Sunday Times
Phil Scolari booed as Blues flop
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
THEY were not about to admit it, but Chelsea tumbled out of the title race with this bankrupt performance against a team without a win in nine Premier League matches. Hull had some outstanding chances, especially in the second half, and with decent finishing would have won against more celebrated opponents, whose increasingly disillusioned supporters chorused “You don’t know what you’re doing” at Luiz Felipe Scolari as their team stumbled from bad to worse.
Ominously for the Chelsea manager, there was a banner unfurled bearing the legend “Scolari out, Zola/Di Matteo Chelsea Legends.” Against this background, Chelsea dropped to fourth in the table, behind Aston Villa, who are their next opponents in the Premier League.
Before that they travel to play Watford in the FA Cup on Saturday and on this evidence the Championship side cannot be written off.
Hull, without a win since December 6, travelled as no-hopers after sliding into free-fall, but defended assiduously when required to do so, then hit back hard and fully deserved their point.
Chelsea fans were left shaking their heads, unable to come to terms with their team’s decline since coming so close to a clean sweep of honours last season. Scolari swerved to avoid the customary postmatch press conference, leaving it to assistant Ray Wilkins to admit that paying spectators were entitled to express their disapproval.
“Second best is never good enough for Chelsea”, he said. “Whenever someone manages a side like ours, there will always be pressure on them, but it wasn’t very pleasant to hear the booing. It came from a minority. Phil clearly does know what he’s doing, having won a lot of trophies, and it was a tad out of order. I don’t think he understood what was being said, and I won’t be telling him.”
Chelsea gave a debut to Ricardo Quaresma, signed on loan from Jose Mourinho’s Interna-zionale, but played him on the left where, as a right-footer, he was never likely to be at his best. He was more effective than Salomon Kalou, on the opposite flank, but most are.
Kalou had two decent opportunities in the first half, but made a hash of both. Frank Lampard, Quaresma and Michael Ballack also threatened, but Michael Turner and Kamil Zayatte were rock-solid in central defence for Hull, who had the best chance before the interval, when Kevin Kilbane’s header shaved Henrique Hilario’s left-hand upright. In the second half Hull’s artisans were the better team.
They might have scored when Geovanni’s header was blocked and should have done so when the Brazilian broke away and exchanged passes with Craig Fagan, who chose to chip and lofted the ball straight at Hilario when Geovanni was free, in a much better position. Scolari ran through the gamut of substitutions – Belletti, Drogba and Deco – to no avail, and midway through the second half Dean Marney, set up by Geovanni, was tantalisingly close with a shot from left to right.
Kalou tested Matt Duke in the closing stages, but in the 90th minute Ian Ashbee might have won it with a volley after Marney’s corner.
After six successive defeats and a draw with West Brom last week, Phil Brown was “ecstatic”, and praised his players for their “outstanding” work rate. He said: “We could have won it after turning the tide with sheer hard work in the second half. On a good day, Craig Fagan might have had a hat-trick. I thought Geovanni was excellent. I don’t worry about his football, it’s his all-round effort that impressed me today.”
Wilkins tried to sound defiant but was unconvincing when he said: “Every game now is going to be a challenge. We won’t give up the fight for the title until it’s mathematically impossible.”
Booed Phil was conspicuous by his absence. Yesterday, it was Hull’s Brown who was the “Big Phil” at Stamford Bridge.
CHELSEA:Hilario 6, Bosingwa 6, Alex 6, Terry 6,A Cole 6, Mikel 5 (Belletti 57min, 5), Ballack 5 (Deco 73min), Lampard 7, Kalou 5, Anelka 5, Quaresma 6 (Drogba 63min)
HULL:Duke 6, Ricketts 6, Turner 8, Zayatte 8, Daw-son 7, Garcia 6, Ashbee 6, Marney 6, Kilbane 6, Geovanni 7 (France 81min), Fagan 5
MOURINHO TEAM SCORED MORE
If ever there was a game that guaranteed goals then it was this one between the Premier League’s top scorers, Chelsea, and its worst defence, Hull City. Ooops! Despite their so-called more expansive football, Chelsea twice under Jose Mourinho had more goals at this stage of the season than they have at the moment. In his first campaign, 2004-05, they had 49 goals, while in 2005-06 they had scored 52 goals after 25 matches. In 2006-07, his only other full season, they had hit 44 goals, the same as now
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Telegraph:
Chelsea's title hopes left in tatters as fans taunt Luiz Felipe ScolariChelsea (0) 0 Hull City (0) 0 By Jonathan Wilson at Stamford Bridge
Their title hopes are surely gone, and the challenge for Chelsea now is to finish in the top four this season and secure Champions League qualification. There may not have been a fire, but as a rogue alarm drowned out the majority of Ray Wilkins’s post-match press conference, the sense of emergency at Stamford Bridge was real enough. Arsenal will be just three points behind if they win at Tottenham, and with Aston Villa two clear in third, Chelsea’s match at Villa Park in a fortnight is looking increasingly vital.
"You’ll see second, third and fourth change a lot,” said Wilkins - a tacit admission, perhaps, that the title has gone, although he did his best to cover for the slip. “Second is not at any time good enough for Chelsea, and you can’t give up on the title when you look at the quality we have.”
Chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” rang around Stamford Bridge for much of the second half and if, as Wilkins said, such claims are “a tad out of order” when Luiz Felipe Scolari has a record of success, a certain frustration is readily understandable. Chelsea have dropped 16 points at home this season, and even the usual excuse about opponents who park the bus — as though good defending were somehow a faux pas — didn’t wash.
"When the fans are chanting things like that, I’m not sure managers from foreign countries understand,” Wilkins said. “I won’t tell him.
It’s unnecessary and I don’t think it should be heard round our stands. It’s a minority who start it and others join in. People pay a lot of money and they want to boo that’s up to them.” Dissent may be limited, but it is growing. “Scolari out,” shrieked one banner. “Zola - Di Matteo Chelsea legends.”
Hull have gone nine league games without a victory, and yet by the end they looked the likelier to score. Perhaps they would have folded had John Terry stabbed in from three yards after the Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke had fumbled a Frank Lampard free-kick in the second minute, but he didn’t and they didn’t, instead looking increasingly like the vibrant Hull of the early part of the season. Phil Brown, their manager, even felt confident enough to exchange a joke with Didier Drogba before he went on for his customary ineffectual cameo midway through the second half. “I asked him to take it easy,” Brown said.
These days, you probably don’t have to ask.
Ricardo Quaresma, brought in on loan from Internazionale to add width and creative flair, was fleetingly impressive, although his obvious preference for his right foot — even to the extent of awkwardly scooping in crosses with the outside of his boot — was baffling for a player deployed on the left.
Still, it took a stretching, fingertip save from Matt Duke to deny him a debut goal as he capitalised on Salomon Kalou’s rapid break. It was Quaresma, though, who was withdrawn after 64 minutes for Drogba, in the familiar switch to 4-4-2 that only seems to make Chelsea ;look more disjointed. It’s not just that he and Anelka show little sign of striking up an understanding; they barely seem to acknowledge they’re wearing the same colour shirt.
Wilkins insisted that Chelsea’s problems are to do with anxiety in front of goal, but other flaws are all too obvious. The crossed ball causes Chelsea palpitations, and Kevin Kilbane was unfortunate, having met a Sam Ricketts cross five minutes before half-time, to see his header clip the outside of the post. And then there were the unforced errors — passes carelessly misplaced and possession cheaply squandered.
Individual errors, perhaps, can be attributed to a dearth of confidence, but there systemic failings in Chelsea’s back four as well. The onus Scolari places on his full-backs to provide attacking width is clearly a contributory factor, but with passing game credence is added to the theory that the departure of Steve Clarke, the assistant coach, for West Ham has had a deleterious effect. Chelsea may talk about missed chances, but the truth is that Craig Fagan, Dean Marney and Ian Ashbee all went home last night thinking they had wasted chances to win it.
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Mirror:
Chelsea fans boo off the Blues as title hopes suffer blow from Hull
Chelsea 0 - 0 Hull
Chelsea's fading title aspirations sustained another massive blow as they failed to overcome hard-working Hull and were booed off by their own fans at Stamford Bridge.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side have now dropped 16 points at home this season and after Aston Villa's win at Blackburn, they slipped into fourth place in the Barclays Premier League.
Hull, without a win in nine league games, became the latest side to frustrate Chelsea on their home turf and with some more composed finishing in front of goal, City may well have taken all three points.
Perhaps the omens were there for Chelsea as early as the second minute when a free-kick from Frank Lampard found John Terry inside the six-yard box.
The Chelsea captain's first instinctive effort was saved by Matt Duke but when the ball rebounded back to him just two yards out, he somehow contrived to send his second shot over the bar.
New boy Ricardo Quaresma, on loan from Inter Milan for the remainder of the season, showed some nice early touches.
Hull were kept relatively quiet in the opening moments but Geovanni was just off target with an angled volley from 20 yards in the 10th minute.
Eight minutes later another quick Hull break allowed Geovanni to try his luck again from 20 yards but his shot was deflected off Terry for a corner.
But the resultant free-kick was cleared and Quaresma almost opened the scoring when Chelsea broke on the counter.
The home side's quick attack had been led by the galloping Salomon Kalou and his pass allowed Quaresma to try and curl the ball around Duke, but the winger's shot was tipped round the post by the Hull goalkeeper.
It was all Chelsea and Michael Ballack was narrowly wide with an angled drive as the Blues stepped up the pace.
Hull were defending valiantly as another Chelsea attack saw a shot from Kalou cleared superbly by Kevin Kilbane.
But Hull responded bravely and John Obi Mikel was booked for a bringing down Geovanni after the City striker had made him look quite pedestrian.
Geovanni could not punish Chelsea from the free-kick which he sent over Hilario's crossbar from 20 yards.
On the half-hour mark, Ballack was sent sprawling by Kamil Zayatte 20 yards from the Hull goal but referee Lee Mason did not produced a card to the fury of the home fans.
Ballack almost made the visitors pay with his free-kick which he curled around the City wall only for it to hit the side netting.
It was the spark for another sustained spell of Chelsea pressure. First Kalou caused panic in the Hull defence when he danced into the area only to see his pass to Anelka intercepted by Michael Turner.
Then a corner from Lampard found the head of Terry but his effort was well saved by Duke.
Another free-kick from Lampard in the 34th minute smashed straight into the groin of the unfortunate Zayatte, who was unsurprisingly left pole axed on the ground.
The Hull player returned to the fray after a spell of treatment and the visitors almost stunned the home side in the 40th minute when Kilbane headed a cross from Samuel Ricketts just inches wide of an upright.
Hull captain Ian Ashbee was booked in the 47th minute for his latest niggling foul on Ballack.
A free-kick by Hull's Dean Marney four minutes later had Chelsea's defence in trouble until Alex managed to clear the danger.
Moments later Craig Fagan beat Mikel to the ball and sped clear of the Chelsea defence but the City midfielder's attempted chip was caught easily by Hilario.
There was little to indicate that Chelsea had the guile to break the deadlock and the home fans were beginning to vent their frustration.
Scolari replaced the ineffective Mikel with Juliano Belletti in the 56th minute, but the initial change did nothing to spark Chelsea and so Scolari opted to replace Quaresma with Didier Drogba in the 63rd minute.
In the 67th minute Hull wasted a gilt-edged chance to open the scoring when Geovanni carved open the Chelsea defence with a perfect through ball for Marney.
The Hull player probably did not realise how much time he had as he screwed his shot just beyond the far post.
Referee Mason waved away penalty appeals from Chelsea when Andy Dawson appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area.
Chelsea's last change of the afternoon was to replace Ballack with Deco in the 72nd minute.
In the 78th minute, Duke dived low to his left to keep out a shot from Kalou.
Four minutes from time Drogba sent a free-kick wide of the target to complete a miserable afternoon for the Blues.
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Mail:
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0: Scolari in the firing line as Chelsea flop again
By IAN RIDLEY
The mood is turning at Stamford Bridge. For most of the season so far, Luiz Felipe Scolari has received the backing of the home support through some transitional times, but on Saturday he was forced to endure a chorus from a corner of the ground that insisted he did not know what he was doing and, at the final whistle, the jeers of more.The Brazilian could hardly be blamed, though, for the wayward finishing of his labouring side, nor the liveliness of a Hull City side beginning to recapture their inspiring form of early season. Still, Chelsea's title challenge is fading, a debut for the Portuguese loan signing Ricardo Quaresma from Inter Milan failing to add the immediate width and cutting edge they were seeking.Hull will care little. With Geovanni showing neat touches ahead of a resolute defence, they prised a precious point and might even have taken all three had they hit the target, with Hilario looking unsure in the home goal in the absence of the injured Petr Cech.
Who would have thought it - the team with the best goals-for record against the one with the worst goals-against record before kickoff producing a goalless draw!Certainly it looked a foregone conclusion on paper. Prior to last Sunday's defeat at Liverpool, Chelsea had won four in a row while Hull's point against West Bromwich last weekend was their first in seven games, a run that saw them bottom of the form table and in the bottom half of the real table for the first time this season. That win at Arsenal in early season was beginning to look a long time ago.It looked as if it would be even more remote as Chelsea tore at them in seeking to restore quickly any confidence that had drained after Anfield. They should have had a lead inside 90 seconds, indeed, when Frank Lampard swung in a corner from the left which eluded all and forced Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke into a hasty save. From the rebound, John Terry fired the ball over the bar from no more than three yards.
For a while it looked as if it would not matter, that it was only a matter of time before Chelsea took the lead. Quaresma was showing some neat touches, notably in crossing from the left with the outside of his right boot, and saw a curling shot tipped just wide by Duke.Gradually, having survived an early onslaught, Hull became emboldened. In the absence of the injured Daniel Cousin, Craig Fagan was holding the ball well up front and supplying Geovanni, who was replacing the suspended Bernard Mendy, with some decent opportunities. On one occasion the Brazilian flashed a cross-shot just wide before seeing another deflected.Hull also looked dangerous in the air and from set-pieces, with Chelsea still uncertain about their marking system at the back.
Michael Turner got in a header from Dean Marney's corner that was scrambled away before Kevin Kilbane went even closer, his downward header from Sam Ricketts' cross finishing narrowly wide. Chelsea were close when Michael Ballack curled a free-kick into the side-netting but they grew edgier, less composed in front of goal as the half progressed. They needed a goal to quell an anxiety going around Stamford Bridge.It was Hull, though, who went the closer early in the second half.Breaking from a Chelsea corner, Geovanni sent Fagan racing clear but, instead of playing in Marney at the far post, he tried a chip that merely sailed into Hilario's hands.
Marney did get the ball at his feet soon after with just Hilario to beat, from a piercing through-ball by Geovanni. He dragged it across goal, however, with the goalkeeper stranded.Scolari's response to the growing tension had been to send on Didier Drogba for Quaresma to prompt the home support's discontent and then he introduced Deco for Ballack. Nothing was doing, though. Scolari was left shaking his head, the home support shouting the odds.CHELSEA (4-3-3): Hilario; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Ballack (Deco 73min), Mikel (Belletti 57), Lampard; Quaresma (Drogba 63), Anelka, Kalou. Subs (not used): Taylor, Ivanovic, Di Santo, Stoch. Booked: Ashbee, Garcia.HULL (4-4-1-1): Duke; Ricketts, Turner, Zayatte, Dawson; Garcia, Ashbee, Marney, Kilbane; Geovanni (France 81); Fagan. Subs (not used): Myhill, Doyle, Barmby, Hughes, Halmosi, Manucho. Booked: Ashbee, Garcia. Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).
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Indy:
Fans turn on Scolari as Chelsea settle for less
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
By Glenn Moore at Stamford Bridge
An hour into this match, with Chelsea labouring against the team with the worst defensive record in the Premier League, a team who had won one point in 21, Luiz Felipe Scolari made a substitution. When it became clear that Ricardo Quaresma was going to have his debut curtailed, the mutiny began.
"You don't know what you're doing," came the accusation from the Matthew Harding Stand, where Chelsea's most dedicated fans sit.
Whether he saw the match on television, or simply reads the result in Pravda, the again-absent Roman Abramovich may himself ask the same question. Unless West Ham do them a rare favour at Upton Park today Chelsea's title challenge must be regarded as all but over. Their failure to beat a Hull team who arrived on an apparently unstoppable downward spiral leaves them four points adrift of Manchester United, who have two games in hand. The issue now is ensuring that they qualify for one of the three automatic Champions' League places, for Chelsea now trail third-placed Aston Villa.
Does Scolari know what he is doing? As it happens, he did in the case in point. Quaresma has hardly played in recent months, having been estranged at Internazionale, from whom he is loaned, and after a bright start had faded. It was risking injury to keep him on.
However, the continued omission of Didier Drogba, and the refusal to adapt his system, invites the question. Scolari refused to answer himself but Ray Wilkins, his assistant, mounted a vigorous defence.
"He does know what he is doing," said Wilkins. "He has been in the game a long time and when you look at what he has won [World Cup, World Club Championship, etc] it is a tad out of order. It is unnecessary and not very pleasant to hear. I don't think it should be heard in our stadium."
All through Wilkins' press conference the fire alarm was ringing. "Is it an emergency, Ray?" he was asked. Acknowledging the question referred to the prospect of Chelsea's season going up in flames rather than the ground, he insisted it was not.
But then he added, in reference to Chelsea dropping to fourth: "You will see a lot of changes between positions two, three and four between now and the end of the season."
What about first? "It will be tough to catch [Manchester United] – but we will give it a go. Second is never good enough for a club of Chelsea's standing. There is no way we will give up with the talent we have in the club."
That talent, however, is not performing. Chelsea have taken 17 points from 12 matches. Mid-table form, at best. Inevitably confidence is fragile, Wilkins admitted the team looked "anxious". They needed a good start, and should have had one.
In the first minute Frank Lampard curled in a free-kick, Michael Ballack flicked on, and Matt Duke parried. The ball fell to John Terry, unchallenged, three yards from goal. Somehow he scooped it over.
"Had that gone in I'm sure we would have gone on and won comfortably," said Wilkins. "We would have come back and won 2-1," said Phil Brown, tongue rather more in cheek.
Hull could have easily won their first match here in more than a century of trying – they were Chelsea's first visitors in 1905 – having made and missed the best chances. Five minutes before the break Kevin Kilbane rose to head a Sam Ricketts cross against the outside of the post. Five minutes after the interval Alex cleared a goalbound header from Geovanni after a Dean Marney free-kick.
Next, from a breakaway, the busy Craig Fagan beat John Obi Mikel to the ball, but, withonly Hilario to beat, chipped weakly into the keeper's arms. Then Marney, after a flowing move between himself and Geovanni, shot just wide.
And what of Chelsea? Quaresma, having unveiled his trademark outside-of-the-foot cross early on, drew a fine save from Duke after 19 minutes following a counterattack.
Ballack hit the side-netting with a free-kick then JohnTerry had a dangerous headerblocked. There was also a penalty appeal after Salomon Kalou's thumping shot had struck Andy Dawson's arm. Finally, with fans making an early exit, Chelsea won a well-placed free-kick.
Drogba and Lampard stood over it, then Drogba thumped well wide. Lampard looked pensive. So too, when the final whistle went soon after to a crescendo of boos and he headed sharpish for the tunnel, did Scolari.
Attendance: 41,802
Referee: Lee Mason
Man of the match: Zayatte
Match rating: 5/10
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NOTW:
CHELSEA 0, HULL CITY 0 BRIDGE TOO FAR - Phil Scolari is under increasing pressure at Chelsea From ROB SHEPHERD
WHEN supporters start taunting the manager with chants of “You don’t know what you are doing”, then he is on a slippery slope.
Luis Felipe Scolari most certainly is — even if the snow has cleared from West London. Chelsea’s title hopes have now disappeared from the landscape, too.
This dire display has surely all but ended their championship challenge. And, once again this season, Big Phil looked on from the sidelines seemingly unable to influence the game in the way Stamford Bridge had become accustomed to under Jose Mourinho.
When Scolari decided in the 63rd minute it should have been Ricardo Quaresma rather than Salomon Kalou, Michael Ballack or even Nicolas Anelka to make way for Didier Drogba, a hard core cluster of fans in the Matthew Harding Stand let rip.
Someone had obviously anticipated another afternoon of angst for Chelsea and had even brought along a “Scolari Out . . . Zola/ Di Matteo Chelsea legends” banner.
It may all seem a bit previous and another sign of the almost impossible impatience of fans who have gorged on success in recent years.
Do real fans turn on a manager quite so soon in his first season?
Or do the taunts — there was also a brief round of boos all around the stadium at the final whistle — come from those supporters who glaze over when you talk about the pre- Abramovich cash-rich era and are totally ignorant of the days when old Second Division leaders Chelsea’s home meeting with Hull in 1989 attracted just 11,289.
Maybe but it will not be long before the protests really start to snowball if there is more of this — especially over the next three games which really will define Chelsea’s season.
The FA Cup trip to Watford, a Premier League journey to Aston Villa then Juventus here in the Champions League. If any of those results go badly wrong then the pressure from the stands on Scolari will be just like it was on predecessor Avram Grant.
Too much for the board to withstand, especially as the owner no longer seems that keen to pump in any more money.
The clamour will grow for Gianfranco Zola and Roberto di Matteo to take over, even if the more experienced Roberto Mancini is a more likely appointment. That is if Chelsea could still afford a manager of his stature . . .
Scolari ducked the post-match Press conference so it was left for assistant Ray Wilkins to face the music.
He said: “Fans pay their money so they have a right to boo but to say ‘You don’t know what you are doing’ given all what he has achieved as a manager is a tad out of order.”
Given Wilkins’ genial demeanour, “a tad out of order” amounts to him blasting the crowd. But this goalless draw means Chelsea have now dropped 16 points.
Big Phil still has not come up with a plan when things don’t go right. The time has come to change the system and go with 4-4-2 but Scolari will not make the switch. Yes, he won the World Cup with Brazil but he has never managed a club side in Europe — and it is starting to show.
His vendetta against Drogba, starting on the bench again, is self-defeating. When you are up against it, Anelka cannot operate as a lone striker and the team cannot afford for Ballack to keep prancing around.
If Frank Lampard is not pulling out all the stops — he was nowhere near his best yesterday — then Chelsea become pretty ordinary as an attacking force and are increasingly suspect at the back.
Even if Hull were on the back foot for a lot of the game, their striker Craig Fagan had two decent chances to have picked the home side’s pockets.
Blues had plenty of possession in the first half and created a string of chances but a lack of conviction around the box and some stoic defending kept them at bay.
After just two minutes, John Terry posted a miss of the season contender when he scooped over after Hull keeper Matt Duke had beaten down a deflected Lampard free-kick.
Soon after, Quaresma cut in stylishly enough from the left but his curled shot to the far post was tame and predictable and Duke pushed the ball around the far post. After that Quaresma, who flitted from flank to flank, showed a few decent touches and a poor final ball but had sufficient charisma to warm the Blues fans.
Hull, who ended a run of six straight defeats with a point against West Brom last week, were understandably in cautious mode.
But it was not merely a case of parking a bus in front of their 18-yard box. With Geovanni tucked in behind lively lone striker Fagan, they offered a threat on the break. Just before the interval, Hull’s Kevin Kilbane went close with a header that shaved a post.
As the game wore on, the Tigers looked the likelier to score but Fagan pulled a shot wide then chipped weakly at Henrique Hilario.
Chelsea made a desperate shout for a penalty late on when a Kalou shot hit Andy Dawson’s arm. But it would have been harsh.
Three weeks ago, Chelsea came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 in the final few minutes in a spirited fightback. But the towel was thrown in far too early yesterday.
The Blues have dropped to fourth and now face a battle to secure Champions League qualification. Such failure really will be a sacking offence for Scolari.
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Observer:
Chelsea held at home by resistant HullChelsea 0 Hull City 0
Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea's debutant Ricardo Quaresma battles with Hull City's Dean Marney during the scrappy goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Rebecca Naden/PA
In the end, Chelsea were a touch fortunate not to lose. Their problem is the one which has arrived this season of finding themselves incapable of alchemising dominance into the scintillating stuff which leads to swaggering or indeed regulation victory.
They went into the break having had nearly all the half their way. And they came off at the end having again enjoyed the better 45 minutes, yet with only a point added to their title challenge.
In fact, to listen to Ray Wilkins in the ensuing press conference it was easy to gain an impression that the league might have already, privately at least, been conceded. "I think you'll find 4th, 3rd and 2nd will change places a lot," he said, when asked about the fact that Chelsea now occupy only the final Champions League spot.
The assistant coach went into a swift about-turn when asked if this was an acknowledgement that they cannot be champions come May. "It's difficult to catch Manchester United, but we'll be trying – though they do have a game in hand and points in hand. But we'll give it a damn good go," he insisted.
Until 4pm this afternoon, when they visit West Ham, United actually have two matches in hand. These could yield six points to place sweetly on top of the four they are already ahead of Chelsea. "We have been a power in the Premier League and so we strive to be number one," Wilkins said.
Publicly, of course, that is always a given. But Luiz Felipe Scolari's decision to allow his assistant to do the explaining placed an extra layer on the perception that Chelsea are in serious disarray. Again, Wilkins denied there was anything conclusive in a no-show. But whether it showed strong leadership is one for a bar-room argument.
Clearer was a moment that arrived after 63 minutes. "You don't know what you're doing," came the sing-song abuse thrown at the manager when Scolari swapped debutant Ricardo Quaresma – there were flashes of promise, nothing else – for the one-time ultimate golden boy, Didier Drogba.
What did Wilkins think of that? "It's never very pleasant. It was a minority. They pay their money and if they want to boo they can, but given the manager's record, it was a tad out of order."
Also in disorder are the on-field issues facing Scolari. These would include an increasingly hesitant John Terry, who let Kevin Kilbane in after 18 minutes when the winger might have scored; a midfield in which only Frank Lampard is producing and which had Scolari yanking a half-hearted John Obi Mikel off after the break; and that most troubling of all maladies, an ever-decreasing return of goals.
The head coach, it seems, can no longer rely on his men consistently to play Nicolas Anelka into the areas where before the year's turn he was enjoying his own, private free-for-all. Nearly two months have passed since the Frenchman struck in the Premier League.
Instead, he was starved. And it was the visitors who might have gobbled the three points. "We could've indeed," their manager, Phil Brown, said. While Craig Fagan and Dean Marney both came close for Hull, Salomon Kalou had his own stab at glory 11 minutes from time. But his shot was straight and had City's fans singing deliriously that "This is the best trip I've ever been on".
Scolari might now be wondering about what is fast becoming a depressing sojourn. The boos at the end will echo across the rest of his weekend.
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Express:
SCRAPPING TIGERS PUT THE BITE ON BIG PHIL
By Tony Stenson at Stamford Bridge Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
CHELSEA fans finally turned on manager Felipe Scolari last night.
They chanted ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ after he took off new signing Ricardo Quaresma and replaced him with Didier Drogba.
They vented their anger on the Brazilian after once again watching their world class players fail to produce. Enough was enough.
How come, they asked, was there no Plan B after long periods of their side dictating the game without result?
Why didn’t their stars come to the rescue? Why was controversial striker Didier Drogba not introduced much earlier as again Nicolas Anelka showed he can only produce when the river flows in his direction?
The bitter chants from Chelsea supporters will no doubt be heard on owner Roman Abramovich’s floating palace.
He has lost billions in the credit crunch and he doesn’t want to lose face, but his side are going nowhere fast.
Scolari has won a World Cup, but we all have sell-by dates.
Chelsea dominated all the game, yet Hull were unlucky not to win when former Spurs player Dean Marney went close near the end.
Scolari stalked the touchline and looked a sorrowful soul sending on A-list players to try to break down a workmanlike side.
Skipper John Terry’s pre-match Churchillian speech fell on deaf ears.
He sounded like Winston in the dressing room in his pre-match talk, telling his failing team-mates: “We need a result, we need a performance, we need a clean sheet – we need a lot of things today.”
Clearly, no one listened.
Chelsea should have had a hatful, restoring pride and showing new boy Quaresma what they were all about.
Instead, we saw the same old fare with long periods of possession but little to show for it.
Mikel is not a midfield creator, while Michael Ballack – good at free kicks but performing only when he wants to – continues to nose-dive.
Frank Lampard can only do so much.
Chelsea are missing a direct, dominant striker. Anelka heads the ball mostly in his own half.
When they attack and cross, there usually aren’t many players in the opposition’s box.
They haven’t learnt the Manchester United lesson – release Cristiano Ronaldo and then thunder forward.
Instead, they have talented stars who simply do not possess the ability to break down a group of decent journeymen.
Chelsea insiders claim the club has not been the same since long-serving No 2 Steve Clarke was allowed to leave to join Gianfranco Zola at West Ham. Hull, meanwhile, were like annoying gnats – buzzing, stinging and refusing to give up lost causes. They could well have won it.
You had to admire the Tigers. They arrived knowing they had been the opposition in the first-ever competitive game at Stamford Bridge way back in 1905. They lost that encounter 5-1 in front of 6,000 supporters. Crowds change. So do results.
Hull gave hope of a new dawn, a former lower league club ready to wrestle with the big boys and bite the noses of distinguished opposition.
They started the season by taking points when they were not expected to do so, and encouraging headlines were written. Then reality kicked in. Now they seem to have turned the corner once more.
Quaresma marked his debut with a 20th minute 18-yard curler, then Lampard’s 25th minute shot was deflected after Hull failed to clear Quaresma’s corner.
But it was a tale of what might have been for Chelsea and Scolari.
Phil Scolari booed as Blues flop
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
THEY were not about to admit it, but Chelsea tumbled out of the title race with this bankrupt performance against a team without a win in nine Premier League matches. Hull had some outstanding chances, especially in the second half, and with decent finishing would have won against more celebrated opponents, whose increasingly disillusioned supporters chorused “You don’t know what you’re doing” at Luiz Felipe Scolari as their team stumbled from bad to worse.
Ominously for the Chelsea manager, there was a banner unfurled bearing the legend “Scolari out, Zola/Di Matteo Chelsea Legends.” Against this background, Chelsea dropped to fourth in the table, behind Aston Villa, who are their next opponents in the Premier League.
Before that they travel to play Watford in the FA Cup on Saturday and on this evidence the Championship side cannot be written off.
Hull, without a win since December 6, travelled as no-hopers after sliding into free-fall, but defended assiduously when required to do so, then hit back hard and fully deserved their point.
Chelsea fans were left shaking their heads, unable to come to terms with their team’s decline since coming so close to a clean sweep of honours last season. Scolari swerved to avoid the customary postmatch press conference, leaving it to assistant Ray Wilkins to admit that paying spectators were entitled to express their disapproval.
“Second best is never good enough for Chelsea”, he said. “Whenever someone manages a side like ours, there will always be pressure on them, but it wasn’t very pleasant to hear the booing. It came from a minority. Phil clearly does know what he’s doing, having won a lot of trophies, and it was a tad out of order. I don’t think he understood what was being said, and I won’t be telling him.”
Chelsea gave a debut to Ricardo Quaresma, signed on loan from Jose Mourinho’s Interna-zionale, but played him on the left where, as a right-footer, he was never likely to be at his best. He was more effective than Salomon Kalou, on the opposite flank, but most are.
Kalou had two decent opportunities in the first half, but made a hash of both. Frank Lampard, Quaresma and Michael Ballack also threatened, but Michael Turner and Kamil Zayatte were rock-solid in central defence for Hull, who had the best chance before the interval, when Kevin Kilbane’s header shaved Henrique Hilario’s left-hand upright. In the second half Hull’s artisans were the better team.
They might have scored when Geovanni’s header was blocked and should have done so when the Brazilian broke away and exchanged passes with Craig Fagan, who chose to chip and lofted the ball straight at Hilario when Geovanni was free, in a much better position. Scolari ran through the gamut of substitutions – Belletti, Drogba and Deco – to no avail, and midway through the second half Dean Marney, set up by Geovanni, was tantalisingly close with a shot from left to right.
Kalou tested Matt Duke in the closing stages, but in the 90th minute Ian Ashbee might have won it with a volley after Marney’s corner.
After six successive defeats and a draw with West Brom last week, Phil Brown was “ecstatic”, and praised his players for their “outstanding” work rate. He said: “We could have won it after turning the tide with sheer hard work in the second half. On a good day, Craig Fagan might have had a hat-trick. I thought Geovanni was excellent. I don’t worry about his football, it’s his all-round effort that impressed me today.”
Wilkins tried to sound defiant but was unconvincing when he said: “Every game now is going to be a challenge. We won’t give up the fight for the title until it’s mathematically impossible.”
Booed Phil was conspicuous by his absence. Yesterday, it was Hull’s Brown who was the “Big Phil” at Stamford Bridge.
CHELSEA:Hilario 6, Bosingwa 6, Alex 6, Terry 6,A Cole 6, Mikel 5 (Belletti 57min, 5), Ballack 5 (Deco 73min), Lampard 7, Kalou 5, Anelka 5, Quaresma 6 (Drogba 63min)
HULL:Duke 6, Ricketts 6, Turner 8, Zayatte 8, Daw-son 7, Garcia 6, Ashbee 6, Marney 6, Kilbane 6, Geovanni 7 (France 81min), Fagan 5
MOURINHO TEAM SCORED MORE
If ever there was a game that guaranteed goals then it was this one between the Premier League’s top scorers, Chelsea, and its worst defence, Hull City. Ooops! Despite their so-called more expansive football, Chelsea twice under Jose Mourinho had more goals at this stage of the season than they have at the moment. In his first campaign, 2004-05, they had 49 goals, while in 2005-06 they had scored 52 goals after 25 matches. In 2006-07, his only other full season, they had hit 44 goals, the same as now
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Telegraph:
Chelsea's title hopes left in tatters as fans taunt Luiz Felipe ScolariChelsea (0) 0 Hull City (0) 0 By Jonathan Wilson at Stamford Bridge
Their title hopes are surely gone, and the challenge for Chelsea now is to finish in the top four this season and secure Champions League qualification. There may not have been a fire, but as a rogue alarm drowned out the majority of Ray Wilkins’s post-match press conference, the sense of emergency at Stamford Bridge was real enough. Arsenal will be just three points behind if they win at Tottenham, and with Aston Villa two clear in third, Chelsea’s match at Villa Park in a fortnight is looking increasingly vital.
"You’ll see second, third and fourth change a lot,” said Wilkins - a tacit admission, perhaps, that the title has gone, although he did his best to cover for the slip. “Second is not at any time good enough for Chelsea, and you can’t give up on the title when you look at the quality we have.”
Chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” rang around Stamford Bridge for much of the second half and if, as Wilkins said, such claims are “a tad out of order” when Luiz Felipe Scolari has a record of success, a certain frustration is readily understandable. Chelsea have dropped 16 points at home this season, and even the usual excuse about opponents who park the bus — as though good defending were somehow a faux pas — didn’t wash.
"When the fans are chanting things like that, I’m not sure managers from foreign countries understand,” Wilkins said. “I won’t tell him.
It’s unnecessary and I don’t think it should be heard round our stands. It’s a minority who start it and others join in. People pay a lot of money and they want to boo that’s up to them.” Dissent may be limited, but it is growing. “Scolari out,” shrieked one banner. “Zola - Di Matteo Chelsea legends.”
Hull have gone nine league games without a victory, and yet by the end they looked the likelier to score. Perhaps they would have folded had John Terry stabbed in from three yards after the Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke had fumbled a Frank Lampard free-kick in the second minute, but he didn’t and they didn’t, instead looking increasingly like the vibrant Hull of the early part of the season. Phil Brown, their manager, even felt confident enough to exchange a joke with Didier Drogba before he went on for his customary ineffectual cameo midway through the second half. “I asked him to take it easy,” Brown said.
These days, you probably don’t have to ask.
Ricardo Quaresma, brought in on loan from Internazionale to add width and creative flair, was fleetingly impressive, although his obvious preference for his right foot — even to the extent of awkwardly scooping in crosses with the outside of his boot — was baffling for a player deployed on the left.
Still, it took a stretching, fingertip save from Matt Duke to deny him a debut goal as he capitalised on Salomon Kalou’s rapid break. It was Quaresma, though, who was withdrawn after 64 minutes for Drogba, in the familiar switch to 4-4-2 that only seems to make Chelsea ;look more disjointed. It’s not just that he and Anelka show little sign of striking up an understanding; they barely seem to acknowledge they’re wearing the same colour shirt.
Wilkins insisted that Chelsea’s problems are to do with anxiety in front of goal, but other flaws are all too obvious. The crossed ball causes Chelsea palpitations, and Kevin Kilbane was unfortunate, having met a Sam Ricketts cross five minutes before half-time, to see his header clip the outside of the post. And then there were the unforced errors — passes carelessly misplaced and possession cheaply squandered.
Individual errors, perhaps, can be attributed to a dearth of confidence, but there systemic failings in Chelsea’s back four as well. The onus Scolari places on his full-backs to provide attacking width is clearly a contributory factor, but with passing game credence is added to the theory that the departure of Steve Clarke, the assistant coach, for West Ham has had a deleterious effect. Chelsea may talk about missed chances, but the truth is that Craig Fagan, Dean Marney and Ian Ashbee all went home last night thinking they had wasted chances to win it.
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Mirror:
Chelsea fans boo off the Blues as title hopes suffer blow from Hull
Chelsea 0 - 0 Hull
Chelsea's fading title aspirations sustained another massive blow as they failed to overcome hard-working Hull and were booed off by their own fans at Stamford Bridge.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side have now dropped 16 points at home this season and after Aston Villa's win at Blackburn, they slipped into fourth place in the Barclays Premier League.
Hull, without a win in nine league games, became the latest side to frustrate Chelsea on their home turf and with some more composed finishing in front of goal, City may well have taken all three points.
Perhaps the omens were there for Chelsea as early as the second minute when a free-kick from Frank Lampard found John Terry inside the six-yard box.
The Chelsea captain's first instinctive effort was saved by Matt Duke but when the ball rebounded back to him just two yards out, he somehow contrived to send his second shot over the bar.
New boy Ricardo Quaresma, on loan from Inter Milan for the remainder of the season, showed some nice early touches.
Hull were kept relatively quiet in the opening moments but Geovanni was just off target with an angled volley from 20 yards in the 10th minute.
Eight minutes later another quick Hull break allowed Geovanni to try his luck again from 20 yards but his shot was deflected off Terry for a corner.
But the resultant free-kick was cleared and Quaresma almost opened the scoring when Chelsea broke on the counter.
The home side's quick attack had been led by the galloping Salomon Kalou and his pass allowed Quaresma to try and curl the ball around Duke, but the winger's shot was tipped round the post by the Hull goalkeeper.
It was all Chelsea and Michael Ballack was narrowly wide with an angled drive as the Blues stepped up the pace.
Hull were defending valiantly as another Chelsea attack saw a shot from Kalou cleared superbly by Kevin Kilbane.
But Hull responded bravely and John Obi Mikel was booked for a bringing down Geovanni after the City striker had made him look quite pedestrian.
Geovanni could not punish Chelsea from the free-kick which he sent over Hilario's crossbar from 20 yards.
On the half-hour mark, Ballack was sent sprawling by Kamil Zayatte 20 yards from the Hull goal but referee Lee Mason did not produced a card to the fury of the home fans.
Ballack almost made the visitors pay with his free-kick which he curled around the City wall only for it to hit the side netting.
It was the spark for another sustained spell of Chelsea pressure. First Kalou caused panic in the Hull defence when he danced into the area only to see his pass to Anelka intercepted by Michael Turner.
Then a corner from Lampard found the head of Terry but his effort was well saved by Duke.
Another free-kick from Lampard in the 34th minute smashed straight into the groin of the unfortunate Zayatte, who was unsurprisingly left pole axed on the ground.
The Hull player returned to the fray after a spell of treatment and the visitors almost stunned the home side in the 40th minute when Kilbane headed a cross from Samuel Ricketts just inches wide of an upright.
Hull captain Ian Ashbee was booked in the 47th minute for his latest niggling foul on Ballack.
A free-kick by Hull's Dean Marney four minutes later had Chelsea's defence in trouble until Alex managed to clear the danger.
Moments later Craig Fagan beat Mikel to the ball and sped clear of the Chelsea defence but the City midfielder's attempted chip was caught easily by Hilario.
There was little to indicate that Chelsea had the guile to break the deadlock and the home fans were beginning to vent their frustration.
Scolari replaced the ineffective Mikel with Juliano Belletti in the 56th minute, but the initial change did nothing to spark Chelsea and so Scolari opted to replace Quaresma with Didier Drogba in the 63rd minute.
In the 67th minute Hull wasted a gilt-edged chance to open the scoring when Geovanni carved open the Chelsea defence with a perfect through ball for Marney.
The Hull player probably did not realise how much time he had as he screwed his shot just beyond the far post.
Referee Mason waved away penalty appeals from Chelsea when Andy Dawson appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area.
Chelsea's last change of the afternoon was to replace Ballack with Deco in the 72nd minute.
In the 78th minute, Duke dived low to his left to keep out a shot from Kalou.
Four minutes from time Drogba sent a free-kick wide of the target to complete a miserable afternoon for the Blues.
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Mail:
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0: Scolari in the firing line as Chelsea flop again
By IAN RIDLEY
The mood is turning at Stamford Bridge. For most of the season so far, Luiz Felipe Scolari has received the backing of the home support through some transitional times, but on Saturday he was forced to endure a chorus from a corner of the ground that insisted he did not know what he was doing and, at the final whistle, the jeers of more.The Brazilian could hardly be blamed, though, for the wayward finishing of his labouring side, nor the liveliness of a Hull City side beginning to recapture their inspiring form of early season. Still, Chelsea's title challenge is fading, a debut for the Portuguese loan signing Ricardo Quaresma from Inter Milan failing to add the immediate width and cutting edge they were seeking.Hull will care little. With Geovanni showing neat touches ahead of a resolute defence, they prised a precious point and might even have taken all three had they hit the target, with Hilario looking unsure in the home goal in the absence of the injured Petr Cech.
Who would have thought it - the team with the best goals-for record against the one with the worst goals-against record before kickoff producing a goalless draw!Certainly it looked a foregone conclusion on paper. Prior to last Sunday's defeat at Liverpool, Chelsea had won four in a row while Hull's point against West Bromwich last weekend was their first in seven games, a run that saw them bottom of the form table and in the bottom half of the real table for the first time this season. That win at Arsenal in early season was beginning to look a long time ago.It looked as if it would be even more remote as Chelsea tore at them in seeking to restore quickly any confidence that had drained after Anfield. They should have had a lead inside 90 seconds, indeed, when Frank Lampard swung in a corner from the left which eluded all and forced Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke into a hasty save. From the rebound, John Terry fired the ball over the bar from no more than three yards.
For a while it looked as if it would not matter, that it was only a matter of time before Chelsea took the lead. Quaresma was showing some neat touches, notably in crossing from the left with the outside of his right boot, and saw a curling shot tipped just wide by Duke.Gradually, having survived an early onslaught, Hull became emboldened. In the absence of the injured Daniel Cousin, Craig Fagan was holding the ball well up front and supplying Geovanni, who was replacing the suspended Bernard Mendy, with some decent opportunities. On one occasion the Brazilian flashed a cross-shot just wide before seeing another deflected.Hull also looked dangerous in the air and from set-pieces, with Chelsea still uncertain about their marking system at the back.
Michael Turner got in a header from Dean Marney's corner that was scrambled away before Kevin Kilbane went even closer, his downward header from Sam Ricketts' cross finishing narrowly wide. Chelsea were close when Michael Ballack curled a free-kick into the side-netting but they grew edgier, less composed in front of goal as the half progressed. They needed a goal to quell an anxiety going around Stamford Bridge.It was Hull, though, who went the closer early in the second half.Breaking from a Chelsea corner, Geovanni sent Fagan racing clear but, instead of playing in Marney at the far post, he tried a chip that merely sailed into Hilario's hands.
Marney did get the ball at his feet soon after with just Hilario to beat, from a piercing through-ball by Geovanni. He dragged it across goal, however, with the goalkeeper stranded.Scolari's response to the growing tension had been to send on Didier Drogba for Quaresma to prompt the home support's discontent and then he introduced Deco for Ballack. Nothing was doing, though. Scolari was left shaking his head, the home support shouting the odds.CHELSEA (4-3-3): Hilario; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Ballack (Deco 73min), Mikel (Belletti 57), Lampard; Quaresma (Drogba 63), Anelka, Kalou. Subs (not used): Taylor, Ivanovic, Di Santo, Stoch. Booked: Ashbee, Garcia.HULL (4-4-1-1): Duke; Ricketts, Turner, Zayatte, Dawson; Garcia, Ashbee, Marney, Kilbane; Geovanni (France 81); Fagan. Subs (not used): Myhill, Doyle, Barmby, Hughes, Halmosi, Manucho. Booked: Ashbee, Garcia. Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).
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Indy:
Fans turn on Scolari as Chelsea settle for less
Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
By Glenn Moore at Stamford Bridge
An hour into this match, with Chelsea labouring against the team with the worst defensive record in the Premier League, a team who had won one point in 21, Luiz Felipe Scolari made a substitution. When it became clear that Ricardo Quaresma was going to have his debut curtailed, the mutiny began.
"You don't know what you're doing," came the accusation from the Matthew Harding Stand, where Chelsea's most dedicated fans sit.
Whether he saw the match on television, or simply reads the result in Pravda, the again-absent Roman Abramovich may himself ask the same question. Unless West Ham do them a rare favour at Upton Park today Chelsea's title challenge must be regarded as all but over. Their failure to beat a Hull team who arrived on an apparently unstoppable downward spiral leaves them four points adrift of Manchester United, who have two games in hand. The issue now is ensuring that they qualify for one of the three automatic Champions' League places, for Chelsea now trail third-placed Aston Villa.
Does Scolari know what he is doing? As it happens, he did in the case in point. Quaresma has hardly played in recent months, having been estranged at Internazionale, from whom he is loaned, and after a bright start had faded. It was risking injury to keep him on.
However, the continued omission of Didier Drogba, and the refusal to adapt his system, invites the question. Scolari refused to answer himself but Ray Wilkins, his assistant, mounted a vigorous defence.
"He does know what he is doing," said Wilkins. "He has been in the game a long time and when you look at what he has won [World Cup, World Club Championship, etc] it is a tad out of order. It is unnecessary and not very pleasant to hear. I don't think it should be heard in our stadium."
All through Wilkins' press conference the fire alarm was ringing. "Is it an emergency, Ray?" he was asked. Acknowledging the question referred to the prospect of Chelsea's season going up in flames rather than the ground, he insisted it was not.
But then he added, in reference to Chelsea dropping to fourth: "You will see a lot of changes between positions two, three and four between now and the end of the season."
What about first? "It will be tough to catch [Manchester United] – but we will give it a go. Second is never good enough for a club of Chelsea's standing. There is no way we will give up with the talent we have in the club."
That talent, however, is not performing. Chelsea have taken 17 points from 12 matches. Mid-table form, at best. Inevitably confidence is fragile, Wilkins admitted the team looked "anxious". They needed a good start, and should have had one.
In the first minute Frank Lampard curled in a free-kick, Michael Ballack flicked on, and Matt Duke parried. The ball fell to John Terry, unchallenged, three yards from goal. Somehow he scooped it over.
"Had that gone in I'm sure we would have gone on and won comfortably," said Wilkins. "We would have come back and won 2-1," said Phil Brown, tongue rather more in cheek.
Hull could have easily won their first match here in more than a century of trying – they were Chelsea's first visitors in 1905 – having made and missed the best chances. Five minutes before the break Kevin Kilbane rose to head a Sam Ricketts cross against the outside of the post. Five minutes after the interval Alex cleared a goalbound header from Geovanni after a Dean Marney free-kick.
Next, from a breakaway, the busy Craig Fagan beat John Obi Mikel to the ball, but, withonly Hilario to beat, chipped weakly into the keeper's arms. Then Marney, after a flowing move between himself and Geovanni, shot just wide.
And what of Chelsea? Quaresma, having unveiled his trademark outside-of-the-foot cross early on, drew a fine save from Duke after 19 minutes following a counterattack.
Ballack hit the side-netting with a free-kick then JohnTerry had a dangerous headerblocked. There was also a penalty appeal after Salomon Kalou's thumping shot had struck Andy Dawson's arm. Finally, with fans making an early exit, Chelsea won a well-placed free-kick.
Drogba and Lampard stood over it, then Drogba thumped well wide. Lampard looked pensive. So too, when the final whistle went soon after to a crescendo of boos and he headed sharpish for the tunnel, did Scolari.
Attendance: 41,802
Referee: Lee Mason
Man of the match: Zayatte
Match rating: 5/10
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NOTW:
CHELSEA 0, HULL CITY 0 BRIDGE TOO FAR - Phil Scolari is under increasing pressure at Chelsea From ROB SHEPHERD
WHEN supporters start taunting the manager with chants of “You don’t know what you are doing”, then he is on a slippery slope.
Luis Felipe Scolari most certainly is — even if the snow has cleared from West London. Chelsea’s title hopes have now disappeared from the landscape, too.
This dire display has surely all but ended their championship challenge. And, once again this season, Big Phil looked on from the sidelines seemingly unable to influence the game in the way Stamford Bridge had become accustomed to under Jose Mourinho.
When Scolari decided in the 63rd minute it should have been Ricardo Quaresma rather than Salomon Kalou, Michael Ballack or even Nicolas Anelka to make way for Didier Drogba, a hard core cluster of fans in the Matthew Harding Stand let rip.
Someone had obviously anticipated another afternoon of angst for Chelsea and had even brought along a “Scolari Out . . . Zola/ Di Matteo Chelsea legends” banner.
It may all seem a bit previous and another sign of the almost impossible impatience of fans who have gorged on success in recent years.
Do real fans turn on a manager quite so soon in his first season?
Or do the taunts — there was also a brief round of boos all around the stadium at the final whistle — come from those supporters who glaze over when you talk about the pre- Abramovich cash-rich era and are totally ignorant of the days when old Second Division leaders Chelsea’s home meeting with Hull in 1989 attracted just 11,289.
Maybe but it will not be long before the protests really start to snowball if there is more of this — especially over the next three games which really will define Chelsea’s season.
The FA Cup trip to Watford, a Premier League journey to Aston Villa then Juventus here in the Champions League. If any of those results go badly wrong then the pressure from the stands on Scolari will be just like it was on predecessor Avram Grant.
Too much for the board to withstand, especially as the owner no longer seems that keen to pump in any more money.
The clamour will grow for Gianfranco Zola and Roberto di Matteo to take over, even if the more experienced Roberto Mancini is a more likely appointment. That is if Chelsea could still afford a manager of his stature . . .
Scolari ducked the post-match Press conference so it was left for assistant Ray Wilkins to face the music.
He said: “Fans pay their money so they have a right to boo but to say ‘You don’t know what you are doing’ given all what he has achieved as a manager is a tad out of order.”
Given Wilkins’ genial demeanour, “a tad out of order” amounts to him blasting the crowd. But this goalless draw means Chelsea have now dropped 16 points.
Big Phil still has not come up with a plan when things don’t go right. The time has come to change the system and go with 4-4-2 but Scolari will not make the switch. Yes, he won the World Cup with Brazil but he has never managed a club side in Europe — and it is starting to show.
His vendetta against Drogba, starting on the bench again, is self-defeating. When you are up against it, Anelka cannot operate as a lone striker and the team cannot afford for Ballack to keep prancing around.
If Frank Lampard is not pulling out all the stops — he was nowhere near his best yesterday — then Chelsea become pretty ordinary as an attacking force and are increasingly suspect at the back.
Even if Hull were on the back foot for a lot of the game, their striker Craig Fagan had two decent chances to have picked the home side’s pockets.
Blues had plenty of possession in the first half and created a string of chances but a lack of conviction around the box and some stoic defending kept them at bay.
After just two minutes, John Terry posted a miss of the season contender when he scooped over after Hull keeper Matt Duke had beaten down a deflected Lampard free-kick.
Soon after, Quaresma cut in stylishly enough from the left but his curled shot to the far post was tame and predictable and Duke pushed the ball around the far post. After that Quaresma, who flitted from flank to flank, showed a few decent touches and a poor final ball but had sufficient charisma to warm the Blues fans.
Hull, who ended a run of six straight defeats with a point against West Brom last week, were understandably in cautious mode.
But it was not merely a case of parking a bus in front of their 18-yard box. With Geovanni tucked in behind lively lone striker Fagan, they offered a threat on the break. Just before the interval, Hull’s Kevin Kilbane went close with a header that shaved a post.
As the game wore on, the Tigers looked the likelier to score but Fagan pulled a shot wide then chipped weakly at Henrique Hilario.
Chelsea made a desperate shout for a penalty late on when a Kalou shot hit Andy Dawson’s arm. But it would have been harsh.
Three weeks ago, Chelsea came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 in the final few minutes in a spirited fightback. But the towel was thrown in far too early yesterday.
The Blues have dropped to fourth and now face a battle to secure Champions League qualification. Such failure really will be a sacking offence for Scolari.
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Observer:
Chelsea held at home by resistant HullChelsea 0 Hull City 0
Jamie Jackson at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea's debutant Ricardo Quaresma battles with Hull City's Dean Marney during the scrappy goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Rebecca Naden/PA
In the end, Chelsea were a touch fortunate not to lose. Their problem is the one which has arrived this season of finding themselves incapable of alchemising dominance into the scintillating stuff which leads to swaggering or indeed regulation victory.
They went into the break having had nearly all the half their way. And they came off at the end having again enjoyed the better 45 minutes, yet with only a point added to their title challenge.
In fact, to listen to Ray Wilkins in the ensuing press conference it was easy to gain an impression that the league might have already, privately at least, been conceded. "I think you'll find 4th, 3rd and 2nd will change places a lot," he said, when asked about the fact that Chelsea now occupy only the final Champions League spot.
The assistant coach went into a swift about-turn when asked if this was an acknowledgement that they cannot be champions come May. "It's difficult to catch Manchester United, but we'll be trying – though they do have a game in hand and points in hand. But we'll give it a damn good go," he insisted.
Until 4pm this afternoon, when they visit West Ham, United actually have two matches in hand. These could yield six points to place sweetly on top of the four they are already ahead of Chelsea. "We have been a power in the Premier League and so we strive to be number one," Wilkins said.
Publicly, of course, that is always a given. But Luiz Felipe Scolari's decision to allow his assistant to do the explaining placed an extra layer on the perception that Chelsea are in serious disarray. Again, Wilkins denied there was anything conclusive in a no-show. But whether it showed strong leadership is one for a bar-room argument.
Clearer was a moment that arrived after 63 minutes. "You don't know what you're doing," came the sing-song abuse thrown at the manager when Scolari swapped debutant Ricardo Quaresma – there were flashes of promise, nothing else – for the one-time ultimate golden boy, Didier Drogba.
What did Wilkins think of that? "It's never very pleasant. It was a minority. They pay their money and if they want to boo they can, but given the manager's record, it was a tad out of order."
Also in disorder are the on-field issues facing Scolari. These would include an increasingly hesitant John Terry, who let Kevin Kilbane in after 18 minutes when the winger might have scored; a midfield in which only Frank Lampard is producing and which had Scolari yanking a half-hearted John Obi Mikel off after the break; and that most troubling of all maladies, an ever-decreasing return of goals.
The head coach, it seems, can no longer rely on his men consistently to play Nicolas Anelka into the areas where before the year's turn he was enjoying his own, private free-for-all. Nearly two months have passed since the Frenchman struck in the Premier League.
Instead, he was starved. And it was the visitors who might have gobbled the three points. "We could've indeed," their manager, Phil Brown, said. While Craig Fagan and Dean Marney both came close for Hull, Salomon Kalou had his own stab at glory 11 minutes from time. But his shot was straight and had City's fans singing deliriously that "This is the best trip I've ever been on".
Scolari might now be wondering about what is fast becoming a depressing sojourn. The boos at the end will echo across the rest of his weekend.
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Express:
SCRAPPING TIGERS PUT THE BITE ON BIG PHIL
By Tony Stenson at Stamford Bridge Chelsea 0 Hull City 0
CHELSEA fans finally turned on manager Felipe Scolari last night.
They chanted ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ after he took off new signing Ricardo Quaresma and replaced him with Didier Drogba.
They vented their anger on the Brazilian after once again watching their world class players fail to produce. Enough was enough.
How come, they asked, was there no Plan B after long periods of their side dictating the game without result?
Why didn’t their stars come to the rescue? Why was controversial striker Didier Drogba not introduced much earlier as again Nicolas Anelka showed he can only produce when the river flows in his direction?
The bitter chants from Chelsea supporters will no doubt be heard on owner Roman Abramovich’s floating palace.
He has lost billions in the credit crunch and he doesn’t want to lose face, but his side are going nowhere fast.
Scolari has won a World Cup, but we all have sell-by dates.
Chelsea dominated all the game, yet Hull were unlucky not to win when former Spurs player Dean Marney went close near the end.
Scolari stalked the touchline and looked a sorrowful soul sending on A-list players to try to break down a workmanlike side.
Skipper John Terry’s pre-match Churchillian speech fell on deaf ears.
He sounded like Winston in the dressing room in his pre-match talk, telling his failing team-mates: “We need a result, we need a performance, we need a clean sheet – we need a lot of things today.”
Clearly, no one listened.
Chelsea should have had a hatful, restoring pride and showing new boy Quaresma what they were all about.
Instead, we saw the same old fare with long periods of possession but little to show for it.
Mikel is not a midfield creator, while Michael Ballack – good at free kicks but performing only when he wants to – continues to nose-dive.
Frank Lampard can only do so much.
Chelsea are missing a direct, dominant striker. Anelka heads the ball mostly in his own half.
When they attack and cross, there usually aren’t many players in the opposition’s box.
They haven’t learnt the Manchester United lesson – release Cristiano Ronaldo and then thunder forward.
Instead, they have talented stars who simply do not possess the ability to break down a group of decent journeymen.
Chelsea insiders claim the club has not been the same since long-serving No 2 Steve Clarke was allowed to leave to join Gianfranco Zola at West Ham. Hull, meanwhile, were like annoying gnats – buzzing, stinging and refusing to give up lost causes. They could well have won it.
You had to admire the Tigers. They arrived knowing they had been the opposition in the first-ever competitive game at Stamford Bridge way back in 1905. They lost that encounter 5-1 in front of 6,000 supporters. Crowds change. So do results.
Hull gave hope of a new dawn, a former lower league club ready to wrestle with the big boys and bite the noses of distinguished opposition.
They started the season by taking points when they were not expected to do so, and encouraging headlines were written. Then reality kicked in. Now they seem to have turned the corner once more.
Quaresma marked his debut with a 20th minute 18-yard curler, then Lampard’s 25th minute shot was deflected after Hull failed to clear Quaresma’s corner.
But it was a tale of what might have been for Chelsea and Scolari.
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