A graceless, unhappy place where sneers outnumber smiles

IF PETER KENYON is to be believed, and Chelsea really are desperate for a little loving, then they have a funny way of showing it.

The Premiership champions have lurched from spat to spat in recent weeks, but they plumbed a new moral depth on Saturday when their striker Didier Drogba appeared to admit that he is a diver.

It was an appropriately sour end to another fraught week at Stamford Bridge, which also saw winger Shaun Wright-Phillips accused of playacting and the club charged by the FA for the second time in a fortnight for failing to control their players.

Chelsea plan to fight that allegation but that is about the only aspect of the club which is appealing at the moment.

With every victory they chalk up and this one, against a depleted Manchester City, was one of their most comfortable of the season Chelsea's behaviour becomes more boorish and their attitude is epitomised by Drogba.

The Ivory Coast striker is not without his graces he scored a delightful opening goal on Saturday, breaking free of David Sommeil with a delightful body-swerve before crunching his shot past David James but there is also a devilish side to his nature.

He had shown it at Fulham the previous Sunday when his equalising goal was, eventually, struck off for a flagrant handball and it was on display again as he scored his second goal against City.

In the 33rd minute, he brought Asier Del Horno's header under control with his arm before firing in a low shot but, much to City's incredulity, the strike was allowed to stand by the referee Rob Styles. The visitors' protests eventually brought a bizarre red card for the captain Sylvain Distin after the half-time whistle.

Drogba admitted in a post-match television interview that he had been guilty of foul play but it was his confession moments later which caused the biggest stir.

He had infuriated City's players on at least two occasions with theatrical reactions to soft challenges and he was asked whether he understood why he is accused of cheating.

"Sometimes I dive and sometimes I stand up," Drogba replied.

"In football you can't stay up every time. But if the people who are accusing me want to come on the pitch they will see if I dive or not."

Drogba then categorically denied that he was a diver but there was still enough ambiguity in his remarks to prompt Chelsea's notoriously sensitive PR machine to hurriedly issue a "clarifying" statement on the 28-year-old's behalf.

"Unfortunately in the emotion of winning the game my comments have come across partly in the wrong way," it read. "I want to make clear that I don't dive this was the intention of my answer."

That will do little to persuade onlookers that he is not prone to gamesmanship he was even booed by some of his own fans at the end of Saturday's game, while the City manager Stuart Pearce pondered whether the striker needed new studs on his boots but that is not the issue.

Drogba appears fuelled by a win-at-all-costs mentality, a readiness to compromise sacred sporting principles in pursuit of points, and it is an attitude which has become worryingly prevalent at Stamford Bridge since Jose Mourinho arrived in 2004.

Chelsea were frothy and fun under Claudio Ranieri but now, under the steely gaze of the Portuguese, they have swung to the other extreme. A club which was once feted for its joie de vivre has become a graceless, unhappy place where sneers outnumber the smiles.

Mourinho once again refused to share his thoughts with the media and, by extension, Chelsea supporters after this latest victory.

He appears gripped by the bizarre belief that by maintaining a stubborn silence, all criticism of his club will evaporate into thin air when most of the problems could be solved if he and his players showed a little humility.

It is a crying shame for the genuinely good-natured members of Chelsea's squad Frank Lampard, John Terry, Joe Cole, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Petr Cech, for example that their sterling on-field achievements should be continually undermined by the posturing of a petulant few.

It is not even the case that Chelsea are merely suffering the same jealously vindictive hate campaigns endured by all winning sides.

Arsenal's Unbeatables were treasured by genuine football supporters for their joyously exuberant style; even Manchester United, the supposed bête noir of the neutral in the late 1990s, commanded affection for their blooding of native talent.

Chelsea are waltzing to their second consecutive Premiership title. Soon, perhaps next season, they will finally crack the Champions League and project their domestic dominance onto the continent.

But unless they change their overbearing, odious attitude and stop waging war on the rest of the world, they will be remembered not for their glittering achievements, but their equally stunning lack of graciousness.

Opta Fact: Chelsea have scored two goals in each of their last five league victories.

Opta Fact: 11 nationalities have scored for Chelsea in the Premiership this season. No team has managed a more international goal haul.