Chelsea FC '08-'09 Season Review Part One: It Started Off So Well...

Another turbulent season at Stamford Bridge is behind us, and what a season it was. From the giddy heights of the beginning, to the crushing defeat at the hands of Barcelona, the '08-'09 season was another chapter in the high drama that has coloured the recent history of Chelsea FC.

It began with hope and promise at Stamford Bridge with a 4-0 annihilation of Portsmouth, followed by a solid away performance against Wigan, and despite the subsequent disappointing home draw to London rivals Tottenham, the season was looking bright for Chelsea as they sat atop the league.

They faced Man United at Stamford Bridge on Sept. 21, off the back of a 3-1 away win at Man City, and having had the red card that was shown to John Terry rescinded. This was the first real test of Scolari's new attacking Chelsea, and at first it seemed he'd paid the price for his forward-thinking style of management.

United took the lead on 18 minutes and seemed content to sit back and let Chelsea bring the game to them, displaying some fine counter-attacking skill. Chelsea recovered at half time and began pressing United harder, until eventually Kalou made the breakthrough in the 80th minute. It was a game filled with chances but ultimately both teams cancelled each other out. The result meant that United returned to the top of the league.

Their return has short lived however, as Chelsea went on to take maximum points from their next two games, both 2-0 victories over Stoke and Aston Villa, followed by a 5-0 mauling of Middlesboro at the Riverside.

In the opening game of Chelsea's League Cup campaign they were drawn against Portsmouth, and proceeded to hand out another 4-0 drubbing courtesy of a Lampard double and a goal apiece from Malouda and Kalou.

The Champions’ League group stage started much the same, with Bordeaux this time on the receiving end of a four goal thrashing at the hands of the Blues. Minnows CFR Cluj proved a tougher nut to crack, with Chelsea failing to break the deadlock in Romania, followed by a hard fought 1-0 win at home to Roma.

By mid-October Chelsea were unbeaten in the league and were continuing to build on their record of 86 unbeaten home league games. That all changed with the visit of Liverpool on Oct. 26.

The Reds went in front after 10 minutes after Alonso's shot was deflected past Cech and try as they might, Chelsea could not find a way back into the game. For the first time in well over four years, the Blues had been beaten in front of their home fans. Despite subsequent wins of 3-0 away at Hull and 5-0 at home to Sunderland, Chelsea's resolve had been shaken badly and the cracks were beginning to show.

Scolari was increasingly criticised for his apparent lack of a 'Plan B’ and Chelsea were comprehensively beaten 3-1 by Roma in the away leg of the Champions’ League group stage. They were then held to a scrappy 1-1 draw in Bordeaux before struggling to a 2-1 win over CFR Cluj, and finished second in the group behind Roma, a result which left them in danger of drawing a top-seeded team in the first knock-out round.

November also saw an early exit from the Carling Cup with a defeat on penalties to Championship side Burnley, and while Chelsea were still top of the Premier League, their form was deteriorating fast.

A 0-0 draw with Newcastle and a 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion hardly stopped the rot, and the 2-1 home defeat by Arsenal added weight to the speculation that Scolari had to find a new winning way or it would be the highway for him. More disappointment was to follow with draws becoming a fixture on the results table, 1-1 with West Ham followed by 0-0 at Everton and a 2-2 thriller at Fulham, interspersed with 2-0 wins over Bolton and West Bromwich Albion, the league's bottom side.

Performances, which had at the start of the season been incandescent, lost their lustre and coupled with the problem of both short and long term injuries to key players, Chelsea were left to watch as Man United edged further away at the top of the league. The New Year, with all the transfer window possibilities it could bring, could not come soon enough at Stamford Bridge