Newcastle United 0 Chelsea 0: Mourinho shows the strain as his team blow their big chance

Jose Mourinho warning darkly about conspiracy theories against his Chelsea team, his players empty of ideas against a side playing for nothing. If yesterday at St James' Park was where Chelsea's hectic pursuit of Manchester United ended then it was a soulless, lethargic way to go, just when the race had got interesting.

Somewhere in the fragile peace deal agreed on Friday, the creative tension at Chelsea seemed to have been extinguished. Roman Abramovich and his board should have saved the soothing words for the end of the season because now the Chelsea paranoia has ended, so have the results. Nine consecutive wins in the Premiership for Chelsea were brought to an end and with the gap at the top now three points, Sir Alex Ferguson's team are off the hook.

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The only real controversy sparked when Mourinho pronounced "the end of democracy" because of a Stephen Carr handball in the penalty area that no one else remembered. And as someone who grew up under a dictatorship in Portugal, you would assume he has some expertise in that area. Mourinho's belief that Manchester United are finding favour among referees was carefully framed not to get him in trouble with the authorities. But it was most telling that he said it at all.

Not since the Petr Cech injury at Reading in October has Mourinho grasped desperately for such outlandish statements. He conceded that Newcastle deserved a point but otherwise sounded like a man whose patience is starting to fray.

The Chelsea board who had given him the vote of confidence on Friday were at St James' Park, accompanied by Abramovich. Their affirmation of support for him, Mourinho said, should end the speculation, but a few more performances like this and new life will be breathed into that debate. Pointedly, Mourinho still did not refer to any personal pledges from Abramovich himself.

In truth, the legacy of the darkest days of January, when Mourinho and the board were at loggerheads, are coming back to haunt Chelsea now. The embargo on signing a centre-back in January has left them desperately short for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg against Liverpool after Ricardo Carvalho, absent yesterday, picked up an injury in training that looks set to rule him out. Michael Essien is also suspended for the game. Will Mourinho now pick Khalid Boulahrouz? In the past few months he has done everything to avoid doing that; now he may not have any choice.

Michael Ballack hobbled off the field after 18 minutes and he, too, must be a doubt for Wednesday. Whatever current of adrenalin that this embattled Chelsea team has run on for the last few months, it seemed to be ebbing yesterday. There was no siege in the last 10 minutes, no overwhelming pressure, just a gentle fading.

Any team that leaves St James' with Titus Bramble among the candidates for man of the match will know they have not done their duty. The Newcastle centre-back was solid yesterday and his partner, Steven Taylor, even better. In midfield, Nicky Butt trundled around like a man determined to do his old mates at Manchester United proper service and Kieron Dyer missed arguably the best chance of the match.

It was the weekend that the North-east roared at last. The football institutions in this part of the country may only watch the title race from a distance but they have had their say over the last two days. Middlesbrough stopped Manchester United at Old Trafford, Newcastle did much the same to Chelsea. "Chelsea have created fewer chances against us than in any game this season," Glenn Roeder said, and it was difficult to argue.

It was not pretty, but then it takes the likes of Barcelona to make stopping the blue machine into an art form. Antoine Sibierski grappled with John Terry at every Chelsea corner and James Milner exposed Paulo Ferreira down Chelsea's right flank. The match-winning qualities of Frank Lampard were beyond him on this occasion.

As for the highlights, let's keep it brief. The key handball identified by Mourinho, after 10 minutes, passed most of the crowd by and there were no discernible protests from Chelsea players. Dyer's chance arrived just before the hour when Butt found him on the right, but Cech narrowed the angle and blocked the shot.

Even Joe Cole's introduction before the hour failed to liven it up. His cross on 62 minutes was hit first by Lampard and then by Salomon Kalou, neither of whom got much on the ball. Cole then flicked a late Ferreira cross from the right carelessly wide.

Chelsea are yet to reclaim power over the destiny of the title - and they are running out of time.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): Harper; Solano, Bramble, Taylor, Carr; Dyer, Butt, Emre, Milner; Sibierski (Carroll, 79), Martins. Substitutes not used: Srnicek (gk), N'Zogbia, Ramage, Babayaro.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Ferreira, Essien, Terry, Bridge; Makelele (Shevchenko, 76); Wright-Phillips (J Cole, 55), Ballack (Mikel, 18), Lampard; Kalou, Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Boulahrouz.

Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).

Booked: Chelsea Essien, Mikel, Lampard.

Man of the match: Taylor.

Attendance: 52,056.