sunday papers fulham home

The TelegraphJohn Terry broken cheek blow for EnglandBy Julian BennettsChelsea (0) 0 Fulham (0) 0
They say it is more important to be a lucky manager than a good one. If that is the case then do not bank on Avram Grant being at Stamford Bridge for the long term as his first home game as Chelsea boss saw his captain, John Terry, suffer a fractured cheekbone, Didier Drogba, his primary goalscorer, sent off and two points lost as Fulham escaped with a goalless draw.
"It was not our best game," admitted Grant in a classic piece of understatement. "We need to improve and then we need to win. We need to score as well."
Indeed they do. But it is the fate of Terry which will worry both Grant and England head coach Steve McClaren most. In only the third minute the centre-half was injured in an aerial clash with Clint Dempsey.
Chelsea players claimed the use of an elbow by the American forward – a suggestion Sanchez described as "rubbish". Terry soldiered on until half-time but was unable to continue and will undergo surgery this morning. He will miss England's Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia, as well as Premier League and Champions League games for Chelsea.
The loss of Drogba through suspension will also hurt as Chelsea – who are now eight points behind leaders Arsenal – failed to hit the back of the net for the fourth successive league game.
Drogba will not find a large supply of sympathy, though, as his first yellow card was for arguing petulantly with referee Martin Atkinson, although the second, for a high foot, was unfortunate.
In contrast to Grant's downbeat demeanour, Sanchez, who has seen his team pick up only four points from the last 18, unsurprisingly preferred to concentrate on the positives.
"I would have settled for a point before the game but we really wanted to snatch it. We knew about their home record and we wanted to take it from them, but it wasn't quite to be."
Amid all of the furore – which included a protest outside the ground against the removal of Mourinho – it was easy to forget there was a game being played.
Grant had promised an attacking line-up and he did not disappoint, bringing Salomon Kalou into midfield as Drogba and Andrei Shevchenko were paired together up front.
In contrast Sanchez was afforded the luxury of keeping nearly the same side that drew 3-3 with Manchester City last week, although he recalled American goalkeeper Kasey Keller at the expense of Antii Niemi – the Finn paying the price for his side conceding an average of two goals a game so far this season.
Chelsea started well, pushing forward from the off with Kalou to the fore. Unfortunately the promising start only highlighted the disappointment of Shevchenko's Chelsea career to date. The £30 million man, who has only scored once this season, at least managed to interrupt the cries of "Jose Mourinho" as he sent a second-minute shot into the upper tier.
And after Dempsey went close with a header, Shevchenko – playing on his 31st birthday - hit a free-kick so weakly into the wall that there were boos and cries of "what a load of rubbish".
Shevchenko's confidence, fragile at the best of times, deserted him as his team struggled to create clear-cut chances. In truth the fare on offer was dire. If Abramovich sacked Mourinho for not providing attractive football, then Grant has a long way to go before his employer can be satisfied.
But Grant's side started the second half as they had the first and only a superb stop from Keller prevented them from taking the lead. Drogba sent a crossfield pass out to Joe Cole who, given time and space for the first time in the match, picked out the onrushing Kalou perfectly. It appeared that the Ivorian had to score, but Keller somehow flicked the ball on to the post and away.
Kalou then missed two headed chances and Joe Cole poked just wide, but Fulham grew in stature and were given added impetus by Drogba's sending-off. First substitute Hameur Bouazza lashed high and wide when put in a good position by fellow replacement Diomansy Kamara; then Petr Cech, in his only involvement in the game, foiled Paul Konchesky as the full-back broke through the middle.
The biggest scare came in the final minute as Cech watched helplessly when Dempsey's stud grazed Kamara's cross with the home defence absent without leave.
Defeat would have been harsh on Grant and his side. But, on a day when just about everything that could have gone wrong did, he must be thankful for small mercies.
Moment of the match: Kasey Keller's save from Salomon Kalou 60 seconds into the second period set the tone for the rest of the game. Kalou seemed certain to score from Joe Cole's cut-back but the American pushed the ball onto the post superbly. It was the closest Chelsea would come to breaking the deadlock and summed up their awful afternoon. Match rating: 5/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mourinho's name rings out as Blues struggle
Duncan Castles at Stamford BridgeSunday September 30, 2007The Observer
Jose Mourinho may be embarrassingly opinionated, infuriatingly confrontational and unacceptably defensive, but he rarely failed to get results. Avram Grant may be softly spoken, politically correct and receptive to his owner's desire to field a five-man attack, but he is struggling for one.You pay off your manager, you make your choice. Grant appears a less intelligent selection by the match. Comprehensively outplayed by Manchester United six days previously, Chelsea contrived to draw with Fulham - a team who had triumphed just once in the Premier League this season and had not won a capital derby in 10 attempts.
Nor had Lawrie Sanchez's men managed a clean sheet until they travelled to Stamford Bridge, yet there was no great secret to how they extracted this one. Organised and resolute defensively, Fulham thwarted a Chelsea side long on attackers but short on the cohesion that was once their trademark.'I think it was not our best game, but it was not also a poor game, it was somewhere in the middle,' said Grant, who now lags seven points behind Arsenal, having played a game more. 'We created enough chances to win the game, but we didn't score. First we need to score, then we need to win. I think even with this gap anything can happen.'
Sanchez rightly emphasised how close three late chances had brought his team to ending Chelsea's 66-match home unbeaten league run. 'Anybody would settle for a point before they came,' he said. 'But when you're that close to knocking over their record, you're thinking: "Go on, let's take it."'
Grant is 'intelligent, witty, thoughtful and open and good to be with', according to chairman Bruce Buck's programme notes, and a manager fans will like if they 'give him support and confidence'. The Israeli was making every effort to appeal in his line-up, his latest version of the winger-oriented formation Roman Abramovich craves featuring Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou on the wings. Back from a knee injury, Didier Drogba ran ahead of the owner's favourite and birthday boy Andriy Shevchenko, but as the team were announced cheers for John Terry were mixed with jeers. In the stands a banner declared Mourinho 'simply the best'.
His former charges started at a rush, Cole crossing dangerously, Shevchenko lofting over wastefully. For Terry there was a hard elbow to the head from Clint Dempsey, treatment and a rant at the referee for not allowing him back on before Alexey Smertin shot on goal. Chelsea's captain was uncharacteristically lax in allowing Dempsey to drift off him for a free header soon after.
Fulham were concentrating on working their two banks of four, conscious of a defence who had continued to concede at an alarming rate under Sanchez. This despite the manager making his backline a priority for reinforcement over the summer, culling Liam Rosenior, Franck Queudrue and Zat Knight.
Shevchenko was doing his best to relax their replacements. Ceded a free-kick that others would have taken in the Mourinho era, the striker struck the ball weakly into Fulham's wall. Teed up by Claude Makelele on the edge of the area, his shot meandered towards Kasey Keller. Played in perfectly at the near post by Kalou, he volleyed wide from six yards.
The nervous home defenders regularly sought touch instead of controlling and at one throw-in, Tal Ben-Haim appeared to handle while clearing. This was not the studied control of Mourinho's teams, so adept at varying the pace of a game - pressing for a determined period, then holding possession to 'rest on the ball' for another. It was altogether more frantic; fundamentally less organised. The parts were the same, the machine was less oiled.
Chris Baird deftly tugged back Drogba as he stretched to convert. Again the referee delivered nothing, other than a yellow card for dissent. The second half was no better for Chelsea as Terry was forced out of the game, to be replaced by Alex. 'He wanted to continue,' said Grant, 'but I didn't want to take a risk. I didn't see it so well, but the players said it was an elbow.' There were fewer home fans to offer him sparse applause, as some had answered the call of a 'Bring Back Mourinho' leaflet campaign to walk out at the interval. The first chant of many who stayed was for their departed boss.
There were more boos from the Chelsea fans as Grant swapped Shevchenko for Claudio Pizarro, but it was safe to assume they were not annoyed at the Ukrainian's withdrawal. Drogba immediately drew another parry from Keller, then Kalou let his free header drift off target.
So it continued until Drogba lifted his studs high for an aerial ball and hit Baird's chest. Drogba saw the red card, and with limited complaint the captain's armband swapped owner for a second time. Grant showed some semblance of Mourinho-like adventure in bringing Florent Malouda on for Ashley Cole, but Fulham went closer as Petr Cech saved from Paul Konchesky The response of the home support? Mourinho's name, chanted loud and long.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Fans call for Special One as Roman's Shed stunt falls apartChelsea 0 Fulham 0
By IAN RIDLEY
Love him or loathe him, Jose Mourinho had presence. His Chelsea teams possessed it, too — mirroring his feisty, dominating persona. Now they look less fearsome and opposing teams are suddenly fancying their chances.
Indeed, with new manager Avram Grant swapping tracksuit for grey suit and wearing the look of a west London funeral director, there was something moribund about Chelsea yesterday.
From his perch in the what was formerly known as the Shed End, rather than those halfway-line executive boxes that cost £1 million a season, it will all have made grisly watching for Roman Abramovich.
Spirited Fulham profited as Chelsea made it four games without a goal or a win, leaving them to languish in seventh spot, their worst Premier League position for five years.
As if it was not bad enough hearing Mourinho's name sung around the ground, Abramovich watched as captain John Terry was unable to take his place for the second half after suffering a depressed fracture to his right cheekbone.
On his 31st birthday, Andriy Shevchenko,who has cost £1m for each of his years, lasted only 53 minutes.And on his return after injury, Didier Drogba was sent off 17 minutes from time for a second yellow card.
Early days it may be, but these are worrying times for Chelsea. The gap to Arsenal at the top is already eight points and injuries and suspensions are undermining them. The midweek trip to Valencia in the Champions League, presumably without Terry, is starting to look daunting.
"We can play better and they want to play better," said Grant. "But we need to improve a few things before we can think about the gap. We created seven or eight chances but we didn't score. We need to improve this."
Grant is in a tough position, particularly when it comes to Shevchenko who is an Abramovich favourite. It is almost embarrassing to watch such a great player floundering as his pace wanes, the movement on which he made his name is negated and his career winds down. Surely the owner and manager must concede that Mourinho was right about the striker.
In Chelsea's first home match since his departure, the support for Mourinho was initially muted. The banner proclaiming him "simply the best" was again on view but it took 11 minutes of the game before his name was chanted.
Perhaps what passes for a charm offensive at Stamford Bridge was having an effect.
Quite apart from Abramovich sitting among the fans, chairman Bruce Buck explained again in the match programme that the relationship with Mourinho had broken down. Terry, accused last week of undermining the manager — a story he vehemently denies — paid tribute in his own column.
But the only way for a new manager to earn the affection of supporters is with wins. Beating Hull in midweek in the Carling Cup helped but after losing at Aston Villa and Manchester United, Chelsea needed to get back on track in the league.
Woeful finishing cost them, however. The tone was set in the first minute when Shevchenko ballooned Salomon Kalou's low cross over the bar. Soon he was challenging Drogba for the same pass from Claude Makelele and assistant manager Steve Clarke was berating the Ukrainian from the touchline for not leaving the header to Drogba.
It got worse. From a free-kick 30 yards out, Shevchenko drove the ball low and straight into a two-man wall before turning another low cross from Kalou wide at the near post. When he did get a weak shot on target, the Fulham fans gave an ironic cheer.
With Drogba rusty, it was hard to see where a goal might come from. The big striker almost got on the end of Joe Cole's low cross and was subsequently booked for complaining that he had been held back by Chris Baird.
Perhaps Kalou would be the man. He went close at the start of the second half when he reached Joe Cole's low cross but Kasey Keller turned the ball on to a post. Kalou then missed a header at the near post from Ashley Cole's cross and another soon after.
After Drogba's dismissal, a second yellow for a high boot as Baird went to head the ball, Fulham began to scent three points. The robust Clint Dempsey — whose challenge on Terry early on had taken the England captain out of the game at half time — had headed a good chance wide before the break.
Now the chances were even more clear cut.
Paul Konchesky burst through and Petr Cech saved his shot with a foot. Substitute Diomansy Kamara then screwed a shot across goal and Dempsey narrowly failed to turn it home as Fulham finished strongly.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech; Belletti, Ben Haim, Terry (Alex 46min), A Cole (Malouda 77); Makelele, Sidwell; J Cole, Shevchenko (Pizarro 54), Kalou; Drogba. Subs (not used): Cudicini, Ferreira. Booked: Drogba. Sent off: Drogba (74min).
FULHAM (4-4-2): Keller; Baird, Hughes, Bocanegra, Konchesky; Davies, Smertin (Murphy 82), Davis, Seol (Bouazza 73); Healy (Kamara 67), Dempsey. Subs (not used): Niemi, Kuqi. Booked: Davis.
Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday TimesSeptember 30, 2007
Spectre of Jose Mourinho hangs over his team
The spectre of the departed manager hung over Stamford Bridge as the team he built were booed off the fieldDavid Walsh, chief sports writer WITH about five minutes left, and a minute or so after Paul Konchesky might have won the game for Fulham, the home crowd broke into their most passionate rendition of “Jose Mourinho” and Avram Grant stood forlornly, unable to effect the course of a game that had run away from his team. For a family in turmoil, this was an afternoon from hell.
When the game ended, a crescendo of boos rang out as Chelsea fans expressed their disappointment with the team’s performance, the result, and the fact that the team's 66-game unbeaten home run could so easily have been lost. What didn’t happen in three seasons under Mourinho could so easily have taken place in Grant’s first home game.
Consider this scenario from Roman Abramovich’s point of view. Bravely, he chose to sit in the Shed with his right-hand man Eugene Tenenbaum and by his presence there, he tried to say that like most in the 41,837 crowd, he was just another Chelsea fan. Yeah, right. When the crowd chanted “Jose Mourinho”, Roman did not add his voice but instead looked decidedly uneasy, even embarrassed.
When Andriy Shevchenko was replaced early in the second half, the owner didn’t appear to think it was a good move and, of course, when the fans booed at the end, Roman wasn’t really in the mood to join them. You wonder if he silently wondered about the sense of spending hundreds of millions for such strife? From the outside, you wonder whether his love of the club will survive the fans’ love of Mourinho?
Outside the ground, the disgruntled handed out leaflets asking the faithful to leave the match at halftime. “Given the price of ticket here,” someone said, “they had to be joking.” No one did leave and even if the game was far from a classic, it had a soap opera fascination as we wondered if Chelsea could dig themselves out of the hole and ended up watching as the hole just got bigger. Because the challenge for Chelsea was not so much Fulham but to move from a club in turmoil to a club in transition. It wasn’t as easy as you might think. Page three of the club programme carried a photograph of a smiling Mourinho, page five a message from the chairman, “Time To Look Forward”. Mourinho or the future? Which was it? Yesterday, it was far more about Mourinho.
In an interview on Chelsea televison, John Terry vigorously denied having anything to do the former manager’s departure, vowed to sue the two newspapers who said otherwise and said “the most important thing” was for everyone to give the new manager their full support. As for Grant, he sat in the front row of the dugout, leaning forward, seeming more absorbed in a dull match than anyone else in the ground. There were other signs that the guard has changed at the Bridge. Shevchenko played with more authority, as if he had been recently promoted. He popped up here and there, got plenty of possession and did little with it. There was no shortage of desire but his touch was unreliable and, these days, he lacks that little bit of zip needed to go past defenders.
How simple life would be if by just being more positive and more authoritative, Shevchenko could be more effective. It would be fun world if all Chelsea needed to banish the Blues was Grant’s call for a more attacking style. True to the new manager’s philosophy, Chelsea’s blue shirts got forward in great numbers but, alas, to no great effect.
Without Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel and Michael Ballack, they struggled to create and the longer it went on, the more nervy everyone became and the more the family’s disharmony manifested itself. When Shevchenko twice lost possession in the space of 30 seconds early in the second half, the home crowd’s disaffection expressed itself in animosity towards the Ukrainian.
A minute later, the Stamford Bridge faithful broke into another chorus of “Jose Mourinho” and now it was like a family wedding ? all the unpleasant undercurrents were flowing across the surface and it all threatened to get ugly. Like a benign and well-meaning uncle, Grant replaced Shevchenko, Abramovich put his head in his hands, and interestingly, the Ukrainian almost enthusiastically accepted the manager’s call as he sped off.
But my goodness, it really was a bad day at the office for Chelsea. Didier Drogba sent off, Terry an injury victim and a reminder in that second half that a central defensive partnership of Tal Ben Haim and the Brazilian Alex might not be the best idea in the world. When Diomansy Kamara got a late and great chance to win the game at the death, it was because Chelsea’s defence had disintegrated.
Yet, when it was all over, you had to admire Grant’s equanimity. He said Chelsea weren’t at their best but neither were they at their worst, “somewhere in between”, he said. As for Shevchenko, “he’s a very good player but not at his best today”. Someone asked if he has been at his best this season, and the new head coach stayed as calm as ever. “We’ve played seven or eight games, you need 20 to 25 games before judging.”
The trick for Avram Grant will be to get 25 games.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------People:
30 September 2007STINGING THE BLUES MORE MISERY FOR ROMAN AS BOOS RING AROUND BRIDGETerry KOd and Drog off in hell dayCHELSEA 0 FULHAM 0 By Dave Kidd Avram Grant's traumatic start as Chelsea boss went from bad to worse last night.
His skipper John Terry broke a cheekbone in a clash with Fulham's Clint Dempsey... and Didier Drogba saw red as Grant's team fell further behind Arsenal in the race for the Premier League.
News that the Chelsea and England skipper will have an operation this morning, and faces around six weeks on the sidelines, capped a nightmare first home game in charge for Grant.
Striker Drogba was sent off for two bookable offences and his fellow hitman Andriy Shevchenko was hauled off early in the second half after another horror show as Chelsea failed to score in a fourth straight Premier League match for the first time in nine years.
Grant revealed his players were fuming at American striker Clint Dempsey for an alleged elbow on Terry after only four minutes. The central defender played on until half-time but was then taken to hospital for scans.
Grant said: "My players thought there was an elbow but I haven't seen it properly yet. John wasn't complaining at half-time or asking to be taken off but you cannot take a risk with head injuries." A Chelsea spokesman later confirmed: "John went to hospital and a scan showed a depressed fracture of his right cheek bone.
"He will see a specialist and then be operated on."
Fulham came close to ending Chelsea's 66-match unbeaten home league record when Diomansy Kamara and Paul Konchesky squandered clear late chances.
Chelsea were booed off after their dismal display, which owner Roman Abramovich watched from The Shed as a show of solidarity with fans after the unpopular sacking of Mourinho, but Chelsea's title ambitions are fading fast as they are already eight points behind leaders Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
Fans chanted for Mourinho and refused to sing Grant's name - although a planned walk out at half-time in support of the departed Portuguese, failed to materialise. Grant admitted: "We have to start scoring and winning very soon.
"We wanted to play positively and we did create seven or eight chances, which was the good thing, but we have to start taking those opportunities." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 0 Fulham 0: Terry injured, Drogba sees red on black day for Blues
Life after Mourinho turns into nightmare for Grant as captain suffers fractured cheekbone and striker is sent off By Paul Newman at Stamford Bridge
It was a sight that summed up Avram Grant's plight. Chelsea's manager stood on the touchline in the final minutes, desperatelytrying to shout instructions to his team, only to have his words drowned out by the loudest chant of the afternoon from a previously subdued Stamford Bridge crowd. The sound of "Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho" echoed around the ground.
If Grant narrowly avoided the ignominy of losing his first home match after succeeding Mourinho, it was hard to imagine a more calamitous first day in front of his own supporters. John Terry, his captain, suffered a fractured cheekbone which is likely to keep him out for several weeks – he will have an operation today and looks certain to miss England's crucial Euro 2008 qualifying matches against Russia and Estonia next month – while Didier Drogba, his leadingstriker, was shown the red card for two bookable offences.
In the end Grant must have felt grateful to emerge with a point, even if the boos at the final whistle made it seem like a loss. Mourinho had been unbeaten in all his 60 home Premier League matches in charge of Chelsea, and it would have been a huge blow to his successor's credibility if he had started his Stamford Bridge career with a defeat.
Having lost away to Manchester United in Grant's first game in charge, Chelsea have now failed to score in their last four Premier League games, which have yielded just two points. A decent result away to Valencia in the Champions' League this week is now crucial, though Grant spoke with measured calm after the match. He insisted he was not overly concerned by the ground his team had lost in the title race, and said that nothing had surprised him in his new job.
"First we need to score, then we need to win," Grant said. "We created enough chances to win but did not score. There are things we can improve."
Putting the ball in the back of the net will be the first priority. Chelsea dominated this match for long periods and should have been leading comfortably when the game changed with Drogba's dismissal after 73 minutes. The Ivorian, handed the captain's armband after Terry failed to reappear for the second half following a collision with Clint Dempsey, had been needlessly booked for dissent in the first half and was shown his second yellow card when his raised boot caught Chris Baird in the face. Grant refused to criticise Drogbaafterwards, saying he would wait to see television replays before passing judgement.
Grant had taken off his other striker eight minutes into the second half. Mourinho's unhappiness with having Andriy Shevchenko foisted on him by Roman Abramovich was said to be a major cause of his fall-out with the club's owner, and on this evidence you could see the former manager's pointof view.
Shevchenko looked badly out of sorts, not quite knowing whether to play the Frank Lampard role, breaking from midfield, or to forage alongside Drogba. Two woefully inadequate free-kicks by the Ukrainian summed up his frustrations, and it was no surprise whenhe was taken off. "He was not at his best," Grant admittedafterwards.
Chelsea's play was particularlydisjointed in the opening 20 minutes, but Salomon Kalou and Joe Cole became increasingly influential down the flanks and the home side had more than enough chances to win. Kalou was at the centre of the best Chelsea attack of the first half, breaking down the left after good work by Drogba and Shevchenko, only for the latter to end the move by shooting wide of a post.
Kalou wasted an even better opportunity in the opening minutes of the second half. Joe Cole, released by Drogba's fine pass, delivered a perfect cross to the near post, only for Kalou to miss the ball completely. Kalou soon returned the compliment with a well-timed through-ball, but Joe Cole shot just wide of a post.
Fulham defended with spirit. Aaron Hughes and Carlos Bocanegra were rocks at the centre of defence, while Alexey Smertin and Steven Davis gave as good as they got in the centre of midfield.
Dempsey had the best early chance, heading wide from Smertin's cross, but Sanchez's men played a containing game until Drogba's departure gave them the incentive to push forward in the closing stages.
After 85 minutes Paul Konchesky, clean through, saw his shot saved by Petr Cech's feet, while Diomansy Kamara had another excellent opportunity four minutes later. Despite holding off Claude Makelele's challenge, the Senegalese striker screwed his shot just wide of a post.
"I said before the match that we'd win 1-0 and we should have done," Lawrie Sanchez, the Fulham manager, said afterwards. Sanchez believes his men are in a false position near the foot of the table, poor refereeing decisions having cost them vital points, and on this showing they have the all-round strengths to live with most opponents. As for Chelsea, there can be only one verdict: must do better.