While we were quite sure that Tony Adams could be shown the door, we hadn’t certainly anticipated that Chelsea would do the same to Luis Felipe Scolari. The flamboyant Brazilian’s chequered coaching career now has a black mark on it, and Roman Abramovich and his team have demonstrated a sense of ruthlessness by sacking him that has shocked several football observers.
We felt Avram Grant had been wrongly sacked, but big Phil carried quite some weight behind him, and was more than an adequate replacement. But the Chelsea fairytale has ended quite abruptly for Scolari, and whether you like it or not, he will probably go down as the least successful manager at the Bridge.
Chelsea sacked Scolari saying that the move was required in order “to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for”, further showing that Abramovich did not think Scolari could engineer a turn around at Stamford Bridge.
Scolari’s reign started on the right note, with a 4-0 thrashing of Portsmouth, but he will probably look at the defeat that Liverpool inflicted upon the Blues at the Bridge as the turning point of his career. From then everything went awry- the club lost to Arsenal, Manchester United and once more to Liverpool, and the recent draw against Hull was the last nail in the coffin.
So, who will replace Scolari? The first names being suggested are that of Grant and Barcelona manager Riijkard. Guus Hiddink is also a candidate in the eyes of several bookmakers.
We’ll keep you updated on this.
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