Wolves 0 Chelsea 2:CHELSEA WERE silent yesterday after fresh tabloid allegations about the private life of Ashley Cole posed the first test of the club's pledge to hand out the "severest disciplinary consequences" to any players tarnishing the club's reputation.
Last Wednesday, following three weeks in which the club’s players featured heavily on the front pages rather than the back, the Chelsea chief executive, Ron Gourlay, convened a meeting at the club’s Cobham training complex to remind players of their off-field responsibilities.
Though the meeting was intended to draw a line under the recent spell of damaging stories, the club made it clear they would consider taking disciplinary action if new allegations came to light even if relating to incidents that occurred in the past.
Should Chelsea choose strictly to follow this hard-line approach, imposed at the behest of Roman Abramovich, then Cole could well face punishment, most likely in the form of a heavy fine.
A fractured left ankle meant Cole was absent from the Chelsea side that laboured to victory over Wolves.
“Was Didier Drogba the difference? No Petr Cech was.” That was Marcus Hahnemann’s verdict after his opposite number in the Chelsea goal produced two superb saves to preserve the visitors’ advantage and extend their lead at the top of the league to four points. It was hardly a ringing endorsement ahead of Carlo Ancelotti’s side’s most eagerly anticipated fixture of the season.
It is nearly two and a half years since Jose Mourinho left Chelsea, yet his imprint on the club remains indelible. Of the starting XI at Molineux, eight played at Stamford Bridge under the Portuguese and they produced a performance that at times was reminiscent of many under their former manager – a formation so fluid it verged on shapeless that frustratingly stilted build-up but was devastatingly effective at crucial moments.
Chelsea’s trip to Internazionale on Wednesday is sure to bring more memories flooding back.
“It’s exciting to face Jose again. It’s always interesting,” said Cech, who, with those two saves and a hand in both goals, is playing as well as he has since the Mourinho years.
“We all know what a great past he had at this club. But for this fixture, you can’t change what happened in the past, only what will happen in the future. The future for us is to win this game and go through to the quarter-finals.”
With Frank Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho – both absent here – set to return at San Siro, Chelsea’s side on Wednesday may be even more familiar to the man in the home dugout than the one at Molineux.
Mourinho may have an intimate knowledge of the Blues’ strengths and weaknesses, but it is matched by the players’ knowledge of his.
“He knows how we can play,” said Cech. “He knows the players here. We know him and how he likes his team to play. We will see on the pitch who will take advantage.”
Ancelotti was equally sanguine – “In this game there are no surprises. He knows Chelsea very well, I know Inter very well” – but one facet that may be somewhat unfamiliar is Chelsea’s fragility at the back. In Mourinho’s first season at Stamford Bridge they conceded just 15 goals – this season the total is already 22.
And it would have been more had Wolves matched Drogba’s incisiveness in front of goal. Kevin Doyle was a constant source of inconvenience to John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic and, while Cech dealt comfortably with the half-chances Doyle mustered, Kevin Foley and Adlene Guedioura found the goalkeeper in fine form. At the other end, Drogba had two chances – and took them both.
Wolves had been the better team when Drogba opened the scoring, sliding in the excellent Yuri Zhirkov’s cross. Mick McCarthy’s side were also on top when Christophe Berra inexcusably allowed Cech’s clearance to drop over his head and Drogba broke clear to seal the victory.
Guardian Service
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