Chelsea settle for domestic KOs

Chelsea missed out on two of their main targets last season from a possible four.

The Londoners failed in their bid to win their third Premier League title in a row.

Before joining Chelsea Jose Mourinho had steered Porto to Champions League triumph but he is still looking to become the first coach to lead two different sides to the top continental trophy after failing yet again with the Blues.

It is no secret that club owner Roman Abramovich placed the Champions League title on top of his list from day one. But, as Mourinho said, you must have luck on your side to grab the coveted silverware.

In the last three years Chelsea had to bow out to Barcelona and twice to Liverpool.

But, at home Chelsea have now collected all domestic prizes after the capture of the League Cup and FA Cup at the expense of Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.

With Mourinho in charge Chelsea have won the Premiership title twice, the FA Cup once and two triumphs in the League Cup. They have not lost a home league match since Mourinho took over and have equalled a Liverpool record - a run of 63 home league matches undefeated.

In 2006/07 Chelsea also claimed the campaign's best unbeaten run of 14 games.

Everton manager David Moyes has now been at Goodison Park since March 2002. In his four-year spell, Everton finished seventh in 2004; fourth in 2005 (UEFA Cup place); 11th in 2006; and sixth in 2007 (UEFA Cup place).

Abramovich, Russia's richest man with an estimated £9.5 billion fortune, dismissed reports that he will no longer spend heavily to bring players to Stamford Bridge.

He added that everything would remain the same and that his relationship with the club had not changed. So far, he has spent around £250 million on player transfers since buying the club.

Chief executive Peter Kenyon denied that Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack, who had a disappointing debut season, would be among those leaving this summer. So, expect Mourinho to bring in more luxury to the club in terms of fine players.

Off the field of play, Everton are to hold a public consultation later this month to carry on with plans of a new 55,000-seater ground.

Their main aim is to move four miles out of the city centre. Some of the shareholders claimed that this move would hoist the white flag to Liverpool who could have the city on their own.

Midfielder Tim Cahill, who has been injured for the last phase of the campaign, has joined up with the Australia squad, as he continued his recovery from a fractured metatarsal. He is expected to play for his country in the Asian Cup this summer.

In the domestic cups, Everton were halted in their stride in both competitions in front of their own fans at Goodison Park. They lost to Blackburn 1-4 in the FA Cup (third round) and to Arsenal 0-1 in the League Cup (fourth round).

By contrast, Chelsea won both trophies. In the Champions League, they lost to Liverpool 1-4 on penalties at Anfield in the semi-finals. The Reds had also defeated the Blues in the season's curtain raiser, the Community Shield, 1-2 in Cardiff.