Another wave of glittering Champions League fixtures has been unveiled; it could be a winter in wonderland for the boys in blue. Yet strip away European glamour and the prospects for Chelsea are rather dull. For the fourth game in succession they failed to win in the Premiership.
Gianluca Vialli's team lie 10 points adrift of Manchester United and yesterday showed little idea of how to make up the difference. Their attempts to thread ground passes into their front men became entangled in a crowded penalty area, and when they took the aerial route Tore Andre Flo was more likely to head the ball away from danger than set up something of significance.
West Ham were close-knit at the back, and in a disciplined 90 minutes no stitches were dropped. Rio Ferdinand, Igor Stimac and Javier Margas offered no encouragement to the hosts, and it was disappointing for the rugged Chilean that he was denied the chance to complete a solid afternoon's work by a red card four minutes from time for trying to hold off Didier Deschamps as they scrapped for the ball near the right-hand touch-line.
His rival applied plenty of French dressing to his fall and it convinced the referee to show the defender a second yellow card.
"He made a meal of it," protested Harry Redknapp. "You just wish the officials could get the balance right. On Thursday we had a foreign referee and he let everything go, even though Bucharest had the biggest maniac I have ever seen on a football pitch."
Nor was the Hammers manager happy with the caution for a dive that spoiled another irresistible display from Joe Cole, who today reaches the grand old age of 18.
"Joe never hits the floor, he stumbles on through one challenge after another. He would not know what it's like to take a dive."
Cole showed not the slightest respect to Chelsea's World Cup winners, and for much of the time was the brightest star in what was too often a congested central area to make this an entertaining spectacle. He has magic in his boots, but is mature enough to play the simple ball when that is all that's on.
An example arrived in the 18th minute when he cleverly ushered Trevor Sinclair into space down the left. Sinclair got the better of Albert Ferrer but the cross was not cleanly struck and missed the head of Paulo Wanchope. In the same penalty area after the break it was Wanchope who came to the rescue when a corner found Flo heading powerfully.
Time and space were precious commodities, and too often Chelsea were inclined to use one pass too many.
"We were not very good at all in the first half and although we improved we must do better than this," Vialli conceded. The majority filing out of the Bridge would say amen to that.
Chelsea: De Goey, Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf, Babayaro, Petrescu, Deschamps, Morris, Poyet, Flo, Zola (Ambrosetti 68). Subs Not Used: Di Matteo, Lambourde, Cudicini, Forssell. Booked: Poyet, Ferrer, Leboeuf.
West Ham: Forrest, Stimac, Ferdinand, Margas, Sinclair, Lomas, Foe, Lampard, Keller, Cole (Ruddock 87), Wanchope. Subs Not Used: Bywater, Charles, Kitson, Moncur. Sent Off: Margas (85). Booked: Margas, Lomas, Stimac, Cole.
Referee: M Riley (Leeds).
