Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-5 Chelsea (Lampard, JFH, Duff, Crespo[2])

Dream team lifts Ranieri
By PETER LANSLEY in THE TIMES

WITH ONE TEAM CRUISING TO the top of Saturday's Barclaycard Premiership table while the other was bruising at the bottom, it was inevitable that the talk would be buzzing about job security. After all, a manager can only expect to be judged on results, in relation to how well he manipulates the resources at his disposal. So is it not a little fatuous that Claudio Ranieri, having spent his £111 million treasure chest so impressively that his galacticos have gelled into championship contenders within a month of meeting, should wake up on match day to read that he is to be replaced by Sven Goran Eriksson?

The latest speculation that Roman Abramovich is preparing to pay the England head coach £34 million to take charge of Ranieri's team was given front-page credence on Saturday morning. It may well happen one day; but surely not while Ranieri's players are clearing every hurdle so majestically. 'Maybe he talked about other managers, of course, but I'm sure after he met me, everything changes,' Ranieri pointed out, his logic more lucid than his English. 'If Mr Abramovich didn't believe in Claudio Ranieri, he wouldn't have given me my opportunity to pick all the players I want. To do that with the idea of changing me, it is not possible.'

Frank Lampard, playing with the impetus and precision that frequently eludes him in an England shirt, got the ball rolling with another powerful shot from distance. 'There's a lot of hype and expectancy about this club,' he said, 'but it's not misplaced. There's a real belief that we can do something. You try not to get too excited, but it's hard not to. We are going to be genuine title contenders.' Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has awoken from last season's sulky slumbers now that his position is threatened and his neat finish, as Denis Irwin was yet again found out of position, was his fifth goal of the season.

After a headed 'goal' by John Terry was unaccountably disallowed, Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnsen headed wide, Jesper Gronkjaer shot into the side-netting on rounding Michael Oakes and the scoreline was given a more realistic sheen by Damien Duff and Hernan Crespo, the latter scoring with his first touch and his last. Crespo said it was hard to talk about the pace of the Premiership because he only came on for 25 minutes. It was also difficult to judge because the opposition's confidence was so low that, apart from Paul Butler and Steffen Iversen heading against the crossbar in the same attack, the game was over. 'I'm angry,' Dave Jones, the Wolves manager, said. 'Very angry.'

He was also angry after a 5-1 defeat by Blackburn Rovers; rather piqued after a 4-0 drubbing by Charlton Athletic. Perhaps he should have been rather angrier when he was informed of his transfer budget in June, when the glow of promotion still bathed Wolverhampton in delusional gold. Many of the Wolves players tried their hardest but some recognised, reprehensibly, that their efforts were futile against a team so superior it seemed unfair. Jones talks about battling back from the bottom, of scrapping and fighting, but how far can that take his limited team? 'This club has spent too many years getting to this stage to just chuck it in now,' he said. 'This is a great challenge. I've never given up on anything in my life and anyone here intending to do so can get out the door now.'

The transfer window, however, means that a transitional club's activity leading up to the first deadline is as important as the subsequent action. Wolves finished 22 points behind Portsmouth last season, but while Harry Redknapp did the necessary to attract Teddy Sheringham, Jones had to settle for Iversen. While this may resemble tears over spilt milk, it also emphasises the difficulties Wolves will face when they try to tempt in players of Premiership calibre when the window reopens in January.

Jones needs to accept that Irwin was right when he said he wanted to retire. He should urge his board that Dion Dublin, Trevor Sinclair and Danny Mills cost more than Iversen, Silas and Oleg Luzhny because the former have proven themselves in the Premiership. Instead of fting Kenny Miller, Joleon Lescott and Matt Murray as potential saviours when the promotion heroes return from injury, they should be the icing on a well-purchased cake. If there is a consolation for Wolves, this was a game they were never likely to win; next week's, away to Bolton Wanderers, is more the type on which Jones will be judged.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-5-1): M Oakes 3 8212; D Irwin 2, J Craddock 4, P Butler 5, L Naylor 5 8212; S Newton 6 (sub: C Cameron, 59min 5), J Gudjonsson 4, P Ince 2, M Kennedy 3, H Camara 3 8212; S Iversen 1. Substitutes not used: M Murray, O Luzhny, A Rae, Silas. Booked: Butler, Ince. NEXT: Bolton Wanderers (a). FORM: LLDLLL

Chelsea (4-4-2): C Cudicini 5 8212; G Johnson 6 (sub: R Huth, 74), W Gallas 7, J Terry 7, C Babayaro 6 8212; J Gronkjaer 6 (sub: J Cole, 57min 6), F Lampard 8, C Makelele 7, D Duff 7 8212; J F Hasselbaink 7 (sub: H Crespo, 65 7), E Gudjohnsen 7. Substitutes not used: M Ambrosio, E Petit. Booked: Gronkjaer, Huth, Terry. NEXT: Aston Villa (h). FORM: WWDWW

Shots on target: (h) 4 (a) 13. Fouls: (h) 15 (a) 15. Offsides: (h) 4 (a) 6

Referee: M Messias 7. Attendance: 29,208