Roman Abramovich’s arrival at Chelsea in 2003 is often lauded as one of the peak moments in football, not just for Chelsea but for Premier League as a whole.
The Blues had just finished fourth in the Premier League after beating Liverpool 2-1 in a winner-takes-all game to secure Champions League qualification, with Jesper Gronkjaer and Marcel Desailly scoring the crucial goals. Chelsea were in a financial mess at the time, but soon after Abramovich completed his takeover they went from paupers to princes and made an immediate impact on the transfer market, bringing a host of expensive additions to Stamford Bridge.
In the years since that landmark, the west London club have established themselves as one of the biggest clubs in Europe, shelling out hundreds of millions of pounds on new recruits, including plenty of strikers. Some proved to be excellent value for money but others were certainly not worth the investment. Here are the strikers that Pride Of London thinks are worthy of being called the top three on CFC’s books in the Abramovich era. To continue the article and find out which centreforwards PoL selected as the best of the ‘RA’ period, please now click the below link labelled ‘Next page’. Thank you.
3) OLIVIER GIROUD
Olivier Giroud was signed for Chelsea from Arsenal in 2018. He was signed by Antonio Conte to help Alvaro Morata, but Giroud left a lasting legacy at Stamford Bridge.
If Olivier Giroud were quick he’d be the greatest player ever. Better than Ronaldo, better than Messi, than Maradona, Pele, better than the lot of them. Instead he’s just slow and beautiful – but that doesn’t stop him from being effective.
Tall, wide, but with the first touch and skill of a man half his size, Giroud is the consummate target man. People thought his career was ailing when he headed across London to join the Blues from Arsenal, but since then he’s helped Chelsea to Champions League, FA Cup and Europa League wins and bagged a World Cup winner’s medal to boot.
Giroud’s persistence must be applauded: throughout his three-year spell at Chelsea, various managers would relegate the World Cup Winner to the bench in favour of their latest shiny new attacking toy. Nonetheless Giroud could always be counted upon when called into the staring line-up and even when given the dugout as a sub would deliver some iconic moments.
Who could forget that hat-trick in Seville or the moment of unorthodox genius to beat Southampton in the 2018 FA cup semi final? Giroud made 119 appearances for the Club, scoring 39 goals and assisting 14. Including two goals and two assist in Chelsea’s FA cup in 2018. He scored 11 goals and assisted five in 14 games the following season to help bring the Europa League trophy home.
The France international in addition to that scored eight goals in 13 games to secure top four football in 2020 for the Blues’. In his final season, he scored six goals in eight champions league appearances as Chelsea clinched the Trophy for the second time. One would wonder how it would have turned out if Giroud never left.
The Frenchman was a consistent and reliable Goal scorer for the club at a time when the team needed one. Perennially underrated, Giroud is just a really good, stupefyingly-handsome footballer who keeps proving his doubters wrong. It’s safe to say, he was signed as a rival from Arsenal and left as a Chelsea Legend.
2). DIEGO COSTA
Diego Costa is the most consistent striker in the Abramovich era. Chelsea struggled to replace Drogba when he initially departed in 2012 and it was so until Mourinho snapped him up from Athletico Madrid two years later in 2014. The Spaniard was an aggressive, hardworking, nasty striker who was capable of bullying any center-back in his day.
Costa made 120 appearances for Chelsea over three seasons, in his first season, he scored 20 goals in 26 appearances for Chelsea, which was vital for them winning the Premier League that season. He won two Premier League titles, and in both seasons, scored 20 goals. No striker has reached 20 goals since.
Costa was lethal, and he was a nuisance. He annoyed the rival defenders and was a classic centre-forward. He was able to get other players sent off by getting under their skin.
His runs behind rival defenses, his hold-up play, and his connections with players around him were all top-notch. When he left in 2017 due to a falling out with Conte, Costa left a hole in the team and that is yet to be filled.
Overall, Diego Costa’s reputation at Chelsea may not always be held to a remarkably high standard, but no other player ( Except for Drogba) could bully a defender like Costa did and score as many goals whilst playing to his teammate’s qualities.
1) DIDIER DROGBA, Chelsea’s best striker of the Roman Abramovich era
Drogba moved to Chelsea for a then record fee of 24 million from French Club Marseille in Roman Abrahimovich’s second year and Jose Mourinho’s first year in charge of the Club.
Mourinho was said to have preferred Drogba to Ronaldinho when he was given the choice to sign any player in the entire world.
Drogba did take a while to get going with Chelsea but very few players have been as influential as the Ivorian was. He made 381 appearances for the club, scoring 164 goals and providing 87 assists.
Drogba was never a goal machine, as in he only managed to score 20 or more goals for the club in the league during the 2009-10 season. That season, he scored 29 goals in the league and 37 overall while providing 16 assists.
What makes Didier Drogba the best striker to play for the club was his knack for performing in the biggest games. Drogba had that aura, and as long as he was on the pitch, the team could win the game. No moment symbolizes him better than his last-minute goal against Bayern Munich to take the team into extra time in 2012. Drogba then went on to score the winning penalty.
The teams’ recent struggles in the FA Cup were non-existent when Drogba played. The striker was the king of Wembley and always scored in finals. He won four Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and one Champions League. Drogba was the ultimate striker, scoring goals from all over the pitch, and perhaps, just perhaps no one will ever match his brilliance up front for the club.
Didier Drogba is the main man associated with the Blues‘ rise in European football and was not only a fan favourite on the pitch but of it as well. Overall, Drogba led the line with powerful play for numerous years and will forever be remembered in Chelsea’s hearts.