ROMAN'S MILLIONS DO IT AGAIN

CHEER WE GO - Guus Hiddink celebrates Chelsea's FA Cup Final victory with his players
CHEER WE GO - Guus Hiddink celebrates Chelsea's FA Cup Final victory with his players

Chelsea's new money puts Bill Kenwright in the shade

HAPPY CLAPPY - Roman Abramovich salutes his Chelsea team from the safety of a billionaire's box
HAPPY CLAPPY - Roman Abramovich salutes his Chelsea team from the safety of a billionaire's box
HAVE NOTS - Everton chairman Bill Kenwright (left) commiserates with manager David Moyes
HAVE NOTS - Everton chairman Bill Kenwright (left) commiserates with manager David Moyes

IN JEANS and open-necked shirt, one owner smiled as though he had just won a couple of shillings on a scratchcard. In blazer and club tie, the other mixed tears of pride with tears of desolation.

One sat in his £1million box, occasionally dipping behind the tinted glass, preferring to reserve his personal congratulations for a later time.

Click here for all the FA Cup Final pictures from Chelsea 2, Everton 1

Click here for pictures of Guus Hiddink's and Roman Abramovich's amazing dressing room party

The other proudly took his place in the Royal Box, determined to put a consoling arm around each and every defeated, dejected player.

Roman Abramovich and Bill Kenwright. At Wembley Stadium - that £750m symbol of modern football - new money overcame old school. Haves 2, Have nots 1.

The limits of honest endeavour were exposed by the sort of class only billionaire pockets can afford. Another brutal example of how the dollar can defeat the dedicated.

David Moyes had grafted seven years for this moment in the sun . . . along comes Guus Hiddink on a four-month jolly, with abundant talent at his disposal and cavorts with this famous trophy.

Make no mistake, this was just one more crushing blow landed by the Big Four.

Without the resources to cover for the absence of key players such as Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta and Yakubu, Everton were never fighting at the same weight. And even an average big 'un beats a good little 'un.

But as Abramovich and Kenwright went their separate ways last night, each should ponder the future of their clubs.

Assuming he takes over, Carlo Ancelotti is on a hiding to nothing. It's like being the next act on stage after Susan Boyle.

Frank Lampard: FA Cup win is so special

And while this team eventually eased past a dogged but slightly disappointing Everton, there were still signs in the melting heat that this is a group of players descending from the peak rather than hungrily groping for it.

Reactions from John Terry and Alex when Louis Saha made a shooting shape only seconds after the national anthem were sluggish.

GOLDEN BOYS - Chelse skipper John Terry, manager Guus Hiddink and goalscorer Frank Lampard celebrate victory
GOLDEN BOYS - Chelse skipper John Terry, manager Guus Hiddink and goalscorer Frank Lampard celebrate victory

And while Didier Drogba's run was Swiss-timing-precise and his header sledgehammer-emphatic, there were still signs that the Ivorian will provoke more questions than answers should Abramovich reward him with a new deal this summer.

One injury-feigning episode - when the prospect of an Ashley Cole pass became an instant miracle cure for a serious knee injury - even had Hiddink remonstrating angrily with him.

It was an example of the temperament Ancelotti will have to deal with.

HAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT - Michael Essien hugs Guus Hiddink
HAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT - Michael Essien hugs Guus Hiddink

Petr Cech's afternoon was mainly at leisure in the sunshine. But if Ancelotti was watching, then he can hardly have been reassured . . . or indeed have recognised Cech as the best goalkeeper in the world.

This isn't gratuitously picking holes in a side that has flourished under Hiddink - one that should have given itself a chance of a Champions League and FA Cup final double.

And one that never seriously looked under threat once Drogba had done crushing justice to Florent Malouda's cross and erased the shock of Saha's history-book entry.

But with the average age of the squad heading north and Hiddink heading east, Abramovich has to consider what route he is going to take. The knee-jerk reaction style of ownership - one eschewed so strongly by Kenwright - has created the bizarre situation in which Hiddink looks like he's having the time of his long, managerial life . . . but is already out of the exit door.

What is clear from those great celebrations yesterday evening was that Hiddink has quickly found a deep well of affection from players and supporters alike.

That sense of togetherness, of quickly-won loyalty, will only make Ancelotti's job more unforgiving.

Yes, he will be paid handsomely for his troubles. And even if he goes the familiar way of Big Phil Scolari, he will amble back to Italy with around 10million quid in his Armani pocket.

FRANKS MATE - Guus Hiddink (right) gives Frank Lampard a hug
FRANKS MATE - Guus Hiddink (right) gives Frank Lampard a hug

That seems to be the going rate for sacked Stamford Bridge managers these days.

But Ancelotti will want to succeed. And to succeed, Abramovich - credit crunch or not - will have to back his new manager with the sort of funding that characterised the early stages of his tenure. A Scolari-Robinho scenario cannot be repeated.

And in the long-term, Abramovich might have learnt something from casting one of those bemused glances towards Kenwright, as he bounced with 30,000 Everton fans to the Z-Cars theme tune.

Genuine affection for the club, genuine love even, comes from identifying with the ethos of that club. Abarmovich could do well to set out a blueprint for the future rather than wing it on a whim.

Fans love to see a club going in a certain direction. For Everton, that direction has been forward for so long under Moyes. But the painful lack of resources was laid bare in the baking conditions here.

As Michael Ballack came on for Chelsea, Moyes had to look to a gaggle of kids to leave the bench to try and haul Everton back into a game that escaped them for good when Frank Lampard capped another wonderful season with a trademark strike.

While Chelsea's squad might have topped out in maturity, this was convincing evidence that Everton's squad is possibly as good as it can get under Kenwright's financial restraints.

SPRAY IT AGAIN - John Terry (right) gets the bubbly out for Didier Drogba (left)
SPRAY IT AGAIN - John Terry (right) gets the bubbly out for Didier Drogba (left)

Trot out all the familiar tags - hard-working, honest, physical etc, etc - but the truth is that Everton were not a footballing match for Chelsea.

Tony Hibbert could not cope with Malouda (at £11m, one of Abramovich's more frugal acquisitions), Phil Neville could not cope with Frank Lampard and the entire right flank gave Ashley Cole carte blanche to card a Man of the Match performance.

This will be a blow to Moyes. He wants to win something with this club so desperately. But if Kenwright cannot find a buyer this summer, then this might be the one and only opportunity.

Put it this way, the Big Four are not going to get weaker in the close-season. Everton might.

But when he is putting together the portfolio for prospective purchasers, Kewnright could do worse than to put this occasion on the front cover.

Everton's support turned this into a throwback Cup final. It was another shot in the arm of a competition that is all about tradition, all about class, all about history, all about the love of the game.

And there was no more magical sight than John Terry having a kickabout on the Wembley turf with his two toddlers well over an hour after the final whistle.

For those few minutes, the political machinations that regularly engulf his club and, indeed, its captain could be forgotten.

But whether the way forward for Chelsea is as joyous - even after this deserved triumph - still remains to be seen.

Your comments

This article has 9 comments


Thanks you, Guus and Roman
Do it again as usually they more you spent they more you celebrates. expensive players will score attractive goals, bring in Ribery, David Villa, Aguero and dzeko and sell Drogba,Malouda,Deco,and paul

By Anyong. Posted June 1 2009 at 10:29 AM.

And what do you mean by,"Everton ... the real winners?" do u know the one-way traffic from Wembley after games? Fans do have little or no time to find their way home, except those with cars of their own. Those of us with trains or public transports need to find our ways out ASAP.

By Mac Etchu. Posted June 1 2009 at 2:05 AM.

Your all pathetic !! Chelsea was the best team on the day and if your unsure ask Mr Moyles !!
No we dont play the kind of football we Chelsea fans would love to see, the Utd style or Arsenal way with no end product but we get the job done all the same !! 3 years ago after 2 sucesive league wins the press (all Utd followers no doubt) were going potty saying it's not good for football that one team dominates the game and Romans millions are buying titles!! What a bunch of plonkers !! Every team that wins the league buys the title whoever you are Utd included!! And i dont here anyone mentioning that it's bad for football when Utd are looking to make it 4 league titles in a row, oh no it's what a wonderfull job Sir Jock is doing !!
Make hay while the sun shines !! Nothing lasts forever !! Up the mighty Blues !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Dave the dog. Posted May 31 2009 at 10:32 PM.

Long ball Everton were pathetic.

The peoples club of North Wales.

They will again show up English football in Europe next year.

Manchester United reserves.

By kopite from Walton. Posted May 31 2009 at 3:10 PM.

what are you talking about everton are the real winners? i dnt know why everyone thinks everton desreve to win it just because theyve done so well to get ther in the first place? chelsea deserve every success we get for so long between 80's to 2000's we didnt win anything purely because we lost money and couldnt improve our stadium and we dug ourselves out and rose to the top once again. as for the chelsea supporters leaving early its just a shame that so many people jump on the bandwagon when a team gets successful, they are nt true supporters and i am ambarressed.. i on the other hand was lovin it and stayed there the hole hour after! lookin forward to supportin the blues every game next season!

By james. Posted May 31 2009 at 3:02 PM.

Great article. I was there, and what struck me was the blase way the Chelsea fans (or maybe I should say "followers") "celebrated" at the end. They really weren't that bothered. Obviously they're used to winning things, but their end was emptying even before the presentation of the cup!

By Nick. Posted May 31 2009 at 1:01 PM.

Paul

I think you will find Everton weren't.

By Scott. Posted May 31 2009 at 10:56 AM.

Are you talking about the weather?All blue sky.

By tj. Posted May 31 2009 at 12:20 AM.

Everton were the real winners today.

By Paul. Posted May 30 2009 at 11:10 PM.

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