2006 World Cup semi-finals – to failure – lasting less than a year in charge of Real Madrid. Ultimately the lessons learnt will prove beneficial to Chelsea. Unlike Scolari, Hiddink has experience of managing big European clubs and his abrasive style will help to break down some of the cliques that began to form under the Brazilians stewardship. However, the most crucial factor in Hiddink's favour is his close relationship to Roman Abramovich, indeed upon taking the job Hiddink said: "Abramovich is doing so much for Russian football that I wanted to give something back." The pair are undoubtedly close and Hiddink's arrival should reignite the Chelsea owner's passion for the club, which had been on the wane under Scolari. A remolded team playing under a re-energised owner may just surprise a few people.

Blackburn proved it and Chelsea removed any semblance of doubt – money can buy you success. Yet despite the millions he has thrown at the club, Roman Abramovich has financed moves for a number of turkeys, remember Tiago or Mateja Kezman? However, the £24.4 million Jose Mourinho invested in Michael Essien ranks among the best pieces of business of the Abramovich era. Essien is every manager's dream, a box-to-box midfielder with a sharp footballing brain; he is capable of inspiring those around him simply through the power of his presence. This bloodymindedness is what Chelsea have missed during the season, having been cruelly robbed of Essien's talent after he ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Ghana. The good news for Chelsea fans is that Essien has taken part in a non-contact training session with an eye on a first-team return in March. Previous managers have used Essien's versatility to employ him at right back, but it is in the centre of the pitch where he is most effective, and should his comeback go to plan Hiddink would do well to make space for him there.

Both Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka can lay claim to the nickname "Le Sulk". Both like to throw their toys out of the pram at the slightest sense of injustice and both have a tendency to suffer profound dips in form. Anelka may be the Premier League's top goalscorer but in the last twelve games he has only scored two goals, with Drogba only managing a single goal all season. However, against Watford in the FA Cup things began to click for the Chelsea strikers; admittedly it did take them 75 minutes to realise they could play together, but in the remaining 15 minutes Anelka scored a hat-trick with Drogba getting an assist. For five years successive Chelsea managers have stuck to the view that one central strike is the way forward, even with world class forwards in their squad. This has created an ideology of narrow attritional football, which worked well for a period of time but now looks incredibly ponderous. The performance at Watford will hopefully put an end to the myth that the two Frenchmen can't play together and if Hiddink can instil some verve, especially down the flanks, then Drogba and Anelka can definitely prosper.

Another positive from the match against Watford was the assured display of Michael Mancienne and Miroslav Stoch. Mancienne managed the full 90 minutes and already looks an exciting prospect having excelled on loan at Wolves earlier in the season. Stoch was restricted to another substitute's appearance, but this time he got a little longer than usual and was able to showcase just why Chelsea rate him so highly. Roman Abramovich has invested heavily in Chelsea's hunt for the next generation of superstars. In 2005 the Russian acquired Frank Arnesen from Spurs and installed him as chief scout and head of youth development. However, Arnesen hasn't quite achieved the results expected of him and in late 2008 he was allegedly close to being dismissed. Abramovich may be disappointed that no youngster has broken into the first team, but the process of bringing through youngsters can take years to come to fruition. Mancienne and Stoch are both good prospects, as are Sergio Tejera, Michael Woods and Lee Sawyer and with the worldclass training facility at Cobham almost complete the future looks bright for Chelsea on the home-grown front.

Despite all the doom and gloom and predictions of, shock horror, not finishing in the Champions League places, lets not forget that Chelsea are in the sixth round of the FA Cup, still in Europe and still in the mix at the top of the table (albeit ten points behind Manchester United). Both cup matches are winnable, and with the team revitalised under Hiddink they would be a decent bet to triumph in the Champions League. In the league things look slightly less rosy, especially with United vanquishing all before them, but if you examine their upcoming fixtures it appears things aren't necessarily all over for Chelsea; Portsmouth (away), Manchester City (home) and Spurs (away) could see them pick up maximum points. And if Guus Hiddink needs to motivate his side further he can simply use Sir Alex Ferguson's proclamation, that the title is a two horse race between Liverpool and Manchester United, to spur his side onwards.