Hull City 0, Chelsea 4:Jose who? Admittedly it was against a Championship side in the League Cup but a vibrant Chelsea performance suffused with goals and improvisational attacking suggested that there just might be a life for the Blues post Mr Mourinho after all.
Moreover this new era could even include an extended managerial stay for Avram Grant, the Pro licence-less former Israel manager who choreographed Chelsea's first win in five games with a pleasingly fluent gameplan far removed from Jose Mourinho's hallmark conservatism.
Grant has not exactly enjoyed the best of luck with refereeing decisions during his short career as Chelsea manager and the Israeli must have been frustrated to see his side denied a clear penalty for handball in the third minute. Salomon Kalou took early aim and his shot looked destined for the bottom corner but, shielded by Bo Myhill's despairing dive, Damien Delaney, Hull's left back, sneakily stretched out a hand and palmed it wide.
It would, however, be harsh to pour scorn on Chris Foy, the referee's vision having been blocked by Myhill who must have appeared the man responsible for diverting the danger.
At the end of a day when the rumour mill continued to suggest Grant's job security is already in peril and Chelsea denied reports they were considering appointing Marco van Basten in his stead, Jose Mourinho's successor nevertheless felt sufficiently confident to make seven changes from the side that lost at Manchester United on Sunday. Even Steve Sidwell, virtually an invisible man at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks, got a game in midfield.
And afterwards Grant insisted he was not affected by reports suggesting the club had spoken to Van Basten. He said: "You come to a club like Chelsea you know there are many rumours. I need to work and they need to write."
The Israeli insisted team spirit. "The dressingroom is very good, you can see it on the pitch. Off the pitch I believe Chelsea players are 100 per cent committed to the club. I want them to be committed to the club, not to me."
As the visitors began by forcing a flurry of corners Grant's rotation seemed well justified but once Jay-Jay Okocha began reminding everyone he can still pass a bit and deliver a mean dead ball, John Terry was required to make a couple of important headed clearances.
Phil Brown, Hull's manager, had asked his Championship players to "dare to dream" and, inspired by the influential Okocha, they began to enjoy some protracted periods of possession and might even have taken the lead if Stephen McPhee had not angled an inviting headed chance wide.
Shortly afterwards Scott Sinclair's finishing proved far more precise, the left-sided midfielder accelerated to meet Shaun Wright-Phillips's square ball across the box which he promptly sidefooted beyond the helpless Myhill. Brown's hitherto resilient defence had temporarily lost concentration and failed to register the danger when Wright-Phillips exchanged slick passes with Juliano Belletti before cutting in from the right and centring to create Sinclair's first senior goal for Chelsea.
Hull might have equalised when an Okocha cross caught Terry and Tal Ben Haim cold but, again, McPhee lacked the necessary accuracy to defy Carlo Cudicini. Rather than berate McPhee, Brown was perhaps entitled to feel a little disappointed with Foy at half-time as Terry had arguably been in an offside position when Sinclair struck. Moreover the England centre-half was standing in a place which left Myhill unsighted as the youngster - loaned to Plymouth last season but tipped for great things by Mourinho - eased the pressure on Grant.
The second half had barely begun when Chelsea doubled their lead with a goal credited to Kalou by the stadium announcer. In reality it appeared to be an own-goal by Delaney who seemed to head Claudio Pizarro's cross into his own net after jumping for the ball with Kalou.
It was the first truly chilly night of the autumn in east Yorkshire but the Israeli surely felt beautifully warm when Steve Sidwell claimed his first goal for Chelsea since arriving from Reading in the summer. Struck with the outside of his foot from around 22 yards the midfielder's drive past Myhill emphasised just how much work Hull - who might have reduced the deficit when another Okocha free-kick curled inches wide - have to do if they are to fulfil their plan of reaching the Premier League within three years.
HULL: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney (Dawson 53), Okocha, Ashbee, Livermore, Elliott (Garcia 53), McPhee, Pedersen (Featherstone 73). Subs Not Used: Woodhead, Hughes. Booked: Brown.
CHELSEA: Cudicini, Belletti, Ben-Haim, Terry, Ashley Cole (Bridge 65), Wright-Phillips (Joe Cole 49), Essien (Makelele 73), Sidwell, Kalou, Sinclair, Pizarro. Subs Not Used: Hilario, Shevchenko.
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside).
