Organisers declared themselves satisfied with the first day of the Central London Agricultural Show.

Best in class, Chelsea, went home happy, having secured themselves a return visit on May 15, although they have confirmed an intention to purchase new, extra-durable wellies for the occasion after complaining about the surface.

After this week's Champions League results, England's claim to have the best league in the world sounds a bit hollow. The excitement factor has never been questioned.

On this? The greatest excitement tended to be picking who would fall over next. The Football Association can be thankful, in his present mood, Sir Alex Ferguson was not sending a team out on it.

Since this magnificent £757million stadium re-opened in 2007, the major complaint about the surface has been its 'dead' nature.

Now it is alive, sodden pre-match to bring some vitality, threatening calamity with every twist. "Bambi on Ice" one wag declared.

It certainly seemed that way as player after player slid and skidded as if an icy grip had taken hold of one patch of green on an otherwise glorious afternoon.

From his vantage point, England manager Fabio Capello must have cringed.

He has a friendly to play here on May 24 against Mexico, less than three weeks before his team begin their World Cup quest by taking on the United States in Rustenburg.

On this evidence, instead of using the fixture as important preparation, Capello must be considering whether to leave out all his key men. It is not hard to imagine Wayne Rooney turning an ankle on this. And then where would we be?

Maybe the surface was playing on Howard Webb's mind when he decided not to give a penalty for John Obi Mikel's first-half tackle on Gabriel Agbonlahor.

There could be no other reason for the Sheffield official to turn down the claim, which came at the same end Martin O'Neill will go to his grave believing Nemanja Vidic should have been sent off for his foul on the same man during the Carling Cup final.

This was an interesting occasion for O'Neill, chasing a first FA Cup final appearance for Aston Villa since 2000, against the team that defeated them then, and more pertinently put seven goals past them at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago.

Was three a moral victory for the Northern Irishman? Not at all, and a very harsh scoreline it was too as Chelsea maintain their quest to become the seventh club to complete the domestic double, and win the FA Cup for the third time in four years at this stadium - maybe they really do like the pitch!

That John Terry would be the man to actually lift these honours is quite a quirky thought on the weekend Tiger Woods returned from his own shame at the Masters.

Terry has maintained a dignified silence since being stripped of the England captaincy, determined to let his skills speak for themselves.

There was a point, after that initial stoic reaction, and that winning goal at Burnley, it appeared as though this mental colossus would collapse, as he made mistakes that left Chelsea's season teetering on the brink.

Now Terry is back. Leading from the front as he always does.

One brilliant header denied John Carew an open goal before the break before he steered Florent Malouda's corner into the path of Didier Drogba for the opener.

He did also catch England team-mate James Milner with a pretty awful challenge later on, although Terry has always been prone to that.

Milner was able to carry on. And in his disappointment at another day out at Wembley that ended in defeat, Milner will be glad to know Terry will be on his side in South Africa.

For Capello, the result means Villa's six potential members of his World Cup squad will now be available for the entire two-week training camp he has planned in Austria, along with those players from Arsenal and Manchester United, who found out this week their only interest in the Champions League final will be through a TV screen.

That is great news for the Italian, who in two months' time will face the biggest challenge of his life.

As hosts for the 2011 Champions League final, the FA are facing a challenge or two as well if that showpiece occasion is not to be turned into a mockery.

Rip it up and start again would be good advice, except they have already tried that. It hasn't worked.