Mancienne Waits On Decision

Michael Mancienne has indicated that he does not want to hold talks with Wolves regarding his future until after the season has finished.

The on-loan Chelsea defender has spent the campaign at Molineux in order to increase his experience and has impressed while with Mick McCarthy's men.

McCarthy has indicated that he wants discussions with Mancienne before the end of his deal in the summer and he also plans to build a dialogue with Chelsea on the subject.

But Mancienne, who spent time with Wolves as they gained promotion from the Championship last season, wants to concentrate on ensuring his current club stay in the Premier League after collecting a vital eight points from the last four games.

The 22-year-old said: "I'm not even thinking about it (my future) to be honest.

"All I'm concentrating on is these last six games for Wolves. As to what happens after that we'll have to see."

Mancienne has started or come on as a substitute in 25 league games this season and in recent matches has operated in a central midfield role.

He said: "I have played in this position before, but I'm learning about it more and more every time I play it.

"I am happy playing anywhere I'm put, but I do enjoy the midfield role."

Chelsea Set For Mass Exodus To Fund £32m Premier League Duo Swoop?

Chelsea are reportedly set for a summer clearout ahead of ambitious moves for two Premier League stars. Carlo Ancelotti is ready to bid farewell to four first team squad members to help fund the deals as Roman Abramovich is not overly keen on bankrolling the club’s transfer budget from his seemingly thinning wallet.

The Russian billionaire apparently lost a large chunk of his fortune in the global recession and is more than willing to invest in new additions to the Stamford Bridge side but would also like to see the club’s wage bill trimmed before doing so.

Joe Cole is still yet to sign a new contract and could be on his way to Man United, Deco has already made it clear he would like to be allowed to make a move to Brazil with Fluninese the most likely destination for the former Barcelona man. John Obi Mikel is also struggling to get first team action and could be deemed surplus to requirements likewise perennial sub Salomon Kalou.

The players Ancelotti hopes to lure to west London are Everton pair Steven Pienaar and Jack Rodwell. David Moyes is sure to try to block any such Goodison Park raid but may find it hard to prevent either player from having their heads turned by the prospect of such a move.

Highly rated youngster Rodwell is also being targeted by Sir Alex Ferguson who apparently sees the England Under-21 international as an ideal long term replacement for veteran Paul Scholes. South African playmaker Steven Pienaar has performed wonderfully this season and could well be ready to make a move back into the type of Champions League action he enjoyed whilst at Ajax.

The two are valued together at around 32m and should Chelsea be able to fund such a move by losing high earners such as Deco from their wage bill as well as getting decent sums for other peripheral figures then perhaps these deals could become a reality, albeit a reality the Toffees boss will fight tooth and nail to prevent.

Abramovich To Answer Berezovsky Coercion Claims In Court

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich must answer allegations that he used coercive tactics to force former business partner Boris Berezovsky to sell his assets at an undervalued market price, the High Court ruled today.

Addleshaw Goddard partner Mark Hastings instructed One Essex Court’s Laurence Rabinowitz QC for Berezovsky.

Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom partner Paul Mitchard QC instructed Brick Courts’ Andrew Popplewell QC to apply to the High Court for strike out on behalf of Abramovich.

The ruling will pave the way for a major High Court showdown between the two oligarchs to take place over the 12-week long Michaelmas term next year.

In July 2005 Berezovksy announced his intention to sue Abramovich through London’s High Court for breach of trust, breach of trust and breach of fiduciary claims.

It was another two years before he personally served the writ on Abramovich during a scuffle in Sloane Sqaure.

At the heart of Berezovsky’s claim is the allegation that Abramovich coerced him into selling his 21.5 per cent stake in Russian oil company Sibneft for a significantly reduced price.

Popplewell told Mr Justice Colman that Berezovsky’s claim lacked detail: “We want to know where the oral threats were made so that witnesses could be called.”

He continued: “This is a case that cries out for a summary judgment or strike out.”

Colman J rejected the argument: “I am satisfied that it is impossible to say that this claim has no real prospect of success…

“Weak as some of BB’s case certainly appear the complexity and multiplicity of issues makes this exactly the kind of claim which is unsuitable for applications under CPR3.4.”

Permission to appeal was refused.

Scouting Report – Chelsea’s Young Duo Leading The Way In Holland

Whilst Chelsea may need some surgery in the summer to replace aging legs, they can take some heart from two of their youngster who are sitting top of the Eredivisie.

Chelsea stars Miroslav Stoch and Slobodan Rajkovic are currently on loan at Steve McClaren’s FC Twente and Miroslav Stoch in particular is receiving rave reviews for his performances. FC Twente are at the top of Eredivisie four points clear of rivals Ajax and five points clear of PSV Eindhoven. Steve McClaren is slowly rebuilding his reputation over in Holland after the shambles of England’s Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.

After selling a host of the club’s top players, Steve McClaren turned to Chelsea to loan winger Miroslav Stoch and centre back Slobodan Rajkovic. Both deals have turned out well not only for FC Twente, but Chelsea as well. Much has been written of Chelsea’s squad after the Champions League exit against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan. Aging legs and a team that once was all conquering being past it has been thrown around far too casually for my liking. Chelsea’s demolishing of Aston Villa 7-1 was a good reply to those critics. With players of the ability of Stoch and Rajkovic coming through the ranks, they should have no problem.

Miroslav Stoch has been something of a sensation this season. 8 goals in 27 league appearances from midfield is a great return. Having made some sporadic late substitute appearances for Chelsea last season, the 20 yr old Slovakian was allowed to join up with Steve McClaren for the season at FC Twente. Stoch is quick, versatile and has a sensational cross. Upon a most likely return to Chelsea in the summer, he would most certainly offer some pace and youth to the West London side’s ranks. The winger is already a full Slovakia international with ten caps to his name and one goal. With PSV Eindhoven keen to gain his signature, Chelsea is believed to be pulling the stops out to offer the talented youngster a long term deal.

Slobodan Rajkovic may not be setting alight the Eredivisie like his team mate, but he is rebuilding his career very well at FC Twente. The 21 year old Yugoslavian was signed by Chelsea in 2005 for £4.4 million from OFK Beograd. A world record at the time for a defender under 18 years of age. He has not made a single first team appearance for Chelsea as of yet. Having spent a year on loan at Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, Rajkovic has been on loan at FC Twente for the past 2 years. On September 4th 2008, the Belgrade born centre back was banned by FIFA for a year after allegedly spitting at a referee during the Beijing Olympics. On appeal this was lifted to just international fixtures.

Having appeared thirteen times this season for Steve McClaren’s men he is slowly establishing himself in the team. Known for his towering height and strength, Rajkovic is a tough customer to get past at the back. It looks likely he will be given another year out on loan to hone his skills. He already has 5 caps to his name for the Serbia national side and is most certainly one to watch.

What is clear is that it’s not all doom and gloom at Stamford Bridge as has been reported recently. With players such as Gael Kakuta coming through along with Miroslav Stoch and Slobodan Rajkovic making waves in Eredivisie. The future looks bright for Chelsea.

Brazilian Club Target Chelsea Star

Chelsea veteran Deco is a summer target for Brazilian club Fluminese.

Portugal star Deco, 32, has another season left on his contract at Stamford Bridge but the Brazilian club are trying to sign him on the cheap.

Flamingo and Corinthians are also interested in the Brazilian-born midfielder who is tempted by one last contract back in his native country.

Deco's agent Acaz Felleger has confirmed that Fluminese have been in contact and says the decision is now up to Chelsea.

Felleger said: "Contact has been made but there has been nothing formal yet. We have had other propositions from Brazil but we will wait until the end of the season so Deco can concentrate on football.

"The decision rests with Chelsea but maybe they will allow him to go as one day he would like to return to Brazil to be close to his family."

Fluminese vice-president Alcides Antunes said: "We have spoken but it won't be easy because of financial reasons. Fluminese wants reinforcements but we also have other options."

Deco joined Chelsea from Barcelona in 2007 for £8m but has struggled to make a big impact and has only been a bit-part player.

Deco, who gained a Portuguese passport through ancestry and has since been a huge World Cup star, made a rare start for Chelsea against Aston Villa on Saturday but the Premier League side are unlikely to offer him a new deal.

Chelsea Consider Move For £13m Premier League Playmaker

Steven Pienaar is apparently considering his options at Goodison Park ahead of this summer’s World Cup in his homeland and that news has sparked interest from London outfit Chelsea. The talented playmaker, valued around £13m, has been in good form this season but is apparently keen to secure Champions League football and may feel in order to do so he must seek a move away from the Toffees.

Carlo Ancelotti is looking at making a move for the Everton man and could well make an offer the 28 year old would find hard to refuse. The former Ajax man would surely be tempted by a move to a club who could offer him a shot at the Premier League title as well as guaranteed Champions League football. However he may be less keen on the possibility of not getting regular starts at Stamford Bridge given the wealth of talent on offer, strength in depth that results in the likes of Joe Cole having to warm the bench.

David Moyes will of course fight tooth and nail to prevent one of his prized assets from leaving the club but as evidenced by the moves away from Everton of the likes of Wayne Rooney and Joleon Lescott, he may find it hard to stop a move to London where he could well be offered the kind of financial package the Merseyside club can not afford to offer.

Chelsea Target Hamsik To Begin Napoli Contract Talks

Star midfielder Marek Hamsik is expected to discuss his contract situation with Napoli at the end of next month.

The 22-year-old has verbally agreed to extend his existing deal and all that's missing is his signature. Napoli have been in the process of tying down their stars over the last couple of months and Hamsik is the biggest prize.

Italian daily, Corriere dello Sport believes that given Hamsik is one of the most promising youngsters in Europe, his buy-out clause would be over €40m.

Hamsik has been a consistent performer in Serie A over the past several years and has scored 10 goals in 31 games so far this season and was seen as subject to a possible summer bidding war between Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan and his former club Chelsea. It had been rumoured that Hamsik will be part of a Chelsea summer spending spree to replace several members of the Blues' aging squad.

However, Hamsik's apparent desire to stay with Napoli means that a big move to Chelsea or anywhere else is unlikely to happen in the short-term.

Hamsik was recently voted Slovakian player of the year for 2009 and is expected to star for his country during this summer's World Cup.

Frank Arnesen Wants To Bring Marco van Basten To Chelsea

Reports in Holland today claim that Chelsea’s Director of Football Frank Arnesen would like to bring Marco van Basten to the club.

The former coach of Holland and Ajax is reportedly high on Arnesen’s list of possible replacements for Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge.

Ancelotti is under increasing pressure after Chelsea were dumped out the Champions League by Inter Milan in the last 16 knockout round.

Van Basten is also currently being linked with a return to AC Milan to replace Leonardo who is under pressure after the Rossoneri have fallen away in Serie A of late.

The 45-year-old is currently out of work after he resigned as Ajax coach in May 2009.

Chelsea Stars On Average £3.5M Salary

Chelsea players are on an average salary of £3.5 million.

Figures published by a major US sports website shows Roman Abramovich has turned his squad into the fourth richest group of sportsmen in the world.

The Blues stand just below Real Madrid and Barcelona as the highest payers in world football.

But all three are dwarfed by New York Yankees' baseball team.

Their players pocket £4.6m a year each or almost £90,000 a week.

NBA basketball stars make up the rest of the top 10 list for 2008.

The figures, revealed by sportingintelligence.com, are for first-team players.

Site editor Nick Harris said: "The findings will come as a surprise to anyone who thinks the Premier League is the best paid division in world sport because it's far from it."

Terry: Goals Flowing Thanks To Formation Adjustment

The goals are flowing for Chelsea thanks to a formation adjustment, says skipper John Terry.

For the earlier Portsmouth match and again against Villa, Carlo Ancelotti opted for an altered formation that operated close to a 4-3-3 with Florent Malouda and either Joe Cole, Daniel Sturridge or Salomon Kalou pushing forward down the flanks. His captain recognised the benefit.

"The formation suits us probably a little bit better with the two widemen," Terry told Chelsea TV.

"Over the years we have had a lot of success with that. We stretch teams, especially at home, which is good because teams do come to the Bridge and sit tight.

"Even Villa did that in the first half [on Saturday]. They were playing with two wide men and with [John] Carew up the top on his own which restricted our full-backs going forward. It was always going to be difficult but we had seen Villa in recent weeks tiring in the later stages of games.

"They pressed us well but thankfully we scored through Lamps' penalty just before half time and the way we started both halves was key."

Lampard Highlights Deco Influence In Chelsea Scoring Spree

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard says the return of Deco has had a big say in their recent goal scoring form.

The Blues have struck 12 goals in the last two games.

"Deco has come back into the side and he played well at Portsmouth," Lampard told chelseafc.com.

"He offers some culture and some great passing, and Joe Cole was lively.

Of course Didier Drogba has been a great player this season by some distance, but we respect what Nicolas Anelka does as well and the manager's choice was proved right on Saturday."

Malouda Playing At His Best Since Chelsea Arrival

Florent Malouda admits he's delighted with his form for Chelsea this season.

Four goals in the 5-0 and 7-1 routs of Portsmouth and Aston Villa respectively has taken his total to 13 for the season, which is already his best-ever tally for the club. Perhaps more significantly is the 15 assists provided for his team-mates and now he is highly respected by the crowd.

He said: “I'm pleased but the season is not finished. I'm looking to score more goals because we have some big games coming up. We know that goal difference will be important.

“Every game now is a final. If you don't get the points from the game you have to play, you lose your position in the table. We are ready for this, we have worked very hard since the start of the season to be there.

“Of course we would prefer to be on top of the League but we are still in a good position because we have to play Manchester United.

“The win against Villa was the best performance since I have been here. When we had the ball we had a lot of movement and everybody enjoyed themselves. We're trying to make history. It's been a tough season for us but we must focus because we still have big games and we will see where we are at the end of the season.”

Chelsea Will Not Appeal Against Didier Drogba's Two-Match UEFA Ban

Chelsea will waive a potential appeal and accept the two-match ban imposed on Didier Drogba by Uefa following his dismissal in the Champions League knockout defeat to Internazionale at Stamford Bridge.

The Ivory Coast forward was sent off by Wolfgang Stark, the German referee, for stamping on Thiago Motta's ankle three minutes from full time as Chelsea slipped out of Europe, a violent conduct offence that carries a two-match suspension. He will miss the opening two group games in next season's competition, for which the team appear certain to qualify.

Chelsea can officially challenge the decision within three days of receiving Uefa's written reasoning, though they will instead accept the punishment as there had been fears that the offence would prompt a four-match suspension. Drogba had been warned as to his future conduct, banned for four games (later reduced to three) with a further two-match ban suspended after being found guilty of making "offensive comments" towards the referee Tom Henning Ovrebo following last season's semi-final elimination against Barcelona.

European football's governing body opted against activating that suspended punishment and, instead, extended Drogba's probationary period by two years to July 2013 as the offence against Motta was deemed to be very different from his outburst against Ovrebo. "The suspension applies to the next two Uefa club competition matches for which Drogba would be eligible," a Uefa spokesman said.

The player has drawn Uefa sanction after Chelsea's elimination in each of the past three seasons – he was sent off in the 2008 final in Moscow – but insisted his stamp on Motta had been accidental, with Chelsea frustrated by Inter's impressive display at Stamford Bridge as they prevailed 3-1 on aggregate in the last-16 tie.

"The referee was a bit hard on me for this red card," Drogba said at the time. "I stepped on his tendon but it was not intentional and I was more focused on the cross and the ball. I'm going to try to make it better. The last three years have all been unhappy endings, so I hope next season the Champions League will be mine."

Drogba Two-Match UEFA Ban

Didier Drogba has been given a two-match suspension from European competition as a result of being sent off in Chelsea's Champions League match versus Inter.

A Uefa statement reads:

Chelsea FC striker Didier Drogba has been suspended by UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body for two European club competition matches after being sent off in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg against FC Internazionale Milano in London on 16 March.

The suspension applies to the next two club competition matches for which Drogba would be eligible. The player's existing period of probation, which began on 15 July 2009 and was originally intended to run for two years, has also been extended to 15 July 2013. An appeal may be lodged within three days of the sending of the reasoned decision.

Reserves Report: Chelsea 1 - 0 Portsmouth

Chelsea reserves returned to winning ways with a 1-0 league victory over Portsmouth at Cobham on Monday night.

Gael Kakuta scored the only goal of the game after 15 minutes, but Chelsea could and perhaps should have added more after dominating long periods of the game.

Without a number of his younger players due to the youth team's trip to Dallas, coach Steve Holland was still able to name a strong starting line-up, with seven of the 11 having played first team football for Chelsea.

The side included Carlo Ancelotti's latest debutant, Patrick van Aanholt, and the manager and his backroom staff were there to observe the second string start brightly, Kakuta and Fabio Borini both denied by instinctive defending and goalkeeping in the opening exchanges.

Also present was captain Sam Hutchinson, who had completed 45 minutes against Fulham a week earlier. He would play an hour tonight.

He also played a major part in the goal. Playing at centre-half, he threaded a ball through the Portsmouth defence for Kakuta, who kept his composure, controlled and volleyed beyond goalkeeper Jon Stewart.

Despite the driving wind and rain Chelsea were passing the ball well, using the greasy surface to their advantage as the visitors were reduced to chasing spritely shadows.

Nemanja Matic was fouled five yards outside the away area on 24 minutes, Jeffrey Bruma's curling free-kick bouncing just in front of the goalkeeper before he turned it around the post.

Daniel Sturridge, who had again been causing problems, was replaced just after the half-hour by first year scholar Philipp Prosenik, recently recovered from a long-term knee injury.

From right-back, Bruma was causing Portsmouth infinite problems with his attacking play, while Matic was having joy in a more advanced midfield role afforded him by the disciplined Liam Bridcutt in the anchor role.

In contrast Portsmouth were hardly able to venture into the Chelsea half, such was the Blues' total control of the game. Steve Holland's only grievance would have been his side's wastefulness in front of goal, Prosenik, Jacob Mellis and Van Aanholt all guilty of not working the keeper hard enough after smart build-up play.

Pompey's first threat came with two minutes remaining in the first half, Nadir Cifti heading a corner wide after Nana Ofori-Twumasi had headed behind.

Just before the break Mellis excellently danced through the defence before his shot was parried away, and then from the follow up Borini's cross cum shot flashed across goal.

On 53 minutes Kakuta was denied by some alert goalkeeping as Stewart dived at the playmaker's feet to prevent a second goal after more impressive work down the Chelsea right.

On the hour Hutchinson and Van Aanholt were replaced by Chris Jones and schoolboy Reece Loudon, as Bruma moved inside to centre-half and Jones took up right-back duties.

The name may sound familiar; Jones is actually one of the club's fitness coaches, covering the absence of the Academy for one night only. He has experience at Blue Square Premier level.

With 20 minutes remaining Cifti drove a low free-kick narrowly wide and then Matt Richie curled one on to the bar, Jan Sebek's dive enthusiastic but well beaten.

At the other end Kakuta's stepovers and pass put Borini in but the Italian's left-footed shot was a little tame.

There would be no more goals, and so Chelsea earned another three points and a clean sheet with a solid all-round display, one or two players no doubt impressing Ancelotti, who departed with around three-quarters of the game gone.

Didier Drogba Dubs Sven Goran-Eriksson's Appointment As Ivory Coast manager As 'A Wish Come True'

Didier Drogba is delighted at the news Sven-Goran Eriksson will lead the Ivory Coast to the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

The striker has been in prolific form for club and country this season, and is fully confident that the former England and Mexico manager has the pedigree to help the Elephants reach the latter stages of the summer tournament.

"There is no doubt Sven will succeed. This is someone who knows the game inside out," Drogba told Football365.co.za.

"I have every belief in his ability to take us far and even exceed the targets set for him by the Federation.

"With the little I saw of him while he was in England and what I have heard, read and watched about, I think Sven has come at the right time."

With the appointment coming just over a month after former manager Vahid Halilhodzic was dismissed, Drogba is pleased that someone, let alone a big name like Eriksson, has finally been appointed.

"This is like a wish come true for me and most of my colleagues," he said.

"For weeks and months we have been pondering over going to the World Cup without a coach but what we feared most has taken a different twist.

"Now I don't have to wake up every morning and think about the future of my team without a coach.

"Surely all things will work in line for us with Eriksson in charge.

"As a seasoned coach, he definitely knows how to pull in those surprises when least expected. We have a solid team and that alone solves half of his problem."

With the likes of Salomon Kalou, Emmanuel Eboue and the Toure brothers - Kolo and Yaya - to call upon, Drogba believes Eriksson's squad can become the first African winners of the World Cup and on Africa soil.

"The only problem he will face maybe will be the selection of a winning eleven out of a team full of talents," the Chelsea man said.

"We are going to South Africa to win big. This is not something I am saying alone. It is the general feeling when you talk to the other boys in our team."

Four years ago, the country failed to escape from the group stages after being hotly tipped to progress to at least the semi-finals. But Drogba believes that with Eriksson's expertise that will not happen again.

"Our performance in Germany was not up to what we set out to achieve," he said.

"We have to improve and play much better if we want the other teams to take us serious. This is not a tournament you can go and play just anyhow.

"It has to be better this time round and I hope Sven provides us with that spirit and direction."

Lampard: Credit Where It's Due

Frank Lampard continues his analysis of Saturday's biggest win of the season by discussing the goals scored and the football that led up to them.

Seven goals in one afternoon is good work by anyone's standards and the man who turned four of them into the net wants to pay tribute to the supporting cast.

'The build up was fantastic to all the goals, the penalties as well,' Lampard says. 'It was great football.

'We were more expansive on Saturday and the pitch has improved and we were able to be more confident in our one and two-touch passing.

'The first goal Florent Malouda scored was particularly outstanding. Malouda deserves credit not just on Saturday but for his performances all season. Yury Zhirkov got foward well and Deco played a great pass inside the full-back and that football is the way we want to play.

'Deco has come back into the side and he played well at Portsmouth,' the vice-captain continues.

'He offers some culture and some great passing, and Joe Cole was lively. Of course Didier Drogba has been a great player this season by some distance, but we respect what Nicolas Anelka does as well and the manager's choice was proved right on Saturday.'

It was quick passing and sharp movement that led to Zhirkov winning two penalties out of the Aston Villa central defenders. Then it was up to Lampard to stick the ball in the net from 12 yards out.

'I took some penalties on Friday in training as I always do, and I missed a couple of bad ones,' he reveals.

'Brad Friedel is a top keeper so you know if you don't hit it with enough power and he goes the right way then he can save it, so I just tried to put my foot through the first one.

'The second one is always easier when you have one under your belt already. You can relax a little and it was great to see that second one go in the corner.'

Chelsea Land Major Psychological Blow

That divot, the one that David James blamed for Chelsea’s first goal against Portsmouth last week, when his freakish air-shot allowed Didier Drogba to score, may have just played a pivotal part in how this season could end.

“It was a bit of a turning point,” Frank Lampard said after the 7-1 humiliation of Aston Villa which followed on from the 5-0 destruction at Fratton Park. “We have kicked on from there because having lost ground, and fallen behind in the running when we should have been clear, it’s great now to have a confident outlook on it, and take that to Manchester United.”

Time will tell but that divot will become a piece of hallowed turf for Chelsea supporters by the end of this campaign if, as Lampard claimed, it helped the players out of a “bit of a rut” which had threatened to derail their season and put the future of manager Carlo Ancelotti in doubt. For United fans, if Chelsea do win the title, it may be a new definition of sod’s law.

Certainly Chelsea struck a resounding psychological blow against Villa - watched by Roman Abramovich - which will reverberate even more than the arresting score-line. And that was deafening enough. Villa, whose hopes of finishing fourth have died, had previously conceded just 25 goals in 30 league matches - a rate of one goal per 108 minutes and here were seven in one encounter. It took them eight and a half matches, more than a fifth of the season, to concede as many as rained in on one rainy afternoon in west London.

Lampard accounted for four of those goals and while dealing in statistics it’s worth mentioning that he now has 151 in his Chelsea career — which means he stands third in the all-time scoring chart for the club, below only Kerry Dixon (193) and Bobby Tambling (202). For the past six seasons, Lampard has scored at least 20 times, a model of prolific consistency.

“I set the target to get there, and I’ve got there relatively early this season - it’s not bad for having an average or bad season - as some people say,” he added, pointedly. Although clearly pricked, Lampard’s form has been a concern. Matches have by-passed him of late but he benefited from a brave call by Ancelotti to re-configure his team.

It meant Lampard was central while Nicolas Anelka provided a more mobile point to the attack than Didier Drogba has. Drogba was rested — possibly for the first time ever in his Chelsea career for a league match - and although Anelka did not score he provided a definition to his team when they went forward along with Florent Malouda who is, despite Drogba’s 31 goals, threatening to be the player of the season.

The tactics were key. Villa manager Martin O’Neill got his wrong - John Carew as a lone striker initially, shrinking from the physical battle against John Terry - while he later accused his team of giving up once they had fallen two goals behind. “We have the same opposition in two weeks and if we play like that there’s no point in us turning up,” O’Neill said, referring to the FA Cup semi-final a week on Saturday. “I haven’t seen this kind of performance from them (his team) before. From all of them, including myself, it was unacceptable.

“We stopped doing everything that you’re supposed to do in this professional game - all in half an hour. I don’t want to take anything away from Chelsea who are a very, very fine side but we would have been beaten by a fourth division side on the last half hour’s performance.” Villa were that poor. Chelsea had gone ahead when Lampard slid in at the far post, to meet Malouda’s clever low cross but Villa had drawn level when Carew side-footed home from close-range. Just before half-time and Chelsea re-took the lead with Lampard dispatching a penalty after James Collins had tripped Yuri Zhirkov. After the interval, and with Villa switching to 4-4-2, Malouda scored the pick of the goals with a low shot from a sumptuous build-up orchestrated by Deco and then Lampard claimed his hat-trick, steering in another penalty, after another trip on the quicksilver Zhirkov.

The trauma for Villa continued with Malouda side-footing high into the net and then Anelka, twisting and turning teed up Salomon Kalou. In injury-time, Lampard completed the rout with a predatory strike. Now Chelsea face United.

“We know if we win we can go top, and that will give us a little moral victory,” Lampard said. They have certainly had a psychological boost.

Wolves Plan Mancienne Talks

Wolves will hold talks with Michael Mancienne about his future before the end of the season.

Mancienne is currently on loan at Wolves until the end of the season from Chelsea after being allowed to go out on loan to continue his development.

The England Under-21 international has previously indicated he would be happy to extend his stay at Molineux and McCarthy plans to make a decision on the defender's future in the next few weeks.

McCarthy told the Daily Mirror: "We won't just let the season end without speaking to Chelsea or Michael - whether we say 'Thanks and good luck' or if we'd like to do something else."

Matej Delac Looking Forward To Chelsea Move

Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac, who will be joining Chelsea in the summer, has expressed his excitement at the move.

It was announced back in September that we had the option to sign the 17-year-old, who has emerged through the ranks at top flight side Inter Zapresic, and he will arrive at Stamford Bridge when he turns 18 in August.

'It's every player's dream to sign for such a big club and to play in the strongest league in the world, and I will be achieving that already at my age,' said the 6ft 3in youngster, who spent a fortnight training with the first team squad at Cobham in December.

'You watch those players on TV and the next thing you know you are with them on the pitch. It's a really huge thing to practice with such big stars,' he continued.

'I was mostly talking with the goalkeepers. Petr Cech complimented me on a few occasions. It was huge stuff for me. I tried to learn from him and I was copying his moves. Now I am following his regime and I hope I will be as good as him one day.'

Delac was the youngest ever debutant in Croatia's top division, saving a penalty on his debut as a 16-year-old last season, eventually making 15 league appearances before being instated as Zapresic's number one this season.

He has received a full call up to the Croatia squad 10 days after his 17th birthday, and has represented his country at Under 16, 17 and 19 levels.

When asked about Delac back in September, manager Carlo Ancelotti said: 'He is very young but he is having very good experience in his country and we think that he can be a very good goalkeeper in the future. Now he will stay in Croatia to play before he comes to play with us.'