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The TimesJanuary 9, 2008
Shaun Wright-Phillips talent show rescues Chelsea from another off nightMatt Hughes
Shaun Wright-Phillips is due a drink from all of his teammates as a reward for his contribution to this dramatic last-gasp win, though John Obi Mikel should treat him to another night out at the club in Soho where the England winger recently held his infamous 26th birthday party.
The Nigeria midfield player appeared to have irrevocably altered the course of an eventful match that Chelsea were dominating with his 55th minute sending-off, before Wright-Phillips popped up in injury time to change it again by forcing a dramatic winner off Joleon Lescott, the Everton defender.
Whether Chelsea deserved to take a lead to Goodison Park in a fortnight is doubtful after Everton’s impressive second-half display, though Wright-Phillips was a worthy winner after producing his most enterprising performance of the season in front of Fabio Capello, the new England manager. Given the inconsistencies that have marked his career to date, all England fans will hope that this represents a new beginning.
Wright-Phillips opened the scoring with a curling shot in the 26th minute before leaping above Lescott to force a late own goal. For a moment it appeared as if the 5ft 6in winger had headed the ball himself, but that would have been too much to ask.
Above all it was his versatility that will have impressed Capello, a quality conspicuous by its absence among the other players who will make up his first squad. After starting off in midfield, Wright-Phillips moved to the right wing when Joe Cole was sacrificed after Mikel’s dismissal, before ending up in the unfamiliar role of a lone striker as Chelsea held on for a draw with Everton pouring forward. Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, also deserves credit for turning an essentially defensive substitution into an attacking weapon.
“I put Shaun forward because he’s faster than everyone else, but I didn’t know he’d score with his head,” Grant said. “Shaun was in the last England squad and will be in Capello’s. He’s a good player, very quick and can play in a lot of different positions as we saw today.”
Grant was on less comfortable ground as he skirted around Mikel’s fourth sending-off in the past 16 months, which was thoroughly deserved for a lunge at Phil Neville reminiscent of his dismissal against Manchester United in September.
The 20-year-old has also collected 13 yellow cards since he was stolen from under the noses of Manchester United two years ago, and for all his promise is starting to become a liability. Peter Crouch, who was sent off at Stamford Bridge in the previous round after reacting to Mikel’s perceived provocation, would have been pleased, but after 68 appearances no one at Chelsea can be satisfied at their prodigy’s continued impetuousness.
Although he would not say so publicly, Grant will have hardened to this view when Everton equalised ten minutes after Mikel’s dismissal, particularly given the nationality of their goalscorer. James McFadden’s wonderful free kick from the left was missed by the flapping Hilário, with Joseph Yobo volleying back across goal for Yakubu Ayegbeni to score acrobatically.
Having spent much of last week negotiating with Berti Vogts, the Nigeria coach, over the release date of players for the African Cup of Nations, Grant will have been regretting his diplomacy, particularly as Everton looked like taking a valuable first-leg lead. Yakubu almost returned the favour for McFadden four minutes later, releasing the Scotland midfield player with a brilliant backheel and watching opened-mouthed as he held off rash challenges from Alex and Ricardo Carvalho before shooting across the face of goal. As the ball bounced back off the far post, Grant will definitely have rued his decision to pick up the phone to Lagos.
As a spiteful contest threatened to spill over into further acrimony with a running battle between Lescott and Juliano Belletti, Chelsea appeared to settle for a draw, when Grant replaced Claudio Pizarro with Paulo Ferreira, though the decision to send Wright-Phillips up front proved inspired.
Michael Ballack hoisted an overhead kick high into Everton’s penalty area, but cannot have anticipated Wright-Phillips’s unlikely leap. David Moyes, the Everton manager, claimed that Lescott was impeded by an arm on his shoulder, though having got up so high, Wright-Phillips deserved to get away with it. Lescott had an opportunity to add a further late twist when he found himself through on goal, though his left-foot shot was well saved by Hilário.
Capello will have been heartened by a match-winning performance from one of his prospective players, if slightly concerned at confirmation that his new country does pace and passion far better than calculated cunning. Capello is charged with bringing back the glory days by doing an Italian Job on the national side, though he will have enjoyed watching this footballing version of The Fast and the Furious.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Hilário – J Belletti, Alex, R Carvalho, W Bridge – S Wright-Phillips, J O Mikel, M Ballack – J Cole (sub: S Sidwell, 61min), C Pizarro (sub: P Ferreira, 83), F Malouda (sub: T Ben Haim, 90). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, B Sahar. Booked: Belletti, Cole. Sent off: Mikel.
Everton (4-4-1-1): T Howard – A Hibbert, J Yobo, P Jagielka, J Lescott – P Neville, L Carsley, T Cahill, J McFadden – A Johnson – Yakubu Ayegbeni (sub: V Anichebe, 90). Substitutes not used: S Wessels, T Gravesen, J Vaughan, N Valente. Booked: Carsley, Hibbert, Neville, Johnson.
Referee: P Walton. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Own-goal agony for Joleon Lescott at ChelseaBy Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Everton (0) 1
In a mesmerising tie that switch-backed between the sublime, the ridiculous and the malicious, Everton's Joleon Lescott conceded an own goal deep into stoppage time to give Chelsea real hope of reaching the Carling Cup final.
After Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ayegbeni Yakubu had exchanged fine goals, this semi-final first leg appeared destined for a draw. But under pressure from the outstanding Wright-Phillips, Lescott headed into his own net and Chelsea, who had lost John Obi Mikel to a red card, celebrated as if they had won the trophy again.l Even before Wright-Phillips' magnificent strike inside the opening half-hour and two Lee Carsley lunges - tackles that could have drawn red - the atmosphere had been fired up. Everton fans had travelled in huge numbers, taking over the Shed End, giving their team loud and endless backing. Chelsea supporters responded in kind, stirred up by an opera singer's rousing pre-match rendition of Blue Is The Colour.
An engrossing tie kept the decibel level high. Chelsea, for all their absentees, kept pouring forward in numbers, leaving only Mikel to shield the defence. Wright-Phillips was in the Frank Lampard role, tucked into midfield with a licence to break into Everton's box.
Wright-Phillips' career as a winger at the Bridge has been largely disappointing, failing to build on the rich promise he revealed at Manchester City. But he impressed in a more central position last night, perhaps motivated by the presence of England's new head coach, Fabio Capello.
With Wright-Phillips darting around in support of the attacking trident of Florent Malouda, Claudio Pizarro and Joe Cole, Chelsea shimmered with menace. Cole had a shot blocked by the diving Carsley, the Everton midfielder then showing a less appealing side by upending Malouda and plunging a boot into Wright-Phillips' shin.
Carsley's desperation reflected Chelsea's control over the first half. Danger flowed from every quarter. Both of Avram Grant's full-backs, Juliano Belletti and Wayne Bridge, gave Chelsea additional width. Belletti unleashed one shot that flew over.
Bridge's involvement raised a few eyebrows as Ashley Cole was fit but not included in the match-day 16. Last seen musing over Grant's decision to take the armband off him and hand it to Didier Drogba, Cole took up his seat in the stands, along with his injured captain, John Terry. In front of him and Capello, Bridge was seizing the moment, playing an influential part in Wright-Phillips' 26th-minute goal.
Bridge took the throw-in on the left, launching the ball to Malouda, who was returning after two months in the treatment room. Malouda and Bridge exchanged passes before the Frenchman rolled the ball into the box to the unmarked Wright-Phillips. Everton's defence stood off. Madness.
Moyes, a former centre-half of supreme determination, almost collapsed in frustration. Wright-Phillips took immediate advantage, gently nudging the ball on before placing it, with a hint of bend, past Tim Howard.
It was the very least that Chelsea, and Wright-Phillips in particular, deserved and the diminutive England international disappeared under his jubilant team-mates.
Chelsea could easily have been two clear by the break and their captain, Michael Ballack, was inches away with a driven free-kick after Phil Jagielka had fouled Cole on the edge of the area. Against modern practice, Cole had stayed on his feet and brought a good save from Howard, but the referee, Peter Walton, brought play back.
Just when they thought they had Everton on the ropes, Chelsea were almost caught by a sucker-punch moments before the break. Lescott raced into the box and shot straight at Henrique Hilario. It was Everton's most creative moment of the first half and they were clearly missing the injured Leon Osman, the suspended Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar, who had become tangled up in Fifa red tape and was now training with South Africa.
A goal ahead, Chelsea fell a player behind 10 minutes after the restart. In the current climate of referees cracking down on players who leave the floor in launching challenges, Mikel was certainly guilty of stupidity. Leading in with his right foot, Mikel's tackle was certainly studs-up on Phil Neville, who was left writhing on the floor. Peter Walton had no doubt about the malice in Mikel's challenge and he brandished a red card to the astonishment of everyone connected with Chelsea.
At least Mikel will not have to serve any ban as the Nigerian departs immediately for the African Cup of Nations. This makes a mockery of the Laws, and there will surely be a debate over whether Mikel should sit out three matches on his return.
Walton's inconsistency will certainly come under scrutiny. Ten minutes after dismissing Mikel, the Northamptonshire official merely gave Steve Sidwell a talking-to for burrowing his right boot into Carsley's ankle.
Evertonian bemusement soon disappeared as they levelled in spectacular fashion. When James McFadden lifted over a free-kick from the left, Hilario flapped, allowing Joseph Yobo to cut the ball back from the byeline. As Alex dived in, Yakubu cut the ball beautifully, and it sped unerringly into the net. Andrew Johnson avoided serious injury by ducking out of the way as Yakubu's shot passed him. "Feed the Yak and he will score," chanted the Everton fans. They were soon spellbound by a running feud between Lescott and Belletti. Chelsea's right-back claimed he was caught in the face by Lescott's elbow and the pair then tore into each other again moments later.
As the game raced through injury time, Lescott endured two moments of agony, first heading Michael Ballack's hooked ball past Howard and then wasting a golden chance of redemption by firing straight at Hilario.
Match details Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Hilario; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Mikel; Wright-Phillips, Ballack; J Cole (Sidwell 61), Pizarro (Ferreira 83), Malouda (Ben-Haim 90).Subs: Cudicini (g), Sahar.Booked: Cole, Belletti.Sent off: Mikel.Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Hibbert, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott; Neville, Cahill, Carsley, McFadden; Johnson; Yakubu (Anichebe 89).Subs: Wessels (g), Gravesen, Vaughan, Nuno Valente.Booked: Carsley, Hibbert, Neville, Johnson.Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).
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Chelsea 2 Everton 1: Lescott's late error hands slim advantage to depleted Chelsea By Sam Wallace at Stamford Bridge
Someone must have had to explain to Fabio Capello exactly what this strange Carling Cup competition was all about but when it came to the performance of Shaun Wright-Phillips, no such explanation was necessary. As the new England manager watched, Chelsea's English nearly-man delivered his performance of the season to give Avram Grant's 10-man team a dramatic last-minute win.
At Goodison Park on 23 January, Chelsea will defend a one-goal lead in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg that came from the most improbable source. With injury-time ticking away, the 5ft 6in tall Wright-Phillips leapt above Joleon Lescott to force the Everton defender into scoring a bizarre own goal. Advantage Chelsea, but there is life left in this tie yet.
John Obi Mikel's moment of madness came in the 54th minute to earn him his fourth red card of his short Chelsea career, a studs-up lunge on Phil Neville that sent the Everton captain spinning. Off went Mikel and back surged Everton to level with a brilliant volley from Ayegbeni Yakubu after Wright-Phillips had scored earlier. Then, in the closing seconds, the little Chelsea winger reinvented himself as Nat Lofthouse to win the match.
Plenty to think about for Capello, watching his third English cup tie in four days. So far he has watched Wayne Rooney turn a game against Aston Villa, Peter Crouch rescue Liverpool and last night he got a first-hand view of an England international who has divided opinion since he scored on his debut for the national team against Ukraine in August 2004. Wright-Phillips certainly picked his moment.
First the £24m man found himself in central midfield alongside Michael Ballack and then, with Chelsea reduced to 10 men, he was thrown into attack on his own. Claudio Pizarro was replaced by Paulo Ferreira as Avram Grant took the conservative option. Wright-Phillips was thrust up front and his part in the winning goal conspired to make his manager look like a tactical genius.
What are Chelsea to do with Mikel? For such an accomplished midfielder he seems unable to tell the difference between a 50-50 ball and a lost cause. His lunge at Neville was not as wince-inducing as the challenge on Patrice Evra at Old Trafford in September that earned him a red card against Manchester United but it was certainly not the smartest tackle. A consolation is that Mikel's three-match ban will coincide with his absence at the African Nations Cup in Ghana this month.
Doing his best to be completely unmemorable in the post-match press conference, Grant did say he had reason to believe Everton were lucky to get away without a red card themselves. Specifically he must have been talking about Lee Carsley's rush of blood in the opening few moments in which he was booked for dissent and then up-ended Wright-Phillips. But, on balance, referee Peter Walton got this game right.
Perhaps Grant is starting to feel the pressure – he may wave away any attempt to bring Jose Mourinho back into the narrative but there is no doubt that this trophy would be of great use to the new Chelsea manager. His predecessor won it in his first season and this time around, with Arsenal playing the kids, Chelsea are still the favourites.
The first Chelsea goal was uncharacteristic of an Everton side so rigorously well-organised by David Moyes. Florent Malouda cut in and threaded a ball into the box. There to receive it was Wright-Phillips, completely unmarked, who turned and bent a beautifully-hit shot inside Tim Howard's left-hand post.
Mikel was sent off nine minutes after the break and soon after he was followed byJoe Cole. It was Cole's misfortune that he had to be replaced by another holding midfielder, Steven Sidwell, especially as Pizarro was a more obvious candidate to be taken off.
Everton struck when James McFadden's free-kick from the left was cut back at the far post by Joseph Yobo and Yakubu volleyed it home. For Everton, this precious away goal will only count double if the aggregate score is level after extra-time in the second leg.
McFadden had hit the post in the 69th minute and then an extraordinary ending. In injury time, Ballack struck a long looping ball back into the box and, under pressure from the leaping Wright-Phillips, Lescott inadvertently headed the ball past Howard. Not the most auspicious start for the Everton defender in front of Capello but Wright-Phillips can rest assured that the new England manager knows exactly who he is.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Hilario; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Mikel; J Cole (Sidwell, 61), Wright-Phillips, Ballack, Malouda; Pizarro (Ferreira, 83). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Ben Haim, Sahar.
Everton (4-4-2): Howard; Hibbert, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott; Cahill, Neville, Carsley, McFadden; Johnson, Yakubu (Anichebe, 89). Substitutes not used: Wessels (gk), Gravesen, Vaughan, Valente.
Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lescott lets Chelsea off the hook after Mikel's reckless red lunge
Dominic Fifield at Stamford BridgeWednesday January 9, 2008The Guardian
Everton have waited 13 years for a major final to rise into view though, after all this time, they will wonder if fate is conspiring to deny them passage to Wembley yet again. The visitors had all but tamed Chelsea in this first leg here last night when, three minutes into stoppage time, a spasm of indecision gripped the centre of their defence to cost them their reward. Where they had briefly revelled in parity and even threatened to forge ahead, a deficit must now be retrieved in the second leg; serious psychological damage has been sustained.
David Moyes spoke of the tie still being "alive" in the aftermath, though his concession that "this was a missed opportunity" carried more weight. Agonisingly for Everton, the home side had lost Mikel John Obi to a red card following a one-footed lunge on Phil Neville before the hour mark and then surrendered their lead to Yakubu Ayegbeni's equaliser, when James McFadden wriggled his way in from the left touchline and squirted a shot which flicked the outside of the far post and drifted away. Yet the cruellest cut was inflicted at the last.Chelsea were whipping up late frantic pressure when Michael Ballack hooked a cross into the six-yard box where Shaun Wright-Phillips sprang above a grounded and aghast Joleon Lescott. It was unclear whether the England defender had anticipated Tim Howard emerging from his goal-line to claim the looping ball or whether he was unsure if he should nod the chance behind, but he succeeded only in planting a header down and into the corner beyond his helpless goalkeeper. The PA announcer credited "the smallest player on the pitch" with the goal. Everton shrunk at the absurdity of it all.
Lescott might still have recovered, marauding upfield and finding space in the Chelsea area before the final whistle had sounded only to miscontrol his second touch and see Hilario suffocate the first leg's last opportunity from close range. The late twist was cruel on the defender, who had been outstanding. The reality was that Everton had been punished for a late lull, their energy and belief appearing to ebb away in the latter stages when this game - as McFadden had shown - was there for the taking. "I do feel hard done by because I think we worked so hard to get back into the game, but Chelsea just keep going," said Moyes.
That Chelsea prevailed was down to their relentless quality. This is a side who have grown used to choking the hope out of opponents in recent times, their challenge sustained remarkably as they strain under an horrendous injury list and, here, with the imminent African Cup of Nations having already denied them three players. Yet the holders will not wilt. Their late winner was reward for a stubborn, bloody-minded determination to squeeze out a lead which can be defended at Goodison Park.
Midway through the first period, with Everton having held their hosts at arm's length, Wright-Phillips drifted into space behind Lee Carsley on the edge of the box and gathered Florent Malouda's pass. The Irishman was too slow on the turn to intervene, with Tony Hibbert distracted as he tracked Wayne Bridge's advance down the left flank, allowing Wright-Phillips to spin the ball out of his feet and curl a delicious shot across the turning Joseph Yobo and in beyond Howard off his far post.
It was a fine goal and a reminder of Wright-Phillips' ability, though other opportunities were passed up, the significance of which only became apparent when Mikel slid in wildly on Neville. The challenge was one-footed, though the studs were showing and raked the Everton captain's shin as his leg was raised in anticipation. The spate of recent dismissals has been for two-footed leaps, with this one more reckless than malicious. Yet there was still a fourth red card for the Nigerian in a fledgling Chelsea career, the midfielder offering up a wry smile as he trudged from the turf and presumably straight to Ghana.
Avram Grant might have wished that Nigeria had called up their players earlier for the African Cup of Nations, particularly with Yakubu reacting smartly to Yobo's fine knock-back to slam an equaliser just after the hour mark. From there, Everton might have prospered. Now they must chase this tie from arrears.
"Chelsea will be favourites but the tie is still alive," insisted Moyes through a monotone of disappointment. Regardless, a thunderous evening on Merseyside is now in prospect.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Shaun steals the show for Chelsea as Lescott own goal swings tieChelsea 2 Everton 1
By NEIL ASHTON
After dining out at the Italian restaurant Cipriani at the end of his first day in the job, Fabio Capello found the acquired taste of English football to his liking last night.
The England manager watched the drama unfold from his cushioned seat in the stands as Shaun Wright-Phillips — marked 'at risk' as Capello swots up for his first game against Switzerland — took a starring role in this absorbing semi-final tie.
The Italian, high up in the stands at Stamford Bridge alongside his trusted assistant Franco Baldini, saw the very best and very worst of English football in the space of 90 relentless minutes.
That, it has to be said, is just how we like it.
Chelsea drew first blood when Wright- Phillips curled a quite beautiful effort beyond Everton keeper Tim Howard in the 26th minute, but the maddening sight of John Mikel Obi launching into another reckless tackle after the break also left its mark on this Carling Cup tie.
Then the two teams were toe to toe, slugging it out until Yakubu equalised with a hooked effort in the 64th minute, but Chelsea finished off this first leg with a dramatic winner deep into injury time.
Harsh on Everton, who battled bravely for 90 minutes, but Chelsea's tiny midfield dynamo deserves a hero-gram.
Wright-Phillips, infuriating one game and intoxicating the next, was at his brilliant best against an Everton team with their sights firmly set on their first major final for 13 years.
The Chelsea midfielder, playing alongside Michael Ballack and Obi in the centre of their three-man midfield, twisted, teased and tantalised his way through this first leg. He was electric.
Whenever the ball is at this boy's feet, 40,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge slide towards the edge of their seats; sometimes they slip off them in despair and sometimes they stand to attention to applaud those magical runs down the right wing.
Last night they watched openmouthed as he bent the opening goal beyond Howard. Wayne Bridge began the move on the left when he twice swapped passes with Florent Malouda, but Wright-Phillips can stand alone for this moment of magic.
Everton's defenders failed to close him down and he swept the ball past Howard with the deftest of touches. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
The home side were on the charge, but Obi made a game of it when he was sent off for the fourth time in his career at Chelsea for a reckless challenge on Phil Neville.
Down to 10 men, they were almost down and out when Everton equalised.
They may not be the Dogs of War that characterised the Everton team who won the FA Cup in 1995 under Joe Royle, but there is a determination about this emerging side.
With Obi in the dressing room, Everton dominated possession. Lee Carsley went close, James McFadden almost fashioned an equaliser, but Yakubu signed off for the African Cup of Nations with a powerful effort just inside the area. Cue delirium in The Shed, where 6,000 travelling Evertonians were stationed behind the goal as they savoured a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
They were spoilt under Howard Kendall in the 1980s, when Kevin Sheedy, Andy Gray, Trevor Steven and Neville Southall regularly made their way up the 39 steps to the Royal Box at Wembley.
The School of Science won the league, the FA Cup and the European Cup-Winners' Cup under Kendall, but semi-finals are unique occasions for this famous old club.
They are not out of it by any means, but Chelsea were there for the taking.
The Carling Cup holders creaked whenever Everton piled forward and McFadden had the chance to put them on Fantasy Island when he burst into the penalty area.
Juliano Belletti pulled out of a challenge, but McFadden's effort clipped the outside of a post. Chelsea responded by withdrawing the talented Joe Cole and sending Steve Sidwell into battle against the bruisers in the middle of Everton's midfield.
Joseph Yobo, Phil Jagielka, Neville and Carsley snap and snarl their way through 90 minutes each week for this Everton team and they did not deserve to be on the losing side.
They rolled up their sleeves and never once shirked a challenge, but Chelsea nicked it in the final seconds of this wonderful cup tie.
Ballack, captaining Chelsea in the absence of just about anyone senior and responsible enough to take the armband, somehow scooped the ball back over his head towards the far post.
At 5ft 6ins, Wright-Phillips had no hope of beating Lescott in the air. Instead, he took a ride on his England team-mate's back and Lescott headed the ball into his own net.
Tough on Everton, but this tie is still to be decided. There will be 40,000 Evertonians waiting for Chelsea at Goodison Park in two weeks' time, but they will be without their main goalscoring threat for the second leg.
Yakubu will be on international duty with Nigeria, but at least Everton have the comfort of an away goal to consider over the next fortnight.
They know that a 1-0 victory would be enough after extra time at Goodison Park to take them to the final, and an expert in the art of narrow wins has just arrived in England.
If Moyes needs any advice, just dial 'F' for Fabio.
Chelsea: Hilario, Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Obi, Ballack, Malouda, Joe Cole, Pizarro. Subs: Cudicini, Sidwell, Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Sahar.
Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott, Cahill, Neville, Carsley, McFadden, Johnson, Yakubu. Subs: Wessels, Gravesen, Vaughan, Nuno Valente, Anichebe.
Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sunday papers QPR fa cup

The Sunday TimesJanuary 6, 2008
Keeper Lee Kamp's slip saves Chelsea
Chelsea 1 QPR 0
Brian Glanville at Stamford Bridge
Queens Park Rangers, with their regiment of newly-signed players, gave Chelsea a thorough run for their money in this London derby, going down to a single, freakish goal which came after 28 minutes. Chelsea’s Claudio Pizarro drove in a right-footed shot, Lee Camp, the QPR goalkeeper, seemed to misjudge it as he dived and had the mortification of deflecting the ball into his own net off his arm as it came back off the left-hand post.
After that, the floodgates never opened. Indeed, in the second half, QPR made more chances than Chelsea, prompting the Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, to praise his third-choice goalkeeper, Henrique Hilario. He also paid tribute to the visitors and underdogs. He said: “It was a typical cup game. We did our job, that is most important for me. We are in the next round.
“QPR played tactically very well. They were very clever and closed the space very well. It was a game like we expected. We held the ball most of the time. They tried to score at set-pieces. We scored one goal and created more chances but what is important is to be in the next round. In the cup it is important to do your job and we did that.”
Satisfied, too, up to a point, was Rangers’ shrewd Italian manager, Luigi De Canio, who has, as a coach, covered his own peninsula from top to bottom, from Udinese in the northeast to Napoli in the southwest. He may not be a Capello or a Lippi, but in the relatively short time since he took over at Shepherd’s Bush, he has guided what was a failing team out of trouble and now, with all his new faces, he will doubtless hope for more. “Chelsea demonstrated they are a great team,” he said. “They behaved well. I think we did what we were expected to – we were quite tidy on the pitch. We tried to take advantage of every possible chance that we had.
“I am very satisfied with the performance. We worked well and it just shows we are on course to grow in the way we want. We put them under pressure and did our job well but unluckily we didn’t win. It is never nice to lose but Chelsea are the great champions they are and they were good at creating chances.”
Asked about the super abundance of new players, De Canio confessed that he had simply acted on advice before signing them. A modest, charming, but decisive man, his own appointment, after it was rumoured that the more prominent Francesco Guidolin would arrive, now looks to have been almost an inspired one.
The sudden influx of money to Shepherd’s Bush could enable him at this stage to buy the kind of players he seldom had in Italy except perhaps with Udinese and Napoli.
It was a pity, yesterday, that one of the best he inherited, the gifted Hungarian playmaker Akos Buzsaky, should hurt his ankle and depart early in the second half having recently made formal his transfer from Plymouth for £500,000. Peanuts, of course, to the big hitters who have now taken Rangers over.
De Canio is already looking forward with optimism. “I know we can do a lot better,” he said. “Certainly, we had only a few training days. I’m satisfied, but there’s a lot more work to do. We kept them in suspense.”
As to the somewhat farcical goal, he observed philosophically: “When you are up against a great team such as Chelsea, you have to expect it. That’s the law of sport.” And to give the unfortunate Camp his due, he did make a couple of excellent saves in the second half.
Not only did QPR defend with resolution and organisation in the second half, they also had their moments in attack, not least in the shape of lively central midfielder and captain Martin Rowlands.
After a first half largely devoid of dramatic incident, despite the goal, Rowlands was admirably ready to shoot on sight every time he got anywhere near Hilario’s goal.
Chelsea began the second half by testing Camp with Alex’s fierce, low, long-range free kick that the keeper turned round his right-hand post, but Rowlands then came vigorously into the picture. Three minutes later, he sent a shot whistling only just above the bar. Four minutes after that, he made himself space and opportunity for a left-footed drive that was blocked by Hilario.
Playing with only one forward in the first half, in the shape of the resourceful and determined Dexter Blackstock, QPR at half-time brought on another of last week’s acquisitions in the shape of former Preston striker Patrick Agyemang, who, on 58 minutes, resiliently made himself the opportunity for a forceful right-footed shot, but Hilario saved that, too.
Alex’s attempt apart, Chelsea did not threaten much in the second half. On 56 minutes, Pizarro was clean through, cutting inside Chris Barker, only to shoot wildly over the bar. Didier Drogba, brought on to great applause as a 60th-minute substitute, took a pass from Joe Cole in stoppage time and rapped in a low shot, again turned round a post by Camp. Drogba has clearly recovered from his knee operation, but he and Chelsea’s other gifted Africans will all too soon be taking part in the African Cup of Nations.
One should also mention in the first half a thundering, right-footed shot by Steve Sidwell, looking far more confident and assertive than he did the other day at Fulham. When Shaun Wright-Phillips and Salomon Kalou set him up, his drive beat Camp, only to come back off that same, ill-omened post.
In a colossal irony, even Chelsea’s billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich, seems likely to be overshadowed and overtaken by QPR’s new, imposing triumvirate: motor-racing men Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone and now one of the richest men in the world in steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and his vast company. But at present, Rangers, for all their activity in the transfer market, are not going for the major stars.
But De Canio, having guided them away from relegation, could well be soon in receipt of massive financial backing. By the time QPR come back to Stamford Bridge, who knows what stars may glitter in their ranks? Shades of the days when Rangers were pipped only on the post for the championship by Liverpool in 1975-76, when they lost so fatefully on a goalkeeping error at Norwich.
Chelsea v QPR: the world's richest derby
The men who own the west London rivals have a combined wealth of over £32 billion. Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea squad was assembled for £227m. Andriy Shevchenko is their costliest signing at £30.8m, the same sum QPR owner Lakshmi Mittal paid for his daughter’s wedding. QPR splashed out only £3.8m on their squad, but with Mittal, Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore taking over last year the balance of power could be about to shift.
LAKSHMI MITTAL
Age 57
Worth £19.25 billion The Indian steel magnate topped the Sunday Times Rich List last year and is reputedly the world’s 5 fth richest man. He began with the family firm in Calcutta, but with his father’s backing founded his own steel plant. By the mid1980s he was a serious player in the world market. He now lives in London while keeping his Indian passport. He paid a world record £70m for a private house when he bought Bernie Ecclestone’s London home
FLAVIO BRIATORE
Age 57
Worth £110m The poor relation of the Loftus Road trio. Briatore, managing director of Renault’s F1 team, counts many of the world’s jet set among his friends ... supermodel Naomi Campbell, right, was his guest at a recent QPR match. He made his fortune as a business partner of Luciano Benetton, founder of the Italian clothing company. Briatore was later convicted of fraud and headed for the Virgin Islands rather than serve a jail sentence. As MD of Benetton’s F1 team, he won two world titles with Michael Schumacher. Joining Renault, he won two further titles with Fernando Alonso. Also involved in fashion and pharmaceuticals
BERNIE ECCLESTONE
Age 77
Worth £2.25 billion CVC, a private equity giant, bought control of Formula One in 2005 and set up a new company, Alpha Prema, to run the sport, appointing Ecclestone as chief executive. He made his fortune from TV rights and F1 spin-offs. He also donates about £50m a year to charity
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH
Age 41
Worth £10.8 billion Abramovich, Britain’s second richest man, started in Moscow making cheap plastic products.
His career took off when he bought the Sibneft oil company with Boris Berezovsky in 1995 for £120m. Ten years later Sibneft was sold, earning Abramovich and his partners about £7.5 billion
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------QPR unsettle neighbours Chelsea
By Clive White
Chelsea (1) 1 Queens Park Rangers (0) 0
So in the end all that separated the haves and the have-soons was an own goal. Rangers' new billionaire owners could be excused for thinking that success in this football business could come wonderfully cheaply, if the laboured efforts of their supposedly upper class West London neighbours was anything to go by here.
Make no mistake, the FA Cup holders were hanging on at the finish against the lowly Championship side. They even had to bring on three of their biggest players, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Joe Cole, to ensure that they were not subjected to the dubious pleasure of a replay at Loftus Road.
Rangers have been busy in the transfer market lately, but there was little that Messrs Ecclestone, Mittal and Briatore will have seen here to make them think they need to shop anywhere else but in the bargain basement, at least for a while. Had they been just a little bit bolder, a little bit more accurate in their finishing the Chelsea manager Avram Grant would have not have able to hide quite so smugly behind the defence that they had "done their job".
By their standards, Chelsea, because of injury, may be down to the bare bones but what bones! The fact that Grant could afford to start with the above trio on the bench said all that needed to be said about his side's squad strength and to be fair they have coped splendidly these past few weeks. But the centre-back pairing of Alex and Tel Ben Haim never looked comfortable yesterday and one wonders what might have happened had Steve Sidwell not got back to take the ball off the toes of Gareth Ainsworth after 11 minutes.
In an unfamiliar-looking 4-3-3 formation, with the wingers pushed on and Claudio Pizarro playing deep, one wondered from where this side would get their goals - or goal.
As it happened Pizarro got far enough forward in the 29th minute to work his way across the face of the Rangers goal before finding space for a shot. The ball struck the foot of Lee Camp's post, but unfortunately for Rangers the rebound went back in off the diving keeper.
Just once did we see the real Chelsea in one quick, slick move just before half-time when Shaun Wright-Phillips fed Salomon Kalou who in turn teed it up for Sidwell, but the former Reading midfielder's shot cannoned back into play off an upright. If anyone thought the loss of Rangers's influential new signing Akos Buzsaky just five minutes into the second half with a sprained ankle would unhinge the visitors they could not have been more wrong. It proved the prelude to Rangers's best passage of play in the game as Martin Rowlands, twice finding himself in space, unleashed drives dangerously close to the target.
The truth is for all the plaudits given by Grant to Henrique Hilario after the game his third-choice keeper didn't have a save worthy of the name to make throughout. Chelsea, for the part, had just one real chance to make the game safe, but Pizarro, for reasons known only to himself, took the ball far too wide before checking inside and firing over. With Drogba now off to African Cup of Nations, the arrival of Nicolas Anelka from Bolton cannot come soon enough.
Man of the matchMartin Rowlands (QPR)
• With a little more accuracy he might have been a hero
Match details
Chelsea: Hilario, Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Alex, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips (Joe Cole 79), Obi, Sidwell, Sinclair (Drogba 60), Kalou, Pizarro (Ballack 71).Subs: Taylor, Belletti.Goal: Camp 28 og.QPR: Camp, Hall, Stewart, Barker, Ainsworth (Agyemang 46), Connolly, Mahon, Rowlands, Ephraim (Balanta 65), Blackstock, Buzsaky (Lee 50).Subs: Bolder, Walton. Booked: Hall. Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 1 QPR 0: Rangers annoy the neighbours but cannot cash in on their chance By Glenn Moore at Stamford Bridge "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" – Matthew 19:24. No one knows, until they shuffle off this mortal coil, whether St Matthew is right, and Premier League footballers will spend eternity with their faces pressed up against the Pearly Gates, but on this earthlyrealm having a few bob has its advantages, especially when it comes to lifting the FA Cup.
The last time a club outside the "Big Four" won the competition was in 1995, and Everton were then still clinging to the notion that they were part of the "Big Five". That quintet also included Tottenham, but not Chelsea. Since then, Roman Abramovich's riches have enabled Chelsea to gatecrash the elite. Yesterday, however, the Russian's club entertained a man with even deeper pockets. Lakshmi Mittal, who owns a fifth of QPR, has a fortune estimated at £19 billion, enough to make even Abramovich (estimated worth £10.8bn) feel envious. With Mittal joined in the QPR boardroom by a fellow billionaire, Bernie Ecclestone, and mere millionaire, Flavio Briatore, Rangers fans are dreaming not of emulating their west London neighbours, but of overtaking them.
Yesterday they were forced to settle for worrying the FA Cup holders, who were not exactly an advertisement for high spending and big names. As Avram Grant said, "We did our job". It was, though, graft, not art. Having been given a fortuitous lead through Lee Camp's 28th-minute own goal Chelsea, injuries not-withstanding, should have eased past their Championship neighbours. Instead they laboured to victory even after the reinforcement of stellar substitutes DidierDrogba, Michael Ballack andJoe Cole.
"That they had to bring them on showed we did our job well," said Luigi De Canio, Rangers' manager. He added: "I'm very satisfied with the performance. It shows we are progressing."
To judge from De Canio's purchases so far, progress is intended to be steady rather than spectacular. QPR's new owners have been spending enthusiastically in the transfer window, but the investment is in quantity rather than quality. The immediate aim looks to be a competent Championship side rather than a Champions' League-winning one. The seven acquisitions to date are a mixture of promising youngsters, like Hogan Ephraim, and old sweats such as Fitz Hall.
No one, in short, to get excitedabout. Has no one told them Dimitar Berbatov wants a move or, failing that, Jermain Defoe?
Five new recruits took the field at the Bridge, with the others on the bench, although since several had previously played on loan, the Hoops were not the collection of strangers that might be imagined. If anything Chelsea were the team making the dressing-room introductions.
With the spine of the team injured, and others rested, Avram Grant fielded a reserve-string central defence and occasional starters Steve Sidwell, Scott Sinclair and Claudio Pizarro. The latter was bizarrely withdrawn into midfield early on with the wingers pushed up to make4-3-3. More interesting than any name on the teamsheet was that of Didier Drogba among the substitutes. The Ivorian is just back from a knee operation and about to head for Ghana for the African Nations Cup.
These patchwork teams inevitably produced a match of only sporadic interest. In the opening quarter neither side mustered a shot on goal, the most noteworthy moment coming after Shaun Wright-Phillips blazed wide. The Rangers fans sang: "We won't be buying you."
Then, as the half-hour approached, Salomon Kalou squared for Pizarro, who driftedacross a challenge and shot from the edge of the box. The ball struck the post, rebounded against the diving Camp, and trickled over the line. Chelsea looked to settle the tie but Wright-Phillips dipped a drive just over the bar, then Sidwell finished a flowing move by drilling against the far post.
QPR played more positively after the break but were unable to capitalise on that reprieve. Though the busy Martin Rowlands fizzed a shot over, Rangers never suggested they would actually score. Still, that deficiency will be resolved when they sign Samuel Eto'o, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.
Wide open window
QPR's spending spree:
Gavin Mahon (Watford) £200,000
Fitz Hall (Wigan) Undisclosed
Patrick Agyemang (Preston) £350,000
Akos Buzsaky (Plymouth) ex-loan
Hogan Ephraim (West Ham) ex-loan, £800,000
Matthew Connolly (Arsenal) ex-loan
Kieran Lee (Manchester United) loan
About to sign:
Rowan Vine (Birmingham)
Stefan Postma (ADO Den Haag, Holl)
Sebastian Rusculleda (Tigre, Arg)
Linked with:
Daryl Murphy (Sunderland)
Robbie Savage (Blackburn)
Bobo Balde (Celtic)
Leroy Lita (Reading)
Dean Brill (Luton)
Wayne Routledge (Tottenham)
Dan Shittu (Watford)
Martin Taylor (Birmingham)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Same old currency as fortune favours Blues
Duncan Castles at Stamford BridgeSunday January 6, 2008The Observer
New money in west London, same old result. The steel-smelted and petrol-headed dollars swirling around Queens Park Rangers might some day, some place, purchase a team capable of exposing all the flaws in Roman Abramovich's strategy for football supremacy, but this was not the day and the place was not Stamford Bridge. QPR, taken over in September by two Formula One money men and refinanced last month by an Indian billionaire, are on their way back to the top tier of English football. Their half-rebuilt team may still be one of Championship stalwarts and Premier League fringe players, their football not yet astute enough to undo even a weakened Chelsea and the club's uncertain manager, but they still managed to set a few home pulses racing.
There was a period of pressure in the penalty area that threatened to put QPR on their way to their first win at Stamford Bridge in 21 years, while Chelsea relied on a goal that bounced off a defender, post and goalkeeper to book their place in the fourth round. There was also an expectation that Rangers will be not only as rich, but as competitive as Chelsea in the near future. 'I hope it will not be too long,' said manager Luigi De Canio. 'The issue is not coming here to play Chelsea again, it is more being able to come here and play Chelsea on a level playing field - and match them.'
Such optimism is easier when the estimated £25billion wealth of the world's fifth richest man is behind you. Lakshmi Mittal was here, observing the club he purchased 20 per cent of at the end of last year, joining Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore in a plan to construct a west London super club with access to resources as grand as Abramovich's.
They will not follow the carousel spending of the Russian's first months in London. January should mean £10million invested to secure QPR's Championship status. The summer will bring further spending on players capable of taking them into the Premier League by 2009.
Five days of this transfer window brought seven signings - Fitz Hall and Matthew Connolly starting in defence, Hogan Ephraim at left wing and Gavin Mahon in midfield. Two more, Patrick Agyemang and Kieran Lee, waited on the bench. Chelsea rotated even more heavily, with Ashley Cole the most intriguing return at left-back, complete with his first captain's armband.
While the early minutes brought a string of Chelsea set pieces - one frighteningly fumbled by Lee Camp - the red-and-black hoops steadily began to work themselves into threatening positions. Chelsea were scrappy; Avram Grant increasingly red faced.
So sluggish around the training ground that his team-mates call him 'Lee Trundle', Claudio Pizarro was slow to crossed balls, failing to connect properly with two fine deliveries - but he was about to be blessed with good fortune. On 28 minutes, he was granted enough space to turn on goal and release a shot that careered off marker, post and the back of Camp's head before slowly creeping over the line.
De Canio's response was the interval introduction of Agyemang, followed soon afterwards by the enforced replacement of a limping Akos Buzsaky with Lee. Agyemang outjumped Tal Ben-Haim at a corner, forcing John Obi Mikel into hurried remedial work. Lee then shot narrowly over from 20 yards. Suddenly, QPR were streaming at Chelsea and efforts from Martin Rowlands and Agymenang stretched Hilario.
Pizarro lofted wastefully over when played in on Camp and Grant invoked the Didier Drogba-shaped insurance policy on his bench, the Ivory Coast striker almost converting his first header back after knee surgery. Control returning, the manager continued to flash owner's cash, swapping Michael Ballack for the flagging Pizarro.
QPR supporters read the message. 'We've got more cash than you' their collective retort. On came Joe Cole for Chelsea. 'You're just a small team in Fulham,' sang the Hoops.
As Grant argued that, in the Cup, results are more important than performances, they could leave the Bridge hoping one day the jibe will ring true.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Chelsea limp through as QPR are hit on the reboundChelsea 1 Queens Park Rangers 0
By MALCOLM FOLLEY
In the vernacular of their Formula One owners, Queens Park Rangers calamitously drove themselves off the road at Stamford Bridge yesterday.
Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire ringmaster of F1's global circus, and Flavio Briatore, the multi-millionaire Renault team principal, watched in despair from the directors' box as Rangers goalkeeper Lee Camp ushered FA Cup holders Chelsea into the fourth round with a freak own-goal.
In truth, Ecclestone and Briatore probably have had more entertainment witnessing a pit-stop in a grand prix than from the dour, technical duel that unfolded without accompanying drama. Yet there was a reason for them to be proud men last night.
Fitz Hall, Matthew Connolly and substitutes Patrick Agyemang and Kieran Lee all made their debuts for Rangers, while Gavin Mahon started for the first time, so it was beyond even the dreams of rich men to suppose that a team still gaining acquaintance with one another could embarrass their illustrious west London neighbours.
All Rangers lacked to supplement their industry and organisation was some penetration in the final third of the pitch.
One day, Ecclestone, Briatore and fellow investor Lakshmi Mittal — the richest man in Britain by some way with a fortune of £20billion — imagine themselves being in control of a team capable of acquiring silverware in the manner Chelsea have done with Roman Abramovich.
One day, they might realise that ambition as these are not the kind of men associated with failure.
Abramovich was not present to host Briatore and Ecclestone, but the Russian is poised to grant Chelsea manager Avram Grant access to his cheque book to extend his investment past £500million in the coming days.
The club's acute injury list and demands this month of the African Cup of Nations on four players — Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou (both Ivory Coast), Michael Essien (Ghana) and John Mikel Obi (Nigeria) — left Grant to admit last night: "Basically, we didn't want to change much as we have a good squad, but now we must think of everything."
He declined to fuel mounting speculation that striker Nicolas Anelka is soon to arrive from Bolton, along with Branislav Ivanovic, a 23-year-old Serbian international defender currently playing for Lokomotiv Moscow. "I will not speak about any players until they are signed," he said.
What is apparent is that the cavalry is being assembled over the hill as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele remain sidelined through injury.
Mikel is being allowed to make a delayed departure to play in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Everton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, when Ricardo Carvalho will return from suspension.
"Our goalkeepers (Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini) are also both close to fitness," said Grant.
Yesterday, Grant had the luxury of introducing Drogba, Michael Ballack and Joe Cole from the bench.
As Ecclestone and Briatore would readily acknowledge, these are players with the power, status and sheer class; footballing men with the feel of a Ferrari.
Drogba's cameo appearance, climaxed with a powerful last minute shot, reminded Chelsea supporters of the edge missing from the team since he was injured on the first day of December.
He left the field bare-chested and applauding the fans who hailed his return, no matter how brief that is to prove as he answers the call of his country.
These are curious times for Rangers, a club that was not that long ago on the breadline and under threat of total meltdown.
In August 2005, then-chairman Gianni Paladini was allegedly held at gunpoint in a club office during a game as a boardroom power struggle resembled a plot from an episode of New Jersey crime family, The Sopranos.
Then, suddenly, from out of a clear blue sky appeared Briatore and Ecclestone.
Still, the omens for Rangers were not bright as they met Chelsea for the first time in a dozen seasons.
Rangers last won an FA Cup tie seven years ago,and their prospects of a change of fortune disappeared in the 28th minute. Having not once previously menaced the Rangers goal, Camp found himself diving to his right to try to cover a snap-shot from Claudio Pizarro. When the ball struck a post, it rebounded against Camp's still-outstretched arm and rolled slowly, ever so slowly, over the line.
Rangers' commendable captain, Martin Rowlands, struck a rising second-half shot over Chelsea's crossbar, but the chequered flag, rather than the white flag, signalled the end for Briatore and Ecclestone's first quest for footballing fame. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
CAMP WOE
CHELSEA 1 CAMP(OG) 28 QPR 0 Own goal is enough for Blues Paul Smith At Stamford Bridge 06/01/2008
The fa Cup holders stumbled into the fourth round courtesy of a 28th-minute own goal by QPR keeper Lee Camp.
Crippling injuries forced Blues boss Avram Grant to field a depleted team against their Championship neighbours.
A game of few chances only came to life when Claudio Pizarro cut in from the left and fired a shot against the post that came back out, hit Camp and trickled across the line.
Afterwards Grant insisted the result was far more important than the performance, saying: "We have had to contend with quite a few injuries so under the circumstances the game didn't surprise me.
"We did our job and that was the most important thing. I accept we should have created a few more chances but we held the ball most of the time and scored the only goal. I didn't think there was much of a threat from our opponents - they defended deep and relied on setplays to cause us any problems."
Rangers boss Luigi Di Canio admitted: "It was more or less what I expected. Chelsea are a great team and although we tried to have an impact on the match it was very difficult.
"Nonetheless I was very pleased with the performance and it shows we are making progress. It's never nice to lose but they are not the holders for nothing."
Chelsea went into the match with several key players missing.
No such problems for Rangers, though, who have recruited no fewer than seven players since the transfer window opened six days ago.
Four of them, Gavin Mahon, Hogan Ephraim, Matthew Connolly and Fitz Hall, all made their full debuts while three more occupied a place on the Rangers bench.
Even with the likes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Andriy Shevchenko and Flourent Malouda missing from the starting line-up, Chelsea's superiority began to tell early on.
Yet for all their possession the opening 25 minutes passed without the Blues seriously threatening a goal.
Even a succession of corners failed to create anything worthwhile for the home side and while Rangers looked content to sit deep and invite Chelsea to come at them, they comfortably managed any attacking threat.
The first time anyone came close to breaking the deadlock was in the 27th minute when Paulo Ferreira's cross just evaded Scott Sinclair at the far post. The let-off was brief though.
Barely 60 seconds later Chelsea went in front. Pizarro cut in from the left and evaded two markers before unleashing a low drive that flew in off Camp after hitting the post.
QPR's first attempt on goal came as late as the 37th minute. But Gareth Ainsworth's tame header was never going to trouble Hilario in the home goal.
The half closed with Chelsea well on top. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Salomon Kalou came close to increasing the home side's lead before Steve Sidwell unleashed a vicious drive that came flying back off the post.
The Blues continued where they had left off after the break, but against the run of play Rangers' Martin Rowlands fired just over the bar.
In the 60th minute the home crowd rose to applaud Drogba, who came on as sub barely weeks after undergoing knee surgery.
But even the introduction of Michael Ballack and Joe Cole some 10 minutes later failed to inject any life into an uninspiring game.
STAT ATTACK
STORY OF THE GAME
CHELSEA QPR
66% POSSESSION 34%
4 SHOTS ON TARGET 1
6 SHOTS OFF TARGET 2
8 CORNERS 0
13 FOULS CONCEDED 9
3 OFFSIDES 0
0 YELLOW CARDS 1
0 RED CARDS 0
HOW THEY RATED
CHELSEA
Hilario 7, Cole 7, Sidwell 6, Mikel 7, PIZARRO 8 (Ballack 7), Sinclair 7 (Drogba 7), Ferreira 7, Kalou 6, Ben-Haim 7, Wright-Phillips 6 (Cole 7), Alex 6.
Manager Grant 7
QPR
Camp 7, Barker 6, Mahon 6, Stewart 6, Blackstock 7, Buzsaky 7 (Lee 6), Ainsworth 6 (Agyemang 6), Rowlands 7, Connolly 7, Ephraim 5 (Balanta 6), Hall 7.
Manager De Canio 6
Referee M Dean 8
HEAD TO HEAD
Steve Sidwell v MARTIN ROWLANDS
While Sidwell struggled to impact on the game, Rowlands was inspirational and twice came close to scoring for the visitors
Man of the MATCH
CLAUDIO
PIZARRO
In a game of widespread mediocrity, Chelsea striker Pizzaro just about wins the honour by virtue of his shot that led to the own goal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

morning papers fulham away

The TimesJanuary 2, 2008
Avram Grant’s raised voice keeps Chelsea in with a shoutFulham 1 Chelsea 2
Matt Dickinson, Chief Sports Correspondent
It is as difficult to imagine Avram Grant in a fury as it is to picture a raging Bruce Forsyth, but the Chelsea first-team coach did blow his top at half-time yesterday. At the very least, he got quite cross. “When the players are sleeping you need to wake them up,” he said, and the late alarm call had the desired effect as Chelsea came from behind to record what was, ultimately, an easy victory.
As well as raising his voice in the interval, Grant also made the crucial decision to replace the ineffective Steve Sidwell with the far more forceful John Obi Mikel. At least we think he made the change. “The owner did it,” Grant said, before adding, helpfully, that it was a joke. Perhaps cracking them is his new year’s resolution.
With another victory confounding those Chelsea supporters who imagine Grant simply to be a stopgap before the real successor to José Mourinho arrives, the Israeli could afford to be content, although he would be well advised not to get cocky before far tougher tests in the spring.
Already without nine first-team players yesterday, he is about to lose Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and Mikel to the African Cup of Nations. He must hope that forthcoming opponents are as lacking in punch as Fulham, who tried hard enough in front of Roy Hodgson, their new manager, but are now the Barclays Premier League’s specialists at failing to hang on to a lead.
This was Hodgson’s first game as a top-flight manager since he was dismissed by Blackburn Rovers in November 1998 and, if it is not quite a hopeless cause that he has inherited, it will soon become one unless Fulham quickly stop a run of three draws and six defeats.
They took the lead yesterday through Danny Murphy’s tenth-minute penalty, after Joe Cole had caught Moritz Volz on the ankle, but badly lacked the outlet of Brian McBride and the dash of Jimmy Bullard. Both long-term absentees could be back at the end of the month, by which time Fulham may have been cut adrift with Derby County.
Thirty of the 37 goals Fulham have conceded this season have come in the second half and they never looked capable of resisting Chelsea once it was obvious that Grant had used the interval to rouse his team from their slumbers.
“It was a bit loud in the dressing-room at half-time,” Michael Ballack said. “We could not keep playing like that. We put more pressure on Fulham from the first minute.”
Replacing Sidwell with Mikel allowed Essien to move into a more attacking midfield position and, in turn, that gave Ballack the chance to be more influential. “Everything was wrong in the first half,” Grant said. “We didn’t play well, we lost too many passes. We needed to control the midfield better and we did that.”
Chelsea drew level nine minutes after half-time, when Juliano Belletti’s corner was headed back across the area by Alex. Kalou rose to nod from close range past Antti Niemi. The Ivory Coast striker might have scored earlier had he shown even a passing acquaintance with the offside law.
The lead for Chelsea came in the 62nd minute when Clint Dempsey, finding himself defending on the wrong side of Ballack, lightly tugged at the Germany player’s sleeve. It was not the sort of contact normally required to fell a hulking athlete but Ballack, as the world knows, is remarkably easy to knock over when in or around the penalty area.
Captain in the absence of John Terry and Frank Lampard, Ballack stepped up to take the spot-kick and, having dispatched the winner into the bottom corner, he also left with the man-of-the-match champagne. Not a bad haul from his first full 90 minutes after a long-term ankle injury and, to cap it all, the Chelsea supporters were even singing his name by the final whistle.
“Ballack cannot be at his best after eight months out and with three games in a short time, but he’s doing well,” Grant said. “We have some leaders in this team and he’s one of them. And I like intelligent footballers.”
Fulham did not have an attempt on goal worth mentioning in the last 20 minutes, although Hodgson managed to find some positives. “Our first-half performance was really quite good,” he said. “Even when we went 2-1 down, there was no lack of fight or spirit.”
For his part, Grant resisted the temptation to mention the occasion when a certain Portuguese manager came to Craven Cottage, in March 2006, and watched a similarly lifeless opening by Chelsea. Mourinho responded by hauling off Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips after less than half an hour but could not stop Chelsea slumping to their only defeat by Fulham in the past 28 years.
There was a far happier outcome yesterday thanks to a spot of tinkering and a few harsh words. “I can break a chair if I need to,” Grant said. “If everybody is nervous you have to be calm. If people are sleeping, then you have not to be calm.”
He has lost only twice in 23 matches as Chelsea first-team coach, although, coming against Manchester United and Arsenal, they were hardly insignificant defeats.
Fulham (4-4-2): A Niemi — E Omozusi, C Bocanegra, D Stefanovic, P Konchesky — M Volz (sub: Seol Ki Hyeon, 68min), S Davis (sub: A Smertin, 70), D Murphy, S Davies — D Kamara (sub: D Healy, 77), C Dempsey. Substitutes not used: A Warner, S Kuqi. Booked: Stefanovic.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Hilário — J Belletti, Alex, T Ben Haim, W Bridge — S Sidwell (sub: J O Mikel 45), M Essien, M Ballack — S Wright-Phillips (sub: C Pizarro, 88), S Kalou, J Cole (sub: P Ferreira, 90). Substitutes not used: R Taylor, S Sinclair.
Referee: M Halsey.
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Telegraph:Grant lets rip leaving Fulham near the dropBy Henry Winter at Craven Cottage
Fulham (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 2
It is difficult to warm to Avram Grant, a cold fish of Arctic salmon proportions, but Chelsea's cheerless manager made two key moves at half-time that turned the tide away from Fulham down by the Thames yesterday.
With Fulham responding enthusiastically to Roy Hodgson's command, and leading through a penalty from the outstanding Danny Murphy, Grant let rip at his shrinking violets in the dressing room. "I was not happy," said Grant, admitting a surprising volatility. "If I can break a chair, I will."
Chelsea's manager just needed to break his players' lethargic mood. Grant's invective, which Michael Ballack confirmed had been a "bit loud", shook up Ballack and company and a tactical switch gave Chelsea greater direction.
John Obi Mikel replaced the markedly ineffectual Steve Sidwell, allowing Michael Essien to join Ballack in raiding forward. Asked whether it had been his idea to make the change, Grant replied: "It was the decision of the owner [Roman Abramovich] to bring Mikel on." Such are the complex politics of life at Chelsea, Grant stressed: "No, it was my decision!"
The perception of the Israeli as Abramovich's puppet is overstated, and Grant deserves credit for the transformation. "They were more determined, and played better football," said Grant. Salomon Kalou swiftly equalised before a revitalised Ballack made it 10 points from the four-game festive period.
With so many driving forces like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba injured, Ballack's return to fitness and form is well timed. "We have leaders here, but Ballack has spent all his life as captain, even with Germany, and now here," observed Grant.For Fulham, the New Year simply brought a reminder of old woes, notably a brittle confidence and paucity of options. Of the 37 Premier League goals they have conceded, 30 have arrived after the break. Fulham have now dropped 22 points from winning positions.
Signs of hope exist, such as the promising full-back Elliot Omozusi, the industry of Murphy and Simon Davies plus the potential goal threat of David Healy, but the malaise of throwing away leads must be cured.
After 32 years in management, Hodgson has the experience and knowledge to tackle the task, although he will require substantial funds to strengthen during the transfer window.
"If there are players who can make us better, we would be interested," said Hodgson. "We are missing a lot of first-team players, who will make the team stronger. And if Jimmy Bullard and Brian McBride can come back in January, they will be like new signings for us.
"It is pretty obvious the balance isn't quite right; we have a lot of similar-type players. We knew we would be in danger of set-plays because we are quite a small team and Chelsea are strong and robust. I did not come into the job naively. I don't think I was appointed naively. We must just get on with the work."
Hodgson has endured darker moments, such as at Bristol City. "I was not sacked there," he recalled, "but I was made a 10p-in-the-pound creditor when they went out of business. That was such an obvious relegation situation when we were playing with eight juniors, two reserves and one full professional."
Fulham's resources are stronger than that, but they needed more than a half of Murphy to sustain them yesterday. Embodying Fulham's early promise, Murphy had torn into Chelsea, rattling into tackles on Ballack, Sidwell and Essien in quick succession.
Stirred by Murphy, Fulham's heightened tempo brought quick reward. After 10 minutes, Moritz Volz stormed into Chelsea's area, eluding the sluggish Wayne Bridge before being caught by Joe Cole. Mark Halsey pointed to the spot and Murphy did the rest.
Chelsea were as insipid as Fulham were inspired. The visitors' typically vocal contingent cannot have been impressed by the sight of Juliano Belletti pulling out of a tackle as Davies thundered in. Fulham seemed to want victory more. But only for 45 minutes.
Half-time brought a turnaround in every sense. Life drained away from Murphy and Fulham. Gone were the busy ambush parties. Gone were the quick attacks. Chelsea accepted the space and the opportunity gratefully and raced forward, with Mikel anchoring.
Within nine minutes, Chelsea had the goal their raised intensity deserved. Shaun Wright-Phillips' corner-taking had been consistently poor, so Belletti assumed responsibility. His first delivery flew to Alex, unmarked. The Brazilian firmly headed back across to Kalou, who stole in front of Volz to nod home.
Victory duly arrived when Ballack fell to the ground after his shirt was tugged by Clint Dempsey. The German jumped up and slotted the ball low and hard past Antti Niemi.
Hodgson rang the changes, introducing Seol Ki-Hyeon, Alexei Smertin and Healy but, with Mikel shielding the back four so diligently, Fulham could not break through. "There was no lack of fighting spirit, but we need points," said Hodgson.
Man of the matchMichael Ballack (Chelsea) 8
• 15 ball recoveries• Won six tackles --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2: Chelsea's wake-up call alarms Hodgson By Jason Burt New year, new hope, new manager – but same old failing. Fulham's ritual second-half capitulation cost them dearly in Roy Hodgson's first game in charge just as it had so fatally undermined his predecessor, Lawrie Sanchez. Nine times now a lead has been squandered this season and, with that statistic, a staggering 22 points have been thrown away. But this loss will hurt most of all. As well as the points, the local bragging rights also went back up the New Kings Road as Chelsea, so abject for the first 45 minutes, turned matters around.
It will be even more painful for Fulham in that the defeat came courtesy of the softest of penalties, with Michael Ballack tumbling easily as Clint Dempsey held his shirt. It was Chelsea's stand-in captain himself who seized the ball and calmly stroked it into the net. It was also the 30th goal – of the 37 Fulham have in the debit column –conceded in the second half of games by the home side. "The penalty is a subject of discussion," said Hodgson, whom was taking control of his first game in England for 10 years, "but if you have any luck it wouldn't have been awarded."
Ballack, finally injury-free, took responsibility then and he took responsibility throughout the second period, dragging his team back into proceedings. Maybe Chelsea have a new player in him, as well, as they desperately search to plug the gaps that have appeared due to their horrendous injury list. That has taken another turn for the worse with the news that John Terry has suffered a setback in his recovery from a broken foot.
There was encouragement in Ballack for Chelsea's manager, Avram Gran, and there was, obviously, encouragement in the result, but as against Newcastle United last weekend, Chelsea were fortunate to win. Still, they have garnered 10 points from the Christmas programme.
The key to victory yesterday was a half-time switch in which the anonymous Steve Sidwell was withdrawn and John Obi Mikel introduced, with Grant reorganising his midfield, freeing Michael Essien of the shackles of being the holding player. "It was a bit loud in the dressing room but we saw we couldn't keep playing like we did in the first-half," Ballack said of the response of Grant and – more likely – that of his volcanic assistant Henk ten Cate. "At half-time when the players are sleeping, sometimes you have to wake them," Grant said. "Everything was wrong."
If the second half belonged to Ballack, the first period was Danny Murphy's. It was a tale of two midfielders. For a while Murphy pulled the strings, playing with industry and imagination. As the game ran away from Fulham, however, he became as drained as the rest of his team-mates, even if Hodgson maintained that there had been "fight, spirit, determination" until the end.
The new man was more on the mark when he questioned "the balance of the team" he has inherited. He predicted that this month, with the transfer window open, would be a busy time at Craven Cottage and it needs to be if Fulham are to survive.
Still as the opening minutes unfolded, there was encouragement. The game was taken to Chelsea, with Simon Davies a bundle of energy down the left and Moritz Volz striving down the right. It was the latter who won Fulham's penalty, even if it was cleverly constructed by Murphy, who shielded the ball, bought time and space from Ballack and released the makeshift midfielder, who cut inside Wayne Bridge before being clipped by the backtracking Joe Cole. Cole has an unfortunate habit of conceding in such a way and Murphy did not waste the chance, carefully placing his spot-kick beyond Hilario's grasp.
Poor as Chelsea were, they still created two clear opportunities. Shaun Wright-Phillips, clean through, dragged a shot wide, while Salomon Kalou's attempt to flick the ball over Antti Niemi only narrowly failed. However, in the main, the visitors over-hit passes, lacked coordination and played long-ball football. Their best hope was the set piece. Once Cole and Wright-Phillips were stood down from delivery duties, Juliano Belletti took over and suddenly Chelsea were more threatening. Bigger and more imposing, as Hodgson pointed out, they levelled when Alex met Belletti's corner and headed it back across goal for Kalou to fling himself in front of Volz to head home.
It totally changed the dynamics of the game. Eight minutes later, Ballack scored his penalty after being fouled as he attempted to reach Belletti's free-kick. Moments later he swung a free-kick of his own narrowly wide and, although Fulham tried to hit back, it was Chelsea who came closest to scoring again when Claudio Pizarro made a hash of a volley. It meant Fulham lost again.
Are they simply just not good enough? "Managers don't say that," Hodgson said. Not in public, at least. He certainly has his work cut out.
Goals: Murphy pen (10) 1-0; Kalou (54) 1-1; Ballack pen (62 ) 1-2.
Fulham (4-4-2): Niemi; Omozusi, Stefanovic, Bocanegra, Konchesky; Volz (Seol, 68), Murphy, Davis (Smertin, 70), Davies; Dempsey, Kamara (Healy, 77). Substitutes not used: Warner (gk), Kuqi.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Hilario; Belletti, Alex, Ben Haim, Bridge; Ballack, Essien, Sidwell (Mikel, h-t); Wright-Phillips (Pizarro, 88), Kalou, J Cole (Ferreira, 89). Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Sinclair.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
Booked: Fulham Stefanovic.
Man of the match: Ballack.
Attendance: 25,357.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Grant blows his top and Fulham go under to Essien
Dominic Fifield at Craven CottageWednesday January 2, 2008The Guardian
The real Avram Grant may just have revealed himself. Normally monotone and dour, the odd dose of sarcasm disturbing the deadpan, the Israeli cracked at half-time having been enraged by a wretched first-half display. "When the players are sleeping you need to wake them up," he conceded in after yesterday's match. The quiet man has found his voice.Chelsea continue to feature in the title race and that, in itself, is remarkable - they have won 10 points over the festive period despite having to play virtually a reserve side as the manager plots a shopping spree. Grant's fury here might have partly reflected the reality that he had contributed to handicapping his own side by bafflingly asking Michael Essien rather than Mikel John Obi to anchor midfield. But that alone did not justify the visitors' sloppiness.
They deservedly trailed as the teams went in at half-time, Grant seething as he marched across the turf to deliver his criticisms. "It was a bit loud in the dressing room at half-time," admitted Michael Ballack. "We needed that. We couldn't keep playing like we had in the first half. We had to change a lot and put more pressure on Fulham from the first minute.""If I need to I can throw a tea cup or break a chair," Grant said. "Everything was wrong in that first half. We lost too many passes, we missed two great chances - one-on-ones - and we hadn't turned up. As a manager your job is to do the right thing to achieve a result. You don't have a lot of time [at the interval] but you have to use what time you have well. If the team is nervous, you have to be calm. But if people are too calm , you must be excited. We needed more control in midfield."
Steve Sidwell, a bit-part player whose impact at Chelsea has been negligible, has played the fall guy before this season. Jose Mourinho substituted him at the interval at the Madejski Stadium back in August with the side losing 1-0, the revamped line-up promptly scoring twice in five minutes. The current crop needed slightly longer to transform this occasion but the comeback was just as ruthless.
With Mikel introduced to the anchoring role and Essien liberated - "That was the owner's decision," joked Grant - Chelsea pushed Fulham back. They did not take long to crack. Alex's header back across the six-yard box and Salomon Kalou's thumped finish restored parity and Ballack's eager fall as Clint Dempsey tugged at his shirt some eight minutes later won a penalty that the German himself converted. Instantly hope was sapped from Fulham.
Roy Hodgson was appointed only on Friday, taking charge officially after Saturday's draw at Birmingham, but already he will have seen why his new team are anchored in the relegation zone. Fulham have scored the first goal in nine games this season and not won any of them, with 22 points effectively passed up en route. Just as damning is that 30 of the 37 goals they have conceded have been in the second half, suggesting this is a side with brittle confidence who wilt far too often.
The new manager was loth to denounce their fitness levels, though he conceded that the balance of the team is awkward. "That's partly because of the players we have out injured at the moment but we have a lot of similar type players in the team," he said. "We're quite a small team - Chelsea were quite a strong, aerobic side. But you won't hear from me that the team aren't good enough, even if January is going to be a very hectic month."
Strength in midfield and pace and bite up front are desperately required. Danny Murphy displayed some of the former in shifting possession to Diomansy Kamara 10 minutes in, the striker slipping Moritz Volz into the area to draw Joe Cole's foul and win an early penalty. But Murphy, who converted from the spot, faded as the game went on. By the end, with Fulham desperate, his decision-making and distribution had disintegrated.
Others disappeared altogether, run ragged as Chelsea's reserves poured at them. "We are missing a lot of first-team players, players who'll make the team stronger," added Hodgson. "Chelsea can argue the same thing but, frankly, they're in a much better situation than us to cover for their absentees.
"I didn't see anything today to surprise me. I didn't come into the job naively. I don't think I was appointed naively. We have to do what needs to be done."
The Ghanaian will be missed when he goes to the African Cup of Nations, just as much as Didier Drogba. His energy in the second period got Chelsea back into this contest.
Man of the match Michael Essien
Best moment The late, lung-bursting run from which he all but collected Shaun Wright-Phillips' reverse pass. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mail:
Avram rant brings familar resolution as Chelsea march onFulham 1 (Murphy pen 11) Chelsea 2 (Kalou 54, Ballack pen 60)
By MATT BARLOW
A New Year but the same old story. Football remains a game of two halves. Fulham still take the lead and throw it away and Chelsea still grind out results with a relentless efficiency to keep them firmly in the title chase despite a catalogue of missing players.
The only wind of change breezing through Craven Cottage came in the form of a verbal blast from the normally quiet and composed Chelsea boss Avram Grant, who felt the need at half-time to shock his team out of their lunchtime lethargy.
It did the trick. The visitors had slipped behind to an early Danny Murphy penalty but Salomon Kalou equalised soon after the break and Michael Ballack won the match from the spot, in the 62nd minute.
'Angry? If I need to I can break a chair in the dressing room,' said Grant with a smile. 'I wasn't happy with the first half. Everything was wrong. We didn't press well, move the ball well or make good passes.
'The manager's job is to do the right thing. When you see your players sleeping at half-time you need to wake them up. When a team is nervous the manager has to be calm and when they are too calm the manager has to be excited.
'We changed a little bit at halftime and the players had more determination. I was proud of them in the second half. Everything was better. They gave everything. We played good football and could have scored more goals.'
Roy Hodgson, in his first game as Fulham boss, received an illustration of their season in a nutshell and of the problems he must overcome if he is to keep them in the Barclays Premier League.
Nine times this season, the club have taken the lead and failed to win. Thirty of the 37 goals they have conceded in the League have come in the second half. The statistics drove his predecessor Lawrie Sanchez to distraction and Hodgson now understands his frustrations.
'Our first-half performance was really quite good,' said Hodgson, who has halved the planned twoday break for the players in order to start working out problems on the training ground tomorrow.
'Even when we went 2-1 down, there was no lack of fight, spirit or determination to stick to a game plan. They are the positives but a defeat is a defeat. We need points. I can't be happy having lost the game.'
Without their spine of Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, Chelsea invited early pressure from a team eager to impress their new boss.
Diomansy Kamara forced Hilario into a low save inside two minutes and the third-choice goalkeeper was soon fishing the ball out of his net after a dubious penalty.
Moritz Volz jinked inside from the right flank, beat Wayne Bridge and, seeing Joe Cole tracking back to challenge, waited for the striker to make contact.
When he obliged, Volz hit the ground with little encouragement, referee Mark Halsey pointed to the penalty spot and Murphy sent Hilario the wrong way.
Chelsea spluttered through to half time when the introduction of John Mikel Obi, on for Steven Sidwell, gave their depleted team a better balance. Obi dictated a much healthier tempo in the midfield holding position and his presence released Michael Essien into a more rampaging role.
Referee Halsey ignored a penalty appeal when Dejan Stefanovic accidentally handled under pressure from Shaun Wright-Phillips but Kalou pounced in the 54th minute to level the scores.
Alex won the first header from a Cole corner kick and Kalou skipped between Simon Davies and Volz to head into the net from close range.
Any grievances Chelsea were harbouring about the Fulham opener were erased as Halsey gave them a penalty of their own when Clint Dempsey pulled back Ballack by his shirt as the pair tussled to reach a deep free kick from Juliano Belletti.
Ballack, captain in the absence of so many others, climbed to his feet to score confidently his second goal since returning to the team on Boxing Day, after eight months out with an ankle injury.
Grant said: 'He can't be at his best after only three games. But he has been a leader all his life. He can score goals, make assists and he is important for us. Football is becoming more tactical and more physical. You need intelligent players and he is an intelligent player.'
Ballack went close to a third with a swerving free-kick as he completed his first 90 minutes since his ankle operation in April.
The return to fitness of the Germany captain has been a ray of light in a bleak mid winter of injury setbacks for Grant.
Ballack said: 'It was loud in the dressing room at half-time. But in the second half we played like Chelsea can play and we deserved it. We couldn't keep playing like we played in the first half. We needed a result.'
FULHAM (4-4-1-1): Niemi 6; Omozusi 6, Bocanegra 7, Stefanovic 6, Konchesky 7; Volz 6 (Seol 68min, 5), Murphy 7, Davis 7 (Smertin 70, 6), Davies 8; Dempsey 6; Kamara 5 (Healy 77). Booked: Stefanovic.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Hilario 6; Belletti 5, Ben Haim 6, Alex 6, Bridge 6; Sidwell 5 (Obi 46, 8), Essien 7, Ballack 7; Wright- Phillips 6 (Pizarro 88), Kalou 7, J Cole 7 (Ferreira 90).
Man of the match: Jon Mikel Obi.
Referee: Mark Halsey. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun:
By MARK IRWIN
HE is manager of the richest club in the world with a squad of international superstars and access to Roman Abramovich’s billions.
Yet Avram Grant still looks like a man with an imminent appointment with the gallows.
Chelsea boss Grant was unable to raise a smile as he watched his patched-up team grind out another victory to remain firmly in contention for silverware on four fronts.
But surely if anyone had a reason to look down in the dumps it was new Fulham boss Roy Hodgson?
His welcome back to the Premier League ended in defeat despite a spirited performance in the first 45 minutes which made Chelsea look ordinary.
Even the sight of a revitalised Michael Ballack securing the victory to keep Chelsea snapping at the heels of Arsenal and Manchester United could not dispel Grant’s hang-dog look.
For the first time since taking over from Jose Mourinho in September, the Stamford Bridge boss was forced to reach for the hairdryer.
Chelsea had been so poor during a shocking first-half performance that there was a real danger of their title ambitions ending with 4½ months of the race still to run.
They trailed to a 10th-minute penalty, converted by Danny Murphy after Joe Cole had clipped Moritz Volz in the box.
It was not the most crunching of tackles from Cole but he was hardly in any position to complain about people going down too easily.
And it was no more than Fulham deserved for 45 minutes during which they worked like a team of Polish builders.
Hodgson did not exactly get a rousing reception from the Fulham fans as he slipped into the dugout almost unnoticed.
Yet he was delighted with the response he got from his players as they showed the kind of desire and commitment they did not always manage under their former boss Lawrie Sanchez.
But, ultimately, it was still not enough for Hodgson.
And if the former Blackburn boss was under any illusions about the size of the task ahead he now knows that he is going to earn every penny of the £1million he has been promised if he keeps Fulham up.
This is Hodgson’s 16th different coaching job in all corners of the globe during the last 25 years, a track record which does not exactly suggest he will be in it for the long haul.

But trying to halt the decline at Craven Cottage to keep Mohamed Fayed’s team in the Premier League is quite enough to be getting on with.
Yet if ever there was a good time to be facing Chelsea, this was it.
The visitors were without the injured John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Claude Makelele and Andriy Shevchenko as well as the suspended Ricardo Carvalho.
But Grant still decided to start the match with Ashley Cole in the stand and Mikel Jon Obi on the bench — a mistake which he quickly rectified at the interval by taking off the struggling Steve Sidwell.
Mikel’s introduction, in tandem with Grant’s half-time rollicking, finally had the desired effect.
A Chelsea team which had looked jaded and disinterested were suddenly snapping into the tackle, closing down opponents and passing the ball to their own colleagues.
Fulham immediately sensed the tide had turned, dropping deeper and deeper in a forlorn attempt to protect their lead.
It was a tactic which worked for all of eight minutes of the second half before Chelsea levelled, Salomon Kalou heading home from close range after Alex had helped on Juliano Belletti’s corner.
How ironic that Kalou should use his head to score after spending the entire first-half brainlessly straying into offside positions against the slowest defence in the Premier League.
The game was now up for Fulham and eight minutes later they were put out of their misery when American Clint Dempsey was penalised for pulling at Ballack’s shirt as they competed for another Belletti free-kick.
Like his compatriot Volz, Ballack did not exactly need much encouragement to go to ground.
But he bravely ignored the pain of his grazed knees to send keeper Antti Niemi the wrong way from the penalty spot.
It was the ninth time this season that Fulham had scored the first goal yet failed to win the game. And on this showing it is hard to see how they are going to get out of the bottom three.
They should be delighted to see the back of 2007, a year in which they won just four Premier League games, sacked two managers — Sanchez and Chris Coleman last April — and escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth.
Yet with only three points from their last nine games, the first half of 2008 is not looking any brighter.
Grant might point to an entire team on the sidelines — and his problems will only get worse when Kalou, Mikel and Michael Essien all head off to the African Nations Cup next week.
But at least he has the likes of Ballack, Alex and Shaun Wright-Phillips to fall back on as well as the limitless possibility of new signings during the January transfer window.
All Hodgson has inherited from his predecessor is a squad of ageing duffers and a limited budget for recruitment.
And no amount of hard work on the training ground is going to change that.

sunday papers newcastle home

Mail:Kalou kicks off Sam storm: Newcastle left fuming after Chelsea grab shock winnerChelsea 2 Newcastle 1
By PATRICK COLLINS
Sam Allardyce stood and roared his protest. His face was puce, his fists were clenched and his eyes were bulging in disbelief. And for once, his anger was easily understood.
Three minutes of the match remained and Newcastle had toiled towards a result which had seemed far beyond them.
They were then denied the point they deserved by a disgracefully inept decision. Chelsea were celebrating their unreasonable fortune, and a team and a manager which need all the luck they can find were entering the new year with a sense of deep grievance.
The facts of the dispute are easily told. Michael Essien drove a shot which struck his colleague Claudio Pizarro, then skewed away into the path of Salomon Kalou.
Replays showed that the Chelsea player had started from an offside position and had simply moved further forward in pursuit of the chance. But he swept in the ball, assistant referee Mike Cairns remained static and the match was decided, the storm ignited.
"It's one of those decisions I wouldn't mind getting into trouble over," said Allardyce. "It's cost us a crucial result today. That point would have made us feel very much better. But it was the worst decision we've had this season, certainly.
"Why has he done it? Fear. Blind fear. He's got to make a crucial decision at Chelsea's home ground. Has his arm frozen? I don't know."
What he does know is that the verdict could help decide his employment chances. "We're living in a more volatile atmosphere these days, with seven managers losing their jobs already," he said. He did not need to stress the point.
Instead, he returned to the decision which shaped the match: "It was clear, blatant, no argument whatever. I'm bitterly disappointed." By contrast, Avram Grant was in the best of humour. When the injustice of the winning goal was put to him, he replied: "We created so many chances that we deserved to win anyway." Perhaps so, but that is not the way that football matches are customarily decided. Still, at least the Chelsea manager accepted that the outcome greatly enhances his team's title chances.
Chelsea spent much of the opening half-hour getting to know each other, like strangers at a party or, this being Chelsea, reps at a sales conference.They were missing John Terry and Frank Lampard but, far more significantly, they were missing Didier Drogba.
And yet they were rarely in any kind of trouble, aside from the moment in the 14th minute when John Mikel Obi lost possession at halfway and Nicky Butt played Obafemi Martins through. He had neither the pace nor the strength to exploit the chance.
By contrast, Chelsea were generating a growing volume of opportunities, with Kalou having a shot uncomfortably parried by Shay Given, then Alex rising above the ruck to bury a header in Given's midriff. The pressure grew, especially down Newcastle's left flank, and the Chelsea goal was inevitable. It came in the 29th minute when a long throw from Chelsea's right was poorly dealt with by the Newcastle defence. Shaun Wright-Phillips saw a chance but scuffed it into the ground,then the clear-headed Essien entered the chaos and discovered order with an emphatic scoring jab.
As Chelsea lifted the pace, Allardyce stood and yelled at his players with increasing despair. "Press the ball! Press the ball!" he screamed, as they scuttled haplessly through their paces. Only the diligence of Butt prevented a second goal as Wright- Phillips once more dismantled the Newcastle defence, while the same player headed wastefully wide when allowed a free header at the far post.
Newcastle had spent another depressing 45 minutes, uncertain in defence and largely outplayed in midfield. There was no conviction, no authority.They looked like a team that feared the worst, and it almost materialised within a minute of the second half when Butt, seeking to cut out yet another Wright-Phillips cross, battered it over his own bar from 20 yards.
By now, the crowd were in mocking mode. "You're even worse than Sunderland," they sang. But then the music died. Charles N'Zogbia seized upon Mikel's midfield error,attacked down the left and forced a low cross. Martins confused a clump of defenders, while Butt plunged in at the ball, urging it over the line at the second attempt. The silence was dramatic.
Incredibly, the balance then swung. Damien Duff started to impose himself upon proceedings for the first time. N'Zogbia was pushed forward as David Rozehnal was brought on at left-back and immediately looked a different player. Given made more fine saves from Kalou and Michael Ballack, and with home discontent increasing, Grant was loudly informed, "You don't know what you're doing" when he swapped the innocuous Joe Cole for Pizarro, then removed the exhausted Ballack.
The game was alive, and the plot bubbled deliciously with Michael Owen's late entry. The visiting fans were not unanimous in their welcome but his arrival was the prelude to a bitter finale. The consequences will be revealed in the months ahead. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kalou twists the knife and the anguish deepens for Allardyce
Stuart Barnes at Stamford BridgeSunday December 30, 2007The Observer
Considering his team had just fallen victim to what at best was a highly controversial decision and at worst a rank injustice, Sam Allardyce was a model of decorum. The Newcastle manager was raging inside, but knew he had to make his feelings about Salomon Kalou's late winner in a measured manner which would not be drawn to the attention of the Football Association and land him in the dock. 'It was one of those decisions that I wouldn't mind getting into trouble over,' declared Allardyce. 'But it would cost me money and I am not prepared to do that.'
Kalou looked a good two yards offside when he slid the ball past Shay Given after John Obi Mikel's shot cannoned off substitute Claudio Pizarro into his path. It was not even a close call. Referee Mike Riley consulted his assistant Mike Cairns and was told the goal should stand. Newcastle players fumed. Chelsea's celebrated, if not sheepishly, certainly in the knowledge that lady luck had been on their side.After the Boxing Day goalfest against Aston Villa, Avram Grant's side had lived on the edge again. Another draw would have been damaging to their chances of making up ground in the title race. Instead, this result, coupled with Manchester United's defeat at West Ham, means they retain a strong interest in proceedings at the top going into the New Year.
'It was a clear-cut case of offside that has cost us a crucial result,' said Allardyce. 'The ball came off a Chelsea player. There was no question of interference. He was offside by two or three yards. The referee went over to his assistant and he had the power to change the decision, which he didn't do. Did his arm freeze? Was it blind fear that got to him about a crucial decision he had to make at a crucial time on Chelsea's home ground. It was a horrible one which he can't hide from. We have had a poor Christmas and a point would have given us a boost. But we can do nothing about it. It's a huge disappointment and hurts me and my players deeply.'
Allardyce, who urged the introduction of video technology 'for the benefit of everyone', added: 'The consolation was our overall performance. I thought we were tremendous. If we can maintain that level then results will come.'
Grant maintained that he needed to see a replay of the incident before reaching a verdict. A diplomatic stance, perhaps, but there was no doubt about him being on the right track when he added: 'We should have won the game long before - we had eight or nine chances.'
Chelsea were without 10 players through injuries, suspensions or players being given a break. But under the temporary captaincy of Michael Ballack they could easily have wrapped up their 73rd successive home League match without defeat by half time.
Newcastle had not scraped a single goal in their last six League visits to Stamford Bridge, while conceding 16 in the process. Morale was under scrutiny after dodgy displays against Derby and Wigan. So, too, was the position of Allardyce. The way makeshift Chelsea went at them suggested another barren afternoon. Ballack, from a Shaun Wright-Phillips cross, blazed over from the edge of the penalty area with time and space to have done so much better.
Juliano Belletti offered Chelsea an attacking option down the right flank and from one cross Kalou got in a shot which Shay Given saved low down at the expense of a corner. The goalkeeper again showed his mettle, clawing away Mikel's shot which deflected off Nicky Butt, then held Joe Cole's corner under the crossbar.
Soon after, Cole's free-kick was met by Alex, whose unchallenged header went straight at Given. Chelsea put that miss behind them to go ahead when Belletti's long throw was defended poorly. A Wright-Phillips shot struck Kalou, evaded the attention of Steven Taylor and came loose to Michael Essien who forced in his third goal of the season.
Obafemi Martins drove high, wide and particularly handsome when pursuing a long ball out of defence, but most of the chances were being created at the other end. Wright-Phillips galloped away down the line and Butt did well to get there first before Kalou could take advantage. Next, Wright-Phillips headed Cole's far-post cross wide when he should have doubled the lead. A second almost came moments after the restart when Butt, attempting to clear a Wright-Phillips cross, sliced the ball just over his own crossbar. A few inches lower and Given would have had little chance of stopping it.
When Taylor took the full force of Belletti's shot, Newcastle held on again. But against the run of play they drew level, thanks largely to the persistence of the enterprising Charles N'Zogbia, who got away from Mikel and played the ball across. Butt, Martins and Wayne Bridge dived in and the ball went in via Butt and the Chelsea left-back.
Chelsea were culpable again in front of goal when Wright-Phillips picked out the unmarked Ballack, who should have done much better than sidefoot his effort too near Given, who saved comfortably. But Newcastle had fresh impetus from the goal. The introduction of Owen, for Martins, provided a further lift and if anything they looked the more likely to go on and win it.
Grant, who brushed off dissatisfaction from sections of the crowd at his choice of substitutions, added: 'You saw the spirit of a team missing many established players.'
Man of the match
Nicky ButtCharles N'Zogbia was an influential figure at the back and when going forward for Newcastle. But their hardworking midfielder Nicky Butt just about shaded it with a forceful performance which did much to put his side back in the picture at a time when they were hanging on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 2 Newcastle Utd 1: Allardyce up in arms as lucky Chelsea accept late present Kalou scores controversial winner to keep Newcastle cheer in short supply
By Ronald Atkin at Stamford Bridge
Newcastle may be the club with a player in custody, but it was Chelsea who got out of jail in this game, breaking what appeared an inevitable deadlock. As if Newcastle did not have enough problems already, they were robbed of the draw they deserved and which would have given a lift to an otherwise bleak holiday period.
With three minutes left Newcastle were under the cosh, but surviving with perhaps unexpected confidence. Then Jon Mikel Obi had a flail at goal and the ball deflected off the substitute Claudio Pizarro to the feet of Salomon Kalou, at least two yards offside. He put the chance away comfortably, but the award of a goal by the referee Mike Riley sparked fury from Newcastle's players and bench.
Riley consulted the linesman, Mike Cairns, who mystifyingly had spotted no offence. The "goal" stood and manager Sam Allardyce had to be restrained by the fourth official as he verbally laid into Cairns. Afterwards the Newcastle manager said, "It was one of those decisions I wouldn't mind getting myself into trouble with, but I don't want to part with my money.
"But it hurts everybody at Newcastle that a result has been taken away from us by an assistant referee who got his decision horribly wrong."
Allardyce put the error down to what he termed "blind fear", in terms of making a crucial decision on Chelsea's home ground. "I think his arm froze. It it the worst decision [against us] this year. There will be no excuses from him when he sees it again. He can't hide," he said.
The Chelsea manager Avram Grant did his best, with an unaccustomed small smile, to avoid condemning the score which sealed victory for his team, opting to comment that he had not yet seen a replay of the incident. But he claimed Chelsea had wasted enough chances to have won comfortably.
Not quite true. Newcastle played with spirit, even flashes of style. Nicky Butt laboured mightily in midfield, Damien Duff livened up the attack, Obafemi Martins ran menacingly up front and, as ever, Shay Given proved an inspired barrier in goal. Chelsea, with a list of injuries and suspensions, may have been short of a star or two, but were still able to field an intimidating side. Sadly, they rarely played to that potential.
Michael Ballack, captain for the day, showed the occasional touch of brilliance, albeit at his own pace, Shaun Wright-Phillips was a top-speed threat on the right and Joe Cole had Newcastle in trouble at times. But not often enough to satisfy a querulous home crowd, who booed when Cole was replaced by Pizarro just past the hour and launched into an anti-Grant chorus of "You don't know what you're doing" when he sent on Scott Sinclair for Ballack. "I have no complaints against the supporters," Grant insisted. "They know we don't have easy times with 10 injuries."
It appeared easy times were on the horizon when Michael Essien scored short of the half-hour. Juliano Belletti's long throw provoked consternation in the Newcastle penalty area, Wright-Phillips unleashed a shot which rattled off assorted bodies and fell invitingly for Essien to turn past Given.
But the eagerness of Martins, who saw one shot painfully blocked by Tal Ben Haim and another narrowly clear the bar, ensured Chelsea were never comfortable with the lead. It was an advantage they might have doubled early in the second half when Butt, lashing out at a Wright-Phillips centre, sent the ball inches over his own bar, but after 55 minutes Newcastle pulled level.
Charles N'Zogbia got away from Mikel with ease on the left and laid the ball into the goalmouth. Martins made only marginal contact, but enough to see the ball bounce over the line off Wayne Bridge. Michael Owen, out for six weeks, then replaced Martins, but the score which decided it did not go their way.
As for Joey Barton, in prison in Liverpool facing an allegation of assault, Allardyce said, "It is something we have to put behind us because we have so many games coming up. We will deal with it later. I am disappointed---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday TimesDecember 30, 2007
Chelsea earn fortunate winChelsea 2 Newcastle 1Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
It was supposed to be Sam Allardyce whose job was on the line, but instead the home crowd told Avram Grant: “You don’t know what you’re doing”, and chanted Jose Mourinho’s name on an afternoon when Chelsea were dominant, but lacked firepower, and scored their late winner from an offside position. Grant, with two defeats in his 22 games in charge, made light of the fans’ derision, but Allardyce could not afford to be so sanguine about the inexplicable decision by the referee’s assistant, Mike Cairns, to allow Salomon Kalou’s deciding goal to stand.
Newcastle, after a spirited fightback, thought they were set for a morale-boosting result after Nicky Butt’s second half equaliser, but were denied a point in cruel circumstances, when Kalou tucked away the decisive goal from six yards - and yards offside. “It wasn’t even close,” one of Grant’s aides admitted. Allardyce said: “It was clear-cut, blatantly offside, there was only a blue shirt between our goal-keeper and our goal. It was a decision I wouldn’t mind getting myself in trouble talking about, but as a manager you can’t really say what you think. It hurts deeply, though. A result has been taken away from us through no fault of ours.”
Michael Essien had given Chelsea the lead after 29 minutes, but thereafter a flood of possession came to nought for the want of the finishing usually supplied by Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko, all of whom were absent injured, and Newcastle hit back with great spirit in the second half. From the black and white perspective, this was the performance needed to atone for that Boxing Day surrender at Wigan. More of the same at home to Manchester City on Wednesday could provide the lift-off that Allardyce needs.
Newcastle’s most notable absentee, given his circumstances, was Joey Barton, remanded in custody on charges of assault and affray. His footballing future, the manager said, would be decided at boardroom level. The initiative was with Chelsea from the outset and the first save – a good one – was made by Shay Given. It came after Shaun Wright-Phillips had burst past Charles N’Zogbia – a regular occurrence – before supplying Juliano Belletti, who cut the ball back for Kalou, whose shot was impressively repelled. Chelsea might have had the goal their superiority warranted but Alex’s free header from Belletti’s free kick went straight to Given. Newcastle’s reprieve lasted only a matter of seconds. Then Belletti’s throw-in from the right was inadequately defended, allowing Michael Ballack to head the ball on to Wright-Phillips. The England winger’s shot, scuffed into the ground, hit Kalou and was deflected to Essien, who stabbed home from the six-yard line after Steven Taylor had made a maladroit hash of clearing the danger.
Allardyce and his team were in familiar territory, behind yet again. How would they respond? With encouraging resilience and determination, although Wright-Phillips should have doubled the margin just before the interval, when he headed weakly wide at the far post from Joe Cole’s cross.
The second goal Chelsea needed might have arrived in the first minute of the second half, when Wright-Phillips’ pace again embarrassed N’Zogbia, an achilles heel of a left-back, and Butt’s intended clearance tested Given overhead.
With Chelsea on top, the home crowd had just started taunting the “Toon Army” with choruses of “You’re worse than Sunderland” when Newcastle stunned them into silence by equalising.
Not for the first time, Mikel gave the ball away carelessly in midfield and N’Zogbia drove to the byline on the left before delivering a well directed cross. Martins met it in the middle, improvising a backheel to Butt, who bundled the ball over the line.
Grant’s decision to replace Cole with Claudio Pizarro midway through the second half was greeted with abuse from the crowd, who bellowed in unision that their manager didn’t know what he was doing. It was a strange reaction, even allowing for Cole’s popularity, for he had never been anywhere near his best, and there was more of the same after 75 minutes, when Ballack, tiring after eight months out, gave way to Scott Sinclair. The home fans’ displeasure would have known no bounds had Damien Duff given Newcastle the lead against his old club, as he would have done after 68 minutes but for Belletti’s last-ditch intervention.
The winning goal bordered on the ludicrous. Mikel’s initial shot hit Pizarro and rebounded to Kalou, who was not so much feet as yards offside when he scored.
Allardyce was mortified. He said: “We’re living in a more volatile atmosphere in the Premiership, with seven managers losing their jobs already, and I want to know why that decision was made. I asked the linesman and got no answer. Why did he do it? Blind fear. He’s got to make a crucial decision at a critical time on Chelsea’s home ground, and maybe his arm was frozen.”
Match stats
Chelsea: Hilario 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Ben Haim 6, Bridge 6, Essien 6, Mikel 5, Ballack 5 (Sinclair 75min), J Cole 5 (Pizarro 65min), Kalou 6, Wright-Phillips 7 (Sidwell 90min) Star man: Nicky Butt (Newcastle)
Newcastle: Given 7, Beye 7, Cacapa 6, Taylor 7, N’Zogbia 5, Faye 7, Butt 9, Milner 5, Smith 5 (Rozehnal 69min), Martins 6 (Owen 73min), Duff 5 (Viduka 89min)
Scorers: Chelsea: Essien 29, Kalou 87. Newcastle: Butt 56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Allardyce curse his luck after Kalou steals winBy Patrick Barclay at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Newcastle United (0) 1
The 4-4 draw with Aston Villa here on Boxing Day was always going to be a hard act to follow and this match, for half of its course, did not even try. Then Newcastle played as if determined to cast Sam Allardyce's regime in a kinder light than has been shed of late and, although they lost, it was only to a goal of the utmost fraudulence: Salomon Kalou, who scored it, was yards offside. Even Chelsea TV, whose commentary often contains a refreshing element of candour, admitted: ''We got away with murder."
Thus the losers came out with more credit, or at least sympathy, than the winners, whose manager, Avram Grant, was informed, 'You don't know what you're doing' when he replaced Joe Cole with Claudio Pizarro midway through the second half. Whatever Roman Abramovich may think, Grant has yet to convince the majority of Chelsea's support that he can build a beautiful and successful team on the platform left by Jose Mourinho. It was just as well the announcer could lift the immediate post-match mood with the result from West Ham, which left Chelsea four points behind Manchester United despite the ravages of injury and suspension.
How Newcastle must envy this crowd their petty grumbles. That Allardyce is forever ranting about the unfairness of decisions should not detract from the validity of his case here. Newcastle were just minutes from a precious point when John Obi Mikel's shot hit Pizarro and fell to Kalou, who had the decency to look restrained after putting the ball past Shay Given from close range.
Afterwards Allardyce said: "A result's been taken away from us by a linesman [Mike Cairns] who's got a decision horribly wrong." That was about the size of it and the Newcastle manager felt entitled to heap praise on his men. ''Now my job is to make sure this doesn't knock the players' confidence."
In which case he had better not show them a recording of the first half; another look at the second would fortify them for, with Nicky Butt excellent, they attacked on a broad front and cancelled out Michael Essien's opening goal.
A more modest measure of defiance had marked Newcastle's start during which Butt, catching Mikel in possession, delivered a fine through-pass on which Obafemi Martins failed to capitalise. The match soon acquired a more predictable pattern and Shay Given, after parrying an effort from Kalou, distinguished himself by clawing away a deflected shot from Mikel.
The judicious dismissal by the FA of an appeal against Ashley Cole's red card had left Chelsea lacking 10 members of their squad - with four due to depart shortly for the African Cup of Nations, expect vigorous activity by Grant when the transfer window opens on Tuesday - but they comfortably controlled matters, Mikel and Essien helping Michael Ballack, captain for the day, to pull the strings in midfield.
Then Juliano Belletti's throw was cleared only to Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose shot from 25 yards veered off Kalou and landed in the goalmouth. Essien, reacting more sharply than Steven Taylor or Claudio Cacapa, whipped it into the net. Wright-Phillips might have increased Chelsea's lead seconds from the interval, when he nodded into the side netting following Cole's cross
A different, infinitely more assertive Newcastle emerged and, with Charles N'Zogbia pushing forward to increase Belletti's workload, made progress. Butt was first evident at the wrong end of the field - sliding to intercept Wright-Phillips's ball infield, he succeeded only in forcing Given brilliantly to avert a contender for own-goal of the season - but the former Manchester United midfielder was next primarily responsible for the equaliser.
Sending N'Zogbia down the left, Butt kept running and, after N'Zogbia had got past Mikel and crossed low, was on to Martins' miscued shot, bundling the ball in off Wayne Bridge. Grant responded by replacing Cole with Pizarro, which prompted those unkind chants from the Matthew Harding Stand. If he had taken off Kalou, there would have been few complaints. Yet Kalou it was who, however luckily, won the match. Allardyce, meanwhile, had sent on Michael Owen for Martins, but such fortune was not to favour the Newcastle cause.
For Grant, when he was asked about the crucial goal, charity began at home. ''I didn't see the incident again," he said, ''but we made so many chances today we deserved to win anyway." He deflected a question about the chants too, saying: ''I think the supporters are behind us. They knew it was not easy for us today with so many key players missing. Those who did play showed a lot of character." And Cole, he added, ''had some problems with injury." So maybe Grant did know what he was doing. Two defeats in 22 matches is hardly the statistic of an impostor.
Man of the matchJohn Obi Mikel 8/10
Completed 93 per cent of passesWon 100 per cent of tackles
Telegraph verdict Moment of the match: The cruel confounding of Newcastle apart, what stands out is the memory of Nicky Butt almost scoring an own-goal from long range with an attempted clearance. Match rating: 6/10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------