Stamford Bridge Monday, January 28th, 2002   FA Cup Attendance: 33,443       Chelsea 1-1 West Ham United
2001 /02

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Chelsea Carlo Cudicini, Marcel Desailly, Frank Lampard, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Sam Dalla Bona, 75), Mario Melchiot, Graeme Le Saux, Emmanuel Petit (Slavisa Jokanovic, 83), Albert Ferrer, Gianfranco Zola, John Terry, Mikael Forssell (Eidur Gudjohnsen, 70) West Ham United David James, Tomas Repka, Nigel Winterburn (Vladimir Labant, 76), Don Hutchison (Steve Lomas, 69), Christian Dailly, Paolo Di Canio, Freddie Kanoute, Michael Carrick, Ragnvald Soma (Jermain Defoe, 65), Joe Cole, J, Sebastien Schemmel There are so many buildings in Stamford Bridge these days - shops, restaurants, bars, hotel - that signs are everywhere. Yet if someone really wants to know what is happening at Chelsea at the moment, the clearest indicator is the writing on the wall. Something must be going on when the queue to criticise Claudio Ranieri is longer than the one to get into the ground. The crowd was 7,000 down on the league meeting between these two sides a week ago, despite including twice as many West Ham fans as were allowed in last Sunday. And after Wednesday''s Worthington Cup humiliation at Tottenham, this further example of Chelsea''s inconsistency as they spluttered in the FA Cup had the media and pundits again casting doubts on Ranieri''s managerial acumen. It is difficult to decide which they find more laughable, his impenetrable English or his impenetrable tactics. But there is no doubt that the media tide has turned against the idiosyncratic Italian. Perhaps more worrying for Ranieri was that on Saturday morning he received the dreaded vote of confidence in the form of a glowing testimonial from Ken Bates published in a daily tabloid. The chairman''s ultimate view will be guided by practicality not loyalty. Bates has his empire to pay for and one suspects only a place in the cash-rich Champions League at the season''s end will save the Italian''s bacon. In that respect the next two weeks are crucial. On Wednesday Chelsea entertain Leeds, the side immediately above them in the Premiership race for a European spot. Defeat would open the gap between the two to a worrying eight points. A week later Chelsea face the replay against West Ham, who won the league encounter at Upton Park in October. An exit from the FA Cup followed a week later by defeat at Aston Villa, the side just below Chelsea in the Premiership table, would be an interesting test of Bates''s confidence. On top of all this Ranieri may have to cope with the loss of his leading scorer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who this week faces an FA charge for alleged use of the elbow in the recent defeat at Southampton. West Ham will also learn something this week - whether Paolo di Canio''s move to Manchester United is finally off or on. Thursday is the Champions League deadline beyond which it would make little sense for him to journey north, and though it is understood that terms for a £2.5m move have been agreed, there is a hitch. Apparently United refuse to finalise the deal until they sell Dwight Yorke, but the Tobagan striker''s main suitors Middlesbrough are balking at his wage demands. West Ham''s manager Glenn Roeder says he does not know whether Di Canio will go but reportedly he has already lined up a replacement, Carsten Jancker, the giant German striker already linked with several other clubs. The Hammers were playing for pride on Saturda