Football supporters can be a cruel judge of their own club's players, one need only ask Emmanuel Eboue about his relationship with Arsenal right now.

But for those watching Didier Drogba at Chelsea, he has become a player that can do no wrong.

While the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder' might not necessarily apply in Drogba's case, his time on the sidelines has caused the Chelsea fans to forgive all his sins because they know how much the team need him.

He has let the club down more times than he has scored in the last seven months, yet his showing as a substitute against Cluj just demonstrated how vital he is to their chances of success.

After he was sent off in the Champions League Final in May, many Chelsea supporters hoped the Blues would show him the red card and sell him.

But, as he warmed up on the sidelines before coming on against Cluj in the second-half, he was given a standing ovation from everyone in the Matthew Harding Stand.

It was not a reaction one would expect people to show a player who only in the past few weeks was suspended for throwing a coin at Burnley fans and had been accused of meeting Inter Milan officials behind Chelsea's back. Yet any desire for admonishment was quickly forgotten with Chelsea's Champions League hopes hanging by a thread and his return to the pitch was greeted with a cheer reserved for club's legends like Gianfranco Zola and Kerry Dixon.

The game at that stage was tied at 1-1 and everyone knew that if Bordeaux took the lead at Roma, then last season's finalists would be out of the competition at the group stage.

Nicolas Anelka may be the top scorer in English football with 15 goals but he put in another mediocre p erformance on the big occasion and didn't look like a candidate to ease the situation.

It took the arrival of Drogba for Salomon Kalou to show what the side has been missing for the majority of the campaign as he reinvigorated an outfit that had been labouring.

His winning goal in the 71st-minute was the finish of the highest order having controlled Joe Cole's lofted ball with one foot before quickly firing past keeper Nuno Claro with the other.

The remainder of the match saw Chelsea looking far more potent up front, although Anelka missed out on the fun as he was moved to the left wing Kalou had vacated rather than getting the chance he craves to play alongside Drogba up front.

Of course the 2-1 scoreline at the final whistle was highly significant in terms of securing their place in the next round of the Champions League but one gets the feeling Drogba's appearance could be a turning point in their whole season.

Just as Chelsea and manager Luiz Felipe Scolari appeared to be running out of ideas over how to win games at Stamford Bridge, the 30-year-old was back to save the day.

He has started only four games this term due mainly to knee injuries and now he has the chance to lead the line more regularly.

Scolari has already hinted that his long-awaited Plan B' lies in the shape of having Anelka and Drogba paired together up front, although it seems more likely he will stick to making a direct choice between the two.

The Premier League match against West Ham on Sunday could represent the start of the difficult process and Scolari explained: “Drogba is one of the best strikers in the world. I have more options now he is fit. He didn't have a pre-season build-up because of injury and when he came back he got injured again.

“Then he was suspended and now he is back again. But it gives me a chance to play a different system sometimes. Before he was fit, I could not do that.
“He is important but don't forget we are second in the Champions League group and second in the Premier League because our top scorer is Nicolas Anelka.
“Drogba is one of the best in the world but I need to think about Anelka. He is as important as Drogba. After this, it is my job to put the two together.”

Most of the other Chelsea players need to do a better job, though, if the club are to challenge Europe's elite in the new year. They created only two chances in the first-half and both were from set-pieces, with Alex heading one Deco free-kick into the ground and over, while Kalou scored from the other when the ball fell to his feet in front of goal just six yards out.

The minnows from Romania looked far more dangerous in open play and their inventive quality was best summed by their equaliser.

Yssouf Kone beautifully headed the ball into the top corner from a fine Cristian Panin cross.
In the end, Chelsea didn't need Drogba's intervention to secure qualification as Roma beat Bordeaux 2-0, but it means they will go into the draw a week on Friday in danger of facing the likes of Barcelona as they finished runners-up in their group.

Scolari isn't concerned who they get in the next round and added: “For me, it is not difficult if we play Barcelona, Real Madrid or any team because they are the best. If we want to arrive in the final games, we need to win.
“Getting to the final is difficult. It is six games away.
“I have expectations to get there but it's no good thinking about the final and then losing in the next round because it is then finished for us.”