14/09/2000  Chelsea 1 St Gallen 0
 
And the Blues' display in their UEFA Cup first round tie against St Gallen 
would certainly provide a desperately poor advertisement if it were 
ill-advisedly shown to any prospective new coach.

However, as the speculation continued over the reasons for Vialli's enforced 
departure and the likely identity of his replacement, at least another Italian 
partially managed to lift the spirits at the west London club.

For while Vialli may evidently still not be far from the hearts and minds of 
many of the 18,196 fans in attendance, it was compatriot Christian Panucci who 
scored the only goal of an increasingly turgid first leg tie.

Panucci, one of five Italians in the starting line-up, ensured with his 
25th-minute strike - which admittedly looked to have been offside - that the 
Blues should at least take a 1-0 lead to Switzerland in a fortnight's time.

However, that was about it for positive signs at Stamford Bridge as only Frank 
Leboeuf, who recovered from being booed early on, and captain Dennis Wise rose 
above the general mediocrity otherwise on display.

There is certainly the nucleus of a strong squad at the club and if the 
supposedly shaky dressing-room morale alleged to have been behind Vialli's 
enforced departure can be restored, then a relatively bright future beckons.

However, the weaknesses which have plagued Chelsea outside cup competitions 
for too long and which were similarly to blame for the Italian's downfall still 
remain.

Most notable is their inability to break down supposedly weaker opposition, to 
battle their way to a result and to make the most of the chances which their 
attractive approach play inevitably creates.

And so it proved once more against the Swiss champions, who are a hard-working 
and well-organised side but are hardly among the elite of Europe.

Indeed, especially in the second-half as St Gallen packed the midfield and 
threatened occasionally on the counter-attack, Chelsea were relatively clueless 
and predictable going forward, and fortunate not to concede an equaliser.

The Blues had certainly attempted to be positive with their line-up as one 
possible answer to their criticised rotation system up front was attempting - 
playing all three front-line strikers at once in a 4-3-3 formation.

It might have kept them all happy but it seemed to restrict any width in 
midfield and while Zola's running showed his determination to make an 
impression, it was Leboeuf who had to win over the fans after his public 
criticism of Vialli.

The Frenchman's first two touches were booed by the sparse crowd but the 
atmosphere quickly improved as he made an accomplished start - especially in 
comparison to the team-mates around him as the match progressed.

That St Gallen, who were only just beaten by Galatasaray in the Champions 
League qualifiers this season despite being relative minnows in European 
football, were not overawed was clear.

And they were not afraid to attack the Blues, with keeper Carlo Cudicini 
saving one early low drive.

However, that similarly ensured there was also space for the Blues' attacking 
trio to exploit and Tore Andre Flo shot just over while Roberto di Matteo also 
came close and Hasselbaink shaved the outside of the post.

Chelsea's pressure was slowly growing and when Wise, who was - as ever - the 
fulcrum in central midfield as he bound the side together, picked out the 
on-rushing figure of Panucci, and the Italian put the home side ahead.

Panucci may have looked marginally offside when the Chelsea captain made the 
pass but he just beat Joerg Astiel to the ball and lifted it over the keeper 
into the vacant net.

St Gallen did threaten sporadically on the counter-attack, with Marcel 
Desailly forced into one superb covering tackle and Jerren Nixon shooting wide, 
and they increasingly mounted a more imposive defensive barrier.

The advantage was still with the Blues though at half-time but they then 
increasingly struggled as St Gallen packed the midfield with five players to 
deny them any space or time on the ball.

Indeed, Chelsea themselves looked vulnerable to the occasional counter-attack, 
with midfielder Sascha Mueller attempting one lob just over the bar.

The Blues were left to resort to hopeful long-range shots, with the double 
substitution of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jody Morris for Flo and Sam Dalla Bona, 
making his full debut, being made in a bid to reinvigorate them.

Not that it made any real difference, although Desailly and Hasselbaink were 
both narrowly denied in the closing stages from extending Chelsea's narrow 
advantage.

As the final whistle sounded, just one name was sounded from the stands. That 
of Vialli. Whether his successor has a bigger battle in reinvigorating the side 
or winning over the fans remains to be seen.