Glyn Kirk/Getty ImagesDespite facing Rafa Benitez and a Chelsea side in disarray, Fulham still couldn't seize advantage at Stamford Bridge.

I ducked out of the office with the mail on Wednesday night to find clouds scudding across a smuggler's moon on the back of a biting wind keening down from the north. Just the kind of night I imagine Magwitch spent a-shivering on the marsh waiting for young Pip to come skipping along.

By the time I had threaded my way through the clogging city traffic -- these weekend night games really do the fans no favours -- it was off to witness one of the dullest local derbies in living memory. Roman may have 'great expectations' but Stamford Bridge has become Bleak House.

We console ourselves with a point however for the Whites when earlier predicting nowt. We were well organised, worked hard for it and as Martin Jol ruefully acknowledged to the press, we might have nicked it at the end. Had we done so, the moribund Chelsea hordes sat in silence around us could have had no complaints. Fulham made the European champions look very ordinary.

For an excellent appraisal of their current decline and the folly in calling for Benitez, see our ESPN colleague Phil Lythell's well-crafted summation on the Chelsea blog. But here, we deal in matters black and white. In my preview I called for Damien Duff, Mahamadou Diarra and Hugo Rodallega to start while praying that Kerim Frei would get into the action at some point. Well, all came to pass and still it was not enough to wrest all three points at this venue for the first time since 1979. What with this opportunity passed up along with the chance to win at Arsenal... by gum, how frustrating it can be to follow the Fulham.

In short, there is little point in over-analysing a match that had few memorable moments and no stand-out performer on either side. Mark Schwarzer had but two comfortable saves to make in the game. With all their set pieces into the box, a Chelsea side shorn of John Terry and Didier Drogba proved as feeble as Fulham with the aerial approach. The decline in Fernando Torres' game has now passed beyond comprehension. As a consequence Philippe Senderos showed up well and did the necessary, with Aaron Hughes also on top of his game.

We could not turn the screw to find the win because Diarra sadly is half the player he was last spring without Mousa Dembele and Clint Dempsey around him to retain possession and make inroads into the opposition. This workload at the Bridge was therefore shared between Giorgios Karagounis and the Malian with the dodgy knee. Manfully as they tried, and with Steve Sidwell operating the same territory, our ball retention remains weak. This was especially apparent in the first half, but Chelsea, themselves bereft of craft and vision, could not take advantage.

We can still see how too much safety-first ball goes backwards or sideways when we are holding possession in the midfield. Senderos went on a charge upfield late on but despairingly found no runners or movement to play anyone in, so checked back and momentum was lost. Decision-making and ball release requires split-second timing in the modern game with space at such a premium. Diarra delayed a fraction on releasing Dimitar Berbatov between the centre backs as we sensed a win in the second half and our hit man is whistled off-side, but my it was close! One major opening falls to 'the man who cannot finish' with a delightful ball over the top by Karagounis, only for John Arne Riise to end up on his behind after a risible swipe at the dropping ball.

Meanwhile, Duff disappointed again, stymied by the attentions of Ashley Cole and lack of early balls into space. That said, like everyone in the team he gave sterling cover to the defence when we did not have the ball. Rodallega also had little impact in the final third. He worked hard but Fulham currently do not know what to do with him. His headed goal at Wigan may well be the last offensive header won by any Fulham player in all the games since. I'm struggling to think of another.

To conclude, let's look to the final phase of the game. Frei should have been on earlier, no question. That late Fulham corner had to go into the mix. If Mladen Petric and Berbatov are ever to build up an understanding they need more game time together. Mladen comes into the action cold and as a consequence a real opening in the box from Sidwell's pass slips under his boot through lack of control.

Such are the fine margins between success and failure, joy or despair in the top flight. Let's take the plusses out of this one and get our heads up for the tester with Tottenham. A clean sheet for Martin at long last, no mean feat. We may still have to bear the absence of some big players for the next week but the spirit remains intact, the organisation was better and it is about time lady luck smiled our way for a change. Undefeated against the big spending Blues yet again! COYW!!!

Follow Phil on Twitter @fulhamphil

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email