Source: Telegraph
Chelsea's title hopes left in tatters as fans taunt Luiz Felipe Scolari
Their title hopes are surely gone, and the challenge for Chelsea now is to finish in the top four this season and secure Champions League qualification. There may not have been a fire, but as a rogue alarm drowned out the majority of Ray Wilkins's post-match press conference, the sense of emergency at Stamford Bridge was real enough. Arsenal will be just three points behind if they win at Tottenham, and with Aston Villa two clear in third, Chelsea's match at Villa Park in a fortnight is looking increasingly vital. [LNB]"You'll see second, third and fourth change a lot,' said Wilkins - a tacit admission, perhaps, that the title has gone, although he did his best to cover for the slip. 'Second is not at any time good enough for Chelsea, and you can't give up on the title when you look at the quality we have.'[LNB]Chants of 'You don't know what you're doing' rang around Stamford Bridge for much of the second half and if, as Wilkins said, such claims are 'a tad out of order' when Luiz Felipe Scolari has a record of success, a certain frustration is readily understandable. Chelsea have dropped 16 points at home this season, and even the usual excuse about opponents who park the bus — as though good defending were somehow a faux pas — didn't wash. [LNB]"When the fans are chanting things like that, I'm not sure managers from foreign countries understand,' Wilkins said. 'I won't tell him. [LNB]It's unnecessary and I don't think it should be heard round our stands. It's a minority who start it and others join in. People pay a lot of money and they want to boo that's up to them.' Dissent may be limited, but it is growing. 'Scolari out,' shrieked one banner. 'Zola - Di Matteo Chelsea legends.'[LNB]Hull have gone nine league games without a victory, and yet by the end they looked the likelier to score. Perhaps they would have folded had John Terry stabbed in from three yards after the Hull goalkeeper Matt Duke had fumbled a Frank Lampard free-kick in the second minute, but he didn't and they didn't, instead looking increasingly like the vibrant Hull of the early part of the season. Phil Brown, their manager, even felt confident enough to exchange a joke with Didier Drogba before he went on for his customary ineffectual cameo midway through the second half. 'I asked him to take it easy,' Brown said. [LNB]These days, you probably don't have to ask. [LNB]Ricardo Quaresma, brought in on loan from Internazionale to add width and creative flair, was fleetingly impressive, although his obvious preference for his right foot — even to the extent of awkwardly scooping in crosses with the outside of his boot — was baffling for a player deployed on the left. [LNB]Still, it took a stretching, fingertip save from Matt Duke to deny him a debut goal as he capitalised on Salomon Kalou's rapid break. It was Quaresma, though, who was withdrawn after 64 minutes for Drogba, in the familiar switch to 4-4-2 that only seems to make Chelsea ;look more disjointed. It's not just that he and Anelka show little sign of striking up an understanding; they barely seem to acknowledge they're wearing the same colour shirt. [LNB]Wilkins insisted that Chelsea's problems are to do with anxiety in front of goal, but other flaws are all too obvious. The crossed ball causes Chelsea palpitations, and Kevin Kilbane was unfortunate, having met a Sam Ricketts cross five minutes before half-time, to see his header clip the outside of the post. And then there were the unforced errors — passes carelessly misplaced and possession cheaply squandered. [LNB]Individual errors, perhaps, can be attributed to a dearth of confidence, but there systemic failings in Chelsea's back four as well. The onus Scolari places on his full-backs to provide attacking width is clearly a contributory factor, but with passing game credence is added to the theory that the departure of Steve Clarke, the assistant coach, for West Ham has had a deleterious effect. Chelsea may talk about missed chances, but the truth is that Craig Fagan, Dean Marney and Ian Ashbee all went home last night thinking they had wasted chances to win it. [LNB]
