LUIZ Felipe Scolari had to convince his doctor to let him leave hospital for his team's clash with West Ham, but he must be wondering why he bothered.

Performance anxiety struck Chelsea in front of their own fans yet again and they could only draw with their plucky opponents. Scolari has been stricken with kidney stones, but this match must have caused him more discomfort.

Once again, his team dominated with possession but, once again, it failed to strike a killer blow. For the third home league fixture in succession, boos rang out at the final whistle.

There were no catcalls for the West Ham manager though. This was Gianfranco Zola's first return to Stamford Bridge as a manager and he was afforded an excellent reception.

Zola was always more than just another superstar. He carried himself so well on and off the pitch, that he was respected by supporters of all clubs.

His popularity with the Stamford Bridge faithful must have dipped for a while here though. His team defended cleverly in compact rows of four, dropping back deep to suffocate Chelsea and prevent them from playing their favoured one-touch football.

Blues supporters want nothing but good things for Zola, but a first-half Craig Bellamy goal, very much against the run of play, was rather more generous than they would have liked.

Scolari seems reluctant to accept that Chelsea are a much better side with Didier Drogba in the starting line-up.

Whether it is through loyalty to Nicolas Anelka or a reluctance to change his tactical set-up, it is starting to develop into an irritating blind spot.

Anelka is a master finisher, as he showed when he slipped the equaliser past Rob Green, but he offers nothing in terms of link-up play and doesn't suit this system.

When faced with an organised defence, Chelsea's midfield simply log-jam behind him, unable to find a way through. Put Drogba on the pitch and you can beat them in the air. Leave him on the bench and you have to sit and watch as every cross or long pass is headed away.

In the first half, Chelsea created very little. It is no coincidence that, with Drogba on as a half-time substitute, they dominated the second period.

Second

Placed nicely in second with 37 points, it's difficult to criticise Chelsea too much and this certainly isn't a crisis, but it is a concern.

In nine games at Stamford Bridge, they have won three, drawn four and lost twice. That's mid-table form.

With Anelka skulking around on his own up front, they can't break down heavy defences. With Drogba alongside him, or in place of him, they can.

The solution would be simple, were it not for Anelka's inconvenient strike-rate.

Perhaps this is a simply a sign that Chelsea are ready for a change. This is still essentially the same formation that Jose Mourinho introduced when he arrived at the club in 2004.

Avram Grant didn't want to change it, but Scolari may have to. He cannot keep dropping points in winnable games and if he wants to bring that Premier League trophy back to West London, he needs to find a way for his strikers to work together.