Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Under Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant no one could doubt the results ... but there was always the underlying problem of how they were achieved.
This was particularly true for owner Roman Ambramovich who initially wetted his football appetite when Real Madrid, and a Ronaldo hat-trick, destroyed Manchester United in a European Cup game.
Chelsea had always looked a powerful side but fell short of main rivals United and also Arsenal in the aesthetic stakes.
Although new manager Phil Scolari also has a reputation as a pragmatist, he developed the Portugal national side into one of the most attractive in Europe over the past seven or eight seasons.
Of course, at his disposal he has had some extraordinary talents with the likes of Ronaldo, Deco and Figo but the intricate passing game they played was much admired and would have come from the manager.
It was, therefore, not a surprise to hear that one of the apparent conditions Scolari had when he took over at Stamford Bridge was that Deco would be his first signing which duly he was for a fee of £8m from Barcelona.
This price seems a bargain given that Liverpool have been chasing Gareth Barry for £18m and it would be impossible to argue these players are in the same league. Should the price tags be reversed, then it would be more understandable but this is just another indication of the crazy transfer market that football currently inhabits.
And what a start to the season Deco has had. He was instrumental in the demolition of Portsmouth last weekend scoring the final goal and won the match at Wigan on Sunday with a wonderful free kick. However, more importantly, is his ability to link the play - something Chelsea have been desperate for.
Ballack, Lampard and Essien are world class players but they do as much of their work off the ball as on it whereas Deco always wants the ball in every area of the pitch leaving others to find space in dangerous areas.
Another area they have struggled in is at right back but the signing of Botswinga has put paid to that. The Portuguese plays in a Brazilian way bombing down the flanks putting huge pressure on the opposition's left side. Whilst he is not a true winger he offers the Blues as much width as they have had since Robben played for them.
He is set along with Deco to be one of the outstanding players of the season and since it often takes a while to settle into the speed of the Premiership the future looks very good as they appear to have found their place very quickly.
The spearhead has also hindered the way they have played as in Drogba they had a powerful centre forward in an English mould and often there was a tendency, and in particular from Cech in goal, to resort to pumping the ball forward to him so he could hold the ball up and allow midfielders like Ballack and Lampard to run off him. As mentioned, Deco has prevented this being so prevalent but Anelka would be unable to take this role on as he prefers to play on the last defender's shoulder - so again, they are playing more through the defence rather than over them. This all has led to a more attractive style.
The game at Portsmouth was a perfect example of the new look employed by Scolari where they passed the ball quickly, often in neat triangles, in the way Arsenal have employed under Wenger.
The game against Wigan may have had a score line that suggested they had returned to their old ways but, in reality, it was just a poor version of the previous week.
Steve Bruce has a good side now at Wigan, the pitch was awful and all Scolari's players were coming back from internationals, so there are some excuses for the display. They did though continue the passing game and only on a few occasions did they resort to the long ball to Anelka - so as they get fitter and more comfortable with the new regime the future looks very promising for fans and owner alike.
Over the past three seasons Chelsea have been up there with the best in the world in terms of results but Barcelona, United, Arsenal and Madrid have raised the bar over the past five years in terms of quality and it is something Chelsea must aspire to in order to win over a wider audience.
Only time will tell if Scolari has found the right formula but the initial signs look very good.
