With half an eye on the far more important game against Birmingham on Saturday, Robson opted to rest a number of key players and made five changes from the team that beat Portsmouth. Horsfield, Gera, Campbell, Watson and Wallwork were all missing from the sixteen; Gera's absence was significant in that it was the first time he would play no part in a game since he joined the club. Kamara was granted a full debut on the left side of a five-man midfield, Chaplow and Scimeca were granted their first starts of the season alongside AJ in the centre of midfield and Kanu was the lone striker.

Some may point to the changes as a reason for the defeat but, in reality, it was two of the established back four that gifted the goals to the hosts which ultimately decided the result. For the first 20 minutes, Albion looked comfortable. They were certainly offering nothing up front, but Chelsea didn't have an attempt until the 21st minute as Albion held firm. But against a side like Chelsea, one mistake can cost you dear. Under no pressure, Gaardsoe misplaced a pass to Clement and Wright-Phillips was away. He fed Drogba who got to the byline and squared the ball. There were three Chelsea players lining up to finish it off, but it was Lampard that did so.

Chelsea had their goal but the expected avalanche failed to materialise, at least for the time being. Albion continued to look comfortable until another mistake handed Chelsea their second. Wright-Phillips took on Robinson and as the Albion left back tried to see the ball out for a goal kick, the diminutive winger nipped round him, kept the ball in and squared it for Joe Cole to fire home. It was an elementary mistake and Robson may regret tipping his left back for an England call up earlier this week.

Gaardsoe has been prone to the odd clanger and his place would certainly be under threat should Robson sign the centre back he is looking for, but Robbo has been a consistent performer for some time. Hopefully, it won't dent his confidence too much.

With a comfortable lead, Chelsea could relax and they played some good stuff in the second half. But it was only once Albion tried to push forward a bit more that the hosts increased their lead. A good poachers goal from Drogba and a rebound that fell kindly for Lampard completed the scoring. But I actually think Chelsea created more chances back in March when they won 1-0 than they did this time round.

Taking the mistakes out of the first half, I think Albion did well. Kamara did well on the left and I thought Chaplow had a particularly good game, retaining possession well and working hard. Scimeca also played well in the "Wallwork" role with neat and intelligent passing. Johnson did OK and Inamoto played well once again when he came on. One criticism of the midfield is that they left Kanu very isolated. It is understandable given the quality of the opposition and their ability to break quickly, but only Kamara made any real effort to get up alongside Kanu and it meant that Albion failed to register an attempt on goal throughout the entire game.

Kanu was always going to struggle with no support and he failed to make any sort of impact. Greening worked hard but offered nothing going forward. Other than the error, Gaardsoe had a good game and the same can be said about Robinson. Albrechtsen got caught a couple of times but did reasonably OK, and Clement looked solid as ever.

Nathan Ellington made his debut coming on for Greening for the last twenty minutes and looked fairly lively. He tried to get forward but, with Chelsea already 3-0 up, he spent most of his time trying to track Robben and Del Horno. It was good to see him working hard, though.

Although the main reason for the changes was the game on Saturday, Robson will have been pleased to see the replacements do reasonably well. I particularly thought Chaplow and Scimeca impressed and, for Chaplow, it will have been a valuable experience.

4-0 was a little harsh on Albion, but it will matter little at the end of the season. It will probably do more to kick-start Chelsea's season than it will damage Albion's decent start. If the Baggies can get three points on Saturday, this disappointing night in west London will be forgotten.

Marks

Chris Kirkland - 8 - Another fine display with some heroic saves in the second half. Had no chance with any of the goals.
Martin Albrechtsen - 6 - Did OK.
Neil Clement - 7 - Good solid game.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 6 Good game other than the crucial error.
Paul Robinson - 6 - Generally coped well with Wright-Phillips bar the one mistake.
Riccardo Scimeca - 8 - Surprisingly good game.
Richard Chaplow - 8 - MOM. Impressive display from the youngster.
Jonathan Greening - 6 - Worked hard but offered little.
Andy Johnson - 6 - Typically unspectacular.
Diomansy Kamara - 7 - Useful showing, quick and good on the ball.
Nwankwo Kanu - 6 - Little impact.

Junichi Inamoto - 7 - Did well.
Nathan Ellington - 7 - Promising debut.

Bryan Robson - 7 - Despite the result, it was the right decision to rest players in my opinion. We'll find out on Saturday if it works!



Jon Want, 25th August 2005.