Chelsea eye cup double thanks to golden oldies

Has there ever been a team that has proved its critics wrong in more emphatic fashion?

Chelsea’s ageing prima donnas, cast as dysfunctional, disaffected and decrepit just three months ago, are now on course for greatness with an FA Cup assured and a Champions League final to come.

Chelsea’s veteran spine of Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba — each and every one described not so long ago as nearing the end of their Stamford Bridge careers — were the inspiration for victory over Liverpool at Wembley that means season 2011-12 now has the potential to go from being a disaster to possibly the most memorable in the club’s history.