Three changes at once: Chelsea's 2005 FA Cup exit at Newcastle

A manager’s decisions always shape the course of a match, but some mistakes are more costly than others. The match between Newcastle United and Chelsea in the round of 16 of the FA Cup in 2005 is a vivid example of what a football manager should not do.

The weather was bitterly cold and snowy, and the staff at St James’ Park cleared snow from the pitch twice before kick-off. The home side looked very strong in attack: Graeme Souness picked Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert up front, with Kieron Dyer and Laurent Robert on the wings. José Mourinho opted for a slightly more defensive approach, fielding Smertin, Geremi, Tiago and Jarošík in midfield and Joe Cole as an attacking midfielder behind lone striker Kežman. Makelele, Drogba and John Terry were rested by the Portuguese manager.

The hosts needed only four minutes to take the lead. Patrick Kluivert scored a magnificent header from a superb Laurent Robert cross: 1-0. Kežman then hit the bar, and Chelsea could not find an equaliser. Little else happened before half-time. After the break Mourinho took a huge risk by making all three of his substitutions at once. It proved a very poor decision, because injuries are more likely when the weather is bad and the pitch is in poor condition. Mourinho brought on Lampard, Gudjohnsen and Damien Duff, and shortly after the triple change Wayne Bridge went off injured following a full-blooded tackle by Shearer, leaving Chelsea with ten men.

With Chelsea now playing more attacking football and Bridge gone, Newcastle’s fast wingers found plenty of space and made life very difficult for the Blues’ defence. Damien Duff also picked up an injury but had to play on. In the last minute of normal time goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini was sent off for a foul on Shola Ameobi outside his area, and defender Glen Johnson had to go in goal. The right-back immediately made a fine save from a powerful Laurent Robert free kick.

Newcastle United won the match 1-0 and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they beat Tottenham 1-0, again thanks to an early Kluivert goal. The Magpies were then knocked out in the semi-finals after a 1-4 defeat to Manchester United.

The cost for Chelsea

The defeat at St James’ Park was played on 20 February 2005 in front of 45,740 spectators, and its consequences stretched well beyond the FA Cup. Wayne Bridge was carried off early in the second half with a serious ankle injury that ended his season, and the left-back missed the League Cup final against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff the following weekend. Chelsea finished the tie at St James’ Park with only nine players after Cudicini’s dismissal in the 90th minute.

The setback did not derail Mourinho’s first season in England. Chelsea beat Liverpool 3-2 after extra time in that League Cup final, the first trophy of the Portuguese manager’s reign, and went on to win the 2004–05 Premier League with 95 points, twelve more than second-placed Arsenal and the club’s first league title in 50 years. The same side conceded only 15 league goals and kept 25 clean sheets, both Premier League records. The one competition in which Chelsea fell clearly short was the Champions League, where they lost to Liverpool in the semi-finals.

How Newcastle’s season ended

For Newcastle, the cup run was the bright spot of a difficult campaign under Graeme Souness, who had arrived from Blackburn Rovers in September 2004. After the semi-final defeat to Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium, the Magpies also went out of the UEFA Cup in the quarter-finals against Sporting, losing the away leg in Lisbon 4-1. In the Premier League they finished 14th with 44 points from ten wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats, and a home match against Aston Villa in April was remembered for Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer being sent off for fighting each other.

Patrick Kluivert, who had joined on a free transfer from Barcelona in July 2004, ended the season with 13 goals in all competitions, two of them in the FA Cup. The cup was eventually won by Arsenal, who beat Manchester United 5-4 on penalties after a goalless final in Cardiff on 21 May 2005.