GLENN Hoddle must have had a quiet groan to himself when he realised that Blackburn Rovers were the main guests at his Stamford Bridge "leaving do".

For, this was where the new England coach-to-be came in three seasons ago, with a 2-1 defeat by Rovers to launch his Chelsea entry.

Hoddle's exit was just as painful on the pitch, as Rovers ripped apart a Chelsea team that is said to have made massive progress since he took charge.

Sorry Glenn, it wasn't evident here. But if he had taken a moment to peer at the statistics he would have known, in any case, that there was never going to be a Chelsea success to see the popular manager march off to Lancaster Gate in triumph. For, even in this topsy-turvy Rovers season, they retain a remarkable unbeaten record against London clubs.

At Ewood, they have won five and drawn once against the capital's collection of Premier League clubs.

Away from home, they have won three, drawn three to make it six of the best on their trips to London.

And, with successive 3-2 wins at White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge, the streets really have been paved with goals. Unfortunately, and ironically, it was the previous week's draw with

Londoners Arsenal which ultimately cost Rovers the place in Europe they looked as though they might just pinch for part of the second half.

With scorelines elsewhere in their favour for a fair time, the players were leaving no-one in any doubt that they were prepared to do their bit.

But this just proved a bridge too far for the European hopes.

Having fought back quickly and well to pull back a surprise Chelsea goal, Rovers took the match by the scruff off the neck after the break and would not have been flattered if they had scored six. I worry a little about England after seeing this inept Chelsea performance. The home team looked confused and largely ineffective against a Rovers side who were well organised and did the simple things.

If I followed Chelsea, I would also be concerned as to how easy they were thrown out of their stride by an ebullient Rovers team.

And if Hoddle is something of a tactical genius by the way he has had Chelsea playing, then it must say a great deal for Ray Harford's acumen.

For the home team never had a spell when they could say they were really on top.

Ruud Gullit wandered the pitch menacingly and produced the odd moment of top-class artistry.

But, by and large, he and the rest of his team-mates, bar the occasional burst from John Spencer, found their game plan dreadlocked.

Rovers always look better when they are closing teams down quickly and there was certainly no end of season appearance about their display.

The defence was safe and solid, Tim Sherwood and Billy McKinlay the bosses in midfield and Jason Wilcox, aided by a lot of unselfish running from Jeff Kenna, is back to his best - official.

They were so much better than Chelsea in the second half we could even have witnessed that rare phenomenon, a Stuart Ripley goal.

He certainly worked and tried hard enough for it, but Chelsea rode their luck and Dmitri Kharine's ability.

To be fair, perhaps all the fuss over Hoddle's departure and the identity of his successor proved too much of a distraction for the home team.

Their fans spent most of the time telling the board - in no uncertain terms - they didn't want George Graham and they DID want Gullit to be installed in the hot seat.

Whether the Dutch star would want the extra responsibility after this is another matter.

Yet Chelsea had the encouragement of scoring the first goal, even though they scarcely looked like doing that for much of the afternoon.

Rovers had already lost Kevin Gallacher through a hamstring problem but had still had most of the ball when they fell behind in the 35th minute.

The goal came from one of Chelsea's more positive and penetrative moves with Spencer making a good break down the right. He chipped in a good cross but when Scott Minto's shot wasn't such a good connection, it seemed the danger might be cleared.

Dennis Wise, however, had other ideas and reacted quickly to slide in and score from close range.

Going behind hasn't been a good omen on Rovers' travels this season but they hit back within two minutes for Sherwood to score a cracking goal on the break.

Wilcox found Graham Fenton on the left and he put over a delightful cross. Sherwood timed his run perfectly to plant a firm header past Kharine.

Three minutes after half-time, it was a case of the Englishman, Irishman and the Scotsman making sure the joke was on Chelsea.

Wilcox and Kenna combined excellently on the left for the full back to cross to the far post where McKinlay steamed in to score with a soaring header.

Eleven minutes later, Wilcox was again crucially involved. He played a magnificent crossfield pass from left to right, Paul Warhurst unselfishly squared the ball and Fenton smashed it in at the near post.

The news from elsewhere quickly confirmed there was not to be any last route to Europe for Rovers, but at least they finished the season with a touch of style and a well-deserved win.

As for Chelsea, whoever their next boss is, on this evidence, he faces a big task if Chelsea are to keep pace with Rovers next season.

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