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Guardian:Lampard far too strong for Albion
Chelsea 4 - 0 West Brom
Kevin McCarra at Stamford BridgeThursday August 25, 2005
Chelsea went to the top of the Premiership with an easy-going rout. Rivals should evidently not have been encouraged by their muted efforts in two previous matches. When West Brom failed, in the 80th minute, to force the ball away cleanly from the substitutes Arjen Robben and Hernan Crespo, Frank Lampard pounced to score his second goal. Neither he nor any of his team-mates had betrayed the slightest haste in their work.
When nothing much is happening on the field the composition of Jose Mourinho's side is a useful topic with which to while away the time. During the quiet spell before Lampard's opener in the 23rd minute, the manager's team-sheet was under discussion. The half-dozen alterations from Sunday's lineup for the win over Arsenal did not bring Ricardo Carvalho to the fore.His rehabilitation was partial after his criticism of Mourinho's squad rotation policy - the centre-back featured among the substitutes. This, however, was the one area in which West Brom could vie with Chelsea, and Geoff Horsfield, scorer of both goals in the weekend victory against Portsmouth, was not included.
These deliberations had no spectacular consequences. Michael Essien, beginning a game with Chelsea for the first time since his £24.4m transfer from Lyon, was studious in his desire to make a good impression. Unfortunately for Thomas Gaardsoe, it was Didier Drogba who acted without restraint.
His late challenge crunched studs into the centre-back's knee yet did not draw even a booking from the referee Mark Halsey. The Dane was to wince again, at his own mistake that triggered a Chelsea goal. A pass to Neil Clement was miscued and Shaun Wright-Phillips freed Drogba on the right. His cut-back was dummied by Essien and converted with a low shot by Lampard.
Team-mates joined him in celebration by miming the cradling of a baby, so marking the birth of the Lampards' daughter.
After the single-goal wins over Wigan and Arsenal, Mourinho's men had scored twice by the interval. Better still for the manager, they had done so efficiently, converting the only genuine chances they had found. From Bryan Robson's perspective, however, there had been fatal sloppiness on each occasion.
In the 43rd minute, the left-back Paul Robinson fancied that he could shepherd the ball behind, but he had not reckoned with the persistence of Wright-Phillips. The midfielder took possession before directing the cut-back to Joe Cole for an easy goal.
It would have been a relief for the scorer, with his England ambitions in mind, to illustrate his worth in one of his intermittent outings. Mourinho was gladdened as well, seeing that his first major shake-up had not disrupted the side's performance.
Glen Johnson must have been astounded and grateful to get an opportunity. The right-back's efforts with England in Denmark last week suggested that his Chelsea education ought to include remedial lessons, but he was comfortable last night, setting up Cole for a drive that flew marginally wide early in the second-half.
Without seeming to whip themselves on, Mourinho's side were on the verge of savaging the visitors. A Cole cross after 61 minutes found the head of Drogba and compelled Chris Kirkland to a fine parry. Play continued and Essien would have scored from a Wright-Phillips pass had it not been for a block by Robinson.
There was by then an incessant fluency to the home side. A wearying West Brom fluffed a corner in the 68th minute and Asier Del Horno forced the ball into the goalmouth, where Drogba was waiting to shoot home.
At such a juncture, managers begin to give players a rest. At Chelsea, however, this entails introducing Crespo, Robben and Damien Duff. West Brom will not be the last to feel helpless at this ground.
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Independent:
Lampard the daddy of them all as Chelsea go top Chelsea 4 Wba 0 By Sam Wallace Published: 25 August 2005 He may be a new father who has spent most of the week caring for the latest addition to his family, but Frank Lampard went back to the responsibilities he knows best last night with two goals that have propelled Chelsea to the top of the Premiership - and moving them off may prove difficult for the rest.
Squad rotation was supposed to be the preserve of Jose Mourinho, but Bryan Robson showed last night that it is a policy that can work just as effectively at the other end of the Premiership as well, leaving out five of the side that beat Portsmouth at the weekend.
The West Bromwich manager would be reluctant to admit it but a derby against Birmingham City on Saturday offered a far more realistic prospect of three points than a trip to the champions and it was a journey he made without Geoff Horsfield, Darren Carter, Zoltan Gera, Steve Watson and Kevin Campbell. A ruthless new approach to the business of surviving in the top flight and the irony was that, for 22 minutes at least, it appeared to be working nicely.
Mourinho had given Michael Essien his first start at the expense of Eidur Gudjohnsen, Joe Cole was back from his temporary exile and in the spirit of forgiveness, Ricardo Carvalho, the original squad-rotation rebel, returned to the bench. For the opening stages these two newly assembled sides afforded each other barely a glimpse of goal, and then Robson's team collapsed without warning.
Thomas Gaardsoe hit a poor pass to Neil Clement and when he failed to control it, Shaun Wright-Phillips, making his first Chelsea start, stole in to feed the ball to Didier Drogba. The striker crossed for Lampard who finished from close range.
The second came two minutes before half-time and arrived when Paul Robinson lost Wright-Phillips on the goal-line on the left flank of the area allowing the winger to cut back towards goal and cross for Cole to finish.
He is in the team for now but Drogba struggles to advance his case with every missed opportunity and although he finally beat Chris Kirkland in the 68th minutes, there should have been more before then. As the siege massed around West Brom's goal in the second half, Kirkland saved superbly from a Drogba header and then picked himself up to stop Essien from burying a loose ball.
Another mistake by Gaardsoe on 65 minutes allowed Cole to slip the ball through for Drogba to run clear on goal but he could not out-sprint Clement. The Chelsea striker forced home his side's third on 68 minutes when Asier del Horno found the striker two yards from goal.
The fourth was Lampard's second and owed much to the perseverance of Arjen Robben who, tackled twice, regained possession and, with Hernan Crespo's help, found the England midfielder eight yards from goal.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; G Johnson, Gallas, Terry, Del Horno; Makelele; Wright-Phillips (Duff, 79), Lampard, Essien, J Cole (Robben, 69); Drogba (Crespo, 71). Substitutes not used: Cech (gk), Carvalho.
West Bromwich Albion (4-5-1): Kirkland; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Greening (Ellington, 71), Scimeca, Chaplow, A Johnson (Inamoto, 60), Kamara; Kanu. Substitutes not used: Kuszczak (gk), Moore, Earnshaw.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
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Sun:
Chelsea 4 West Brom 0 WHOSE THE DADDY ... Lampard By SUN ONLINE REPORTER
FRANK LAMPARD showed he was the daddy with a double-strike as Chelsea romped to an easy win over West Brom at Stamford Bridge.
Lamps' wife gave birth to a baby daughter, Luna, earlier in the week.
And the beaming England midfielder celebrated his first goal with a gleeful cradle-rocking celebration in front of the Chelsea fans.
Lampard said: “It has been best week of my life. This has put the icing on it. I am so proud. I heard the fans singing my daughter’s name. She’s only three days old. It took me three years before they started singing mine.
“I have been staying at the hospital with girlfriend and the baby. I can’t say I’ve had the best sleep but I’m so proud.
“The manager has been fantastic. I didn’t train on Monday and the manager asked if I was okay. Nothing was going to stop me playing. I’m really proud of scoring my 50th goal.
“John Terry and I decided before the game how we would celebrate. I’ve seen it done before but I couldn’t resist it.”
The recalled Joe Cole and striker Didier Drogba netted the other goals for Jose Mourinho's table-toppers.
Blues boss Mourinho cound not care less about his side's league position.
He said: “We are top because Manchester United and Charlton didn’t play. It doesn’t matter for me - what matters is my team’s improvement. We played better, used the ball and scored goals.
“We had a solid defence and our midfield was very good. I am very happy. But for me it is not really about being top.”
Baggies boss Bryan Robson conceded his side had been well beaten.
He said: “We created our own problems in the first half. The way we set about the game was good but gifted Chelsea their first two goals.
“When you give goals away like that to Chelsea, there is no way back with their defence. They didn’t create much in the first half and didn’t break us down. We gave them the goals.”
Robson now believes Chelsea’s only real rivals for the title are his old side Manchester United.
He added: “Chelsea play the same way they did last season only they are stronger. I think everybody sees them as the team to beat. There’s only Manchester United who can challenge them.”
Chelsea were pedestrian in the opening quarter and Drogba missed from six yards before Lampard showed him how to do it on 23 minutes.
The midfielder made no mistake from close range after the club’s £24.4 million man Michael Essien had stepped over Drogba’s cross to allow him a clear shot at goal.

The Blues went up a gear just before the break and they were rewarded with a second two minutes before the interval.
Wright-Phillips chased what appeared to be a lost cause on the right flank but Paul Robinson allowed the £21million winger to rob the ball and pull it back for Cole who netted from eight yards.
The visitors were under the cosh for most of the second half as Chelsea played the ball around with increasing swagger and authority.
Chris Kirkland made a terrific one-handed save on the hour to deny Drogba after a cross from Cole. Robinson made a brave block on the follow-up to deny Essien.
Drogba did net on 67 minutes when he stretched out a foot to prod home Asier Del Horno's cross.
The magnificent Lampard grabbed his second 10 minutes from the end.
Substitute Arjen Robben won the ball and it fell kindly for Lamps to fire home a low right-foot volley from eight yards.
CHELSEA: Cudicini 6, Johnson 6, Terry 6, Gallas 6, Del Horno 7, Makelele 6, Essien 7, Lampard 8 J Cole 8 (Robben 6), Wright-Phillips 7, Drogba 7 (Crespo 6). Subs not used: Cech, Carvalho, Duff.
Goals: Lampard 23, Joe Cole 43, Drogba 68, Lampard 80. WEST BROM: Kirkland 7, Albrechtsen 6, Gaardsoe 5, Clement 6, Robinson 5, Greening 5 (Ellington 5), Scimeca 5, Chaplow 5, Johnson 5 (Inamoto 6), Kamara 6, Kanu 5. Subs not used: Moore, Earnshaw, Kuszczak. Booked: Kamara.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN: FRANK LAMPARD (Chelsea). He’s on another planet.
Att: 41,201
Ref: M Halsey (Lancashire).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea flex their musclesBy Trevor Haylett (Filed: 25/08/2005)
Chelsea (2) 4 West Bromwich Albion (0) 0
After 12 days of the Premiership season, Chelsea have played three, won three and scored six goals for no reply. For sure, their title defence has been decidedly average so far.
It was anticipated that they would make a raft of changes after Sunday's win over Arsenal but West Bromwich almost matched them on that count: six to five. Were the visitors making a point about the size of their own squad after recent signings?
On his first start, Michael Essien was eager to get on the ball and was always seeking out the forward pass.
A poor defensive error by West Bromwich on 22 minutes allowed the champions to settle down with the comfort of a goal. Thomas Gaardsoe failed to find Neil Clement with a square pass and the distress signals immediately went up. Shaun Wright-Phillips played it into Didier Drogba whose cross was helped on deftly by Essien, leaving Lampard with the simple task of directing his shot inside Chris Kirkland's near post.
The pressure increased and two minutes before half-time Wright-Phillips went past Paul Robinson tight to the byline and in position to find Joe Cole who swept home.
Apart from Cole, Wright-Phillips and Essien there were also first starts of the season for Glen Johnson and Carlo Cudicini. For a goalkeeper trying to remind everyone of what he can do it was not the best of games in which to return. For all their honest endeavour West Bromwich failed to put Cudicini to work.
All the action was at the other end. Cole took Johnson's pass and hit a shot across goal, Drogba stretching in vain for a touch.
A sublime piece of footwork from Drogba then set Essien free but his pass to the surging Wright-Phillips was over-hit. Shortly after Kirkland distinguished himself with a superb double stop, firstly from Drogba's header and then from Essien's low drive.
He was beaten again in the 68th minute when a corner was not cleared and Drogba finished off Asier Del Horno's driven centre.
The reality of Albion's first defeat had long since set in and Bryan Robson's defence wilted again to allow Lampard his second goal after Arjen Robben's trickery had caused more havoc.
Team details
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cudicini; Johnson, Terry, Gallas, Del Horno; Makelele; Essien, Lampard; Wright-Phillips (Duff 79), Drogba (Crespo 71), Cole (Robben 69). Subs: Cech (g), Carvalho.West Bromwich (4-5-1): Kirkland; Albrechtsen, Gaardsoe, Clement, Robinson; Greening (Ellington 71), Scimeca, Chaplow, Johnson (Inamoto 60), Kamara; Kanu.Subs: Kuszczak (g), Moore, Earnshaw. Booked: Kamara.Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).
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Times:Lampard to the fore as Chelsea hit peak formBy Tom DartChelsea 4 West Bromwich Albion 0 TO CHELSEA, the embarrassment of riches, to West Bromwich Albion, the embarrassment. After two snatched 1-0 wins, the Barclays Premiership champions strolled to the top of the table last night, finding their stride and their scoring touch against a side that came hoping for a goalless draw and left soundly thrashed. Defeatist and defeated, Bryan Robson, the West Bromwich manager, later espoused the sort of arch-pragmatism that may be realistic in the face of Chelsea’s overbearing superiority but sounds dispiriting, especially at this early stage of the season. Pessimism is not supposed to spring eternal in August.
Only one of these clubs is good enough to rotate players with as much abandon as if this were a Carling Cup tie, not a league game, and still win. Fifty per cent of the players who lined up yesterday did not start at the weekend. West Bromwich made five changes, Chelsea six, even though both had won their previous matches.
The concept of a first XI grows ever more elastic. With selections such as these, before long it will snap and the orthodoxy that a settled side breeds success will gather dust. Chelsea’s squad is deep enough successfully to employ extensive match-by-match refurbishment; Robson theorised that this fixture was all but a lost cause before kick-off, so his selection was made with a view to the game against Birmingham City on Saturday.
“It’s impossible for your players to recover 100 per cent for a Saturday lunchtime game after playing on Wednesday. I had that in mind,” Robson said. He played Kanu as a lone striker, adding Nathan Ellington to the forward line in the second half only after the contest was long over. “I didn’t think we’d create too much against them. If you open the game up, Chelsea are great at killing you on the counter- attack,” Robson said.
Still, those West Bromwich fans who had spent nearly £50 on a ticket might have appreciated at least one shot on goal, though José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, endorsed Robson’s attitude. “I think they couldn’t do better. I think they had no chance,” he said. That was true once bad defending had punctured Albion’s spirit, donated two first-half goals to Chelsea and effectively ended the match.
Frank Lampard scored the opener, his 50th goal for the club, and a baby-rocking celebration ensued. Lampard’s fiancée, Elen Rives, gave birth to their daughter, Luna, on Monday. Perhaps it shows how cosmopolitan football has become. Players used to be “over the moon”; now they name their babies after the Spanish word for the planet.
Joe Cole added a simple second shortly before the break and the second half was a canter for Chelsea, with West Bromwich repeatedly exposed at the back. It is no use adopting a defensive mentality if you cannot master basic defending. Didier Drogba and Lampard, who said afterwards that this week has been the best of his life, added two more goals.
Carlo Cudicini, in goal in place of Petr Cech, would have expended more energy jogging up and down the touchline as a substitute, while Ricardo Carvalho, restored to the bench after his outburst last week, would hardly have touched the ball if he had come on.
Mourinho praised Cole — “he spoke on the pitch, not in the press” — and was right to be pleased with his team’s performance. In his first start, Michael Essien was energetic and attack-minded, and Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips were especially impressive. In contrast to Robson, Mourinho rotates from a position of strength. “If you have a Bentley and an Aston Martin in the garage and you go to work in the Bentley every day for six months, you are not very clever,” Mourinho said. “I have a lot of good players and you have to use them in a balanced way.”
Damage limitation? One wonders if Robson’s brazenly pessimistic/realistic outlook damages the credibility of the Premiership. This was not much of a contest once Chelsea had scored and the fixture had not captured the imagination of the paying public. Stamford Bridge was not full: the only sell-out was on the pitch.
CHELSEA (4-1-2-3): C Cudicini — G Johnson, W Gallas, J Terry, A Del Horno — C Makelele — F Lampard, M Essien — S Wright-Phillips (sub: D Duff, 79min), D Drogba (sub: H Crespo, 72), J Cole (sub: A Robben, 68). Substitutes not used: P Cech, R Carvalho.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-5-1): C Kirkland — M Albrechtsen, T Gaardsoe, N Clement, P Robinson — J Greening (sub: N Ellington, 71), R Scimeca, R Chaplow, A Johnson (sub: J Inamoto, 60), D Kamara — Kanu. Substitutes not used: T Kuszczak, D Moore, R Earnshaw. Booked: Kamara.
Referee: M Halsey. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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