John Terry broken cheek blow for England
By Julian Bennetts
Sport.Telegraph, 30th September 2007
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.
The result could have been worse for an under-par Chelsea side as Lawrie
Sanchez's Fulham wasted two glorious chances to win at the death and send
Jose Mourinho's record of 66 successive unbeaten home league games the same
way as the former manager.
"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.
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