Charlton 0 Wolves 2

Not surpisingly, our game was chosen as the 3pm Saturday live game in the US and for the best part of an hour, we matched Chelsea if not for class, then certainly for effort. However one sensed that to get something out of the game, we couldn't afford to make any individual mistakes, and whilst Kish got away with losing possession once in the first half, his habit of dwelling too long on the ball cost us Crespo's goal. In football, the first goal changes not only the scoreline but also the psychology and pattern of the game, and with us forced to seek an equaliser more gaps began to appear, and within minutes a moment of brilliance from Robben ended the game as a realistic contest.

The difference in class was most apparent in the centre of midfield where Essien and Makelele hunted down any red shirt in possession like a pack of hungry wolves. Unfortunately whilst Murphy had enough about him to twist and jink and find a teammate with passes, Kish was unfortunately well and truly found out, whilst Hughes lacks the physical presence to make an impression. Clearly we missed Smertin but to be frank, I never really felt Chelsea needed to get very far through the gears to beat us and Andersen made several smart saves to keep things relatively respectable.

This may sound fanciful, but I would not bet against Chelsea winning every one of their 38 games this season. With the exception of their three remaining games against Man Utd and Arsenal, I genuinely can't see them dropping any points against the rest. If one of their team has an off day, they simply replace him with another multi-million pound signing - the replacement of Duff by Wright-Phillips on the hour mark simply underlines this point. Quite what was going through Chris Powell's 36-year old mind when he saw who he was going to have to mark next can only be imagined. As discussed, unless Abramovich chooses to spend his dubious wealth elsewhere or the distribution of cash in the game is made more progressive, the future of competitive football in this country is under threat, which Chelsea themselves will end up paying a price for.

Anyhow enough about them, our dream start is over but with Smertin back for the WBA game, and others pushing for contention, we can go into another winnable away game with the genuine belief that we can make it four wins from four. Again I was impressed with Darren Bent's tireless running, but more importantly his strength and aerial prowess which combined with his obvious ability to finish finally perhaps suggests we have a striker who can become a hero in the Super Clive mould.