morning papers fulham away 2-2

The Times
December 29, 2008
Luiz Felipe Scolari fails to find local anaesthetic for ChelseaFulham 2 Chelsea 2
Matt Hughes

The problems – and consequently the pressure – are mounting for Luiz Felipe Scolari. A longstanding struggle to break down opponents at Stamford Bridge has been exacerbated by a failure to hold out in matches they have dominated, with Clint Dempsey’s late header giving Fulham a point that they deserved for their persistence, if not for the quality of their football.
As a gentleman, Scolari had the good grace to wish the media a happy new year after he had rounded on his players’ poor defending in the postmatch press conference, but the Chelsea manager’s own outlook is far from rosy. A run of disappointing results has hardened from a blip to a trend, with his team collecting only ten points from the past 21 available, winning only two of seven matches.
Fulham are in the unusual position of being the form team in West London, with a nine-match unbeaten sequence enabling Roy Hodgson to celebrate his first anniversary as manager of the club in style. Finishing 2008 ninth in the Barclays Premier League – ten places higher than when he took over in January – should make Hodgson a genuine candidate for any award for manager of the calendar year.
Scolari’s stock, by contrast, is falling. Chelsea fans questioned his judgment with shouts of “You don’t know what you’re doing” midway through the second half. That the same people were celebrating Frank Lampard’s second goal, from a free kick, moments later demonstrates the fickle nature of the modern supporter, without completely detracting from the legitimate doubts surrounding the Chelsea team. The invincible swagger of the early José Mourinho era is a thing of the past.
Scolari was right to criticise the defending that allowed Dempsey to leap above Didier Drogba and head the equaliser from Simon Davies’s corner after Dempsey had given Fulham the lead in the tenth minute, though as such shambolic marking has been a feature of their season, the manager must also look at himself.
Fulham’s first goal was even softer, with Davies’s free kick sailing past four blue shirts on its way to the far post, where Dempsey was allowed to flick the ball past Petr Cech. No one took responsibility for clearing the ball in the manner that John Terry would have, raising further questions about Chelsea’s strength in depth in the absence of their captain and Ricardo Carvalho.
Bordeaux, Arsenal and West Ham United have scored from set-pieces against them in the past month, with Chelsea suddenly surrounded by an air of vulnerability that would have been unthinkable under Mourinho. Some hard work on the training ground is in order in the next few days. Scolari is deserving of some sympathy, however, as several of his key players continue to let him down.
Florent Malouda and Alex limped off in the first half with hamstring injuries after showing precious little appetite for the game, though the latter’s removal did at least facilitate the return of Carvalho from the bench after three months out with a knee problem. The Portugal centre back will be crucial if Chelsea are to challenge for honours in the coming months.
Whereas Carvalho slotted back in seamlessly, Deco was anonymous on his return to the side, with Barcelona’s surprising decision to let him leave last summer looking more sound by the day. Scolari’s persistence with him, by contrast, is looking increasingly puzzling, with the Chelsea fans showing their derision when Joe Cole was hauled off instead after another hard-working display.
Drogba also showed his battling qualities in bringing several smart saves from Mark Schwarzer and Nicolas Anelka did his best despite being isolated out on the left, but without the sterling contribution of Lampard, Chelsea could easily have lost.
The England midfield player provided a true captain’s performance, driving his colleagues on and scoring two typically opportunist goals, his tenth and eleventh of what is shaping up to be another 20 goals-plus season. Unfortunately for Fulham, the otherwise outstanding Schwarzer was culpable for both, colliding with Aaron Hughes to allow Lampard to tap in from close range in the 50th minute and then being wrong-footed by his free kick in the 72nd.
Chelsea looked like going on to win comfortably at that stage, which would have been harsh on the likes of Dempsey and Andrew Johnson, but such certainties can no longer be taken for granted. This was the fifth occasion when they have led and failed to win this season, a weakness that is unlikely to be rewarded with trophies in May.
Fulham (4-4-2): M Schwarzer 6 J Paintsil 6 B Hangeland 6 A Hughes 6 P Konchesky 5 S Davies 6 D Etuhu 5 D Murphy 6 C Dempsey 6 A Johnson 7 R Zamora 6 Substitutes: L Andreasen (for Etuhu, 79min), E Nevland (for Zamora, 79), C Baird (for Murphy, 90). Not used: P Zuberbühler, J Gray, F Stoor, T Kallio. Next: Blackburn (h).
Chelsea (4-1-3-2): P Cech 6 J Bosingwa 6 Alex 5 B Ivanovic 5 A Cole 6 J O Mikel 6 J Cole 7 F Lampard 8 Deco 5 F Malouda 5 D Drogba 6 Substitutes: N Anelka 6 (for Malouda, 31), R Carvalho 6 (for Alex, 37), S Kalou (for J Cole, 72). Not used: C Cudicini, M Ballack, P Ferreira, J Belletti. Next: Man United (a).
Referee A Marriner Attendance 25,462
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Telegraph:
Chelsea left exposed by clever FulhamFulham (1) 2 Chelsea (0) 2 By Oliver Bown at Craven Cottage
The late Charlton Heston once observed, in his capacity as head of America’s National Rifle Association, that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” But, as Eddie Izzard memorably retorted, “I think the gun helps”. Luiz Felipe Scolari betrayed, in his endearingly mangled English, some of Heston’s flawed thought process when asked why, after Clint Dempsey’s last-minute header had deprived Chelsea of two vital points in the title chose, he had chosen not to station a defender at the far post of Fulham’s goal. “Posts don’t score goals, players score goals,” he said. Yes, but the post helps.
Scolari was at his most enigmatic after this damaging result, refusing to elaborate on his heated confrontations at the final whistle with first Andre Marriner, the referee, then Petr Cech, his own goalkeeper. About Marriner, the Brazilian would only say that he had thought the official was “the best”, while about Cech, powerless in the absence of any defence as Dempsey pounced, he was only obliquely critical. “I asked Petr what happened because one player was free in the middle of the area in the last minute,” the manager explained. “It is incredible. Petr is the captain for this area.”
Chelsea’s fragility was in stark evidence at Craven Cottage, their feathers ruffled first by Dempsey’s early strike before their self-belief faltered alarmingly to allow the American midfielder’s last-gasp second.
Scolari was defensive about his selections, in particular the decision to leave Nicolas Anelka on the bench just when the Frenchman’s partnership with Didier Drogba appeared to be flourishing, but he conceded the grim consequences of a defeat that left Chelsea three points behind Liverpool heading into 2009. Unlike the draw at Everton a week ago, where his team took satisfaction in a point gained, here they could only ruefully reflect on two points disappearing down the Fulham Road.
“We lost two points; we made two mistakes with our marking and conceded two goals,” Scolari admitted. “Before the game every player knows who to mark. It is my job now to look and see what happened. It is my dressing room. I need to look at it.” The manager’s ambivalent relationship with journalists dictates that he only offers post-match remarks when he feels there is a case to answer – thus, after a routine victory, he stays silent, but here he felt compelled to try to justify how his team had drawn a game they had dominated, and in which Frank Lampard’s two fine strikes had rescued them from being a goal down.
At least Frank Lampard, a dynamic and composed captain while John Terry served the second part of three-match suspension – why, he even responded in good humour to the Fulham fans’ traditional goading about his weight – was singled out for rightful acclaim. His goals, one a neat shot after Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer failed to deal with a drive from Drogba and the other a dipping 30-yard free-kick, underlined his resurgent form. “It’s the same Lampard that you know very well,” Scolari said. “He doesn’t accept losing any game, never gives up. He was the man who tried more than anyone else, there were more chances for Lampard than for the other players. He played played very, very well.”
But Chelsea reckoned without the resourcefulness of Fulham, as obdurate at home as they are on the road, where they have ground out a succession of goalless draws. Roy Hodgson has invested his unglamorous side, a side he promised would “stay humble”, with an impressive resolve and on the first anniversary of his appointment as manager another precious point consolidated eighth place for Fulham in the table. Brede Hangeland, the Norwegian centre-back whom the club fear losing in next month’s transfer window, was as talismanic as ever, playing on despite a deep cut above his eye, while Dempsey weaved his attacking magic from midfield.
“It has been one of the best managerial years of my career, if not the best,” the 60-year-old Hodgson said. “I’m immensely satisfied with what we have achieved.” This display exemplified the style he has sought to impose, as Fulham cleverly seized the lead courtesy of Dempsey’s nimble finish from Simon Davies’ free-kick, before buttressing their defensive wall against wave after wave of Chelsea pressure. The resistance endured until half-time, but was ultimately broken due to a rare lapse from Schwarzer, parrying Drogba’s shot only as far as the waiting Lampard. The Australian was similarly culpable for Chelsea’s second, diving too early as Lampard’s free-kick swerved to his right. Scolari, sensing danger, remained animated in the dug-out and, at the death, one could see why as Dempsey dispatched Davies’ corner and Cech found himself pipped at that pesky post.
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Indy:
Dempsey keeps heat on Scolari
Fulham 2 Chelsea 2
By Sam Wallace
Luiz Felipe Scolari walked off the pitch at Craven Cottage yesterday wagging a finger in the face of his goalkeeper Petr Cech and demanding to know how his team had thrown away victory in the last minute. Chelsea's carelessness is proving expensive in the title race and Scolari admitted that he wanted an explanation from his goalkeeper as to why Clint Dempsey was allowed to head in from a corner in stoppage time.
It was Dempsey's second goal of the game and the second that was gifted by chaos in the defence of Scolari's team who failed to put anyone on the line as Simon Davies' corner came over. "I asked Petr about the positions for marking players," Scolari said. "He's the captain for marking in this area. I give him the power to say what he wants in that area. There was one player free in the middle of the area. In the last minute. That's incredible."
Even more incredible was how Chelsea conspired to lose this game after dominating a match in which two goals from Frank Lampard (right) gave them the lead until the last minute. Dempsey had put Fulham ahead but Lampard almost carried Chelsea over the line on his own. This was the England midfielder at his very best, making tackles, initiating moves, scoring goals and, probably if they asked him, driving the team bus home as well. If only his team-mates had risen to the challenge.
After an error by John Obi Mikel, who was defending a Davies' free-kick, allowed Dempsey to score in the 10th minute, Scolari said that he took his side to task at half-time for their sloppiness.
"Every player knows who to mark when we start a game," Scolari said. "It's my job now to ask what happened in this situation. I'm not telling you who was supposed to mark him [Dempsey]. We spoke at half-time, who was supposed to be marking who and who was supposed to be covering. After every goal, we try to make sure that doesn't happen again. But, at the corner, we made another mistake."
The mistake means that as Liverpool tore apart Newcastle, Chelsea could only manage a single point – their third draw in their last four league matches. They are only three points behind the leaders Liverpool but they are struggling to generate much momentum and the seeds of discontent among the supporters are evident. Some of them sang: "You don't know what you're doing", when Scolari substituted Joe Cole for Salomon Kalou, although Chelsea's second goal came soon after.
In Florent Malouda and Alex da Costa, Scolari can be fairly certain that he does not have a couple of bravehearts capable of dragging his side through the tough winter months. Malouda substituted himself on 30 minutes, walking around the pitch and down the tunnel complaining of a hamstring problem. Alex also came off before half-time. He was replaced by the excellent Ricardo Carvalho whose first appearance since 29 October was a source of comfort for Chelsea.
With the suspended John Terry in the stands, it fell upon Lampard to do the hard work, barracked, as he was throughout by the Fulham fans, for being a "fat bastard". For a "fat bastard" Lampard really gets about the pitch well.
There was a wonderful moment during a lull in play when, as the level of abuse rose, Lampard smiled at the home fans, puffed out his cheeks and stuck out his belly. The Fulham fans with a sense of humour applauded, although incredibly there were some halfwits who, having dished it out, then took offence.
Scolari dropped Nicolas Anelka and Michael Ballack to the bench, then brought on Anelka for Malouda, and his team dominated most of the game. They simply could not finish Fulham off. Mark Schwarzer stopped shots from Lampard, Anelka and Joe Cole although he was at fault for the Chelsea equaliser. The goalkeeper collided with Aaron Hughes and when the ball dropped loose it was Lampard who finished.
Dempsey had given Fulham the lead when he chested down Davies' free-kick and flicked it in from close range. On 50 minutes, having equalised, Lampard then gave Chelsea the lead with a free-kick that went through the Fulham wall after Carvalho broke away from the knot of defenders to create space. Dempsey's late second goal was a well-placed header from Davies' corner and Chelsea did not have a man guarding the post.
Lampard looked as if he might score the winner at the end with a shot that the Chelsea man seemed to claim was stopped by a Fulham hand. Was that why Scolari confronted the referee Andre Marriner before he turned his attention to Cech? "No, I was telling him he was the best referee we've had," said Scolari. "Really, I was. This referee and linesmen, if they made a mistake it was one mistake, maximum."
On the first anniversary of Roy Hodgson taking over at Fulham it was fitting that his team gave him the performance he deserved. Hodgson has been a revelation at the club, who reach halfway in the season in eighth position. As for Scolari, the jury is still out especially for the Chelsea fans who booed him yesterday.
Goals: Dempsey (10) 1-0; Lampard (50) 1-1; Lampard (72) 1-2; Dempsey (90) 2-2. Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Paintsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky; Dempsey, Murphy (Baird, 90), Etuhu (Andreason, 78), Davies; Zamora (Nevland, 78), Johnson. Substitutes not used: Zuberbuhler (gk), Gray, Stoor, Kallio. Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Alex (Carvalho, 37), A Cole; Mikel; J Cole (Kalou, 72), Deco, Lampard, Malouda (Anelka, 30); Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Ballack, Ferreira, Belletti. Referee: A Marriner (West Midlands). Booked: Chelsea Drogba, Bosingwa. Man of the match: Lampard. Attendance: 25,462.
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Guardian :
Dempsey disrupts flow of Chelsea's seasonFulham 2 Dempsey 10, Dempsey 89 Chelsea 2 Lampard 50, Lampard 72
Kevin McCarra at Craven Cottage Fulham's Clint Dempsey makes 2-2 in the final minutes against Chelsea at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Marcello Pozzetti/IPS
Chelsea wavered for an instant and their season swung drastically off course. Following Clint Dempsey's second goal of the afternoon for Fulham, in the 89th minute, the visitors now lie three points behind the Premier League leaders Liverpool and their next fixture in this competition is at Old Trafford. They will feel all the more distressed because they failed marginally to come up with the type of gritty victory that would have smacked of the Mourinho period.
Fulham came into this game on a run of eight consecutive league fixtures unbeaten and then took the lead. Luiz Felipe Scolari, in addition, was compelled to take off both Florent Malouda and Alex, who had hamstring injuries, before the interval. Frank Lampard then scored twice and this had the makings of a morale-building result. Instead there will be brooding that the side is no longer so resilient.
Dempsey levelled the match with a header from Simon Davies' corner. The American was not marked and had a gap into which he could steer a header. A spirited Chelsea might have regained the lead but Mark Schwarzer denied Ashley Cole and Lampard's effort was blocked amid yells for a penalty.
Attention will therefore be fixed on the visitors' deficiencies. John Terry was suspended but the remaining defenders ought still to be competent in their captain's absence.
Ricardo Carvalho should be exonerated. He came off the bench here after being out with knee ligament trouble since October 29 and instantly displayed outstanding form. A lapse elsewhere in the back four undid Chelsea and Scolari's preparation of these footballers will once more be doubted.
It would still be a gross error not to appreciate the steady and resourceful line-up Roy Hodgson has pieced together for Fulham. Even with Jimmy Bullard unfit, there was cohesion and spirit. For all the vigour of Chelsea's revival at Craven Cottage, neutrals could take some pleasure in seeing the spoils shared.
The sides were tied on their level of fallibility. Chelsea coped so badly with Davies's deep free-kick from the Fulham left that Dempsey had the liberty to take a touch before putting his shot behind Petr Cech in the 10th minute. The equaliser saw Joe Cole chip a through-pass, after 50 minutes, that confused both Aaron Hughes and Schwarzer as Didier Drogba applied pressure. Possession broke to Lampard and he took the opportunity capably.
Chelsea had been fighting their own inadequacies as much as Fulham. Deco, specifically, had an atrocious time of it. There was a brief period in which he was either hitting passes straight out of play or failing to lift a corner over the first defender. The form of the Portugal international has deteriorated severely and, for the time being, it does look as if he left La Liga for the Premier League just as his career went into headlong decline.
Scolari's squad could still have surmounted every difficulty. Lampard, most obviously, would not tolerate Chelsea lagging 1–0. In a spell before half-time his attempts demanded saves from Schwarzer. Fulham had appreciated then that the acting captain was their principal concern but Lampard was not to be nullified. Eighteen minutes from the end Schwarzer positioned himself poorly at a free-kick and there was also a space through which the midfielder could flight home Chelsea's second goal with a dipping finish.
Fulham are a well-drilled, industrious group with high morale and Hodgson has served the club wonderfully by building such a group but a recovery should still have been beyond them. Lively and busy as Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson had been in attack, they could not quite break loose and, what is more, their energy inevitably ebbed. Chelsea had the situation under control, or so it appeared.
Indeed this was so nearly an occasion to bolster Chelsea. Carvalho was in action once more and Nicolas Anelka, on for Malouda, had some time to see if he and Drogba could operate in tandem, a tactical option which Scolari views with unease. There would have been a modest satisfaction, as well, in bringing to a halt Fulham's unbeaten run.
Instead there is unease once more about Scolari's regime. Chelsea will also be dismayed at the thought that, conceivably, they may be embarking on another campaign this summer to discover the true heir to Mourinho. The rest of us can simply be content that the top clubs are all being compelled to live in anxious times.
Man of the match Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
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Mail :
Fulham 2 Chelsea 2: Scolari sets up post mortem inquest after Clint Dempsey escape actBy Steve Curry
Clint Dempsey, the tall Texan from Nacogdoches who grew up worshipping Diego Maradona, had his own magical moment in the fading winter sunshine by the River Thames with a double that dented Chelsea's title aspirations.Dempsey's 89th-minute equaliser at Craven Cottage left Chelsea three points adrift of Liverpool at the top of the Barclays Premier League and prompted earnest questions from Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Chelsea boss wants to know why Dempsey was allowed freedom at the far post for his opener and was then left without a marker as he rose to head the late equaliser that ignited hysteria from Fulham's biggest gate of the season.
Although Fulham have become the draw specialists of the top division, they have every reason to look back with satisfaction and pride on a year when they have recovered their self-belief under shrewd and intelligent leadership from Roy Hodgson. The pre-match loss of Jimmy Bullard through injury might have affected their confidence in this highly-anticipated derby but the side showed that if their best player is to leave in January there can still be a bright future. Frank Lampard seemed to take charge of the game single-handedly and was outstandingly the man of the match, wrenching Chelsea from a one-goal deficit to a 2-1 lead.The Fulham fans in the 25,462 crowd goaded him as the man who ate all the pies, but they were the ones eating their own words as the marauding destroyer scored twice in 22 minutes.It was in other areas that Chelsea had problems. Alex and Branislav Ivanovic are very much second-choice centre backs to the suspended John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho and, in a splendid opening 20 minutes, they seemed to be like passing strangers.Carvalho's arrival after Alex tweaked a hamstring after 36 minutes improved their defence beyond measure.But it would be interesting to know the identity of the player who failed to pick up Dempsey for his goals.The loss of Florent Malouda after half-an-hour brought Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba together, but once again it proved an impotent partnership, especially in a 4-3-3 formation. Surely if Chelsea played in a 4-4-2 set-up it might be more threatening and there would be less reliance on Lampard to drag them out of trouble.Fulham, whose energy levels remain high and who play very much as an orchestra under the baton of Danny Murphy, deservedly took the lead after 10 minutes when a Simon Davies free-kick sailed over everybody for Dempsey to take it on his chest and hook the ball home.A frustrated Scolari admitted: 'We made two mistakes and they scored two goals. We had 10 chances yet scored only two goals. We have been good at defending free-kicks and corners but today that was not the case.'Before every game the players know who to mark. It is my job now to look and ask the player concerned what happened, but I am not saying to you who the player is who should have been marking Dempsey.'I asked goalkeeper Petr Cech what happened as we walked off the pitch. He is the captain for this area. He has the power to direct players in those situations.'The championship is not finished. It will be finished in the last two or three games. It is normal in England. The Premier League is difficult.' It is baffling why Chelsea do not keep a defender on the the far post when defending corners - the area from which Dempsey directed his headers, but Scolari said: 'The goalpost doesn't score goals.'Ironically, Chelsea had enough chances in the first 20 minutes of the second half not only to equalise but to have won the game.A 50th-minute misunderstanding between Aaron Hughes and the otherwise excellent Mark Schwarzer, when Joe Cole dinked the ball to Drogba, meant the danger was not cleared and Lampard, as predatory as ever, stroked the loose ball home. When Andy Johnson needlessly put his foot up on Deco in the 72nd minute, Lampard's free-kick was perfect. Schwarzer had moved slightly to his right and was wrong-footed as the ball dipped viciously and flew inside his left-hand post.It seemed then as if the game was won and the pressure would stay on Liverpool.
But Fulham never give in these days. Hodgson said: 'I thought the spirit and character we showed were remarkable. 'We started playing football again. It is nice we can score goals from set-pieces. I would not say we are an exaggerated set-play side but we do work on them.' Dempsey certainly has and he was Fulham's hero as the game entered its final phase. Again the supplier was Davies, whose left-wing corner found the American climbing highest at the far post to head the equaliser and trigger great celebrations among the home fans. The draw extended Fulham's unbeaten run to nine games and Hodgson, on the anniversary of his arrival at Craven Cottage, added: 'It's been one of the best managerial years of my career, if not the best. I'm immensely satisfied with what we've achieved in 2008. 'It was a remarkable achievement for the players to come back and keep the unbeaten run going.'
MATCH FACTSFULHAM (4-4-2): Schwarzer 7; Pantsil 7, Hangeland 7, Hughes 6, Konchesky 6; Davies 7, Etuhu 6 (Andreasen 78min), Murphy 7 (Baird 90), Dempsey 7; Johnson 6, Zamora 5 (Nevland 78). Booked: Dempsey.CHELSEA (4-1-2-3): Cech 7; Bosingwa 6, Ivanovic 6, Alex 6 (Carvalho 36, 7), A Cole 7; Mikel 6; Deco 5, Lampard 9; J Cole 7 (Kalou 72, 6), Drogba 6, Malouda 6 (Anelka 30, 6). Booked: Drogba, Bosingwa.Man of the Match: Frank Lampard.Referee: Andre Marriner.
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