Unfortunately, all the ingredients, topped off with a gloriously sunny day, failed to produce the right mix and we were subjected to one of the most boring 45-minute spells I have ever seen. The Blues, playing in their unsightly yellow and black striped kit, were a virtually non-existent attacking force. Branch and Stuart formed an unconvincing striking partnership and when the 18 year-old, sensibly relieved of his Fowler-esque no. 23 squad number, wasn't running offside, his more experienced team-mate was running into blind alleys and stumbling over the ball at the crucial moment. It seems as though as soon as Diamond gets into the penalty area, his boots secrete glue that traps the ball under his feet. How else do you explain the his repetitive errors?!

Elsewhere, Unsworth was as ineffective as ever and Andy Hinchcliffe looked like a man who was carrying the sort of injury for which he was removed after just 23 minutes of anonymous presence on the left side of defence. Slaven Bilic came on to replace him and almost immediately confirmed his growing reputation as the rock on which Everton 1997-98 will be founded. Young McCann was understandably tentative in midfield, although he did grow in confidence and his midfield partner, Tony Grant played like he had a hidden clause in his contract that forbids him from leaving the centre-circle. Either that or Sunderland kicked not only the living daylights out of young Rodders but his talent and confidence as well.

However, it was not all doom and gloom on Goodison's green and pleasant pitch. For a start, Chelsea's league of nations side was playing equally badly and Everton were displaying their star of the future in the shape of John "Johninho" Oster. If Everton had signed Ravanelli, 19 year-old Oster would still have been a better capture at a fraction of the price. This lad is going to be a fantastic player and has probably booked his first-team place on pre-season performances alone. From his very first touch it was clear that he knows what he is doing and that he is quite prepared to jink his way past anyone in his way, be it Leboeuf, Zola, Di Matteo or Frank Sinclair. Prematurely high praise you might say but when you consider that Johninho put in more crosses in one match than Everton did in the whole of last season, you understand what a breath of fresh air our new number 19 is.

The sparse Goodison crowd had to wait 6 minutes for the first meaningful attack of the game when Danny Granville crossed but Nicholls failed to connect on the six-yard box. The same Chelsea player fired over from the same distance 20 minutes later when he really should have hit the target. At the other end, Everton were playing as if Ferguson were on the pitch, floating long balls in the general direction of the Chelsea defence which were easily dealt with.#

Then in a five minute spell that straddled the half-hour mark, Everton suddenly came to life. Farrelly burst down the left but his cross was disappointing but within a minute, the Blues had won their first corner which Short headed narrowly over. Farrelly then snatched at an 18-yard effort before Short again headed a Stuart corner over the bar. Apart from that, there was little to excite the home faithful, only scare them as Vialli missed a sitter and Bilic went down writhing in agony following a high challenge from Leboeuf. Thankfully, Everton's 4.5 million pound freight-train came out uninjured.

At half-time, Kendall rang the much-needed changes. Ferguson and Speed replaced the ineffective Branch and Grant and immediately the Blues looked a far better side. Those youngsters still on the pitch grew visibly in confidence alongside the more experienced introductions and in the 49th minute, Ferguson laid up Farrelly but his 20 yard shot went straight to the 'keeper. Oster made another of his raids into the Chelsea area but just lost his footing at the vital second before Ferguson nodded a cross down to Stuart, but the former Chelsea man was heavily challenged and the ball ended up bouncing off his head to safety. In between, Oster had produced a moment of class with a sublime 25-yard drive that crashed off the crossbar and out of danger. It was the best moment of the match and it brought the crowd to life. Chelsea responded by putting Vialli clean through but he went down under a suspicion of contact by the on-rushing Gerrard but only a corner was given thanks to O'Connor's toe poke off the line.

In direct contrast to the first half, things were looking up. Speed was as industrious and enthusiastic as ever and even Duncan looked up for the fight. He was at the heart of most Blues attacks as was Oster. Apart from the Vialli-Gerrard incident and a suicide ball by Unsworth, the hosts' goal seemed relatively safe. Unfortunately, Channel 5 had not got any better. Bloom and St John were salivating at every touch by a Chelsea foreigner (which, considering their squad is almost entirely foreign, was a lot!) and when the timer reached the hour mark, the 6 in 60:00 disappeared completely, prompting the director to remove the scoreboard/clock graphic completely before giving it a comeback late on, stripped of the clockcompletely.

With 25 minutes left, Bilic had an effort cleared off the line but within three further minutes, Chelsea were ahead: Substitute Paul Hughes carved open the Everton defence with an incisive ball and Vialli slid the ball past the stranded Gerrard. It is possible that had Southall been in goal, he would have saved it but perhaps that is being harsh on Gerrard. It was a one-on-one situation which Nev relishes, though.

McCann was then removed for Claus Thomsen and Gareth Farrelly made way for Nick Barmby in the 75th minute. Barmby looked more like the payer we thought we had signed with his probing and movement and it was he who was involved in the Blues' magnificent equaliser. Ferguson back-heeled it to Barmby who fed Speed and the Welsh midfielder slipped a neat ball to Stuart and Ferguson powered home Diamond's inch-perfect cross to finish a fine move. The game had come to life but within three minutes, Chelsea were back in front. Sinclair's driven cross was fluffed by Gerrard and Zola slotted home from 10 yards.

Nevertheless, Everton pushed for the equaliser and Stuart had a gilt-edged chance to fire them level in a goal-mouth melee but Dennis Wise cleared off the line to save the Londoners. Gerrard then made a fine mid-air block from Zola to stop the Bloom-St John cries of "Yessss!" in mid-sentence before the Italian midfielder finished the Toffees off in the last minute having side-footed home in acres of space. It was sad to have lost the tournament we were hosting but ultimately the result was of no consequence. What was more important was what we learned from the players on show. Although the first half was deadly dull, the youthful Everton line-up proved adept at containing a (on paper) superior Chelsea side. However, the real signs of things to come came from the performances of Ferguson, Barmby and Speed who, hopefully along with Oster, will form the nucleus of Everton's attack for the coming season.

Without reading too much into a pre-season friendly tournament, old worries do still persist, though. Unsworth still looks a shadow of the player he was 2-3 years ago, Gerrard continues to do his confidence and, consequently, his future any good with another costly error and Tony Grant looked both lost and clueless for much of his first-half outing.

PLAYER RATINGS:

• Gerrard 6 - Some fine stops were ruined when he spilled Sinclair's cross for the second goal. Looked better than the last time I saw him though I have to say.O' Connor 7 - Confident and assured throughout and showed a positive attacking presence linking up with Oster nicely down the right flank.
• Hinchcliffe 5 - Virtually anonymous for the whole of the 23 minutes he played. Methinks he has been brought back too early.
• Unsworth 6 - Rhino gets 6 more for his endeavours going forward than his occasionally shaky defensive performance. Horribly one-sided as well. He obviously needs to train up that right boot.
• Short 7 - A solid performance by Ted Danson today. Showed some excellent touches when bringing the ball out of defence. At one point he ran unhindered all the way from the Everton area to the by-line to cross into the Chelsea box!
• Grant 5 - Anonymous. Seemed content to play 10 yard passes from within the centre-circle and not much else. Could learn a thing or two from young Oster about tackling when you're not built like a midfield dynamo!
• Oster 8 - Although he drifted in and out of play according to the movements of the rest of the team, you sensed that something would happen every time Johninho got the ball. He is going to be a terrific Everton player and I hope he gets a run in the first team. After all, he has no real competition for the right-wing spot. I wish that 25 yard shot had dipped under the bar!
• Farrelly 6 - Two years older than Oster but did not have the youngster's confidence or guile. he has just returned from a slight injury though so let's hope there is better to come from Gareth. Looked keen and enterprising at times but uncertain at others.
• McCann 6 - His performance betrayed his years but there was enough evidence there of a star for the future. He grew in stature once Speed and Ferguson came on and could benefit from some first-team action this season.
• Branch 6 - He was unfortunate in that he received very little service from a toothless central midfield. A typical Twiggy performance though, full of running off the ball, enthusiasm and invention.
• Stuart 6 - With so many young faces on the pitch I expected more from Diamond but he did not deliver. His cross for the goal was superb but otherwise Stuart is not producing the sort of form we know he is capable of.
• Bilic 8 - A class act in every way. Solid, inventive and influential. He is a born captain and is committed to the cause. As someone pointed out the other day, Slav has presence!
• Speed 8 - Typical Speedo, following on from last season's Player of the Season form.
• Ferguson 8 - If this is how Dunc is going to approach the new season then we should be in for a treat. Dropped back to midfield on many occasions to start moves himself which was good to see.
• Barmby 7 - Much improved. Showing the sort of form he was producing at the end of last season. If he can keep at the top of his game he will be a vital cog in the Everton wheel.Thomsen 5 - He did come on didn't he??!! ;-)

Team 7 - A very entertaining second half erased the memories of a tepid first period. There was plenty to convince those T/Netters who are convinced we are going to be involved in a relegation scrap that we might just surprise a few people this season but there was also a weight of evidence to suggest that Everton need a midfield general and a goal-scorer.... and quickly!

The first period had been notable mainly for Andy Hinchcliffe's premature departure, protecting a thigh strain. The England full-back was making his return after nine months' absence following cruciate ligament surgery.

As the half drew to a close, Gianluca Vialli missed awfully but made amends after 57 minutes, beating Paul Gerrard, following good work by Paul Hughes. Everton equalised when Duncan Ferguson, climbing high, headed in Graham Stuart's cross with trademark power.

Chelsea responded by moving effortlessly up a gear with Gianfranco Zola, the Footballer of the Year, inevitably and inspirationally to the fore. When Gerrard palmed out a Frank Sinclair centre, Zola was on hand to sweep Chelsea ahead. Balance and precision were again witnessed with Zola's second, a low shot to which Gerrard had no answer.

Gullit took the opportunity to use some of his young English players. Jody Morris, Mark Nicholls and Danny Granville all started though the feel and gradual fluidity remained distinctly Italian.