FA Premiership / Fulham 0 Chelsea 1: When Sven-Goran Eriksson took his seat before kick-off, one wag suggested the Swede could be in Chelsea's dugout by half-time if Claudio Ranieri looked to be heading for a third straight defeat.

As it was, the visitors secured a deserved victory and the England coach must have departed thinking mainly about John Terry and the job of replacing Rio Ferdinand.

Ferdinand's eight-month ban for missing a drugs test has left a vacancy at the heart of England's defence for Euro 2004 and, on early-season form, Terry must be the leading candidate to partner Sol Campbell. "I think John deserves to play for England without what happened to Rio Ferdinand," said Ranieri.

Eriksson will have seen elements about Terry to please and concern him. A couple of times it was plain that, in common with many centre backs, the 23-year-old can be uncomfortable when opponents run at him. Yet Terry possesses an aerial power, strength in the tackle and reading of the game that mark him as a fine prospect. He also tends to be careful with his distribution, a must in internationals.

Terry did not have his most testing afternoon and nor was he the game's outstanding defender, that accolade going to Marcel Desailly, but he played his part in subduing Louis Saha. The striker only once escaped him and looked like scoring after seeing an early header saved, though he was hardly helped by the generally poor quality of Fulham's passing, with too many balls knocked aimlessly from the back.

Saha did expose vulnerability in Terry by dribbling at him in the opening minutes and Luis Boa Morte, Fulham's brightest spark, later did likewise.

Terry's form has dipped slightly since the own-goal he scored to give Bolton a win at Stamford Bridge. Yet his performances in many of Chelsea's most testing matches this season have shown him to be England's logical choice.

Terry also always displays the determination Chelsea did not show enough of in their League Cup defeat at Aston Villa but recovered here. The doggedness with which Fulham pulled men behind the ball made it hard for Ranieri's team to sparkle but they dominated for long periods.

Their inability to take a greater percentage of chances remains a worry, even if Edwin van der Sar provided a decent barrier in Fulham's goal. Only once in nine games have they scored more than a single goal.

Crespo's excellent goal, from Wayne Bridge's cross, was the toughest of the Argentinian's five opportunities. His finishing has been far less clinical than most imagined but his movement and capacity to create make him dangerous. Ranieri said the striker was "at 60 or 70 per cent of his quality" and Crespo will be a serious handful at full pelt.

Adrian Mutu was Chelsea's liveliest player for 70 minutes and Ranieri must hope the quality of Jesper Gronkjaer's final delivery improves now Damien Duff is out for at least a fortnight with a dislocated shoulder.

The injury happened when he landed heavily after being challenged as he shot at goal in the fifth minute.

"I think he will be out for two or three weeks," Ranieri told the club's official website. "Of course, it is a big blow over Christmas because Damien is Damien. When I don't put him in the squad, my mother, who is 84 years old, asks why? She kills me about it, it is true!"

Though Carlo Cudicini made four decent saves, Coleman's players threatened only sporadically and the gap below the top three was plain in the teams' passing. Fulham invited pressure in the second half with thoughtless clearances and really threatened only through Steed Malbranque and Boa Morte, who gave Glen Johnson a tough time.

"We needed better quality and more courage on the ball," said Coleman, who hopes to sign two players next month.

Courage and quality are in Terry's make-up. He must hope Ferdinand's misfortune is his good luck.