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So long Big Phil…
Published by DSAdmin on February 9, 2009
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Well it hasn’t been bad, but it hasn’t been the meteoric rise to the top and the promise of cabinets full of trophies during Big Phil’s short lived tenure at the helm of Chelsea FC.
A statement on the Chelsea website reads:
“Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dismissed as manager of Chelsea Football Club today (Monday) with immediate effect.
The Chelsea board would like to place on record our gratitude for his time as manager.
Felipe has brought many positives to the club since he joined and we all feel a sense of sadness that our relationship has ended so soon.
Unfortunately the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season.
In order to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for we felt the only option was to make the change now.
The search for a new manager has already started and we hope to have someone in place as soon as possible.
While that continues Assistant Coach Ray Wilkins will take charge of the team on a temporary basis.”
Already the Chelsea fans are clamoring for Ginafranco Zola who is a former blue’s player and a legend at the club. It will be interesting to see whether Zola, who’s West Ham team is playing well, can resist the lure of leading Chelsea forward. Steve Clarke who was also a Chelsea player and coach and who currently is Zola’s assistant at West Ham is also a fan favourite and appears to be the man that West Ham players credit with their standard and improved training.
Scolari seemed to have been off to a good start at Chelsea, but it appears as though, competing in the knockout stages of the Champions league, the fifth round of the FA cup, and 4th in the EPL standings is not good enough for Chelsea. The recent run of poor form in the EPL culminating over the last weekend in a disappointing draw at home to Hull seems to have overturned any of the work that Scolari and his side have managed to this point in the season. The road ahead does not get any easier, Chelsea face Watford in the FA Cup, Aston Villa in the Premier League and Juventus in the Champions league. That stretch of potentially tricky fixtures will no doubt spur the club to quickly appoint a new manager to lead Chelsea to the desired levels of success.
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Nabyl Charania on Mon, 9th Feb 2009 1:51 pm
I guess the “Special One’ knew what he was talking about when he left Chelsea
Nabyl Charania on Wed, 11th Feb 2009 3:39 pm
Looks like Gus Hiddink is going to balance coaching Team Russia and Chelski FC….http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/feb/11/guus-hiddink-confirmed-chelsea-manager
Ian John on Thu, 12th Feb 2009 4:01 pm
Roman’s very much the oligarch isn’t he? I did have a wry smile at some Chelsea fans comments about Scolari being “too attacking and relying on flair”. Considering he has made his whole career on producing teams that are functional and tough to beat. Scolari’s paid the price for one thing, four defeats this season in games with Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal. If they win all those games, he is a genius, Chelsea are top and he’s still in a job.
Nabyl Charania on Fri, 13th Feb 2009 12:45 pm
Hiddink’s in a no-lose situation, its not like he can get new players in, the transfer window’s closed. So either he can coax the team into playing together, or if he can’t he can always blame it on the players that were in the squad before he got there.