morning papers baggies

Times:
Chelsea find clear blue waterBy Matt Dickenson, Chief Football CorrespondentChelsea 1 West Bromwich Albion 0 IF ANYTHING going on at Stamford Bridge can be described as routine, it was a victory that extended Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Barclays Premiership to 11 points. Even José Mourinho needs a quiet night once in a while, the manager ducking the post-match media conference and slipping into the night. It was left to Steve Clarke to talk and the Portuguese’s assistant claimed that his boss was unruffled by recent controversies. “He’s bothered about winning trophies,” Clarke said. “We are in the last eight in the European Cup, the Carling Cup is in the bag and we are clear in the league. I think he’s very happy.”
Winning a first championship in 50 years has become an afterthought in the past couple of weeks and a victory memorable more for Didier Drogba’s misses than his goal was always likely to be an anticlimax. In the week since the tumultuous triumph over Barcelona, Mourinho had been interrogated by an FA Premier League lawyer and become embroiled in an escalating row with Uefa.
All the talk had been about a manager who has made Sir Alex Ferguson’s feud with Arsène Wenger not only seem tame, but also dreadfully passé. It was time to return to the business of winning the league, a task that should be accomplished with weeks to spare.
Drogba appeared intent on making life difficult but, with only nine matches left and fixtures against Crystal Palace and Southampton next, Chelsea will not falter now. “I just can’t see them losing three or four games. I think they are more or less there now,” Bryan Robson said.
Robson had tried to prepare the ground for an upset by claiming to have been “wound up” by John Terry’s disclosure that Chelsea are under orders to annihilate opposition, but, even with the bold selection of three forwards, his team was always likely to be in retreat. “The lads stuck at it and you could sense that their fans were edgy in the last 15 minutes,” the West Bromwich Albion manager said. But only because Drogba was so wayward.
The forward’s tally of nine goals from 20 Premiership appearances is respectable, particularly for a player whose first season in England has been interrupted by injuries, but his strike midway through the first half should have been one of many. Fortunately for him it was unmissable as Frank Lampard hit a wonderful pass behind the full back and Damien Duff crossed first-time from the left to leave Drogba with an open goal from eight yards.
Mourinho has yet to show signs of wavering belief in his £24 million forward but the next hour might have induced some doubts. The Ivory Coast forward could claim to have been unfortunate when, having rounded Russell Hoult, the goalkeeper, he saw the ball pinched off his toes by Martin Albrechtsen, but there were no excuses for some spectacular second-half misses.
Although dominant, with Duff and Joe Cole impressing, Chelsea allowed some slackness to creep into their play after an urgent opening. The knowledge that Albion were unlikely to capitalise on their few chances was hardly going to concentrate the mind and Drogba was particularly guilty.
For his first bad miss, the striker had done the hard work by turning Thomas Gaardsoe, but his left-foot shot dribbled past the post. Not long afterwards Cole crossed and, to Drogba’s embarrassment, his header from six yards sailed wide. Worse was to come when he skied a shot high into the stands from close range.
Drogba was a relieved man when, late on, Kanu’s goal-bound volley was bravely blocked by Robert Huth, who was standing in for Ricardo Carvalho. Drogba finished the match flat out on the pitch after taking a kick to the stomach. It summed up his night.
Still, Mourinho could be happy with yet another victory and clean sheet, which kept his team on course for Premiership records for points accumulated and fewest goals conceded. Facing Geoff Horsfield and Ronnie Wallwork rather than Ronaldinho and Xavi, Chelsea were never going to be deprived of possession and the manager could be happy with the contributions from Lampard, Cole, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Duff.
Arjen Robben, who did not make the squad even though he has recovered from a broken foot, should be fit to return this weekend and, although the Chelsea staff and players will continue to make all the right noises about there being “a long way to go”, they should cruise over the finishing line.
CHELSEA (4-1-2-3): P Cech — P Ferreira, J Terry, R Huth, W Gallas — C Makelele — F Lampard, E Gudjohnsen (sub: J Jarosik, 74min) — J Cole (sub: M Kezman, 86), D Drogba, D Duff (sub: A Smertin, 90). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, R Carvalho.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-3-3): R Hoult — M Albrechtsen, T Gaardsoe, P Robinson, N Clement — Z Gera, R Wallwork, K Richardson (sub: J Greening, 87) — K Campbell, Kanu, G Horsfield (sub: R Earnshaw, 83). Substitutes not used: T Kuszcak, R Scimeca, D Moore. Booked: Clement.
Referee: N Barry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent:
Misfiring Drogba hits winner as Chelsea go 11 points clearChelsea 1 - West Bromwich Albion 0By Sam Wallace16 March 2005

Jose Mourinho will consider this one of his side's more incomplete performances but the consequences of victory over West Bromwich Albion could hardly be more stark. Chelsea lead the Premiership by 11 points and they could afford a performance of reckless profligacy from the striker Didier Drogba, whose single goal was a poor return on a rich collection of opportunities.
A week after they shredded the Barcelona defence, Chelsea did much the same to a side who scarcely bare comparison with the last visitors to Stamford Bridge, but without the same devastating results.
Drogba was presented with more opportunities to put this game beyond reach than he will care to remember but, in contradiction to the natural laws of Premiership football, West Brom stayed in contention to the very end.
When Bryan Robson implemented a 4-3-3 formation last night, it was tempting to think that he was risking annihilation. There was no Arjen Robben in the Chelsea squad, his return from two broken bones in his foot will have to wait, but there was much to concern Robson.
In particular Joe Cole, whose seven consecutive starts, his best run of the season, have been earned in Robben's absence. The England international has flourished on the right wing, he distinguished himself against Barcelona last week, and he was at the heart of many of Chelsea's best early attacks. A ball hit low across the West Brom area on 13 minutes needed only the most basic of touches to turn it home.
Robert Huth returned in the centre of defence for Chelsea, his first match since 30 January, and, even against an ambitious attack of Kevin Campbell, Geoff Horsfield and Kanu, the home side achieved an easy kind of dominance. On loan from Manchester United, Kieran Richardson was the away side's most steady source of resistance in the centre of midfield but Damien Duff's mastery of full-back Martin Albrechtsen down Chelsea's left proved too much for West Brom.
The Irish winger cut a shot just wide of the post from John Terry's knock-down on the edge of the area - a touch from Drogba would have been decisive. The Chelsea striker wasted one more opportunity to open the scoring on 23 minutes when he could not lift a lob over goalkeeper Russell Hoult and then Chelsea broke through with less than 20 minutes of the half to play.
Frank Lampard slipped a ball past Albrechtsen and, as the full-back turned to chase, Duff sprinted past his left shoulder to gather the pass and cross for Drogba in the centre. Drogba finally managed to score.
What Robben will add to this side when he returns on Saturday against Crystal Palace will be enough to wilt the confidence of Chelsea's vain pursuers because, even without him, their service to Drogba was lavish in the extreme. He was presented with another Cole through ball on 34 minutes and, although he beat Hoult, was guided wide of the goal by Zoltan Gera's intervention.
It took Mourinho 74 minutes to decide that he would switch his team to a defensive aspect and in replacing Eidur Gudjohnsen with Jiri Jarosik, the Chelsea coach signalled that he was satisfied with a one-goal victory. The introduction of the functional Czech midfielder is always the surest sign that Mourinho has decided to consolidate victory although that was not to say that his side did not have a chance to extend their lead.
Drogba will look back on last night as a chance to have scored four. Lampard's through ball that found him on 62 minutes allowed the striker to turn Thomas Gaardsoe but, with Hoult advancing, he could only sweep the ball wide.
With a more ruthless finisher in their attack, Chelsea would have shattered what remained of West Bromwich's confidence but even with their visitors fully stretched they failed to close the game out.
A cross from the left from Cole on 71 minutes was headed wide by Drogba without a challenger in sight and he was equally careless when Duff cut the ball back to him with nine minutes remaining.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Ferreira, Huth, Terry, Gallas; Makelele; Cole (Kezman, 86), Lampard, Gudjohnsen (Jarosik, 74), Duff (Smertin, 90); Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Carvalho.
West Bromwich Albion (4-3-3): Hoult; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Gera, Wallwork, Richardson (Greening 87); Campbell, Kanu, Horsfield (Earnshaw 83). Substitutes not used: Kuszcak (gk), Scimeca, Moore.
Referee: N Barry (Lincolnshire).
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Telegraph:
Wasteful Chelsea almost thereBy Christopher Davies (Filed: 16/03/2005)
Match details
Chelsea (1) 1 West Bromwich Albion (0) 0
Amid Jose Mourinho's on-going fight against the football authorities, Didier Drogba's first-half goal at Stamford Bridge helped Chelsea to close in on their first title for 50 years.
Making a point: Didier Drogba showed support for his manager Chelsea returned to action a week after beating Barcelona in the Champions League looking for three of the 20 points they required to become the fourth different team to win the Premiership. But they made hard work of beating relegation-threatened Albion who showed great spirit in defeat.
Drogba, who finished the game with an injury, missed half a dozen chances as Chelsea's laboured, twelfth 1-0 win of the season extended their lead over second-placed Manchester United to 11 points with nine games to play.
Chelsea have dropped only 13 points from five drawn games and one defeat - the least number dropped in a Premiership season was 23 by Manchester United in 2000-01, when they won the title with 91 points.
Chelsea have conceded nine goals - the Premiership's most miserly defence in a season was Arsenal in 1998-99 when they let in 17. Mourinho's side have managed 30 shut-outs in 46 league and cup matches this season and with 22 clean sheets Chelsea are one short of the record set by Arsenal six years ago.
While Chelsea are marching towards the title, West Bromwich are staring at relegation to the Championship. Without an away win all season, they have won only two of their last 21 league games.
Neale Barry, the referee at the centre of the "cheat, cheat" controversy after the Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester United, made his first return to Stamford Bridge since Mourinho's outburst led to the Chelsea manager being fined £5,000 by the Football Association.
Mourinho could have been forgiven a silent curse after only two minutes when Eidur Gudjohnsen headed over the crossbar from three yards following a corner by Damien Duff had been nodded on by John Terry. Joe Cole, who recently spoke out about the "foreign disease" of diving, was guilty of a theatrical fall in the 10th minute, but went on to show the more positive side of his game, giving West Bromwich left-back Paul Robinson a testing time.
Drogba was clear one-on-one with Russell Hoult in the 23rd minute but the goalkeeper came out to block the Chelsea striker's shot. West Bromwich were doing better than Barcelona a week ago - by that stage the Catalans were 3-0 down.
Three minutes later Chelsea were ahead after a brilliantly worked move finished off by Drogba, who made up for his earlier misses. Frank Lampard found Duff, who had stayed onside, down the left and after making ground he crossed for Drogba to score with a left-foot shot from close range.
Jubilant Chelsea players ran to celebrate in a public display of bonding with their manager, who has been branded "an enemy of football" by Volker Roth, chairman of UEFA's referees committee.
Albion would have had to create history to secure three points - they have never won a Premiership game after conceding the opening goal.
The first half had been a damage limitation exercise for the visitors, who should have been happy to go in at the interval trailing by only one goal. Chelsea had been almost embarrassingly superior, with Duff and Cole in particular causing problems, but poor finishing had let Albion off the hook.
A curling shot by Zoltan Gera that was only a yard wide was a reminder to Chelsea that their failure to kill the game off left them vulnerable to a counter-attack.
Drogba missed another sitter in the 63rd minute from a defence-splitting pass by Lampard.
Despite scoring Chelsea's goal Drogba was having a nightmare and he missed another easy opportunity when, in the 70th minute, he headed over the bar from five yards with no defender nearby. The striker then put a shot from seven yards into the upper tier of the Matthew Harding stand.
Chelsea had Robert Huth to thank when the Germany defender headed clear a goal-bound volley by Kanu.
Match details
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Terry, Huth, Gallas; Makelele; Lampard, Gudjohnsen (Jarosik 74); Cole (Kezman 86), Drogba, Duff (Smertin 90). Subs: Cudicini (g), Ricardo Carvalho. West Bromwich (4-3-2-1): Hoult; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Gera, Wallwork, Richardson (Greening 86); Kanu, Campbell; Horsfield (Earnshaw 84). Subs: Kuszcak (g), Scimeca, Moore. Booked: Clement. Referee: N Barry (Lincolnshire).
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Guardian:
Drogba's winner sends Chelsea 11 points clear
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeWednesday March 16, 2005The Guardian
It takes patience to be champions. Chelsea had to put up with their failure to kill off a purposeful West Brom quickly as Didier Drogba squeezed one goal into his extensive collection of misses before being injured in stoppage time. The Premiership leaders now need a maximum of 17 points to clinch the title, but this win was harder to come by than they had supposed. Ticket prices are sometimes graded by the category of fixture and managers, too, occasionally provide a rating of their own on the team-sheet. Chelsea's Robert Huth, for instance, started here for the first time since January 30 while the renowned Ricardo Carvalho settled down on the substitutes' bench.
Arjen Robben, more intriguingly, can only have been sitting in the stands. The winger was expected to make a comeback but he was still in discomfort from his broken foot at the time of Chelsea's game with Barcelona last week. Was it that Jose Mourinho decided not to put him to the test here, in an examination his side were bound to pass without him? West Bromwich might have appeared to be acquitting themselves fairly well before Chelsea took the lead, but even then there had been a gentle stream of opportunities. Joe Cole, lively and influential, had crafted one cross with his left foot from the right that eluded Drogba by inches.
With his season splintered by injuries, the performances of the striker have not had the smoothness he showed at Marseille, but he always taxes defenders. When he beat the offside trap in the 23rd minute Russell Hoult had to close him down speedily to prevent a lob from going over his head.
Drogba was bound to profit eventually, particularly once Chelsea started to concentrate on exploiting Martin Albrechtsen's unsuitability as a right-back. After 26 minutes, Damien Duff feinted to go back towards the halfway line before spinning away from the Dane to chase a through ball from Frank Lampard and the Irishman's low cut-back was converted by Drogba.
West Brom, none the less, did enjoy moments of hope and players like Zoltan Gera could show, sporadically, that they are more than just toilers. A miniature revival has also been sufficient to have the manager calculating the target for survival, and Bryan Robson reckons that five or six wins will do the trick.
It all sounds plausible until you remember that this was the first of only 10 league games that remain for a West Brom team who have only harvested three victories so far. In adversity it is better to turn to kinder statistics, and the club are well aware that they have lately come off the bottom of the table for the first time in four months.
That is slightly encouraging and West Brom, with time running out, have no need to shun risk-taking. The team featured three forwards, with Nwankwo Kanu returning to the starting line-up. While Chelsea did not teeter under any sort of onslaught, Robson had reasoned that a little attacking would at least interrupt Mourinho's schemes.
The Portuguese, in view of his obsessiveness, will have been well aware that his side have not kept a clean sheet in five matches. Meetings with Barcelona and a League Cup final against Liverpool excuse wobbliness, but West Brom were trying to stop Chelsea from feeling fully at ease again.
The leaders remained relaxed enough at the opening of the second half for Claude Makelele, in his own area, to attend to an attack by controlling Paul Robinson's cross and playing a one-two with Lampard.
Even so, there is always some unease when a lead is slender and West Brom were willing to commit greater numbers when they attacked. Chelsea were given a glimpse of how matters could go wrong when Gera came in from the left and put a curling shot a yard wide.
The Stamford Bridge side should also have been rueful about their failure to seal the win. In the 62nd minute Makelele tackled, Lampard passed and Drogba went round Thomas Gaardsoe only to scuff beyond a post.
The same striker missed again with a header in the 71st minute although Cole's cross had found him unmarked. Almost immediately Huth had to head Kanu's strong volley over his own bar as, to Chelsea's regret, the game grew interesting.
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Sun:
Chelsea 1 West Brom 0 By SUN ONLINE REPORTER
DIDIER DROGBA almost fluffed his lines as Chelsea surged 11 points clear at the top of the Premiership.
The Ivory Coast hitman missed a string of easy chances to demolish bottom of the pile West Brom at Stamford Bridge.
But the £24million summer buy did find his range midway through the first half to settle this match and put more breathing space between the Blues and rivals Manchester United and Arsenal.
Albion twice had the ball in the back of the net in the early stages. But the linesman's flag denied them both times and even Drogba could not miss Damien Duff's inch-perfect cross in front of an open goal.
West Brom pushed Chelsea all the way as they fed off the confidence of last week's victory over Birmingham.
But Bryan Robson's men could not find a way past the Blues backline, which registered yet another clean sheet.
Chelsea skipper John Terry marshalled his defence impeccably and the England ace almost got the home side off to the perfect start as he headed Duff's corner goalwards in the first minute.
Unfortunately, Eidur Gudjohnsen sensed a goal himself and as he tried to deflect the ball in, he succeeded in heading it wide.
Drogba should have broken the deadlock in the fifth minute but his shot on the turn from six yards was too weak to beat Russell Hoult in the visitors’ goal.
Drogba then sent a free-kick by Frank Lampard over the bar as West Brom struggled to cope with the rampaging Chelsea forward line.
Joe Cole was causing Albion all sorts of problems down the right flank and in the 11th minute he provided two crosses which really should have brought the Londoners some reward, but Drogba and Gudjohnsen could get close enough to finish them off.
ALL GO JOE ... Cole looks to spark another Blues attack
Soon after Duff was inches wide with a left-foot piledriver from the edge of the box, which again Drogba just failed to convert with a cheeky flick.
In the 22nd minute, Lampard put Drogba in the clear but this time Hoult was alive to his attempted chip.
Albion had the ball in the net twice but both attempts were clearly offside.
And Chelsea made the crucial breakthrough when Lampard carved open the static West Brom defence with an inch-perfect pass for Duff.
The Republic of Ireland international sprinted clear before delivering a low cross that Drogba converted easily from six yards out.
Kevin Campbell got in a free header from a right-wing cross by Ronnie Wallwork but the ball bounced over the bar.
Chelsea continued to search for more goals and Cole sent Drogba clear again in the 33rd minute but this time, although he rounded Hoult, he was unable to prevent Martin Albrechtsen clearing the loose ball.
Cole shot straight at Hoult from 20 yards just before the break but there was no respite for Albion after the interval, despite Neil Clement testing Petr Cech with a long-range effort.
On 50 minutes, Duff forced Hoult to dive low to his right to prevent him scoring Chelsea’s second goal.
That should then have arrived on the hour when Lampard was again the architect of another stunning Chelsea move.
This time the England international midfielder played a slide-rule pass to Drogba who turned Thomas Gaardsoe on the edge of the box, only to send his low drive around the outside of the right-hand post
In the 63rd minute, Lampard sent a long-range free-kick just a foot over Hoult’s crossbar as the pressure continued unabated on the Albion goal.
Chelsea should have wrapped the game up in convincing fashion in the last 12 minutes but Drogba was guilty of two glaring misses.
First he headed wide from Cole’s cross and then blasted the ball over the bar from six yards after Duff again found him with a low cross from the left.
But by then, he had just done enough to leave the Chelsea fans singing for their first title in 50 years.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN
JOE COLE (Chelsea). Oozes class and confidence.
SUN RATINGS
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ferreira 6, Terry 7, Huth 7, Gallas 6, Cole 8 (Kezman 5), Makalele 7, Lampard 8, Gudjohnsen 6 (Jarosik 5), Duff 7 (Smertin 5), Drogba 5. Subs not used: Cudicini, Carvalho.
WEST BROM: Hoult 7, Albrechtsen 5, Gaardsoe 6, Clement 6, Robinson 6, Gera 7, Richardson 7 (Greening 5), Wallwork 6, Campbell 6, Kanu 6, Horsfield 5 (Earnshaw 5). Subs not used: Kusczak, Scimeca, Moore. Booked: Clement.