For Chelsea's championship pretensions early spring is beginning to look depressingly like late autumn. Their hopes may still be in leaf but the leaves are rapidly turning brown.
Two home defeats in four days have seen Gianluca Vialli's team, previously unbeaten at Stamford Bridge, knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and subject to serious questions about their ability to maintain a serious challenge to United and Arsenal in the Premiership. West Ham United's carefully planned victory on Saturday has left Chelsea seven points adrift and in danger of losing third place to David O'Leary's burgeoning young Leeds side.
"If we keep playing like that,' declared Vialli, `then sooner or later we will score." But with Flo again out of touch they seldom looked like scoring once a shot from Zola had ricocheted wide off Rio Ferdinand, who then cleared the ball off the line after Celestine Babayaro's stubbed attempt had bounced beyond Shaka Hislop.
West Ham's performance bore little resemblance to the surrenders in January and early February which had raised serious doubts about Harry Redknapp's management surviving the winter.
The winning goal, 15 minutes from the end, followed a free-kick from Keller which Foe met with a firm downward header, Kitson forcing the ball over the line.
A strong feature of Chelsea's football this season has been their ability to find the net in the last 10 minutes of games. But the sort of players who might have saved the match, Frank Leboeuf and Vialli himself, were injured or suspended. The longer the game went on the more likely were West Ham to score again. After this defeat Vialli even found himself facing a preliminary inquest as reporters questioned Chelsea's refusal to strengthen the squad after losing Casiraghi and Poyet.
Vialli was at pains to dismiss suggestions that money had been a problem. "It was my call,' he insisted. `The club asked me if I wanted replacements but I said I was happy with the squad. We had enough good players, the spirit was good and we were getting results. Certainly I looked around but I didn't find the right player."
Even now no wise person would write off Chelsea as possible champions but only four of their last 10 league matches are at home and much will rest on the outcome of Leeds's visit to Stamford Bridge in three weeks.
Chelsea: De Goey, Ferrer, Desailly (Duberry 60), Myers (Forssell 83), Le Saux (Petrescu 60), Goldbaek, Wise, Di Matteo, Babayaro, Flo, Zola. Subs Not Used: Hitchcock, Morris. Booked: Duberry, Petrescu.
West Ham: Hislop, Keller (Potts 86), Pearce, Ferdinand, Ruddock, Minto, Lampard, Foe, Lomas, Kitson, Sinclair. Subs Not Used: Moncur, Lazaridis, Berkovic, Forrest. Booked: Foe, Keller. Goals: Kitson 75. Att: 34,765
Referee: S Lodge (Barnsley).
