It is important to not only be a great player but also to have character

It is important to not only be a great player but also to have character.”Gullit referred especially to Gianfranco Zola, Chelsea’s outstanding player, and Gustavo Poyet whose 74th-minute header won the game.”Zola is a fighter, he works hard. Poyet [who signed in the summer on a post-Bosman free transfer from Real Zaragoza] was the sort of player we needed. He is a necessary player like an Eddie Newton [the FA Cup final winner who is injured], Roy Keane, David Batty or Paul Ince He has a great character and fits in well with the group. The Dutchman’s profile in the 1988/89 European Football Yearbook reads: “Gullit’s role was predominantly that of a striker but his skilful, tireless contributions in all areas of the field made him the outstanding player.”He is now instilling a similar ethic at Chelsea.

“I was never selfish, I always played for the team,” he said after Chelsea’s win.Do not just take his word for it. He may have been involved in a few explosions of ego in the context of the eternally combustible Dutch national team, but his success with Milan was based on a blend of hard work and high skill. With the influx of foreign players and concentration of wealth there is now so little to choose between the quality of the top teams that the difference is increasingly a matter of application, both in mental discipline and physical leg-work.Ruud Gullit, a multiple champion, knows this. Not in the sense of a scrap, any team with Dennis Wise and Mark Hughes in it will always stand up to be counted, more a belief that their inspiration should not need overmuch supplementing with perspiration.Such an attitude may win occasional cups, but it does not win championships For that art must be combined with graft. However, they have not been as impressive when the opposition has it This is partly due to defensive sloppiness.

The back four have a tendency to ball-watch, while it is a long time since a Chelsea goalkeeper inspired real confidence. This was long the unofficial slogan among the denizens of the old Shed end, now it appears to have reached the players.Chelsea are widely regarded as the best team in the Premiership with the ball. More than that, however, it is a lack of preparedness to roll the sleeves up and battle. Middlesbrough: Emerson, Mustoe, Townsend.Man of the match: Merson.Attendance: 35,384.. Chelsea 1

Newcastle United 0
A Chelsea fan strolled into Stamford Bridge on Saturday with the legend “It’s not how good you are, it’s how much you want it” emblazoned on his shirt.