Is it that close to the silly season so soon?

Is it just me, or is there even less patience for players to settle in the Premiership this season?

One of the headlines on BBC Football today has been Shevchenko brushing off speculation that he’s on his way out of Chelsea barely 3 months after a £30m move. He isn’t the first new signing to have to defuse idle transfer gossip, but he’s the most expensive and highest profile.

The Argentinean lads at West Ham are the other main example, having been rumored to be leaving basically since they arrived. Granted, Kia Joorabchian’s failed takeover changes the matter slightly, but when have two foreigners of undoubted talents with such hype been deemed disappointments after so short a time? Especially when they are as young as Tevez and Mascherano are.

I’ve read it on a smaller scale about Liverpool players as well, specifically Gonzalez and Aurelio. Little matter than Gonzo’s only 22 and Aurelio’s been injured the majority of the time.

Making judgments on players after so short a time in the league seems insane. Granted, when the player is so completely out of his depth it’s recognizable to everyone (Souness' signing of George Weah’s “cousin” Ali Dia laughingly springs to mind), but I don’t think that’s the case with players like Gonzalez or Tevez, and I’m fairly certain it’s not with Shevchenko.

I thought at the time that Sheva wouldn’t be the success in the Premier League that he was at AC Milan. Yes, he's getting up there in years, but also the pace and style of the Premier League are far different than Serie A and I don’t think Chelsea play to his strengths. But to suggest he’ll be off is ludicrous. Chelsea would look the fool after shelling out so much money, and Sheva’s reputation would never be the same.

Long story short, please, just give players time to adjust. I guess since the sack race has gone fairly quiet since Dowie, there needs to be something similarly inane to gossip about.