There were no complaints from Redknapp about that, a wild challenge by Lomas on Harte, but he must be wondering why his team’s discipline simply deserted them.More disturbingly for the club, the first of the day’s arrests was the result of a spectator running on to the pitch to confront the referee’s assistant following Wright’s sending-off. The situation was hardly helped by Wright’s own behaviour, having to be forcibly restrained by team-mates from taking a leaf out of Di Canio’s book.Wright investigation, page 7Goals: Hasselbaink (1) 0-1; Smith (45) 0-2; Di Canio (48) 1-2; Harte (pen, 62) 1-3; Bowyer (78) 1-4; Haaland (79) 1-5.West Ham United (4-4-2): Hislop; Lomas, Foe, Ruddock, Minto; Sinclair (Cole, 69), Lampard, Berkovic (Forrest, 61), Moncur; Wright, Di Canio (Coyne, 84). Substitutes not used: Keller, Lazaridis.Leeds United (4-4-2): Martyn; Haaland, Woodgate, Radebe, Harte; Bowyer, Batty, McPhail, Kewell; Hasselbaink (Wijnhard, 82), Smith (Ribeiro, 87). Substitutes not used: Robinson (gk), Wetherall Halle.Referee: R Harris (Oxford).Bookings: West Ham: Moncur, Wright, Foe, Ruddock, Di Canio, Minto Sending- offs: Wright, Hislop, Lomas. Leeds: Smith, Batty, Wijnhard.Man of the match: Bowyer.Attendance: 25,997.. Chelsea 3 Everton 1

“I’M STILL not happy,” complained the Chelsea fan on the Underground, having just watched his side run rings around Everton “Don’t get me wrong; it’s all good, fancy stuff It’s just that we need to be more ruthless. We never take anyone to Sketchley’s, y’know?”
Success may have spoiled some of Chelsea’s supporters but if there was a small blot on an otherwise exceptional performance from the home side, it was a reluctance to take their chances.

This was a mis-match in which Chelsea might have registered double figures, but in the end were grateful for Gianfranco Zola’s superb late free-kick which secured the points.”It was a very pleasing performance, quite outstanding,” Gianluca Vialli, the Chelsea player-manager, said. Despite the mathematical permutations, the title, he agreed, was now off limits. “We will get there next season,” he promised, reassuringly.Zola and Gustavo Poyet were Everton’s principal tormentors, with the Uruguayan quick to push forward at any opportunity. Yet Chelsea’s approach play was at times as frustrating as it was breathtaking.To describe Everton as poor in the first half would have been an injustice as they barely touched the ball, let alone had the opportunity to give it away. Often it seemed like their white-shirted players had vanished into the crowd soaking up the afternoon sun and Chelsea accepted the opportunity to create some dazzle of their own.The visitors had begun with three centre-halves at the heart of a five- man defence. That Zola, at 5ft 6in the joint-smallest player (along with Dennis Wise) on the field, was able to rise unmarked to head home Chelsea’s opening goal pretty much summed up the effectiveness of that strategy. It was a beautifully worked move, Poyet’s one-two with Graeme Le Saux releasing the Englishman, whose cross dissected Craig Short and David Unsworth as Zola stole in.Everton reverted to 4-4-2 but could find no antidote to the dominance of Wise and Jody Morris in midfield.

That it took Chelsea an hour to score their second goal was the biggest surprise. Franck Leboeuf’s drive was parried by Thomas Myhre but the rebound fell straight to Zola, whose centre was met by Dan Petrescu.It was left to Francis Jeffers, Everton’s one bright note on an otherwise grim afternoon, to briefly haul his side back into the match with a powerful low shot which caught everyone off guard, not least Ed De Goey in the Chelsea goal.Danny Cadamarteri came on to bolster the Everton attack and, with the score at 2-1, the home side had to endure a nervous 10 minutes before Zola’s free-kick settled matters.Goals: Zola (25) 1-0; Petrescu (60) 2-0; Jeffers (69) 2-1; Zola (80) 3-1.Chelsea (4-4-2): De Goey; Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf (Lambourde, 71), Le Saux; Petrescu (Goldbaek, 61), Wise, Morris (Babayaro, 82), Poyet; Zola, Forssell. Substitutes not used: Flo, Hitchcock (gk).Everton (5-3-2): Myhre; Dunne (Degn, h-t), Weir, Short, Unsworth, Ball; Hutchison, Ward (Cadamarteri, 71) Barmby; Campbell, Jeffers. Substitutes not used: Bakayoko, Phelan, Gerrard (gk).Referee: D Gallagher (Banbury).Bookings: Everton: Ward, Short, Hutchison,Cadamarteri.Man of the match: Zola.Attendance: 34,909.. Charlton Athletic 0 Blackburn Rovers 0

IT WAS May Day on the calendar and Mayday on the pitch at The Valley on Saturday as Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers moved ever closer to going down with all hands.
A point apiece left both in the relegation zone as Southampton, by virtue of their home victory over Leicester and the easier looking run-in, became favourites to escape relegation to the Nationwide League.While Blackburn would not be mourned by many neutral supporters – Jack Walker’s financial muscle has provoked too much envy for that – Charlton’s departure would be regretted by most. However, according to their thoughtful manager, Alan Curbishley, this sentiment would not be shared by the chairmen of other Premiership clubs.Why? Do Charlton have a poky boardroom? Do they serve visiting directors fish-paste sandwiches with curled-up crusts? Does the drinks cabinet contain only Kestrel Lager and cheap scotch? None of the above.

Their continued presence in the Premiership is regarded as undesirable, contends Curbishley, because it jeopardises the closed-shop status quo.”If it wasn’t planned to be elitist I think the Premiership has gone that way,” said Curbishley after a match which must have been as much of an ordeal to play in as to watch. “Most of the established clubs hope at least two, if not three, of the newly promoted clubs go down to keep it in-house.”It would be a major shock if an Everton went down, no one like that has gone down since Manchester City.”Take next season Say Sunderland, Bradford and Ipswich go up. Most chairman would hope two or three of them go back down.”The logic is obvious. If the promoted clubs go straight back the others can maintain their place and use the massive financial gap between the divisions to consolidate it even further.Sunderland, Curbishley added, might upset this thinking because their resources give them a chance to buy their way in, just as Middlesbrough have this season.

Their ability to survive means at least one established Premiership side (two if Charlton can stage an unlikely revival) will lose their place this season This is par for the course. Of the last 10 clubs to be relegated, including Forest this season, six were newly promoted sides while only two had been in the Premiership more than two seasons (Manchester City and QPR in 1996).This is bad for the game. Movement between the divisions (by different clubs, not the same ones yo-yoing each year) is one of the elements which sustains interest. Yet without a change in the way television money is allocated the situation will get worse.”Next year the Premiership clubs get pounds 8m each and the Nationwide First Division get pounds 800,000,” said Curbishley.”If we go down we would also get pounds 1.7m for the first two years but that is still a loss of around 70 per cent of our income which not healthy If you don’t bounce back the gap gets even bigger. That’s what clubs like QPR and Norwich have found.”I think we could come straight back.