Chelsea FC - Supporters' Rally

[Glen2712]

PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: READING V CHELSEA END


READING V CHELSEA: Paul Dutton studies a fixture that features sparsely in the record books.


Chelsea are looking to extend our unbeaten league run to 15 games (seven away) since our defeat at Liverpool in January. That defeat is our only one in 28 Premier League outings.


Chelsea won our first meeting at the Madejski Stadium in the 2003/04 League Cup with a Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink goal in the 56th minute.


Steve Coppell is aiming to add to his two previous victories in his 19 games against Chelsea, as manager of Crystal Palace and Reading. He has lost 11 and drawn six of the other 17.


The Royals have entered their second term in the top-flight on the back of a very successful pre-season. After losing to River Plate by the only goal, they then beat Lyon and Shimizu by the same score in the Peace Cup in Korea and followed that with three wins against Brentford (6-1), Brighton (3-1) and Wolves (3-2).


Before last season, our only previous league meetings were in the old Second Division in four successive seasons between 1926 and 1930. Chelsea's only victory at Reading's old ground, Elm Park, was on the opening day in 1927 when goals from Jackie Crawford and Jimmy Thompson secured a 2-1 win. Of the remaining three games, Reading won two and there was one draw.


Chelsea and Reading have met once in the FA Cup in 1921. Following a goalless draw at Elm Park, the teams drew 2-2 in the replay at Stamford Bridge and in the second replay again at the Bridge Chelsea ran out 3-1 victors.


In more recent times we have been drawn together twice in the League Cup. In 1987/88 Reading won 5-4 on aggregate. John Hollins was manager of a Chelsea side including Steve Clarke and Kerry Dixon. Chelsea old boys Steve Francis and Paul Canoville played for Reading.


This is only Reading's second season in the top flight in their 136-year history. They are the oldest team in the top flight this year. Last season, their first, they were eighth with 55 points. Their record at the Madejski was won 11 including 3-1 against Tottenham, drawn two including Man Utd, lost six scoring 29 and conceding 20.


In finishing eighth Reading achieved the highest place in their first Premier League season after promotion since Ipswich managed fifth in 2000/01.



Reading's last six games

Apr 14 Fulham (h) W 1-0

Apr 21 Bolton (a) W 3-1

Apr 30 Newcastle (h) W 1-0

May 5 Watford (h) L 0-2

May 13 Blackburn (a) D 3-3

Aug 12 Man Utd (a) D 0-0


Reading's team for their opener at Old Trafford on Sunday was: Hahnemann; De la Cruz, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Shorey; Murty (c); Seol (Oster 57), Harper, Gunnarsson, Hunt (Bikey 87); Doyle (Kitson 72). Dave Kitson was sent off less than a minute after coming on for a foul on Patrice Evre.


The Royals' home league form in 2007 is six wins, a draw and two defeats. Their 6-0 win against West Ham was the biggest top-flight win of the season.


Reading's top league scorers last season were Kevin Doyle with 13 and Leroy Lita seven.


Marcus Hahnemann, James Harper and Ivar Ingimarsson were ever-present in the Premier League last term. Steve Sidwell played in all but three of the games. Ingimarsson was one of only four Premier League outfield players to have been involved in every minute of every game. The others were Richard Dunne, Phil Jagielka and Yobo.



Reading have had a quiet summer in the transfer market.

Ins Kalifa Cisse (Boavista, £675,000), Emerse Fae (Nantes, £2.5m).

Outs Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free), Greg Halford (Sunderland £2.5m), Graham Stack (Wolves, loan).


The only Chelsea old boy on the Royals' books is Michael Duberry. It would be very childish indeed to congratulate him on his tackle on Wayne Rooney last weekend. He joined Reading on the last day of the January transfer window from Stoke and played eight of the last 12 games. For Chelsea, after coming through the ranks, he played 106+9 games between 1994 and 1999 scoring three goals and won Coca-Cola, European Cup Winners' and UEFA Super Cup winners medals, all without conceding a goal as well as three England under-21 caps. He moved to Leeds in the summer of 1999 for £5m, smashing the previous Chelsea selling record of £2.5m.


Steve Sidwell moved in the other direction in May following four and a half years with the Berkshire club scoring 30 goals in 187 games.


Reading's record attendance at the Madejski since the opening in 1998 is 24,122 set against Aston Villa last season and is 15 more than for Chelsea's visit in 2003.


Reading's honours include the Full Members Cup in 1988 and the Football League Championship in 2006 as well as several lower division championships.


Michael Essien's next appearance will be his 100th for the Blues.


Three of Reading's managers have also featured in our history. Roy Bentley (1963-69) was Chelsea's captain and Ted Drake (1947-52) managed our 1955 Championship. Roy scored 150 goals in 367 games between 1948 and 1956. Ian Porterfield managed Reading and Chelsea consecutively in the late eighties and early nineties.


Chelsea's second highest goalscorer with 193 goals Kerry Dixon started his professional career and was signed from Reading for £175,000 in August 1983.


Dave Kitson is suspended for Reading following his straight red card at Old Trafford on Sunday.


The match referee is Mike Dean who last took charge of a Chelsea game at Upton Park in April when we beat West Ham 4-1.


Chelsea's overall record against Reading in all competitions is: played 16, won seven, drawn six, lost three.


Head-to-head in the league at Elm Park/Madejski Stadium: played five, won two, drawn one, lost two.



OUR LAST MEETING AT THE MADEJSKI STADIUM

Reading 0 Chelsea 1

Barclays Premiership, Saturday 14th October 2006.

Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty (c) (Bikey 35), Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey; Seol (Little 62), Sidwell, Harper, Hunt; Lita (Long 72), Doyle.

Sent off Bikey (2 yellows). Booked: Ingimarsson, Sonko

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech (Cudicini 5); Ferreira, Boulahrouz, Terry (c), Bridge; Mikel, Essien, Lampard; Shevchenko (J Cole 62), Drogba, Robben (Kalou 81).

Sent off Mikel (2 yellows). Booked: Terry

Scorer Ingimarsson own goal (45)

Referee Mike Riley.

Crowd: 24,025.


Cech was knocked out in the first minute following a clash with Hunt. His replacement, Carlo Cudicini was flattened and also knocked unconscious by Sonko in a goalmouth scramble in the 91st minute. JT donned Hilário's shirt and gloves and went between the posts for the final seconds. Drogba took over at centre-back when we completed the game with nine players.

[JWNY]

3 points for us....!!!!

JWNY

[Glen2712]

MINUTE DETAIL: READING 1 CHELSEA 2

Barclays Premier League, Wednesday May 15th 2007 at Madejski Stadium, Reading, Berkshire.



Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira (Pizarro h-t), Ben-Haim, Carvalho (Johnson 30), A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Sidwell (Mikel h-t) Lampard (c); Malouda, Kalou, Drogba.

Manager José Mourinho

Reading(4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty, Duberry (Bikey 28), Ingimarsson, Shorey; Oster (Seol 78), Harper, Cisse, Hunt; Long (Gunnarsson 73), Doyle.

Manager Steve Coppell.



Referee Mike Dean.

Crowd 24,031.

Environment Overcast, mild and damp. 8pm kick-off.

Kit Reading - blue and white hooped shirts, blue shorts and socks. Chelsea - electricity yellow shirts, black shorts and socks.



First-half.

Kick-off Reading

4 Offside Drogba turns Wright-Phillips's swinging low cross against the outside of the post. The flag goes up anyway although replays suggest the striker was level with the last defender as the ball was played in.

12 Abused Ferreira, chasing back down the line is caught late by Long. It is at the end of a spicy minute of challenges and the Reading striker is booked.

14 Abused Now Wright-Phillips is felled by Cisse who follows his colleague into the notebook.

19 Attack Ferreira overlapps onto Wright-Phillips's pass and tries to find Drogba but Hahnemann pouches at the striker's feet.

25 Booked Carvalho is Chelsea's first caution for what the ref deems a check on Long's run.

28 Reading substitution Bikey for Duberry who exits with what looks a groin strain.

28 READING GOAL Bikey's first contribution is to make the most of a Cech mistake and put the ball into an unguarded net. Our keeper had come to collect a high header across the area from Ingimarrson after a free-kick but colliding with defenders, he didn't make it.

30 Chelsea substitution Johnson a straight swap for injured Carvalho.

31 Save Cech catches cleanly when Doyle drives Hunt's square ball at him from 15 yards.

33 Woodwork A big escape as Oster unmarked at the far post belts Hunt's cross against the upright.

33 Booked Sidwell for a foul on Cisse.

34 Abused Ferreira is fouled by Hunt who leaves a leg in late and is yellow carded.

Stoppage time 2 min.



Half-time Reading 1 Chelsea 0



Second-half.

Chelsea half-time substitutions: Mikel for Sidwell, Pizarro for Ferreira. Wright-Phillips drops to right-back. Pizarro plays free in a front four with Malouda on the right and Kalou on the left.

Kick-off Chelsea.

47 CHELSEA GOAL Lampard races through after Pizarro and Drogba had kept the ball moving forward with headers and finishes calmly through the keeper's legs.

50 CHELSEA GOAL Last season's Premier League top scorer is off the mark, Drogba lashing the ball inside the post from 20 yards after he receives the ball back from Wright-Phillips' who had stood strong.

51 Abused Drogba is fouled by Ingimarsson who is booked.

66 Shot Pizarro takes Malouda's cross but pulls it back across goal and wide.

70 Sent-off Cisse for a second yellow after a stamp on Pizarro.

73 Reading substitution Gunnarsson for Long.

75 Booked Wright-Phillips for a hack on Gunnarsson.

78 Reading substitution Seol for Oster.

88 Booked A Cole for time wasting at a free-kick.

90+1 Booked Mikel for kicking the ball away after conceding a free-kick.

Stoppage time 3 mins.



Unused subs Reading: Federici, De La Cruz. Chelsea: Cudicini, J Cole.



Shots on target Reading 5 Chelsea 4

Corners Reading 4 Chelsea 11

Fouls Reading 14 Chelsea 21

Offsides Reading 1 Chelsea 4



Comment Three team changes but the same 4-4-2 formation as the opening day win - Drogba in for Pizarro, Ferreira back from injury in place of Johnson and Sidwell replacing injured Essien.


The ex-Reading man receives applause before the game from his former supporters. Stephen Hunt, who stayed on the bench for our Boxing Day meeting at the Bridge, begins the game for The Royals.


He and Cech are on the pitch together for the first time since the collision here last October. The match is a feisty affair without ever boiling over and a classic game of two halves with Chelsea lacking punch up front and occasionally stretched at the back until the half-time changes.


In the second-half, sub Pizarro is a handful roaming around behind Drogba with Kalou and Malouda wide, the latter helping subdue the first half threat of Hunt. Drogba's goal sets him on the way in the race to retain the Golden Boot. The perfect record at the Madejski continues and with Man United drawing at Portsmouth, we are already four points ahead of the champions.

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[Glen2712]

MATCH REPORT: READING 1 CHELSEA 2

Chelsea maintained a 100 per cent start to the season with a narrow victory at the Madejski Stadium, though we didn't have it all our own way.


It was Reading who had taken the lead half an hour in, as substitute Andre Bikey took advantage of a mistake by Petr Cech, but goals after the break from stand-in skipper Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were enough to give us the three points.


It's the second time in four days we have come from behind to snatch a victory, which hints at the character in the squad, but manager José Mourinho will be unhappy with his side's first half defensive performance, not helped by injury to Ricardo Carvalho.


Chelsea welcomed Drogba back into the starting line-up following his knee injury, with Pizarro relegated to the substitute's bench, while Ferreira returned in place of Glen Johnson at right back.


Michael Essien's injury kept him out of proceedings, and so Steve Sidwell made his first Chelsea start, returning to the ground where he made his name, and Reading had a familiar face for Chelsea fans at centre back, former Blue Michael Duberry.


A pre-match downpour made conditions treacherous early on, this made evident by a couple of fouls conceded by the boys in electricity yellow.


We started comfortably, with Wright-Phillips weaving magic down the right, supplying Drogba with a perfect cross but the Ivorian was adjudged offside. This proved academic as his volley cannoned off the outside of the post and wide.


It was then Reading's chance to pressurise as they forced a trio of corners, but our defence appeared far more comfortable with set pieces than it had at the weekend.


Both sides had a share of possession and looked as though they could create chances, but in the Chelsea box Ben-Haim cleared well, while at the other end we lacked a killer final pass.


In the 20th minute, Ferreira received the ball on the overlap from Wright-Phillips, but his enticing low cross for Drogba was cut out by the safe hands of Marcus Hahnemann.


Within a minute we had a penalty appeal turned down as Kalou went down under a clumsy looking tackle from Duberry, but referee Mike Dean waved play on.


By now we had a grip on the game, and when Malouda forced a corner, Drogba was waiting at the far post, but his volley uncharacteristically went upwards rather than goalwards.


With 28 minutes on the clock, Duberry was forced off with a groin injury, and it was his replacement Bikey who opened the scoring with his first touch.


Nicky Shorey's long diagonal free kick was headed into the goalmouth by Ingimarsson, and as Cech came for the ball, he found his route blocked, allowing it past him, and the tall centre back an easy finish into the open goal.


More bad news followed as Carvalho was forced off injured, replaced by Glen Johnson who tucked in alongside Ben-Haim.


We were lucky it wasn't two shortly after, when Doyle shot straight at Cech rather than finding a corner.


If we were lucky then, we were even more fortunate when Oster's far post volley came back off the post after Hunt had picked him out.


Chelsea's defence, so sturdy at the start of the game, was suddenly leaky, leaving Mourinho, decked out in a lighter raincoat than we normally see, plenty to think about for the break.


Before he had the chance to get his message across Johnson almost levelled as he headed Lampard's header towards goal, but Hahnemann was equal to it.


The manager clearly wanted to make an impact on his men, and sent them out early for the second period, also replacing Sidwell and Ferreira with Mikel and Pizarro, maintaining a 4-4-2 with Wright-Phillips deployed at right back and Kalou shifting to the right wing.


It worked emphatically. Less than two minutes into the second period and we were level.


Lampard burst through from midfield to slot through the legs of Hahnemann after first Pizarro and then Drogba had flicked on.


Another three minutes and it was 2-1, this time Drogba combined with Wright-Phillips who had surged forward, and curled home an exquisite 25-yarder.


This provided the travelling support with reason enough to copy what their hosts had sung in the first half, with a rousing chorus of 'Sidwell, what's the score, Sidwell, Sidwell, what's the score?'


The stronghold on the game had turned upside down, and Chelsea were on top. Pizarro could have made it three, but, off balance, he could only poke wide after Hahnemann was left grounded.


Having seen their lead turn into a deficit in the blink of a proverbial eye, Reading took time to rally, but gradually pulled themselves back into shape and began to pressurise.


Both Bikey and Doyle found themselves well placed inside our box, but couldn't get shots away. Mourinho's harsh half-time words must have had an effect on the Chelsea defence.


As we gained respite from the pressure Reading put on, Pizarro, playing in a withdrawn free role, could have increased the lead.


Malouda broke and found the Peruvian unmarked. He chested down well, but his left-footed half volley crept past Hahnemann's far post.


You got the feeling the next goal, if there were to be one, would be decisive. What came instead though was the dismissal of Kalifa Cisse, dismissed for a second yellow card after a foul on Pizarro.


Royals' manager Steve Coppell's response was to replace forward Shaun Long with defensive midfielder Brynjar Gunnarsson, and then Korean international Seol for Welshman John Oster.


They could find no further breakthrough though as Chelsea kept possession with some delightful crisp passing, buoyed by Mikel and Lampard who had begun to dominate proceedings in the middle third.


By the closing stages Reading had every man, including goalkeeper Hahnemann in our half as they searched desperately for an equaliser, but it was to no avail.


In the final seconds Lampard tackled brilliantly to keep the lead, and then Hunt fluffed his opportunity with an air kick.


Victory means we sit in third place after two games, behind Everton and Manchester City, the only three sides to have won their two games.


Going into the trip to Anfield on Sunday, there is plenty to work on but Mourinho will be relieved to leave this difficult venue with all three points in the bag, and a plethora of attacking options as Pizarro, Drogba and Kalou again impressed.


Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty (c), Duberry (Bikey 28), Ingimarsson, Shorey; Oster (Seol 78), Harper, Cisse, Hunt; Doyle, Long (Gunnarsson 74).

Goals: Bikey 30

Booked: Long, Cisse, Hunt, Ingimarsson

Sent Off: Cisse 71



Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Carvalho (Johnson 30), A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Sidwell (Mikel 45), Lampard (c), Malouda (Pizarro 45); Kalou, Drogba.

Goals: Lampard 47, Drogba 50

Booked: Carvalho, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips, A Cole, Mikel

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[Glen2712]

REACTION: CHIEF SALUTES HIS BRAVES

José Mourinho wasted little time before answering the question on everyone's lips after his team had turned a 1-0 deficit into the second three points of the season. Just what had he said to the players at half-time?


After a flat first 45 minutes that hadn't come remotely near the vibrancy of the new away shirts, a couple of personnel changes were made and the reshaped Chelsea flew out the second-half blocks at Reading. Within five minutes, the winning margin had been established.


The contents of his team talk were the first details Mourinho revealed to the hungry media after the final whistle.


'I asked the players if somebody was feeling a bit weak or feeling a little bit of an injury because I wanted to make two changes and I wanted to finish the game with 11 men,' he began.


'They told me yes, everybody was fine and fit and ready to go. We made the changes, I explained the objective of the changes, I explained the good qualities of the changes and the bad qualities.


'I prepared them for the difficult things and I pushed them to try to use the good things.'


Those alterations included Pizarro added to what effectively became a four-pronged attack although the Peruvian had freedom to roam. Mikel came on for Sidwell and with Ferreira making way for Pizarro, Wright-Phillips moved to full-back.


'The players were brave,' continued Mourinho. 'They were brave to accept some difficult situations because it is not easy for Shaun to play right-back, it is not easy for Glen Johnson to play central defender and it is not easy for Ben-Haim after two months at Chelsea to lead his defence.


'It is not easy for Mikel to play alone in the front of midfield and not easy for attacking players to have defensive tasks. The players deserve a lot of credit. When the game was 2-1, I could make the game more defensive with Malouda in the centre of the midfield but I thought with this positive wave, we can score the third.'


It was only in the final five minutes and with Reading's never-give-up attitude showing that Mourinho believes Chelsea shut up shop. He himself didn't want credit for what many would call brave leadership.


'I know it is a big gamble but if one day it doesn't work, like in my first season it didn't work at Newcastle, and I am criticised, I accept that but I sleep well because I tried.


'The worse thing in life is when you don't try. It is a message I want to give to my kids all the time - you have to try. If you fail, you fail but you have to try.


'They were important goals from Lampard and Drogba but the team work was a great performance. Pizarro was a big contribution to the attacking game second-half with his movement, his quality on the ball and the way he passed. Kalou and Malouda through the wings were very dangerous second-half and after that, Lamps is Lamps. When he plays well he is best in the game, when he plays bad, he is the second or the third best.


'In defence Shaun played brilliantly, Glen Johnson very good and everybody gave a contribution. But I am happy that Didier is back in the goals because strikers live on their goals.


'It is very good for me that Drogba and Pizarro have scored already in the Premier League.'

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[old_yet_horny]

Lets rally for this weekend against the Pools at Anfield!!

Well done Frank for the equaliser and Drogba for the winning goal!

This season will be ours again!!

[no_faith]

when we were 1 goal up, we did not sit back.
we keep on pushing for more goals...
TATZ THE SPIRIT!!!

[Glen2712]

I'm not so sure if you notice after these 2 games Chelsea had played, Bros. Didn't you notice how stable the defence was and the attacking display was attractive & efficient when Chelsea revert back to 4-3-3 in the second half.


Stable because now you have an anchorman, someone who can sit right in front of the back four.


Attacking efficient, that I'm sure need no further elaboration, the second half was mouthwatering.


Now in the first half, with 4-4-2, there was no stability in defence, no attacking purpose within the team.


No stability in defence 'cause, 4-4-2 is a rather flat formation. The defence was horrendous, it was expose to dangers and simply couldn't one on one situations. Too risky.


Attacking flow wasn't there. Guess the idea of attacking positions in this new formation hasn't got the boys all comfortable about it.


My take, rather I hope: Please play with 4-3-3. Dump any ideas/ suggestions coming right @ the top. Chelsea of 04/05 and 05/06 had many successes with 4-3-3 (coupled with wing play tactical approach). Remember Duff and Robben? It was awesome formation. I feel with Philips and Malouda, we could get into that frame to full effect!

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[old_yet_horny]

Sevilla reject Chelsea Alves bid

Sevilla have dismissed a bid from Chelsea for Daniel Alves as 'way below' what they would accept.


The UEFA Cup holders have been fending off interest from the Stamford Bridge side for the 24-year-old Brazil international defender, who has indicated that he would like to move to England.


A statement posted on the Sevilla website read: 'Sevilla would like to clarify, in relation to the news in various media stories relating to negotiations between this club and Chelsea of England for the transfer of the player to the London club, that Sevilla has considered the offer made by Chelsea to acquire the player as way below the level expected by the club (Sevilla).

'This being the case, Daniel remains a player of Sevilla FC.'

But Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho remains desperate to bring in the highly-rated wing-back and Alves' agent Geronimo Suarez still believes the transfer will go through once both clubs reassess the situation.

He said: 'We are expecting a solution between the clubs and are confident they are going to reach a deal.

'Sevilla have good reasons to maintain a hard position for the player because he is a star for them and they want him to stay there. Of course Chelsea want him, so both clubs at this moment need more time.

'It is not in my hands, it is in the hands of the directors of Chelsea and Sevilla, but we can hope the solution will arrive as soon as possible.

'He is determined to go there. He wants to close the deal as soon as possible,' he said.

[Glen2712]

Here We, Blues Go! Liverpool's Next!

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[Glen2712]

REACTION: BEST IN THE BUSINESS

Goalscorer Frank Lampard has revealed the words of encouragement chosen by José Mourinho to inspire Wednesday night's turnaround at the Madejski Stadium.


Substitute Andre Bikey had given Reading the lead on the half hour mark, and we were fortunate to go in only one down at the break, but within minutes captain Lampard and then Didier Drogba had turned the game on its head, allowing us to claim maximum points from our opening two fixtures.


'He had a bit of a moan at us because we were playing within ourselves a little bit,' said Lampard of his manager.


'They had a bit more desire, they were a hard working team, put us under pressure in the first half and deserved to be in the lead, and we're better than that. It worked and we reacted in the right way.'


Mourinho made two key changes at the interval, replacing Paulo Ferreira with the impressive Claudio Pizarro, and Reading old boy Steve Sidwell with John Mikel Obi.


For Sidwell, his own performance was a source of frustration, but he was relieved to take the points off his former side.


'The most important thing was we got a result, but obviously performance-wise it was disappointing for me. I tried to come back and make an impression but not to be,' he said.


Despite his substitution, Sidwell had only praise for Mourinho, whose tactics it is fair to say changed the game.


'That's why he's best in the business,' Sidwell reasoned. 'I've said it before, tactically he's got it spot on again. Second half we looked strong and could have had more goals.'


To say Lampard's equaliser came at the right time is something of an understatement, coming as it did just two minutes into the second period.


'It was a good goal. Important goal at the time it came. We didn't play well in the first half, and it's all about scoring important goals,' said the talismanic Lampard.


'That got us back level, we kicked on from there and we won the game in that first part of the second half.'


The England midfielder believes it was vital we came out to attack.


'You don't want to come here and lose and when you're 1-0 down you have to attack. We kept a lot of attacking players and it worked for us. At times you have to be gung-ho,' he said.


Lampard also spoke of his pleasure at leading the side out in the absence of John Terry, who could return at the weekend.


'It feels good, pretty much the same really. I love playing for Chelsea anyway, I take the armband when John's not around and try and be a strong leader. I don't change my game too much, and look forward to when John's back in the team because he's so important to us, and he can wear the armband.'

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[Glen2712]

HAIL MOURINHO!

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[Glen2712]

THE CHANGING MAN

José Mourinho admits to taking a big gamble with his substitutions if he needs to salvage a cup tie or a losing league match, or even turn one point at home into three by the final whistle.


Opposing managers confirm they know the changes are coming when they are doing well against Chelsea, & have a ream of plans ready to counter the many permutations.


But when the level of success achieved by his most radical switches during games is surveyed over three years, you begin to ask just how much is down to Mourinho taking risks & just how much is down to being clever?


When you gamble but win so many more times than you lose, is it the result of knowing the odds involved & the strengths in your hand so well?


It was the speed of the turnaround at Reading on Wednesday night that once again had questions asked to Chelsea manager about his bravery. The two substitutions & the extra man up front took just five minutes to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.


'The worse thing in life is when you don't try,' Mourinho responded afterwards. 'I know it is a big gamble but if one day it doesn't work - like in my first season it didn't work in Newcastle - I accept the criticism but I sleep well because I think I tried.'


It was perhaps telling that he had to go back two-and-a-half years for an example of failure in this field that many would remember.



Early exchanges


It was in just the second game of that opening season that we first saw a Mourinho substitution make a major impact. Joe Cole came on at Birmingham; the formation changed from a 4-4-2 with diamond midfield to 4-3-3 and within 12 minutes, Cole had struck the winner.


It was hardly the first time a manager had switched a single player and a team shape & earned dividends. What was more significant was that after just an hour of competitive football, Mourinho had settled on the 4-3-3 system that he would bed down and use to underpin the back-to-back title success of the first two seasons.


Following on from a Chelsea manager who had, rightly or wrongly, earned a reputation for gratuitous switching of the starting XI, the formation and the team during games, how Mourinho intended to use the full extent of his large squad was bound to fall under the microscope.


But what made such sense was the fact a regular 4-3-3 system was set in place and from that basis, all the dramatic changes were made.


A 0-0 draw with Spurs at home, the famous 'park the bus' game is an early example of four strikers squeezed into the forward line & not breaking down the resistance but it was West Brom away in October 2004 that was a major landmark.


Chelsea were 1-0 up at the break but not playing well. There was no messing about from the boss. Two substitutions were written on the blackboard with no further comment, including one that would unleash Damien Duff & Arjen Robben together for a full half for the first time.


A devastating display and a 4-1 win followed and many fans secretly told themselves this was going to be our year.


Everton were knocked over in the second-half of the next league game when the move to 4-2-3-1 tried against Spurs did pay off, Robben scoring during a hot streak.


Then against Newcastle in December, Stamford Bridge was treated to managerial Roy of the Rovers.


A 0-0 score at the hour point & with the championship race a tight one, Mourinho made a double sub - Wayne Bridge on for William Gallas & more significantly, Mateja Kezman for Tiago. Suddenly it was 4-2-4 and all out attack!


It took a minute for Frank Lampard to find the net and his team-mates would add another three before the whistle blew.


So was this a gung-ho approach? The simple mathematics didn't take long to sink in.


With draws at home not a viable currency in the title tilt, we might turn the odd draw into defeat by throwing men up front but it doesn't take many one points becoming three to balance out those bad days.


As our proud home record shows, defeats at the Bridge in the league have proved the last of our worries anyway!


The policy was even repeated at Highbury, dividends paid within a minute again as Eidur Gudjohnsen scored to earn a vital draw.


The cup competitions & a week in February bore witness to both sides of the coin.


An FA Cup match at a frozen St James' Park, the game cited by Mourinho on Wednesday, was a day to forget. A goal down at the break, his triple substitution that introduced Lampard, Duff and Gudjohnsen backfired when Bridge suffered a broken ankle a minute later.


At Cardiff in the Carling Cup Final against Liverpool the following Sunday, Chelsea were 1-0 down with less than 20 minutes to play when striker Kezman replaced defender Gallas & Gudjohnsen was asked to play midfield.


It was three at the back & three up front. Although the full four defenders were restored when the equaliser came, Kezman was among the scorers as the Blues won silverware in extra-time.



Season two & more of the same


Risking just three defenders is a chance that would be taken again, including the first league game of the next season. With the metaphorical bar raised by our record points win of 2004/5, now away games must supply three points too and we played the last half-hour at Wigan with a side imbalanced towards the attack. Hernán Crespo won it at the death.


Bolton at home for a club record ninth straight league win in a row at the start of a season was a similar story. 1-0 down at the break became 5-1 up by the final whistle.


'I did the work on the board, they did the work on the pitch,' said Mourinho afterwards.


Boxing Day 2005 when Chelsea went toe-to-toe with Fulham and at times played 3-3-4, winning 3-2 is another great example & one Mourinho said was possible because he trusted the players' mentality.


Into the New Year, at West Ham Crespo was brought on to partner Didier Drogba with Robben free behind & it brought another instant goal & win.


When sticky patches were hit that season: at home to Charlton and away to Middlesbrough, Fulham & Birmingham plus in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, men-forward ploys were used but on these occasions, to no avail. But no extra points were lost as a consequence either.



Systems and subtleties


And so the story continued into last season & all Chelsea fans will long remember the home cup tie against Spurs when as early as the 34th minute we went three at the back & a 3-3 draw was salvaged when at half-time we had been 3-1 down.


However this was a season when a pre-planned flexibility between 4-3-3 & 4-4-2 with a diamond was in place from the start, available to use at anytime, and Mourinho will surely point to the injury nightmare as limiting his impact substitutions.


Indeed when Chelsea were dropping points at Christmas, there were no three-at-the-backs although late goals by opponents were significant in that.


It was also the season when deploying Michael Essien at right-back as the game wore on became an attacking ploy - his work for the late equalisers in Barcelona and against Arsenal & the winner in Valencia delicious examples.


There were late wins and dramatic turnarounds in the league - Watford, Everton and Wigan away - all with a back-threes and extra men pushed forward.


But it was more than simple weight of numbers that was winning these games, as former Chelsea player Pat Nevin explained in his column on this website.


It was the 3-2 win at Everton, the match that contained spectacular goals from Michael Ballack, Lampard & Drogba that interested him especially, even more so after a chat with the Everton manager David Moyes the day after.


Nevin wrote:


'Moyes talked to me at length about his attempts to nullify the extraordinary tactical & personnel changes made by the Blues boss throughout the pulsating 90 minutes, particularly in that final quarter of the match.


'Any suggestions that José simply threw caution to the wind and mindlessly pushed as many strikers up front as possible, was refuted by Moyes as a gross oversimplification of the events, particularly the late move to an ultra offensive 3-3-4 formation that effectively won the match.


'Two or three outstanding finishes helped the cause of course & having more quality & strength in depth in the squad were obvious advantages as well.


'But Moyes was impressed enough to say that he had planned for plan A, B & C, but once the Chelsea were on to X, Y & Z it was a trifle more difficult to adapt to, especially as many of the changes made by Mourinho do not exist in any coaching manual written to date.


'Even after Didier's phenomenal winner the intellectual joust was still not finished & Moyes was again impressed with the immediate switch of the scorer into a defensive position, ready to snuff out any possibility of a last gasp reply from the Toffees.'


And there we were again on Wednesday night at the Madejski with Reading boss Steve Coppell claiming that he knew the changes were coming, but couldn't anticipate them all.


This story is one that is set to run & run. When the plot is proving so successful, there is simply no reason for it not to.

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Liverpool chief Benitez falls for Mourinho’s latest taunt


Rafael Benitez insists he “does not enjoy” his war of words with Jose Mourinho but the Liverpool boss could not resist responding to his Chelsea counterpart’s jibes ahead of the first major showdown of the season.


The pair resume their fierce rivalry tomorrow when Mourinho brings his team to Anfield.


The colourful Portuguese did not even wait for the season to start before declaring the pressure was really on Benitez to deliver following the Spaniards’ £40million summer spending spree.


But the Reds’ boss retorted: “I thought Jose had said he wouldn’t be talking about other clubs this season. Maybe he’s already forgotten that.”


Benitez insists one summer of increased activity has not changed a thing. He said: “You only have to look at who are the clubs who have spent most over the last five seasons, and there are two, Chelsea and Manchester United, and they have won most of the trophies.


“If you analyse who finished top of the table last season, who have spent more money in those years, it is clear and simple there are two teams ahead of the others in terms of money, spending and also titles won.


“And I always say that (Chelsea owner Roman) Abramovich has done a really a good job, that is the key!”


Benitez is expected to field Steven Gerrard tomorrow, despite his captain suffering a hairline fracture of the big toe on his right foot.


And the Liverpool manager feels under no more pressure now than before he spent big this summer.


He said: “I do not feel more pressure because I have bought players, and I would rather it was not about me and Jose all the time, I would prefer it to be about Gerrard, (Chelsea captain John) Terry and the other players – they are more important than us.


“I do not really enjoy the exchanges that have gone on between me and Jose, I would prefer there to be none. He has a fine squad with great players, and I think we will be okay together this season.


“We are both professionals and we have our responsibilities. But it is better if we do not talk too much about each other.


“I really don’t enjoy it and want to concentrate on my team, I do not like talking about other managers every day.”


What Benitez does want is a level of consistency this season, rather than the occasional stunning performance against big opponents.


Last term Liverpool beat Chelsea in the league and the Champions League semi-finals, but were 15 points behind them and 21 behind champions Manchester United.


Benitez said: “If we show the same quality against every side in the league as I believe we will against Chelsea, at the end of the season we will be up there.


“Chelsea may be an important game now, but next week’s game against Sunderland will be just as important.


“Every three points we play for will mean something at the end of the season, so all the players must be ready every week.

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PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: LIVERPOOL V CHELSEA


Club historian Rick Glanvill and statistician Paul Dutton prepare for yet another momentous game at Anfield.


Rick anticipates a 'completely different' encounter to our last league visit there.


See what happens when you go for more entertainment? All this one-nil down, two-one up stuff. Chelsea, the champions of scoring first going behind? In 2006/7 we recovered from a position of adversity to win on four occasions: Everton away, Arsenal in the League Cup final, and twice in the Champions League, against Porto and Valencia.


This season we've already done it twice in our first two matches. Still, Manchester Utd have dropped two points in each game so far. A lot has been made of the fact that they did the same in 1998/9 and completed the season with a treble. But the fact is they won the League with a closing points total of just 79 points that year.


Last season that would only have been good enough to finish third; in 2005/6, fourth. In fact, in each campaign since 1999, 79 points would rarely have been enough to earn the runners-up slot, let alone the title.


Are United title challengers this year? Or is the threat likely to come from the blue half of the city, or even Merseyside? No, not current table-toppers Everton: Liverpool.


They have surely spent enough in the summer to challenge seriously for the Premier League, despite by their own chief executive's measure. 'I guess when you've spent £500m,' Rick Parry said last year, 'it's a fantastic season to win the League Cup.'


He was talking about Chelsea's spending since 2003, but it was his club that finished trophy-less and way off the League pace once more. That's why they've paid out another £54m to bring in the likes of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Lucas Leivo.


As they have been in baking hot France trying to qualify for the Champions League this week, Liverpool have only played one Premier League game so far. They won that match at Aston Villa with a late long-ranger by Steven Gerrard (who broke a toe at Toulouse on Wednesday) from a curiously awarded free kick.


Last season, of course, Chelsea here arrived at our lowest ebb, dogged by long-term injuries and stung by a sequence of damaging draws. A team already missing John Terry amongst others was further depleted by Ricardo Carvalho's late withdrawal through illness; an irregular defence including Paulo Ferreira and Michael Essien in the centre did not make it a smooth return for Petr Cech. No Chelsea side under José Mourinho had looked beaten before the opening whistle as this one did. It finished 0-2 and could have been more.


Sunday will be completely different, especially if JT and Essien are fit. It will be the Ghanaian's 100th appearance for the Blues is he plays.


The game offers a fluent, confident Chelsea side (first half at Reading aside) the chance to overcome a major hurdle early in the season. In fact, Chelsea also play at Manchester Utd and Arsenal before Christmas; all three will have to come to fortress Stamford Bridge as the title race heats up.


Whatever the result at Eastlands in the 1.30 game, City versus Utd, it's likely that at 4pm we will see Chelsea return to the tighter tactics of last season against a top four side, rather than maintaining the open attacking of the recent two matches.


Drogba's return to fitness will have worried Rafael Benitez; no player has caused Liverpool's defences more sleepless nights. And it still looks like the Scousers remain vulnerable down the flanks at the back. Salomon Kalou, Florent Malouda and Shaun Wright-Phillips, all of whom have been excellent so far this season, could have a big say in how comfortable an afternoon it is for Jamie Carragher and José Reina.


This fixture hasn't needed much extra salsa to spice it up recently. But the loss of their proud unbeaten home league record to a club they absurdly berate for having 'no history' will not be lost on Liverpool's supporters.


This could be a cracker.

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