The Telegraph
John Terry broken cheek blow for England
By Julian Bennetts
Chelsea (0) 0 Fulham (0) 0

They say it is more important to be a lucky manager than a good one.
If that is the case then do not bank on Avram Grant being at Stamford
Bridge for the long term as his first home game as Chelsea boss saw
his captain, John Terry, suffer a fractured cheekbone, Didier Drogba,
his primary goalscorer, sent off and two points lost as Fulham escaped
with a goalless draw.

"It was not our best game," admitted Grant in a classic piece of
understatement. "We need to improve and then we need to win. We need
to score as well."

Indeed they do. But it is the fate of Terry which will worry both
Grant and England head coach Steve McClaren most. In only the third
minute the centre-half was injured in an aerial clash with Clint
Dempsey.

Chelsea players claimed the use of an elbow by the American forward –
a suggestion Sanchez described as "rubbish". Terry soldiered on until
half-time but was unable to continue and will undergo surgery this
morning. He will miss England's Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia
and Russia, as well as Premier League and Champions League games for
Chelsea.

The loss of Drogba through suspension will also hurt as Chelsea – who
are now eight points behind leaders Arsenal – failed to hit the back
of the net for the fourth successive league game.

Drogba will not find a large supply of sympathy, though, as his first
yellow card was for arguing petulantly with referee Martin Atkinson,
although the second, for a high foot, was unfortunate.

In contrast to Grant's downbeat demeanour, Sanchez, who has seen his
team pick up only four points from the last 18, unsurprisingly
preferred to concentrate on the positives.

"I would have settled for a point before the game but we really wanted
to snatch it. We knew about their home record and we wanted to take it
from them, but it wasn't quite to be."

Amid all of the furore – which included a protest outside the ground
against the removal of Mourinho – it was easy to forget there was a
game being played.

Grant had promised an attacking line-up and he did not disappoint,
bringing Salomon Kalou into midfield as Drogba and Andrei Shevchenko
were paired together up front.

In contrast Sanchez was afforded the luxury of keeping nearly the same
side that drew 3-3 with Manchester City last week, although he
recalled American goalkeeper Kasey Keller at the expense of Antii
Niemi – the Finn paying the price for his side conceding an average of
two goals a game so far this season.

Chelsea started well, pushing forward from the off with Kalou to the
fore. Unfortunately the promising start only highlighted the
disappointment of Shevchenko's Chelsea career to date. The £30 million
man, who has only scored once this season, at least managed to
interrupt the cries of "Jose Mourinho" as he sent a second-minute shot
into the upper tier.

And after Dempsey went close with a header, Shevchenko – playing on
his 31st birthday - hit a free-kick so weakly into the wall that there
were boos and cries of "what a load of rubbish".


Shevchenko's confidence, fragile at the best of times, deserted him as
his team struggled to create clear-cut chances. In truth the fare on
offer was dire. If Abramovich sacked Mourinho for not providing
attractive football, then Grant has a long way to go before his
employer can be satisfied.

But Grant's side started the second half as they had the first and
only a superb stop from Keller prevented them from taking the lead.
Drogba sent a crossfield pass out to Joe Cole who, given time and
space for the first time in the match, picked out the onrushing Kalou
perfectly. It appeared that the Ivorian had to score, but Keller
somehow flicked the ball on to the post and away.

Kalou then missed two headed chances and Joe Cole poked just wide, but
Fulham grew in stature and were given added impetus by Drogba's
sending-off. First substitute Hameur Bouazza lashed high and wide when
put in a good position by fellow replacement Diomansy Kamara; then
Petr Cech, in his only involvement in the game, foiled Paul Konchesky
as the full-back broke through the middle.

The biggest scare came in the final minute as Cech watched helplessly
when Dempsey's stud grazed Kamara's cross with the home defence absent
without leave.

Defeat would have been harsh on Grant and his side. But, on a day when
just about everything that could have gone wrong did, he must be
thankful for small mercies.

Moment of the match: Kasey Keller's save from Salomon Kalou 60 seconds
into the second period set the tone for the rest of the game. Kalou
seemed certain to score from Joe Cole's cut-back but the American
pushed the ball onto the post superbly. It was the closest Chelsea
would come to breaking the deadlock and summed up their awful
afternoon.
Match rating: 5/10
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Mourinho's name rings out as Blues struggle

Duncan Castles at Stamford Bridge
Sunday September 30, 2007
The Observer


Jose Mourinho may be embarrassingly opinionated, infuriatingly
confrontational and unacceptably defensive, but he rarely failed to
get results. Avram Grant may be softly spoken, politically correct and
receptive to his owner's desire to field a five-man attack, but he is
struggling for one.
You pay off your manager, you make your choice. Grant appears a less
intelligent selection by the match. Comprehensively outplayed by
Manchester United six days previously, Chelsea contrived to draw with
Fulham - a team who had triumphed just once in the Premier League this
season and had not won a capital derby in 10 attempts.

Nor had Lawrie Sanchez's men managed a clean sheet until they
travelled to Stamford Bridge, yet there was no great secret to how
they extracted this one. Organised and resolute defensively, Fulham
thwarted a Chelsea side long on attackers but short on the cohesion
that was once their trademark.
'I think it was not our best game, but it was not also a poor game, it
was somewhere in the middle,' said Grant, who now lags seven points
behind Arsenal, having played a game more. 'We created enough chances
to win the game, but we didn't score. First we need to score, then we
need to win. I think even with this gap anything can happen.'

Sanchez rightly emphasised how close three late chances had brought
his team to ending Chelsea's 66-match home unbeaten league run.
'Anybody would settle for a point before they came,' he said. 'But
when you're that close to knocking over their record, you're thinking:
"Go on, let's take it."'

Grant is 'intelligent, witty, thoughtful and open and good to be
with', according to chairman Bruce Buck's programme notes, and a
manager fans will like if they 'give him support and confidence'. The
Israeli was making every effort to appeal in his line-up, his latest
version of the winger-oriented formation Roman Abramovich craves
featuring Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou on the wings. Back from a knee
injury, Didier Drogba ran ahead of the owner's favourite and birthday
boy Andriy Shevchenko, but as the team were announced cheers for John
Terry were mixed with jeers. In the stands a banner declared Mourinho
'simply the best'.

His former charges started at a rush, Cole crossing dangerously,
Shevchenko lofting over wastefully. For Terry there was a hard elbow
to the head from Clint Dempsey, treatment and a rant at the referee
for not allowing him back on before Alexey Smertin shot on goal.
Chelsea's captain was uncharacteristically lax in allowing Dempsey to
drift off him for a free header soon after.

Fulham were concentrating on working their two banks of four,
conscious of a defence who had continued to concede at an alarming
rate under Sanchez. This despite the manager making his backline a
priority for reinforcement over the summer, culling Liam Rosenior,
Franck Queudrue and Zat Knight.

Shevchenko was doing his best to relax their replacements. Ceded a
free-kick that others would have taken in the Mourinho era, the
striker struck the ball weakly into Fulham's wall. Teed up by Claude
Makelele on the edge of the area, his shot meandered towards Kasey
Keller. Played in perfectly at the near post by Kalou, he volleyed
wide from six yards.

The nervous home defenders regularly sought touch instead of
controlling and at one throw-in, Tal Ben-Haim appeared to handle while
clearing. This was not the studied control of Mourinho's teams, so
adept at varying the pace of a game - pressing for a determined
period, then holding possession to 'rest on the ball' for another. It
was altogether more frantic; fundamentally less organised. The parts
were the same, the machine was less oiled.

Chris Baird deftly tugged back Drogba as he stretched to convert.
Again the referee delivered nothing, other than a yellow card for
dissent. The second half was no better for Chelsea as Terry was forced
out of the game, to be replaced by Alex. 'He wanted to continue,' said
Grant, 'but I didn't want to take a risk. I didn't see it so well, but
the players said it was an elbow.' There were fewer home fans to offer
him sparse applause, as some had answered the call of a 'Bring Back
Mourinho' leaflet campaign to walk out at the interval. The first
chant of many who stayed was for their departed boss.

There were more boos from the Chelsea fans as Grant swapped Shevchenko
for Claudio Pizarro, but it was safe to assume they were not annoyed
at the Ukrainian's withdrawal. Drogba immediately drew another parry
from Keller, then Kalou let his free header drift off target.

So it continued until Drogba lifted his studs high for an aerial ball
and hit Baird's chest. Drogba saw the red card, and with limited
complaint the captain's armband swapped owner for a second time. Grant
showed some semblance of Mourinho-like adventure in bringing Florent
Malouda on for Ashley Cole, but Fulham went closer as Petr Cech saved
from Paul Konchesky The response of the home support? Mourinho's name,
chanted loud and long.
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Mail:

Fans call for Special One as Roman's Shed stunt falls apart
Chelsea 0 Fulham 0

By IAN RIDLEY

Love him or loathe him, Jose Mourinho had presence. His Chelsea teams
possessed it, too — mirroring his feisty, dominating persona. Now they
look less fearsome and opposing teams are suddenly fancying their
chances.

Indeed, with new manager Avram Grant swapping tracksuit for grey suit
and wearing the look of a west London funeral director, there was
something moribund about Chelsea yesterday.

From his perch in the what was formerly known as the Shed End, rather
than those halfway-line executive boxes that cost £1 million a season,
it will all have made grisly watching for Roman Abramovich.

Spirited Fulham profited as Chelsea made it four games without a goal
or a win, leaving them to languish in seventh spot, their worst
Premier League position for five years.

As if it was not bad enough hearing Mourinho's name sung around the
ground, Abramovich watched as captain John Terry was unable to take
his place for the second half after suffering a depressed fracture to
his right cheekbone.

On his 31st birthday, Andriy Shevchenko,who has cost £1m for each of
his years, lasted only 53 minutes.And on his return after injury,
Didier Drogba was sent off 17 minutes from time for a second yellow
card.

Early days it may be, but these are worrying times for Chelsea. The
gap to Arsenal at the top is already eight points and injuries and
suspensions are undermining them. The midweek trip to Valencia in the
Champions League, presumably without Terry, is starting to look
daunting.

"We can play better and they want to play better," said Grant. "But we
need to improve a few things before we can think about the gap. We
created seven or eight chances but we didn't score. We need to improve
this."

Grant is in a tough position, particularly when it comes to Shevchenko
who is an Abramovich favourite. It is almost embarrassing to watch
such a great player floundering as his pace wanes, the movement on
which he made his name is negated and his career winds down. Surely
the owner and manager must concede that Mourinho was right about the
striker.

In Chelsea's first home match since his departure, the support for
Mourinho was initially muted. The banner proclaiming him "simply the
best" was again on view but it took 11 minutes of the game before his
name was chanted.

Perhaps what passes for a charm offensive at Stamford Bridge was
having an effect.

Quite apart from Abramovich sitting among the fans, chairman Bruce
Buck explained again in the match programme that the relationship with
Mourinho had broken down. Terry, accused last week of undermining the
manager — a story he vehemently denies — paid tribute in his own
column.

But the only way for a new manager to earn the affection of supporters
is with wins. Beating Hull in midweek in the Carling Cup helped but
after losing at Aston Villa and Manchester United, Chelsea needed to
get back on track in the league.

Woeful finishing cost them, however. The tone was set in the first
minute when Shevchenko ballooned Salomon Kalou's low cross over the
bar. Soon he was challenging Drogba for the same pass from Claude
Makelele and assistant manager Steve Clarke was berating the Ukrainian
from the touchline for not leaving the header to Drogba.

It got worse. From a free-kick 30 yards out, Shevchenko drove the ball
low and straight into a two-man wall before turning another low cross
from Kalou wide at the near post. When he did get a weak shot on
target, the Fulham fans gave an ironic cheer.

With Drogba rusty, it was hard to see where a goal might come from.
The big striker almost got on the end of Joe Cole's low cross and was
subsequently booked for complaining that he had been held back by
Chris Baird.

Perhaps Kalou would be the man. He went close at the start of the
second half when he reached Joe Cole's low cross but Kasey Keller
turned the ball on to a post. Kalou then missed a header at the near
post from Ashley Cole's cross and another soon after.

After Drogba's dismissal, a second yellow for a high boot as Baird
went to head the ball, Fulham began to scent three points. The robust
Clint Dempsey — whose challenge on Terry early on had taken the
England captain out of the game at half time — had headed a good
chance wide before the break.

Now the chances were even more clear cut.

Paul Konchesky burst through and Petr Cech saved his shot with a foot.
Substitute Diomansy Kamara then screwed a shot across goal and Dempsey
narrowly failed to turn it home as Fulham finished strongly.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech; Belletti, Ben Haim, Terry (Alex 46min), A
Cole (Malouda 77); Makelele, Sidwell; J Cole, Shevchenko (Pizarro 54),
Kalou; Drogba. Subs (not used): Cudicini, Ferreira. Booked: Drogba.
Sent off: Drogba (74min).

FULHAM (4-4-2): Keller; Baird, Hughes, Bocanegra, Konchesky; Davies,
Smertin (Murphy 82), Davis, Seol (Bouazza 73); Healy (Kamara 67),
Dempsey. Subs (not used): Niemi, Kuqi. Booked: Davis.

Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire).
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The Sunday Times
September 30, 2007

Spectre of Jose Mourinho hangs over his team

The spectre of the departed manager hung over Stamford Bridge as the
team he built were booed off the fieldDavid Walsh, chief sports writer
WITH about five minutes left, and a minute or so after Paul Konchesky
might have won the game for Fulham, the home crowd broke into their
most passionate rendition of "Jose Mourinho" and Avram Grant stood
forlornly, unable to effect the course of a game that had run away
from his team. For a family in turmoil, this was an afternoon from
hell.

When the game ended, a crescendo of boos rang out as Chelsea fans
expressed their disappointment with the team's performance, the
result, and the fact that the team's 66-game unbeaten home run could
so easily have been lost. What didn't happen in three seasons under
Mourinho could so easily have taken place in Grant's first home game.

Consider this scenario from Roman Abramovich's point of view. Bravely,
he chose to sit in the Shed with his right-hand man Eugene Tenenbaum
and by his presence there, he tried to say that like most in the
41,837 crowd, he was just another Chelsea fan. Yeah, right. When the
crowd chanted "Jose Mourinho", Roman did not add his voice but instead
looked decidedly uneasy, even embarrassed.

When Andriy Shevchenko was replaced early in the second half, the
owner didn't appear to think it was a good move and, of course, when
the fans booed at the end, Roman wasn't really in the mood to join
them. You wonder if he silently wondered about the sense of spending
hundreds of millions for such strife? From the outside, you wonder
whether his love of the club will survive the fans' love of Mourinho?

Outside the ground, the disgruntled handed out leaflets asking the
faithful to leave the match at halftime. "Given the price of ticket
here," someone said, "they had to be joking." No one did leave and
even if the game was far from a classic, it had a soap opera
fascination as we wondered if Chelsea could dig themselves out of the
hole and ended up watching as the hole just got bigger. Because the
challenge for Chelsea was not so much Fulham but to move from a club
in turmoil to a club in transition. It wasn't as easy as you might
think. Page three of the club programme carried a photograph of a
smiling Mourinho, page five a message from the chairman, "Time To Look
Forward". Mourinho or the future? Which was it? Yesterday, it was far
more about Mourinho.

In an interview on Chelsea televison, John Terry vigorously denied
having anything to do the former manager's departure, vowed to sue the
two newspapers who said otherwise and said "the most important thing"
was for everyone to give the new manager their full support. As for
Grant, he sat in the front row of the dugout, leaning forward, seeming
more absorbed in a dull match than anyone else in the ground. There
were other signs that the guard has changed at the Bridge. Shevchenko
played with more authority, as if he had been recently promoted. He
popped up here and there, got plenty of possession and did little with
it. There was no shortage of desire but his touch was unreliable and,
these days, he lacks that little bit of zip needed to go past
defenders.

How simple life would be if by just being more positive and more
authoritative, Shevchenko could be more effective. It would be fun
world if all Chelsea needed to banish the Blues was Grant's call for a
more attacking style. True to the new manager's philosophy, Chelsea's
blue shirts got forward in great numbers but, alas, to no great
effect.

Without Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel and Michael
Ballack, they struggled to create and the longer it went on, the more
nervy everyone became and the more the family's disharmony manifested
itself. When Shevchenko twice lost possession in the space of 30
seconds early in the second half, the home crowd's disaffection
expressed itself in animosity towards the Ukrainian.

A minute later, the Stamford Bridge faithful broke into another chorus
of "Jose Mourinho" and now it was like a family wedding ? all the
unpleasant undercurrents were flowing across the surface and it all
threatened to get ugly. Like a benign and well-meaning uncle, Grant
replaced Shevchenko, Abramovich put his head in his hands, and
interestingly, the Ukrainian almost enthusiastically accepted the
manager's call as he sped off.

But my goodness, it really was a bad day at the office for Chelsea.
Didier Drogba sent off, Terry an injury victim and a reminder in that
second half that a central defensive partnership of Tal Ben Haim and
the Brazilian Alex might not be the best idea in the world. When
Diomansy Kamara got a late and great chance to win the game at the
death, it was because Chelsea's defence had disintegrated.

Yet, when it was all over, you had to admire Grant's equanimity. He
said Chelsea weren't at their best but neither were they at their
worst, "somewhere in between", he said. As for Shevchenko, "he's a
very good player but not at his best today". Someone asked if he has
been at his best this season, and the new head coach stayed as calm as
ever. "We've played seven or eight games, you need 20 to 25 games
before judging."

The trick for Avram Grant will be to get 25 games.
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People:

30 September 2007
STINGING THE BLUES
MORE MISERY FOR ROMAN AS BOOS RING AROUND BRIDGE
Terry KOd and Drog off in hell day
CHELSEA 0 FULHAM 0
By Dave Kidd
Avram Grant's traumatic start as Chelsea boss went from bad to worse
last night.

His skipper John Terry broke a cheekbone in a clash with Fulham's
Clint Dempsey... and Didier Drogba saw red as Grant's team fell
further behind Arsenal in the race for the Premier League.

News that the Chelsea and England skipper will have an operation this
morning, and faces around six weeks on the sidelines, capped a
nightmare first home game in charge for Grant.

Striker Drogba was sent off for two bookable offences and his fellow
hitman Andriy Shevchenko was hauled off early in the second half after
another horror show as Chelsea failed to score in a fourth straight
Premier League match for the first time in nine years.

Grant revealed his players were fuming at American striker Clint
Dempsey for an alleged elbow on Terry after only four minutes. The
central defender played on until half-time but was then taken to
hospital for scans.

Grant said: "My players thought there was an elbow but I haven't seen
it properly yet. John wasn't complaining at half-time or asking to be
taken off but you cannot take a risk with head injuries." A Chelsea
spokesman later confirmed: "John went to hospital and a scan showed a
depressed fracture of his right cheek bone.

"He will see a specialist and then be operated on."

Fulham came close to ending Chelsea's 66-match unbeaten home league
record when Diomansy Kamara and Paul Konchesky squandered clear late
chances.

Chelsea were booed off after their dismal display, which owner Roman
Abramovich watched from The Shed as a show of solidarity with fans
after the unpopular sacking of Mourinho, but Chelsea's title ambitions
are fading fast as they are already eight points behind leaders
Arsenal, who have a game in hand.

Fans chanted for Mourinho and refused to sing Grant's name - although
a planned walk out at half-time in support of the departed Portuguese,
failed to materialise. Grant admitted: "We have to start scoring and
winning very soon.

"We wanted to play positively and we did create seven or eight
chances, which was the good thing, but we have to start taking those
opportunities."
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Indy:

Chelsea 0 Fulham 0: Terry injured, Drogba sees red on black day for Blues

Life after Mourinho turns into nightmare for Grant as captain suffers
fractured cheekbone and striker is sent off
By Paul Newman at Stamford Bridge

It was a sight that summed up Avram Grant's plight. Chelsea's manager
stood on the touchline in the final minutes, desperatelytrying to
shout instructions to his team, only to have his words drowned out by
the loudest chant of the afternoon from a previously subdued Stamford
Bridge crowd. The sound of "Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho" echoed
around the ground.

If Grant narrowly avoided the ignominy of losing his first home match
after succeeding Mourinho, it was hard to imagine a more calamitous
first day in front of his own supporters. John Terry, his captain,
suffered a fractured cheekbone which is likely to keep him out for
several weeks – he will have an operation today and looks certain to
miss England's crucial Euro 2008 qualifying matches against Russia and
Estonia next month – while Didier Drogba, his leadingstriker, was
shown the red card for two bookable offences.

In the end Grant must have felt grateful to emerge with a point, even
if the boos at the final whistle made it seem like a loss. Mourinho
had been unbeaten in all his 60 home Premier League matches in charge
of Chelsea, and it would have been a huge blow to his successor's
credibility if he had started his Stamford Bridge career with a
defeat.

Having lost away to Manchester United in Grant's first game in charge,
Chelsea have now failed to score in their last four Premier League
games, which have yielded just two points. A decent result away to
Valencia in the Champions' League this week is now crucial, though
Grant spoke with measured calm after the match. He insisted he was not
overly concerned by the ground his team had lost in the title race,
and said that nothing had surprised him in his new job.

"First we need to score, then we need to win," Grant said. "We created
enough chances to win but did not score. There are things we can
improve."

Putting the ball in the back of the net will be the first priority.
Chelsea dominated this match for long periods and should have been
leading comfortably when the game changed with Drogba's dismissal
after 73 minutes. The Ivorian, handed the captain's armband after
Terry failed to reappear for the second half following a collision
with Clint Dempsey, had been needlessly booked for dissent in the
first half and was shown his second yellow card when his raised boot
caught Chris Baird in the face. Grant refused to criticise
Drogbaafterwards, saying he would wait to see television replays
before passing judgement.

Grant had taken off his other striker eight minutes into the second
half. Mourinho's unhappiness with having Andriy Shevchenko foisted on
him by Roman Abramovich was said to be a major cause of his fall-out
with the club's owner, and on this evidence you could see the former
manager's pointof view.

Shevchenko looked badly out of sorts, not quite knowing whether to
play the Frank Lampard role, breaking from midfield, or to forage
alongside Drogba. Two woefully inadequate free-kicks by the Ukrainian
summed up his frustrations, and it was no surprise whenhe was taken
off. "He was not at his best," Grant admittedafterwards.

Chelsea's play was particularlydisjointed in the opening 20 minutes,
but Salomon Kalou and Joe Cole became increasingly influential down
the flanks and the home side had more than enough chances to win.
Kalou was at the centre of the best Chelsea attack of the first half,
breaking down the left after good work by Drogba and Shevchenko, only
for the latter to end the move by shooting wide of a post.

Kalou wasted an even better opportunity in the opening minutes of the
second half. Joe Cole, released by Drogba's fine pass, delivered a
perfect cross to the near post, only for Kalou to miss the ball
completely. Kalou soon returned the compliment with a well-timed
through-ball, but Joe Cole shot just wide of a post.

Fulham defended with spirit. Aaron Hughes and Carlos Bocanegra were
rocks at the centre of defence, while Alexey Smertin and Steven Davis
gave as good as they got in the centre of midfield.

Dempsey had the best early chance, heading wide from Smertin's cross,
but Sanchez's men played a containing game until Drogba's departure
gave them the incentive to push forward in the closing stages.

After 85 minutes Paul Konchesky, clean through, saw his shot saved by
Petr Cech's feet, while Diomansy Kamara had another excellent
opportunity four minutes later. Despite holding off Claude Makelele's
challenge, the Senegalese striker screwed his shot just wide of a
post.

"I said before the match that we'd win 1-0 and we should have done,"
Lawrie Sanchez, the Fulham manager, said afterwards. Sanchez believes
his men are in a false position near the foot of the table, poor
refereeing decisions having cost them vital points, and on this
showing they have the all-round strengths to live with most opponents.
As for Chelsea, there can be only one verdict: must do better.