Chelseafc.com continues a look back over another eventful year at the club with the words reported at the time. The FA Cup quest begins.

Entering 2009 in second place in the league, there were many questions hanging over the club. Would there be transfer activity during the month-long window? When would the home form turnaround? What would be done about the growing trend of conceding set-piece goals, most recently demonstrated at Fulham in the last game of 2008?

Scolari promised changes, some enforced, others optional, ahead of meeting Southend United in the FA Cup third round at Stamford Bridge.

'I have some problems in my squad and five or six players who have played a lot of games until now will not play this game,' he confirmed, adding that Carlo Cudicini would play in what would prove his last game for the club, and Didier Drogba would start up front.

'Many players have the chance tomorrow to play because some players play 25 per cent of games and tomorrow is the time to play, three or four or five players. Belletti, Paulo Ferreira, Carlo Cudicini, Mancienne, Kalou,' he added.

Despite Scolari's strong spine, the outcome was familiar.

'The Blues concede from a late set-piece again as a 90th minute Southend equaliser gives the League One side a replay, Salomon Kalou having opened the scoring,' reported Chelseafc.com.

'The penalty was paid for not taking numerous chances, Chelsea totally dominant in terms of possession and territory but lacking in decision-making in and around the Southend area to turn dominant play into goals.

'Kalou's 30th minute opener had been a header from a corner and it was a header by defender Peter Clarke from a throw that levelled it up, Southend having only looked like scoring when hitting the crossbar just minutes earlier.'

Chelsea 1-1 Southend at Stamford Bridge on 03-01-2009
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cudicini; Ferreira, Ivanovic, Carvalho, A Cole; Belletti, Mikel, Lampard (c); J Cole (Di Santo 83), Drogba, Kalou (Sinclair 87).
Scorer Kalou 31
Booked Mikel 55, Ferreira 90+4
Southend (4-4-2): Mildenhall; Sankofa, Clarke, Barrett (c), Herd; Grant, Christophe (Moussa 74), McCormack, Stanislas; Revell (Laurent 74), Barnard (Freedman 74).
Scorer Clarke 90.
Booked McCormack 50, Grant 88.

It was a major slip-up, and a replay 11 days later was not what was needed, but at least there were now eight days to prepare for Manchester United away. Those preparations would be undertaken without Wayne Bridge who departed for Manchester City and the prospect of more first team football, while youngster Scott Sinclair headed for Birmingham on a temporary deal.

'With him and Ash being the two best left-backs around by far, it was difficult for him to break through and get as many games as he'd have liked,' Terry said of Bridge.

'I think he felt at 28 he had come to an age where he needed to play week in week out, and he will definitely get that at Man City and show people he is right up there, as I said, with Ash.'

As our January 11 trip to Old Trafford neared, players and management came out to stress now was the time to prove we were genuine title contenders.

'To go to Manchester will be a tough game, if we win it gives a lot of confidence to push on as a team to win the league, [but] it is always a hard battle against Man U,' Ashley Cole said.

If a win would have instilled confidence, what would a crushing 3-0 defeat do?

Despite a strong looking line-up, three crosses proved Chelsea's undoing as we fell to a first away league defeat of the season.

A corner had led to United's opener in first half injury time, headed in by Nemanja Vidic, and was followed up by second half strikes from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.

Chelsea struggled throughout to create chances, and were limited to long range efforts and patient, yet fruitless build-up for much of the game. A watching José Mourinho would not have been impressed.

Man Utd 3-0 Chelsea at Old Trafford on 11-01-2009
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Belletti 62), Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Mikel; J Cole (Di Santo 84), Ballack, Lampard, Deco (Anelka h-t); Drogba.
Booked Lampard 3, Bosingwa 26, Carvalho 27, Terry 79, Belletti 85
Man Utd (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Neville (c), Evans, Vidic, Evra (O' Shea 65); Ronaldo, Fletcher, Giggs (Carrick 79), Park; Rooney, Berbatov.
Goals Vidic 45+1, Rooney 62, Berbatov 86
Booked Ronaldo 27,Rooney 65, Park 68

Scolari lamented the injury time strike that forced a rethink at the break.

'We conceded a goal that changed the game because after this goal they played more free. We tried to put more players in front and gave them the space they wanted to play,' he explained.

'They are better than us in that time and scored one more goal by foul. It is one more mistake and in that time sure, they played very well, better than us.'

It left Man United just a point behind us in the table, with two games in hand to play in the coming weeks. Asked whether Sir Alex Ferguson's side should now be counted as favourites for the championship, Scolari responded after some consideration.

'I don't know if I win or not win, we have 16, 17 games, and who knows what happens. If we play as today, as [the last] three or four games, sure, we will not win,' he conceded.

Next then came a perilous visit to the Essex coast. Spirits, and fog, would need to be lifted if we were going to win at Roots Hall.

Ref Chris Foy eventually deemed that the game could go ahead after mist had descended on Southend's small ground, and the world's media were looking for an upset, as well as how Chelsea would cope with crosses, especially as Scolari had discussed altering the marking method.

After 15 minutes, they had their headlines. We had to defend our first corner on 14 minutes, Alex's misplaced long back pass going astray. It was taken short and it took a Cech stretching save to turn it behind.

From the second corner that followed, this time from the right side, Chelsea lined up in a much-discussed zonal system. It didn't prevent Southend centre-back Adam Barrett being found unmarked to head past a helpless Cech. The press box, like three sides of the ground, exploded into frenzy but the Blues would remain resilient and battled back with efficiency.

There was still bad news as Joe Cole's season ended with a ruptured cruciate ligament. He would be ruled out until at least pre-season.

Michael Ballack's first of the season, followed by goals from Salomon Kalou, Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard, all quality strikes recovered the replay and booked a fourth round tie at home to Ipswich Town.

Southend 1-4 Chelsea at Roots Hall on 14-01-2009
Southend (4-1-3-2): Mildenhall; Sankofa, Clarke, Barrett (c), Herd; Christophe; Grant (Francis 79), Moussa, Stanislas; Revell (Betsy 85), Barnard (Freedman 72).
Scorer Barrett 15.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry (c), A Cole; Ballack, Mikel (Belletti h-t), Lampard; J Cole (Di Santo 75), Anelka, Kalou.
Scorers Ballack 44, Kalou 59, Anelka 77, Lampard 90+1.
Booked Mikel 37

Ray Wilkins took press conference duties and admitted frustration at Southend's goal.

'It is always disappointing when any side concedes at a set piece because you work extremely hard to keep them out,' explained the assistant first team coach. 'But, with this group of guys what you always expect is that they will work extremely hard to rectify that in the next game they play.

'We will try everything to get it right, zonal, man-to-man, sticking a coach in front of it, we will try the lot until we get the right solution.'

To be continued…