Many of you reading the title of this article might jump the gun and shout: “hang on, Shevchenko was less effective than a chocolate teapot for Chelsea?!” All I can say is, watch the video below, he enjoyed more success in England than many realise …
However it is fair to say that Shevchenko did not live up to the reputation he forged at AC Milan and the £30 million price tag placed on him following his purchase from Milan, an English transfer record at that time. With 22 goals in 77 games, and only nine of them coming in the league, English fans certainly were right to demand more from the Ukrainian hitman.
Sometimes things just don’t work out, pure and simple. Those who truly believe Shevchenko was a waste of money and a not so talented footballer are very wide of the mark. Shevchenko was worth the £30million Chelsea dished out for the forward as he was one of the greatest strikers in Europe at that time. His 127 goals in 208 Serie A games should be proof enough.
No doubt Shevchenko found it difficult adapting to English life which undoubtedly affects players on the pitch. Shevchenko was never quite the same after his spell in London and finally returned to Dynamo Kyiv before announcing his retirement earlier this year.
Shevchenko did score some cracking goals for Chelsea, you just can’t remember them. Take a look at Shevchenko’s top ten Chelsea goals, most of them are world class strikes taken right from Andy Gray’s top drawer.
Tomos Llewellyn
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