Arrivederci, Andriy

In slightly sunnier news, we might be seeing the end of the Stamford Bridge love affair between Roman and his misunderstood Ukrainian plaything, Andriy Shevchenko.

We all know loans are the beginning of the end as far as player-club relations go, and there's word that the ink is slowly drying on a deal to loan him out to AC Milan, the club where he enjoyed his greatest personal success. Shevchenko never quite sorted out the goalscoring once he left Serie A, managing to bulge the net just 9 times in 47 appearances since joining Chelsea for a whopping 30 million pounds in 2005.

He was the apple of Abramovich's eye, and the transfer that was supposed to push the Blues far beyond anyone else's reach (they did still win some trophies, but hardly needed Andrei for that). Instead, he was an expensive flop, akin to movies like Ishtar or anything Uwe Boll ever made, and his departure on loan should finally bring this awkward courtship to a close.

He's still revered in Milan, and rightly so considering his track record. Still, I shall shed a tear tonight as Chelsea shed arguably their biggest joke.

After the jump, some videos of Shevchenko in happier days, you know, when he could score goals and get regular playing time.