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CHELSEA FC: PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: CHELSEA V READING

/noticias.info/ Chelsea historian Rick Glanvill provides the half-time talk in this season's championship race. Statistician Paul Dutton works out the Boxing Day figures.

Rick Glanvill wishes to put someone right on some facts.

If Chelsea beat Reading Jose Mourinho's side will top the table for the first time since 1 October, albeit for a couple of hours until Man United's 3pm kick-off against Wigan at Old Trafford is over.

United would only need a point from that to return to the summit on goal difference after 20 games.

And so we pass the halfway mark in the title race, with the rivals neck and neck and the cries of their respective backers reaching fever pitch.

You will have read a lot from a certain knight's media lackeys that the statistics tell a definitive story.

How after accruing 47 points in 19 matches they are in an historically unassailable position - no team amassing that figure in that time has ever gone on to lose the league. This is true, but Chelsea have made a speciality of 'raising the bar' in the last few years.

And, from Sir Alex himself, we have heard how United are 'traditionally much stronger' in the second half of the season. This is not so true.

In only one of the previous four seasons prior to this one have his side earned significantly more points after Christmas, and that was 2002-3 (35 from the first 19 matches, 48 from the second).

Yet in the first two seasons since the arrival of Jose Mourinho United have ended with roughly the same amount for each half of the campaign: 37 and 40 in 2004-5, 41 and 42 last season.

In fact, in 2003-4, the last time the Reds broke the 45-point barrier after 19 games, they virtually collapsed on the home straight, adding only 29 points in their final 19.

Under the Special One Chelsea have won 49 points (2004-5) and 39 (2005-6), when two games were lost when the League was already won) in the last 19 games.

Any boffin will tell you that mathematics is the cheapest science. Somehow you feel psychology still has a big part to play in the next five months.

Many of Ferguson's young charges have yet to complete a successful title charge, and it will be less easy to play free-flowing, attacking football with a few significant injuries in their ranks.

Chelsea's injuries to Petr Cech, Carlo Cudicini, Joe Cole and John Terry have proved significant, if not always in the dropping of points (though definitely some) but in the overall effort to avoid doing so.

Late goals cannot always be counted on, even in a spirited side like ours.

But the look on Arjen Robben's face at scoring for Chelsea for the first time since February wasn't that of a faintheart. It might point to the dam on the in-form Dutchman's goals being broken at last, and a flood hopefully ensuing.

Reading are in a poor run of form, with one point from a last possible twelve.

Quick-witted striker Kevin Doyle has not netted for four games and their defence has looked ponderous at times.

Seattle-born keeper Marcus Hahnemann has had to make more saves than any other Premiership goalkeeper, and in our fateful meeting at the Madejski in October he was tested by his own defender Ingimarsson as well as Didier Drogba.

The two Reading players involved in the collisions that left Cech and Cudicini unconscious, Steve Hunt and Ibrahima Sonko, are both fit to play, if selected.

The Queen's speech will have gone down better than the recent words some Royals have had to say on this controversial matter and its aftermath.

But this match is all about the football: goals, points and topping the table again.

In a busy period the Chelsea manager will shuffle his pack a little again. Especially after the disturbing second-half drop-off in commitment by some at Wigan, expect a whole-hearted performance aimed at making a statement.


CHELSEA V READING - Paul Dutton looks at the numbers ahead of our first Royal visit in the Premiership.

Chelsea go into our Boxing Day encounter on an eight match unbeaten League run of six wins and two draws.

Didier Drogba's next goal will be his 50th for the club and he will join an elite group of 33 players to have achieved the milestone in our 101-year history.

Chelsea have dropped 12 points in 19 Premiership games compared to Man Utd's 10. At Boxing Day last season we had only dropped five points in 17 games. United were 14 points off maximum. In Jose Mourinho's first season, before our Boxing Day match we had dropped 11 points from 18 games compared to Manchester United's 20.

Our Boxing Day games since the start of the Premier League have been:

2005 Fulham (h) W 3-2
2004 Aston Villa (h) W 1-0
2003 Charlton (a) L 2-4
2002 Southampton (h) D 0-0
2001 Arsenal (a) L1-2
2000 Ipswich (a) D 2-2
1999 Southampton (a) W 2-1
1998 Southampton (a) W 2-0
1997 Everton (h) W 2-0
1996 Aston Villa (a) W 2-0
1995 Wimbledon (h) L 1-2
1994 Man Utd (h) L 2-3
1993 Southampton (a) L 1-3
1992 Southampton (h) D 1-1

Chelsea and Reading have played on seven previous occasions at Stamford Bridge. Our only previous home league meetings were in the old Second Division in four successive seasons between 1927 and 1929.

The first two in April and December 1927 were goalless. The next home encounter was on the final day of the season in April 1929. Goals from Reg Weaver and Andy Wilson were enough for a 2-1 win. Reading's scorer was Bob Oswald. There was a meagre crowd of 12,898. Chelsea finished ninth and Reading 15th.

Our last home league meeting was in October 1929 when a Reg Weaver goal was enough to secure the points for the Blues. Chelsea ended the season as runners-up behind champions Blackpool and were promoted to the top flight where we stayed until 1962. Reading were 19th and just avoided relegation.

Chelsea and Reading have met once in the FA Cup in 1921 in the first round. Following a goalless draw at Elm Park, the teams drew 2-2 in the replay at Stamford Bridge and in the second replay again at the Bridge Chelsea ran out 3-1 victors.

In the League Cup in 1987/88 Reading won 5-4 on aggregate (see below).

The match earlier this season at the Madejski Stadium on October 14th was won by a Frank Lampard free kick with a double deflection off Reading defenders just before half time. John Terry completed the game in goal after both Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini were knocked unconscious following heavy challenges.

This is Reading's first season in the top flight in their 135-year history. The nearest they had come was in 1994/95 when they were second in the first division but were unfortunate that was the year the Premier League reduced its numbers from 22 to 20. Four teams were relegated and only two came up. Reading lost to Bolton in the play-off final at Wembley.

Last season Reading won the Coca-Cola Championship with a record points total of 106 and a away record of won 12, drawn 10, lost 1. Their only away defeat was against Luton in February when they lost 3-2.

Reading's away league record this season is: won three (Sheffield Utd 2-1, West Ham 1-0, Fulham 1-0), lost five (Aston Villa 1-2, Wigan 0-1, Portsmouth 1-3, Liverpool 0-2, Newcastle 2-3) and drawn one (Watford 0-0).

Reading have played a total of 21 games this season and won eight, lost ten and drawn three scoring 26 goals and conceding 32. They have kept six clean sheets and failed to score six times.

Reading followed four successive Premiership defeats in October with four wins in a row in November. Their last four games have yielded three defeats and a draw.

Reading's last six games
Nov 25 Fulham (a) W1-0
Dec 2 Bolton (h) W1-0
Dec 6 Newcastle (a) L2-3
Dec 9 Watford (a) D0-0
Dec 16 Blackburn (h) L1-2
Dec 23 Everton (h) L0-2

Kevin Doyle is their top league scorer with eight goals, James Harper and Seol Ki-Hyeon have scored three, Steve Sidwell is on two and Ivar Ingimarsson, Dave Kitson, Leroy Lita and Nicky Shorey are on one.

Reading's team that lost to Everton at the Madejski last Saturday was: (4-4-2) Hahnemann; Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey; Little, Sidwell, Harper, Hunt (Oster 70); Doyle (Long 85), Seol (Lita 54).

Reading boast the highest number of players to have appeared in every Premiership match this season. The six are Kevin Doyle, Marcus Hahnemann, James Harper, Ivar Ingimarsson, Nicky Shorey and Steve Sidwell.

The Royals have the best disciplinary record in the Premiership with 19 yellow and two red cards.

Reading's honours include the Full Members Cup in 1988 and last season's Football League Championship as well as several lower division championships.

Three of Reading's managers have also featured in our history. Roy Bentley (1963-69) was Chelsea's captain and Ted Drake (1947-52) managed our 1955 Championship. Roy scored 150 goals in 367 games between 1948 and 1956. Ian Porterfield managed Fulham and Chelsea consecutively in the late eighties and early nineties.

Chelsea's second greatest goalscorer with 193 goals, Kerry Dixon, started his professional career and was signed from Reading for £175,000 in August 1983.

Our record unbeaten League sequence at Stamford Bridge is 53 games. We have won 43 and drawn 10 scoring 110 goals and conceding 22. There have been 35 clean sheets and we have only failed to score on 5 occasions.

Chelsea have only suffered one home defeat in all competitions in the last 79 games. The one was the 2-1 defeat against Barcelona last February after Asier Del Horno was sent off.

The Premiership is now exactly at the halfway stage with all the leading clubs having played 19 games. Man Utd's lead over Chelsea remained two points with Arjen Robben's last gasp winner at Wigan after United had beaten Aston Villa away 3-0 (47 points compared to 45). Liverpool are third on 34 points, Arsenal are fourth on goal difference with Bolton on 33 and Portsmouth are sixth with 32 points. Reading are down to ninth with 26 points. United's next match is against Wigan at Old Trafford on Boxing Day ko 3pm.

Michael Essien, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard have featured in every Premiership match this season. Michael Essien has played every minute of all 29 games in all competitions.

Didier Drogba is the country's top scorer with 17 in all competitions from Louis Saha on 12. Dimitar Berbatov and Jermaine Defoe have 10. Frank Lampard is one of several players on nine.

Drogba is also leading the Premiership Golden Boot with 10 from Kanu on nine and Kevin Doyle, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha on eight.

There are no suspensions from either side. Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba and Claude Makelele have four domestic bookings. A yellow card against Reading will result in a one-match ban against Aston Villa on January 2nd.

Chelsea are the only club to have scored in every Premiership game this season.

Chelsea's 29 games in all competitions have seen 21 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats. We have scored 51 goals and conceded 19 with 16 clean sheets. We have failed to score in just one game (away to Werder Bremen).

The referee is Alan Wiley.

Chelsea's overall record against Reading in all competitions is
Played 15, won 7, drawn 5, lost 3.

Head to head in the League at Stamford Bridge:
played 4, won 2, drawn 2, lost 0.

OUR LAST MEETING AT STAMFORD BRIDGE
Chelsea 3 Reading 2
League Cup second round, second leg, Wednesday Oct 7th, 1987
Chelsea Niedzwiecki; Clarke, Bodley, McLaughlin (c), Dorigo; Nevin, Wood, Hazard, C Wilson (Coady h-t); Dixon, Durie (K Wilson 54).
Manager John Hollins
Scorers Durie 3 (1 pen)
Reading Francis; Jones, Richardson, Beavon, Hicks, Peters, Tait, Taylor, Gordon, Gilkes, Bailie (Canoville).
Manager Ian Branfoot
Scorers Gordon 2
Crowd 15,469
Referee David Axcell
Chelsea had lost the first leg 3-1 at Elm Park. At a rain swept Stamford Bridge a hat-trick in 13 minutes by Gordon Durie put Chelsea 4-3 ahead on aggregate but two late Reading goals snatched victory overall. The Reading team from the old Second Division had Chelsea old boys Steve Francis and Paul Canoville in their side. Chelsea had Reading old boy Kerry Dixon in our team. Michael Gilkes played for Chelsea on loan in 1992. notas_de_prensa_archivo