AFTER THE WHISTLE: FINAL WORDS
More on a yellow day at Wembley, plus an Italian view on the man taking over.
So when were you confident Chelsea would win the FA Cup?
From the first minute might have been overdoing the confidence a little given the start to the match but the way the team responded, not giving Everton a sniff of a second goal for the rest of the first half while steadily turning up the pressure was the mark of proven winners.
Attacks began down the Everton right, Frank Lampard an important part of the supply to Florent Malouda and Ashley Cole. The attacks were soon against a booked Everton full-back. Then those attacks began to take Chelsea players in and around our opponent's penalty area.
The cross that was headed in for the equaliser was not the first from our left flank and Cole with a little more composure could have shot Chelsea ahead just before the interval. The decision by David Moyes at break to change his personnel on that side of his team was easy to understand.
It was Everton's other full-back, Leighton Baines, who Chelsea coaches were prepared to admit after the game had caused us some problems. Nicolas Anelka plays the wide position in the Chelsea team differently from Malouda and there was the chance for Everton to attack there.
Baines had played the ball forward for Steven Pienaar's cross for the Everton goal and it was he who sent the ball over for Louis Saha to head just over five minutes before Chelsea winner.
That threat apart, the coaching staff were pleased with the way the tactical plan had panned out.
The midfield was the shape of earlier in the season with the impressive John Mikel Obi as the anchor man and Lampard and Michael Essien both playing further forward. Ball retention was a priority.
Therefore it was not the more common formation under Guus Hiddink that sees Lampard pushed further forward to link more easily with Didier Drogba. The change back did not prevent Lamps from ending his nine-game run without a goal.
When Michael Ballack came on at the hour mark it was a like-for-like change. Tim Cahill who began the game in midfield for Everton, later to push forward, was not the danger he has been in past encounters and Chelsea had the right men in the right places to deal with Marouane Fellaini when the Belgian brought his height and touch deeper.
And the sun shone, like it should in all cup finals. None of the rain of Moscow or Wembley back in 1994. No Chelsea fan can surely ever become tired of days like Saturday.
*********
Among the people After The Whistle chatted with following the match was a former Chelsea captain who was denied his place in that miserable 1994 FA Cup Final defeat by Man United by was ultimately a career ending injury.
PaulElliott was working for BBC radio at Wembley this year and on other days he now sits on various committees as a representative for the FA including the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, the international players' union FIFPro, and the Kick It Out campaign. He also told us he enjoys life.
He had no doubt his former club had done well.
'Player for player, Chelsea had more power, more strength, more quality in the final third and more potential goalscorers in their side today,' he said.
'They suffered a bit of adversity in the first 26 seconds and adversity breeds character and the response was terrific. Once the second half started I felt there was only going to be one team.
'If you look at the squad strength I think that was the defining factor for me: Jagielka, Yakubu and Arteta would probably all have been in the starting line-up which might have made more impact on the game.
'The domination towards the end of the first half, especially in midfield where Cahill and Neville couldn't get hold of Lampard and Anelka, was shown after half time when Fellaini came back into midfield just to try and bring a bit more solidity to it.
'For me, Lampard was man of the match. I thought his was a performance of the highest quality and energy and drive. He's a modern day world class midfield player.
'I think Malouda was probably second to Lampard. Everton recognised that Hibbert was vulnerable at right back because he got booked and Chelsea were then trying to give the ball to Malouda because he was on fire and [Leon] Osman never really tucked back and gave Hibbert enough help.'
'That sensational Malouda shot that wasn't given - I'm glad that had no bearing on the outcome. It was a stunning effort, a really exquisite effort by Malouda, well worthy of a goal being awarded.
'This victory goes a little way to make up for the semi final disappointment against Barcelona. But if you look at the way Man United were in the final against Barcelona, tactically I think they got it wrong whereas Hiddink got it spot on. I don't use the word unlucky very often, but Chelsea were very, very unlucky not to be in that final.'
**********
Someone else happy to share his thoughts at Wembley was Giancarlo Galavotti, London correspondent for Gazzetta dello Sport who was also able to given an Italian's view on the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti.
But first, the Cup Final win.
'Chelsea showed the difference in class,' Galavotti said. 'They were not too concerned that they were caught cold by a very early goal. It was class versus thrift, class versus the long ball.
'Frank Lampard was absolutely magnificent as he tends to be on a number of occasions. He was my man of the match. He started to dictate the pace, started to produce his top class repertoire of passes and crowned the day with a fantastic goal.
'Everton, apart from defending poorly and not having anything to offer but a series of long throws and long balls, didn't deserve anything.
'Of course Chelsea should have won 3-1 because this time the goal scored at Wembley was a perfectly valid goal, much more valid than the one in 1966!
'Considering the way Chelsea were in February when Guus took over, you can say it was an excellent rescue operation. He's confirmed once more that he's one of the very few international coaches who's got what it takes to manage top clubs and get results.'
We asked Galavotti what Chelsea supporters can expect from Ancelotti?
'You have to be realistic,' he said. 'Hiddink was excellent in taking Chelsea to what they can achieve with the present squad. They were one whisker away from being in the Champions League Final and indeed they won the FA Cup Final.
'But the league table doesn't lie and Chelsea are third because their squad is inferior to Manchester United's and Liverpool's. So it's all very well to bring in Carlo Ancelotti who is one of the top coaches available at the moment, but to believe that is enough to get Chelsea into a winning streak of Premier League titles and Champions Leagues would be naïve.
'They need a number of new players, younger and talented. Ancelotti by himself would be as successful as Hiddink has been so far but Mr. Abramovich must know that Ancelotti requires a good investment.'
The Italian journalist also discussed his compatriot's level of English-speaking, as already heard in his Chelsea TV exclusive interview.
'Are people after a coach or are they after a media personality like Susan Boyle? Ancelotti speaks enough English to communicate with the players the same way Fabio Capello speaks enough English to communicate with the England team.
'He's not somebody like [Claudio Ranieri] who hadn't had a single English class before he came to Chelsea. Ancelotti speaks enough English to tell the players where. to play - ask David Beckham - and Ray Wilkins will also be around to explain.'
**********
You wait 27 years for a second FA Cup to come along and then four come along in 13 years.
Our fifth win in the competition takes us clear of Sheffield United (who beat us in our first FA Cup Final in 1915), Bolton, Wolves and Man City who have all won it four times.
We now rank with Everton, West Brom and The Wanderers (whose fives wins all came in the first seven years of the Cup back in the 1870s).
Still to catch are the following seven sides.
11 wins - Manchester United10 - Arsenal
8 - Tottenham Hotspur
7 - Aston Villa, Liverpool
6 - Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle Unite
