Another game, another defensive mistake and another goal conceded, and this time that goal made all the difference as València snatched a draw right at the end at Estadio Mestalla.

Frank Lampard had given the Blues the lead just before the hour mark, but a handball by his substitute, Salomon Kalou, gave the hosts a chance to equalise from twelve yards out from which Roberto Soldado coolly finished.

After being red carded at the weekend which resulted in a three game ban, Fernando Torres started the game as expected, so the fit again Didier Drogba had to be contend with a place on the bench along with the in-form, Nicolas Anelka, as Florent Malouda was given the opportunity to start up front.

València had the impressive Roberto Soldado up front alongside Pablo Hernández, while the on-loan Real Madrid man, Sergio Canales, was given a free role.

The hosts made a really shaky start at the back and gave an early chance to Fernando Torres from a misplaced pass, but the Spaniard had a heavy touch, and thus gave the defender a chance to get back amid some muted penalty appeals.

The generosity continued as Florent Malouda was let free as he found the crowded Ramires. And then Ramires had an even better opportunity to open the scoring, but was hauled down, with him on one of his lung-bursting runs. The resulting free-kick taken by Frank Lampard tested the nervous looking Diego Alves, but scoreline remained intact.

Ramires was in the thick of things, and so it was worrying sight for Chelsea fans when he took a bad knock on his shin from Miguel and required lengthy treatment, but fortunately he was able to get back. In the meantime, València looked to take advantage of Chelsea being down to ten men and created their best chance with Pablo Hernández hitting his first time shot into the side-netting.

Fernando Torres and Juan Mata combined well throughout the first half, but lacked that final touch which would open up the defence as the game died down and started to resemble more of a chess match with both sides cancelling each other out.

Despite looking innocuous at best, València had loads of possession and could have made the Blues pay for the earlier missed chances, but Hernández’s volley on the turn was hit straight at the keeper and the half finished goalless and devoid of any good attacking football.

The start to the second half couldn’t have been more different as both teams played at a frantic pace. Chelsea were first to take advantage of this spell when a brilliant cross in from the right found Fernando Torres as the Spaniard rose above the defender to put in a powerful downward header, but Diego Alves produced a world class one-handed save to keep it out.

València then had the chance of their own, but the slightest of touches of John Terry’s head was enough to put Soldado off as he headed it just wide from close range under no pressure.

The game was now fully stretched and it only looked a matter of time before the deadlock would be broken, and for the all world it looked like it was going to be broken by Fernando Torres when Frank Lampard found him with delicate chip, and just like on the weekend, Torres’s first touch and shot were brilliant, but was equally matched by Diego Alves in this case, to deny him a third consecutive goal in as many games.

The Brazilian keeper epitomised the skills of València manager Unai Emery, who continues to build teams after teams, despite losing his best players, as he wasn’t fazed and lived up to the challenge after the initial nerves were gone, and then went on to save an own goal from point blank range after taming down Torres.

His one man resistance was soon to be broken though when Frank Lampard rifled in a precise first time shot from the edge of the box after some neat build up play by Florent Malouda on the right side.

It was a welcome relief for Lampard, whose future had been under immense scrutiny over the past week or so, and after the game he said; “I love playing for this club. I am very proud of playing here. I’ve had knocks before in my career – it makes me work harder to come back.”

The goal was expected to be the catalyst for further dominance by the Blues, but it wasn’t to be, and on the contrary gave València the incentive needed to go out and attack.

The game then settled into a pattern of us defending back and València testing us.

An over the top ball found the Roberto Soldado and he was able to beat Petr Cech, but in the process was forced out wide and couldn’t find any of his teammates with the cut back.

Pablo Piatti, Sofiane Feghouli and Rami all tried their luck from distance but to no avail and at this point Chelsea were hanging on, but were constantly getting found out by over the top balls looking for diagonal run of València players.

Jonas then went one step ahead and forced Čech into a great diving save. The resulting corner would prove to be decisive as Salomon Kalou carelessly gave away a penalty for handball from which Soldado didn’t miss with only four minutes of normal time remaining.

Chelsea had one final chance at the other end, but Diego Alves was once again the hero for the hosts as he kept out Nicolas Anelka from close range.

Despite being a relatively clean game, except for some playacting by Éver Bangea and the disgusting green laser following Fernando Torres around, the game ended in a chaos after the Italian referee, Nicola Rizzoli, blew for full-time whit Chelsea ready to take a free kick in Valencia’s half.

The referee then booked Juan Mata and Ashley Cole in the aftermath as the players needed to be escorted out to avoid any further trouble.

València gave a good account of themselves with Sergio Canales in particular putting in a very impressive performance.

André Villas-Boas was left a little disappointed with the late equaliser, but praised the performance on the pitch, he said; ‘We came out for the second half stronger and we had very good opportunities to score a goal before we did, but towards the end Valencia gained the momentum which they should because they were desperate for a point.

‘We came out for the second half stronger and we had very good opportunities to score a goal before we did, but towards the end Valencia gained the momentum which they should because they were desperate for a point.’

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, D Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires (Meireles 65), Mikel, Lampard (Kalou 82); Mata, Torres (Anelka 72), Malouda

Scorer – Lampard 56

A late goal from Juan Mata rounded off another opening day victory in the Champions League, after a brilliant strike from David Luiz had broken the deadlock in Andre Villas-Boas’s first game in charge in Europe.

With the game against Manchester United on the weekend in mind this was a decent result after many of the regular starters were given a rest, as Villas-Boas surprised everyone by resting the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard.

On the other end there was an emotional return to Stamford Bridge for Michael Ballack, his first return to the Bridge since the departure in the summer of 2010, and was awarded with a commemorative silver plate by Bruce Buck before the start of the game.

After starting on the bench against Sunderland on the weekend, Fernando Torres was back in the starting line-up and immediately sprung into action after his effort, resembling a somewhat overhead kick, went just wide of the goal.

However, it was Leverkusen who had the ball in the first, but it was ruled offside, although it was unclear what prompted the officials to give that decision. Chelsea followed this up with their own disallowed goal after a back flick by Torres was put into the net by Raul Meireles, but this time it was correctly ruled offside, even though it was uncertain if Meireles touched the ball, but he was definitely in an offside position.

Michael Ballack had the best chance to open the scoring for Leverkusen, but his free kick was straight on the wall, and that was about it as far as Leverkusen’s attacking threat goes for the half.

Daniel Sturridge looked in fine form as he forced the Leverkusen keeper into a save from a fierce shot from distance, and then later again tried his luck again but his shot went just wide.

Chelsea were totally dominating the possession with Obi Mikel having a fine game in the middle as he seemingly maintained control of the ball and made vital interceptions, whilst Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata provided the creativity and sharpness up front.

Part of this domination was also helped by Chelsea having a very strong left hand side on the pitch wherein Ashley Cole, Florent Malouda and Juan Mata, all combined very well throughout the game.

The second half started with Michael Ballack again having the chance to open the scoring, as he was played through on goal after some nice one touch football on the left hand side, but under pressure from Bosingwa and with Cech surging towards him, he didn’t have the time to open up his body and take a proper shot in what was the best chance of the match so far.

Petr Cech was again forced into save just minutes later by Schurrle, who was perhaps the best player for Leverkusen on the night.

After this initial hurrah by Leverkusen at the start of the second half, Chelsea again regained control of the game and started to play their own game.

And with just over an hour gone, it was time for Villas-Boas to ring in the changes as Frank Lampard and Nicholas Anelka were called into action in place of Raul Meireles and Daniel Sturridge, who was having a good game, meaning this represented somewhat a pre-planned move. At the same time, Michael Ballack was also substituted to a standing ovation from the whole ground.

Just as the former German Captain went off, Chelsea scored in the next minute courtesy of a wonderful strike from David Luiz. After going on a trademark marauding run from the back, much like what Ricardo Carvalho used to do, and laid it off to Ashley Cole, he continued his run and when Torres set it up for him; he curled an immaculate shot into the bottom corner.

With Luiz’s name resonating from the stands, the Brazilian made it a point to acknowledge the contribution of Torres in the goal by pointing towards him.

Even after going behind, Bayer Leverkusen hardly threatened the Chelsea goal, and it was the Blues who looked to get another goal to seal the game, as a Mata shot was tipped over the bar by Leno.

And it was Mata only who then got the late goal to shatter any hopes of Leverkusen getting a late equaliser. A sprint by Torres down the left against a tiring defence meant that he was through on goal, and with an opportunity to open his account in front of him, the striker unselfishly squared it to Juan Mata who made no mistake.

The two assists would have done a world of good to Fernando Torres’s confidence and also gave Villas-Boas something to give back to the press, as the striker made a meaningful contribution to the team.

It remains to be seen what composition does the manager chose for the big game against Manchester United, but at least he won’t be short of options with many players putting up their case with decent displays.

Andre Villas-Boas insisted that his team selection wasn’t a gamble and was delighted with the performances of his players, he said; “We have a very, very competitive squad and a tremendous calendar in front of us.

“I think this decision has to be taken bearing in mind the amount of minutes people collect internationally and the amount of talent that we have at our disposal.

“The team that we selected today was a team that gave us comfort to win the game and that’s what we did.”

He added: “Everybody has been amazing in this effort to absorb all of these new ideas. I’ve very happy with everyone.”

Chelsea: Cech (c); Bosingwa, Ivanovic, D Luiz (Alex 75), Cole; Meireles (Lampard 64), Mikel, Malouda; Sturridge (Anelka 64), Torres, Mata.

Scorers David Luiz 67, Mata 90+1.

One of the tenets of being a football fans is that, by and large, nothing will hold you back for being “there” for your team.

However, with our supporters being stretched not only by the financial demands of everyday life – you know, those luxuries like mortgage or rent, food, etc. – but the demands of the early season European and domestic cup games, it appears that we may just have reached what scientists refer to as the “Tipping Point”.

Those of you who read Twitter will be aware that over the last few days a campaign called “Boycott Genk” has been launched by one of the many supporters groups that cover the interests of Chelsea fans. I’m not here to pick a hole in the argument for a boycott per se, but simply to put the point of view as to why this one action is unlikely to succeed and to outline an alternative that really might impact on Chelsea FC.

The numbers game part one – the people.

Chelsea FC have over 350,000 “followers” on Twitter. Whilst “Boycott Genk” will only have come to the attention of followers of said supporters’ group over the course of the weekend, at the time of writing the “Boycott Genk” account has 106 followers. So hardly a rush, then. A companion account is said to be operating on Facebook (I haven’t yet seen this).

To have any kind of success, they need to accrue many more followers. And not just followers in terms of their accounts. It needs to have a impact on the number of people who were going to attend the game, but now won’t directly as a result of this campaign, i.e. if you were never going to any of the group games, your support for the movement could quite reasonably be described as counterfeit.See also those who aren’t going to CL group games but are more than happy to let friends use their account for tickets and accrue the loyalty points themselves (don’t kid yourself this doesn’t happen).

The numbers game part two – the cold hard cash.

The reason for the boycott is the £10 per ticket rise in Champions League prices from £30 last season to £40 this season (plus obligatory £1.50 breathing charge). However, it is worth remembering that in Jose Mourinho’s last game against Rosenborg in 2007, West Lower tickets were priced at £48. So in real terms, the cost of the Genk game is still less than we were paying four years ago. It is of course remembering that since that time we have been through the worst recession since WW2.

Whilst economic difficulties were cited for the drop in CL group game prices, one wonders whether the club dropped prices too far in the beginning – an economist might certainly argue that they could not have seen that people’s standard of living would still be moribund, if not actually in decline, by 2011. The argument seems to be that we shouldn’t be asked to pay £40 to watch Genk. Remind me again how much people are paying for games in the Premier League against the likes of Norwich and Swansea?

The Media Involvement.

The involvement of media figures in the campaign, at least one of whom in my humble opinion seems to have no great love for Chelsea, concerns me. The Boycott Genk group need to be sure that they are not entering into a pact with the devil known as the Fourth Estate, sections of which seem to have the sole aim of further blackening the name of Chelsea FC with the general public. With the demise of the anti-Glazer “Green & Gold” campaign, they also need something new to get their teeth into.

The Radical Solution.

Boycotting Genk won’t work. It’s a cop-out. If people want to protest about ticket prices at Chelsea, then boycotting a non-event CL group game isn’t the answer. It requires a genuine sacrifice on our part. What I am about to propose will shock many people, but it would have the effect of letting the club know that fans are serious about price increases. I’m certainly not saying this would be the answer for members, but season-ticket holders are in a position to make a significant stand.

It’s worth remembering that however much your season ticket costs, it’s still cheaper (a game and a half, roughly) than buying on a match-by-match basis. My proposal is that on the day of the 12.45 kick off against Arsenal on 29th October, fans do not take their seats until 41 minutes and 50 seconds of the game have elapsed (get it?). This would have the effect of leaving the ground half empty in a major televised game; it would also show that fans are capable of making a real, genuine sacrifice in order to get their point across.

One of the anti-Genk boycott arguments is that the players need our support. I would argue that they need our support to raise their game far more in a match against mediocre opposition than they do against the likes of Arsenal. If you can’t gee yourself up for that as a player, you shouldn’t be playing for our club. People don’t have to miss the first half, they can stand on the concourse inside the ground, or lurk in a nearby hostelry. But the whole point is to absent ourselves.

Conclusion.

I don’t know how people feel about this suggestion; and at the moment it is only a suggestion. And please don’t think that I’m having a go at anyone involved in the Boycott Genk campaign. Their intention is admirable, I just don’t think it will solve anything simply because it’s an easy option.

What will cause the suits at Chelsea more grief? A half empty ground against Genk in midweek, or a ground empty for 41 and a half minutes in a massive game against Arsenal?  Embrace a cause to assist our fellow fans by all means, but make sure it’s the right solution.

And before you ask – I’m not boycotting Genk.

A day which was suppose to define our season, a day on which we were suppose to forget all the shambles of the previous months, a day which in the end turned out to be another ignominious European night as we failed to overcome a one goal deficit from the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Javier Hernandez gave Manchester United the lead just before the end of the first half, and the joy of second half equaliser from Didier Drogba was soon turned into despair as Ji-Sung Park scored at the other end, a goal which ultimately proved to be the winner on the day.

Carlo Ancelotti shuffled his side around as Alex and Fernando Torres were drafted into the starting line-up, starting with a 4-3-3 formation with Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda forming part of the front three along with the Spaniard, as the pre-match debate regarding Drogba’s inclusion in the team created much confusion among everyone.

The game started well enough for the Blues, as they created chances despite their laboured build up.

Florent Malouda’s great run from the midfield created an early chance for Frank Lampard, but his side foot finish from the edge of the box didn’t manage to trouble Van der Sar.

Soon, Hernandez had the ball in the back of the net, but he was correctly ruled offside by the tinniest of the margins.

Just after that, Nicolas Anelka went close when Fernando Torres set him up, as his shot from outside of his foot just brushed past the post. He had a half chance later when the ball broke for him, but Van der Sar was quick off his line and stopped Anelka from taking advantage, a situation where in a first time shot would have been the best option.

After the initial spell of good possession, United came back in it as Chelsea couldn’t take advantage of their good spell.

Just as the half looked destined for goalless ending United struck through Hernandez. Some good work on the right hand side as between O’Shea and Giggs meant that the Welshman was free in space behind as Anelka went to sleep, and had all the space to deliver a dangerous ball which found its way to the far post for Hernandez, who was in the same position in which he had earlier judged offside, to poke it in.

The goal just before the break took the stuffing out of Chelsea and changes the whole mentality going into the break.

Carlo Ancelotti introduced Didier Drogba in place of Fernando Torres after the break, a decision which most probably was prompted by the goal conceded just before the break.

The decision didn’t have any immediate impact on Chelsea’a play, meaning that the task of overcoming this two goal deficit was increasing by the minute.

The task became almost impossible when Ramires was sent off with 20mins to go as he received a second yellow for a rather ugly, yet not dangerous, challenge from behind on Nani who exploited the situation to the fullest.

Didier Drogba, playing his 300^th game today, gave the travelling supporters, who had to endure the all the troubles on the M6 junction to get to the game, hope when he latched on to a Michael Essien’s pass before chesting it down to score.

As the Blues were hoping to build on this equaliser they were dealt a killer blow when Ji-Sung Park scored at the other end inside a minute. Once again, Ryan Giggs defied his age and created the goal, meaning he has been the creator of all the three United goals over the two legs.

This defeat means that our season is now over, at least in terms of silverware it is. It also raises fresh doubts over Carlo Ancelotti’s future at the club and about the whole squad in general as well with many players not having many years left on their contracts.

There will be rebuilding done over the course of the summer, which has been made abundantly clear over the past few months, but what direction the club will take is still unsure, nor is it known who will oversee this rebuilding.

Carlo Ancelotti after the game conceded that United were the better of the two, he said; “Our performance was not so bad but in the two games United deserved to win,”

“The game was in balance until the end. Also we played with 10 men.

“We came back into the game with 10 men but in the end it was not enough.

“I think we had good control of the game for the first 25 minutes of the first half (but) we were not able to score.

“We had some opportunities to score but the end of the first half when they scored made it more difficult for us.”

On Fernando Torres, he added; “We have to believe, to have the passion with him and wait (to see) if he’ll improve.”

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Alex (Ferreira 82), Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Essien, Lampard; Malouda, Anelka (Kalou 61), Torres (Drogba 46).

Goals: Drogba 77min

Sent-off:  Ramires 70min

As expected, no team came out of the game and say that they were the head and shoulders ahead of the other. Chelsea started in a slow, sluggish manner and were hit hard when Wayne Rooney gave United the lead in the first half, founding it hard to get that elusive equaliser for the rest of the game.

Carlo Ancelotti earlier said in his press conference that he has decided on his preferred strike force, but considering how Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres combined during the game, he could have done with a little more thinking on that front.

As David Luiz was ineligible for this tie, Branislav Ivanovic came in at centre-back after being rested for the Stoke game.

Chelsea had made a reluctant start to the game, but got an early chance when Torres latched on to a Evra’s pass, but he just slipped while taking his shot and his shot went straight into Edwin van der Sar’s hand.

Next, Didier Drogba warmed van der Sar’s palms with a thunderous shot from the edge of the box, but the Man Utd keeper was able to push it over the bar to keep Chelsea at bay.

Even though Chelsea were dominating the possession now and had created the better of the chances, it was United who took the lead. Michael Carrick played a measured ball to the ever-green Ryan Giggs on the left wing and his first touch took out Bosingwa completely, leaving him with all the time in the world to pick out the unmarked Rooney in the box, who slotted in a first-time finish into the right-hand side bottom corner.

Chelsea’s best spell of possession came right at the end of first half. We again dominated the possession, but looked far more threatening and had more purpose about our play.

Fernando Torres was able to beat Rafael on the wings, and nice exchange of passes between him and Zhirkov created an opening for him, but he wasn’t able to time his shot properly. Then it was a series of chances, first Torres’s deft touch came of the after some nice work by Drogba on the left, and then Lampard’s, making his 500^th appearance, resulting shot from the ricochet was cleared off the line by Patrice Evra.

Chelsea went into half-time a goal down and despite dominating the possession for large parts of the game never looked in control of the match.

Manchester United were forced to make an early tactical change in the second half when they brought on Nani in place of the injured Rafael, as Valencia switched to the right back position.

Ramires had good chance to equalise when Drogba found him with his cross from the right, but his header was off-target, when he should have been able to at least hit the target.

With a breakthrough looking unlikely, Carlo Ancelotti brought on Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda to replace Yuri Zhirkov and Didier Drogba. The amusement on the face of Drogba after coming off told its own story.

Chelsea now switched to 4-3-3 with Malouda and Anelka taking positions on either side of Torres to complete the front three.

Chelsea now went all-out in search of the goal and it was Fernando Torres who came closest to score when his header needed fingertips of a fully-stretched van der Sar to pave it away. Frank Lampard and Ivanovic also came close; however van der Sar never looked under any trouble.

Just as the game looked destined for an uneventful finish the biggest talking point came when Spanish referee, Alberto Undiano Mallenco, didn’t give the penalty for a foul on Ramires by Evra in the dying moments of the game. The decision was even harder to digest because the extra official standing behind the goal had a clear view on it, but still didn’t award any penalty.

The result meant that Chelsea are left with a tricky task of overturning a first-leg defeat at home, which has only been achieved once in the past, recently by Inter Milan against Bayern Munich.

However, Carlo Ancelotti has to make some tough decisions to make before the next game. Both the strikers looked alright in patches, with Drogba shading ahead, but still they never seem to combine well and didn’t look a proper combination as a result.

His substitutions bewildered some of the fans as its hard to explain why Florent Malouda came on instead of Salomon Kalou, who has been in much better form than the Frenchmen, and also the fact that taking off Didier Drogba when he is having a decent game and looked the most threatening player on the pitch when we are in need of a goal doesn’t make any sense.

Also, John Obi Mikel would be pushing for a start after looking very composed when coming on and considering how vulnerable our defence is when playing the 4-4-2 formation; it makes sense to give him a chance.

The tie is not over, but its advantage United for now.

Carlo Ancelotti was disappointed with the result, but was contend with the overall performance of his players, after the game he said; “The performance was not bad. We had some moments where we weren’t able to have good control of the game with possession, in the middle of the first half, but in general the performance was good.”

“We had chances but it was difficult when we went 1-0 down to come back into the game. They used the counter-attack very well, but we had some chances. We hit the post and should have had a penalty and [Edwin] Van der Sar made a fantastic save from [Fernando] Torres.”

“We are disappointed but fortunately we still have 90 minutes at Old Trafford. It will not be easy, but last season at the same moment we needed to win there and we won the title. I have to believe. We believe we can win there.”

On the penalty incident, he added; “One. It was clear. It was the foul on Ramires. I didn’t see the other one, but that one was a clear penalty.”

Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Bosingwa (Mikel 78), Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Zhirkov (Malouda 70); Torres, Drogba (Anelka 71).

Chels have been dining consistently at the top table of European football for nearly eight years now. Those hideously short, turn of the century, UEFA Cup campaigns are largely forgotten by all but the most masochistic of our fans.

And there are a couple of teams that we seem to keep bumping into on our travels. One of them is Porto. Therefore, when discussing European trips there with friends we tend to tag them “Porto 1”, “Porto 2” or “Porto 3”. Or indeed “my Porto” and “your Porto”.

One friend managed to get so uproariously drunk during the course of Porto 1 and Porto 2 that he missed the games on both occasions.

There was a hiatus of four years between my last foray into Europe with Chels, the unspeakably awful trip to Seville for the Real Betis game and the trip which is the subject of this piece. A lot had happened in those intervening years. I had moved to London permanently. I had had my heart broken by The Former Mr Baby.

It had been discovered that the arthritis uncovered following the cartilage damage sustained on the way home from Seville was so serious that it was going to impose certain lifestyle limitations, necessitating a move from the Harding Lower to the West Stand.

2009 had been a really bad year generally. Someone picked me up in a bear hug at the FA Cup Final and fractured one of my ribs. Friends and family kept getting ill, having accidents, or actually dying and poor Old Mother Baby thought she’d pulled a groin muscle which eventually turned out to be a fractured hip necessitating replacement, had a heart attack after the op and was in hospital for 6 weeks.

I had had no holiday and was determined to get away by the end of the year even if it was just for a couple of days. And when the group stage of the Champions League was drawn and we pulled out Porto, I made arrangements to go over for three nights courtesy of everyone’s favourite reliable travel provider (starts with an “Ex” and ends in “pedia”).

However, given that many friends had already sated themselves on Porto 1 and Porto 2, this was going to be a solo trip and in order to cut down on time off, I arranged to fly out on the Monday evening after work.

I arrived in Porto after ten pm on a misty night and found myself a cab into town. I spoke virtually no Portuguese. The cabbie spoke no English. So we ended up having a nice chat in French (and I was glad to be reunited with the word “brouillard” to describe the weather). He dropped me off at the hotel, I negotiated my way through check-in and was glad to get to bed.

The great thing about turning up a couple of nights before a European game is a chance to have a good look around the city you’re staying in.

Next morning after a decent breakfast I set off to explore via the City Sightseeing tour. Jolly cold on the top deck – it was November, after all – but it looked like a really nice place and the tour took us out as far as Boavista, an aptly named place, when the sun shines. It also took in the port lodges on the way back into town and I resolved to visit one the next day.

After a quiet afternoon at the cathedral, and a delicious dinner at one of the recommended restaurants, I had an early night. I don’t think my liver’s ever had it so good on a European trip.

The next morning I woke to see rain teeming from the skies, and the trip on the tour bus round to the port lodges wasn’t quite so pleasant. I decided to go to Croft’s which was a bit further up the hill, but had the merit of not charging for admission.

By the time I’d walked up there in the rain I felt distinctly chilly and was delighted to be welcomed with a glass of white port and a roaring fire. The tour was a fascinating experience – I was mesmerised by one huge barrel which stored the equivalent of 146,000 bottles. Freezing cold in there, though. Must have been the chalk walls.

On the way back down the hill I met a group of fellow fans looking lost in their search for Crofts, so at least I was able to point them in the right direction. And still the rain teemed down. There was only one thing for it. A pre-match visit to the shops in Santa Caterina. There are two things I really want to do when Porto 4 comes along. Firstly go to Sandemans (the lodge with the famous label of the mysterious caped man), and secondly take a suitcase so I can lug a load of bargains back with me.

I had an omelette with some very strange, albeit potato-y, chips in a café next to the hotel before setting out to the Estadio Dragao. It was one of the quickest trips ever to a game by metro, fast and efficient. So fast that I got there at 7pm, with at least an hour to kill before it was time to go into the ground for an 8.45pm kick off. So I thought I’d have a walk around. And my eyes met the most beautiful sight.

Now, I’ve always been quite proud of the Fulham Broadway shopping complex. Some grounds offer you Victorian mansions and heavily residential areas. Some grounds offer you areas where if you see a cat with a tail, it’s a tourist. Some grounds offer you… Tottenham High Road. However, Estadio Dragao offers you the entirely appropriately named Dolce Vita Shopping Centre.

All right, it might not necessarily appeal to the entire fanbase, but if you’ve got an hour to kill before kick-off, bliss. Shops, restaurants, coffee bars – and by the way, even though everyone claims that Italians make the best coffee, I would dispute this. Portuguese coffee is the best. So I had a lovely meander until it was time to go to the game.

Once there, I saw many of the usual suspects from European games, and although we hadn’t sold all our tickets, we managed to get a few decent songs going. And then, early in the second half, something happened which was the stuff of legends being born…

I was standing at the front near the corner flag (hoping that a camera might spot me so Old Mother Baby could see me), and a faint cloud of what the broadcaster and Chelsea fan, Andy Jacobs, describes as “jazz fags” drifted through the still night air – happily it had stopped raining by this time. And I could hear a refrain of a song that I couldn’t quite identify. And although it was being sung gently, it grew louder and louder.

“Don’t worry. About a thing. Cos every little thing’s. Gonna be alright…”

And it got taken up by the whole Chelsea contingent. Someone had obviously added bits to it, between the lines people started singing “doo doo doo/doo doo doo” and clapping to it. The Porto stewards were laughing their heads off and I saw a riot policeman trying not to smile. And we must have kept it up for about 15 minutes.

Although Sulky Nic scored after 69 minutes, the match was a bit of a non-event with both sides having qualified for the next round, although the victory ensured we’d top the group, for all the good that ever does. Deco seemed intent on not upsetting the home crowd and barely got out of neutral.

A reasonable detention period of about 20 minutes followed the game, and after we were allowed to leave, choruses of “Don’t Worry” continued not only to the metro station, but on the train as well.

I got invited to a pub, but I had to be up at 6am for a 9am flight, so I went back to the hotel and was so tired I left the packing (i.e. throwing everything into the case) till the next morning and sank into a deep sleep, waking with a start when the alarm went off.

Shame that it was still so dark that I couldn’t see out the window on the way to the airport by metro. I checked in (put my case in the hold this time to accommodate a bottle of pink port I’d bought at Croft) and was inevitably disappointed by the duty free shop. Got a decent seat on the plane and was looking out the window when a ragged cheer broke out – Pat Nevin was boarding the flight, having been in Porto commentating on the game for Five Live.

I was lucky enough to have a chat with him in baggage reclaim back at Gatwick – friendly, obliging chap that he is. He said on previous Porto trips he’d gone running in the hills above the port lodges but the weather was way too bad to do it this time!

I think European trips are quite heavily influenced by the numbers in which you travel. I’d been on my own for most of the time but I saw a great deal more of the city I was visiting than I’d managed on several other trips.

Also I was entirely sober, not having spent time in licensed premises.

But like several others, I look forward to Porto 4 immensely.

Prior to our second leg against Copenhagen in the Champions League there were a lot of annoyed people.

After the 0-2 victory in Denmark, people were disenchanted with the pricing policy set out by the club for the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Personally I agree with their disenchantment, especially in these times of austerity where money is tight enough anyway.

I’m certain that in the long run, the club could have re-evaluated their policy of this Champions League knockout match being Category A, especially as Copenhagen theoretically needed three away goals to go through.

On the Official Chelsea Website it states that “All Champions League knock out matches are priced at Category A prices.” The attendance at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening was 36,454. Unfortunately for the 36,454 the game ended 0-0.

The lowest priced ticket for the evening was £52.00 in the Matthew Harding Lower, with the highest priced ticket being £70.00 in the West Upper. Does the value of money outweigh the score in this instance? I don’t think so.

I agree that the club would not have known prior to the game that the score would have ended 0-0, but what they did know was that we had a two goal advantage and a gap of three weeks before the next leg.

In my opinion, it would be nice to get some kind of statement from the club and an understanding from them knowing if there would be any flexibility for the future in these circumstances. It would also be nice to know what our fans think and if they feel that the prices were fair and justifiable after the 0-0 draw.

For a lot of fans the price of the ticket isn’t just what they spend on the night, travel has to be accounted for along with food, drink and if you go as a family, or take a child then you can spend in excess of £150.00 depending upon where you sit. Sometimes in these situations parity is fair, plus the foresight to evaluate a situation when it arises.

The club may say, all you have to do is to look at the attendance on Wednesday evening, but if there were any new fans coming to Stamford Bridge having to pay those prices to see a 0-0 draw, then I wonder how many would return to pay those prices, under the circumstances?

Three or four years ago when I was writing for another Chelsea website, I was given the honour of being in charge of ticketing issues and enjoyed every minute. I was able to help people with their season ticket issues and any issues that they had, whilst I also liaised with the club for our fans.

So, personally I’d like to hear your views regarding the ticketing issues. Do you feel that the price for Copenhagen was fair, did you go to the game, or due to the prices, did you stay at home, or go to the pub to watch the game? We always want to hear our fans views.

We all love Chelsea, but we also have a point of view. As fans, expressing our views is as important as ever and the big issues are always something we always like to take seriously.

Chelsea progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with an aggregate 2-0 victory over FC København, after the second leg finished in a dour 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The match started brightly enough with Chelsea dominating the possession and creating all the early chances, but Copenhagen were gritty and kept plugging away, denying Chelsea, who were themselves guilty of wasting chances, the chance to put the match to bed.

Carlo Ancelotti continued to rotate his side around as Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic returned to the starting line-up, along with the returning Obi Mikel, who has been missing in action since the FA Cup game against Everton due to a knee-injury.

FC København played the same system that they employed in Parken Stadium, playing two banks of four, with Gronkjaer and N’doye up top in their classic system where Gronkjaer plays as a false number nine and N’doye roaming behind him.

Copenhagen played a very high defensive line which led to a lot of offsides for the Blues, but also gave us the opportunity to get in behind their defence, which we managed to do quite often as well.

Chelsea’s full backs were instrumental in all the build-up early on as we tried to get the first goal of the night. The build-up on the left hand side of the park was particularly impressive with Zhirkov and Cole combining very well.

Yuri Zhirkov in particular was in the thick of things early on and was causing the most trouble to the FC København defence with his perfectly-timed passes. Nicolas Anelka could have put Chelsea ahead with one of these passes, but his first-time shot was saved by Wiland’s fingertips.

Despite dominating the possession, Chelsea were fortunate not to be behind when N’doye’s free kick came off the post, with Petr Cech well-beaten.

The second half started much like the first, with Chelsea playing the possession game and Copenhagen happy to defend, with their front- line hardly getting a look-in in the game. Obi Mikel hit the bar early on in the half from an Ivanovic head on from a corner, the closest we would go to getting the goal.

On a day when it felt like the result was of secondary importance to them, København fans continued to be in good voice throughout the game. On the contrary, Chelsea fans were in less than their usual numbers, owing to the club’s pricing policy which kept some of the fans away.

Nicolas Anelka, whose indecisiveness in front of the goal from kept him from continuing his scoring record in this season’s Champions League, had a decent game and was clearly not happy when his number came up in the second half as Carlo Ancelotti introduced his star striker, Fernando Torres, to get the goal required to seal the tie.

Chelsea continued to pour forward and creating chances, but lacked the finesse required to convert those chances.

Florent Malouda and Michael Essien came on late at the end in place of the impressive departing duo of Yuri Zhirkov and Obi Mikel.

Yuri Zhirkov was creative going forward, combining well with Cole, but also made his share of trackbacks as well. While Obi Mikel provided the protection for the back four that we have been missing in his absence.

Next up for Carlo Ancelotti’s men is Manchester City in the league, who will provide a much more sterner test than København and will require improved performance from us to get the job done and overtake them into third place.

Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied with his team’s progression to the next stage, he said; “I think that we played a good game, we were focused and avoided risk and maintained a good control of the game.”

“We had a lot of opportunities to score, we were unlucky I think. We did not need to score tonight.”

“It is important to create the situation and we created a lot of opportunities this evening. I am happy because apart from that it was good, the players showed a good attitude on the pitch.”

“We wanted to move on from the last 16 and now we are in the quarter-final. I want to remind you that at this same time last year we were crying and now we are to be happy.”

“I see that the team is fresh and in good condition and I want to rotate the players because all the players deserve to play and this is a good reason to do this.”

Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Mikel (Essien 83), Lampard, Zhirkov (Malouda 75); Anelka (Torres 67), Drogba.

So that was easier than many of us expected! What with Copenhagen’s impressive home form this season, and ours erratic, the 2-0 win was more than many of us could have hoped for.

Chelsea lined up with Torres and Anelka up front, in what turned out to be more a 4-4-1-1 formation than 4-4-2, with the Frenchman playing just behind the Spaniard.

Ramires took the right midfield position, with Malouda on the left, and Lampard partnering Essien in the middle of the park. With Luiz ineligible, Ivanovic partnered Terry in the centre of defence, Cole left, and Boswingwa right.

Chelsea old boy Jesper Gronkjaer lined up for the opposition in what many of us thought would be a tougher encounter than it turned out to be.

The 4-4-2 allowed us something we’ve missed in previous games with both Malouda and Ramires seeing a lot of the ball in wider areas.

Copenhagen also lined up in a 4-4-2 formation which made life easier as the players lined up man for man, and left a lot of space behind their defence was left open to exploit, unsuccessful at first with a raft of offside decisions.

Torres and Anelka both looked sharp and interchanged well throughout the match, yet it was the Frenchman who made the headlines by way of a brace, with both lovely goals.

The first came in the 17th minute by way of the unfortunate Gronkjaer, who played a pass blind, which Anelka latched onto and ran at the Copenhagen defence, before smashing the ball past Wiland from the edge of the area. The strike was Anelka’s sixth goal in Europe this season.

Chelsea enjoyed numerous chances to double their lead, with Anelka and Torres both lively, and the movement between the strikers and mid-fielders a marked improvement on recent weeks. However we went in at half time with no change at 1-0.

Copenhagen started the second half a lot better than they’d played the first, and caused Chelsea problems early on, testing Cech on a couple of occasions. However it wasn’t long before Chelsea doubled their lead.

Essien drove forwards and picked out Lampard, who with two touches controlled, turned and played a delightful reverse ball into the patch for Anelka to shoot low and hard into the net after 54 minutes.

Chelsea grew as the match drew on with Copenhagen visibly tiring, we could and should have had more goals. Torres had a chance cleared half a yard of the line and Anelka was sharp as he hunted his hat trick, however it wasn’t to be.

Didier Drogba made an appearance for the last twenty minutes, with Zhirkov getting five and Kalou replacing Torres in injury time.

All in all a better performance and the home leg should be a comfortable affair. Ancelotti was please after the match, stating; “The key to this game was the good movement up front from Nicolas Anelka and Fernando Torres.”

“It was a good performance because we played with intelligence. We played quick up front to avoid the pressing and this why I say we played with intelligence. We didn’t give Copenhagen the opportunity to press.”

Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Malouda (Zhirkov 84), Anelka (Drogba 73), Torres (Kalou 90+1).
Goals: Anelka (17, 54)

During the Autumn of 2004, something odd happened to my legs. I developed a rash resembling pin-pricks which got bigger and redder.

It was after the CL game against PSG, when I went into Soho with a group of friends and danced until we were thrown out of O’Neills at 3am, the rash turned black.

So it was that I found myself admitted to hospital for some tests, the upshot of which was the medics suspected a particularly unpleasant condition called vasculitis, inflammation of the blood vessel, which attacks the nervous system and at worst leads to heart failure.

Only one option. A biopsy for diagnosis, but prior to that complete bedrest to reduce the rash. For six weeks from 1st December. No Chelsea. Nothing. I cried that frosty morning in the cab on the way home from the hospital.

And then the Champions League draw was made. Barcelona. In February. I’d be back on my feet by then. So The Former Mr Baby (TFMB) booked flights for us and his Heathen Child (the reason for that name will become apparent later) and I arranged a hotel.

The end of Feb ‘04 was going to be a big time for CFC. In the space of a few days we’d be playing one of the giants of world football followed by a trip to Cardiff a few days later to plays the Mickeys in the League Cup final.

The single biggest difference was that as season ticket holders, the League Cup final tickets were easy to come by. The Barcelona match was massively oversubscribed and we resigned ourselves to the fact that we’d be spending our time looking for tickets whilst in Spain.

However, the weather nearly threw a spanner in the works at the outset. There was heavy snow the night before our departure, and caused us to fret that the flight would be delayed. But with only a small delay at my end, we met at Victoria and took the train to Gatwick.

Whilst in the departure lounge we saw a familiar looking face and realised it was Sky’s resident Chelsea fan, Rob Wotton, who was travelling economy like a proper supporter. However, on getting on the plane, walking through the business section, the HC said “why can’t we sit here”, to which I replied “because we haven’t got the money”.

The solitary passenger in business class started laughing his head off. And it was only when we’d passed him I realised that it was none other than the infamous Alan Green of Radio 5.

We arrived in Barcelona about 8pm and took a taxi to the hotel we were staying in on Las Ramblas. After dumping our luggage we went out and ate pizza (rather sadly it always seems to be Italian food) and met a few faces, including the members of John Terry’s Blue & White Army, prior to meeting up with our other friends who were out there and ended up visiting The Black Horse pub in the Born area. It wasn’t a late night though, as the growing HC required sleep and TFMB is a responsible parent.

There had been a rumour in the Black Horse that tickets were going to be available from the Barca ticket office the next day, and after a hearty breakfast, we decided to have a walk on the Ramblas prior to setting off for the ground. We didn’t visit Sagrada Familia (which we could see from the balcony of our rooms) but went into the old Cathedral. This elicited the remark from the Heathen Child “Is this where Jesus is buried?”…

The Nou Camp is an easy journey by Metro, and we arrived at the ticket office about 11am only to find a huge queue ahead of us. After a wait of 3 freezing cold hours (it wasn’t very warm out there), we got to the front and I applied for the tickets in my pidgin Spanish, to which we received the response “English. Sorry. No tickets”.

We tried everything, pleading the Heathen Child (the sympathy card) to the fact we had come in peace and really wouldn’t be any trouble. We were politely but firmly ushered away by a policeman, and we were devastated.

We repaired to a bar on the corner to plan our next move. We decided there was nothing for it but to try our luck from a tout at the ground that night, and headed back towards the Nou Camp to visit the Barca shop. TFMB and HC have a lovely photo of them standing next to the Barca coach which was in the car park outside the shop. Then we headed back towards the Black Horse for a pre-match drink, stopping off at Macdonalds to feed the HC.

By the time we returned to the Nou Camp, darkness had fallen and the area, so nondescript by day, had come alive with crowds and noise. It was 6pm by this time, and we hung about hopefully on a corner just before the turn for the ground. I decided I was going to let TFMB handle this and say and do nothing, apart from hopefully get my hands on a ticket.

We had been hanging around for about 10 minutes, and whilst I was talking to the HC, I had failed to notice TFMB engaging a young man in conversation. Something had obviously come up. TFMB made a motion to us to move further round the corner, and he was followed by the young man. This guy wasn’t strictly a tout. He was a genuine Barca fan whose three mates had decided that they weren’t going to go to the game but were willing to sell their tickets for a mark up.

The selling price was going to be €150 each. Or roughly £125.00. This was less than I had really bargained for, following the Monaco experience (see Travels with the Chels – Monaco). However TFMB wanted assurances that the tickets were kosher, so he looked at one and phoned Gianronaldo, who had had a ticket off the club, to compare various markings. And the tickets were genuine.

So, then, off to the bar next door for a celebratory drink. However, whilst on the veranda there was an almighty roar and the sound of glass being hurled from the central reservation. The Barca Ultras had arrived and were using us for target practice. “Out, out!” barked TFMB, bodily ejecting us from the bar and sweeping us around the corner to where we had bought the tickets.

At this point we decided there was no point in hanging around anymore, and made our way into the ground. And did we get a surprise. Because, instead of some rubbish seats that we were being charged an arm and a leg for, we found ourselves in the middle tier of the Nou Camp, just over the corner flag. We knew people who’d bought from ticket agencies at £300 a pop.

I’ll never ever forget the feeling of being in one of the great cathedrals of world football and that my team were soon going to be running out in front of a crowd of 90,000. Sadly, all our tickets weren’t together, and quite rightly TFMB and the HC had the two seats together, leaving me a few rows in front, surrounded by Barca fans and determined to keep my head down.

From my seat, I could see the official Chelsea support in the top tier. It looked a very long way up. The teams were roared on to the pitch and the Barca anthem played before the Zadok the Priest rip-off.

We started off well, and sitting amongst the home fans I was careful not to show too much enthusiasm, although I could hear some shouts from English voices dotted around the stand. I think when Damien Duff’s cross deflected into the Barca net off the future Chels cult hero Juliano Beletti, it was one of the hardest moments I’ve ever had as a fan.

Common sense told me not to make a move, or a sound, and when the whistle went for half-time it was a relief to meet up with TFMB and HC to express our joy. One up against Barca at half-time in the Nou Camp! Who would have believed it possible. And we were there to see it.

But the major drama of the night was to come. When Didier Drogba was sent off after 55 minutes by sunbed fan Anders Frisk, the decibel level rocketed. Believe me, I now know the meaning of the phrase “baying crowd”. I was right in the middle of one. And sadly, the rest of that night is history. Maxi Lopez equalised soon after and Eto’o put Barca ahead on 73 minutes, leaving us with little to show for a valiant performance other than a precious away goal.

We didn’t hang around as the Barca anthem rang out again and the jubilant Catalans stayed on to celebrate their team’s victory. One good thing about sitting in the home seats is the fact you get to avoid the obligatory UEFA lock-in for the away fans, and we were back in the Black Horse in time to see the end of the Sky coverage which was reporting on a comments that had been made by the Special One that cast less than a favourable light on Mr Frisky.

It was a long night in the pub, a number of friends, acquaintance and even Chelsea faces (Clive Batty, Kerry Dixon, Neil Barnett) made their way there after the game and by 2am the HC was moaning that he wanted to go to bed, so we took him off to Las Ramblas in a cab.

The next morning was dull and grey and after breakfast we popped over to a nearby hotel to see how the evening had panned out for a couple of friends, and at midday returned to the airport, where it was even greyer. Heavy fog was reported over Europe and this resulted in Iberia’s flights being delayed (I’m reliably informed that delays on Iberia are not uncommon).

Ours was only 90 minutes late, but friends on subsequent flights experienced delays of up to 3 hours. It’s really the last thing you want at the end of a European trip. Added to which the airline had failed to stock up with food adequately for the flight due to the delay, and by this time the HC was starting to get hungry as we hadn’t dared move from the departure lounge.

TFMB is the world’s sweetest, kindest man, when he’s not at the football or breaking my heart, but he tore a strip off the unfortunate stewardess. Luckily I’d bought a bag of crisps at the game the previous night as they came in a bag that was basically the Barca badge. I’d meant to keep them as a souvenir, but surrendered them to the nipper to alleviate his hunger.

That was my last European away that season. The next would also be in Spain, at Real Betis later in the year, but was such a disastrous trip (a mugging; two deaths in the differing families of those travelling; one of the worst rows it has ever been my misfortune to be involved in; a truly bizarre encounter with some very VIPs; and, finally, my tearing a cartilage on the way home) that even at this distance I can’t write about it. To protect everyone involved.

And if you’re wondering about that mysterious rash, in the end it turned out to be eczema. All gone now.

Next week I’ll be back on my Travels with The Chels, so if you are in Copenhagen, and you can guess what I look like, say hello!