Scolari gone, but is it Abramovich who is the main cause for a rocking Chelsea?
Chelsea's dismissal of Luis Felipe Scolari is disappointingly premature and quite disrespecting of a coach who has achieved the ultimate prize in football.
To be dismissed after only seven months is indicative of a negative culture that is badly affecting a growing number of football club owners and supporters who react to a bad result or run of results as if there is a crisis necessitating dramatic change. The cost of this mindset is lack of stability - and that is the real problem.
Just look at how the impatience of Abramovich against managers have coincided with Chelsea's fall away from the position that Peter Kenyon once described as their 'league of one'.
Jose Mourinho was forced out despite bringing Chelsea two titles and an FA Cup. Avram Grant was told to move on despite taking Chelsea a penalty-kick away from winning the Champs League. And now Scolari goes after a couple of months of below-par football that had fallen below the initital excellent standards seen at the start of the season. A World Cup winning coach not even given a season to prove his worth: astounding.
How long will the next manager last before Abramovich believes there must be someone better and exercises his power to dismiss? And does he realise that this type of mindset doesn't often help the results of a club nor its image?
posted by T at 2/09/2009 07:46:00 pm
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6 Comments:
Smells like a pure players revolt. Happens in the big teams in Spain eg Real Madrid (Schuster) & FCBarcelona (Rijkaard).
The veterans group up & filled Abramovich head with ideas...like Chelsea is not top because...or because...not to add the pressures from the main sponsors!!!
Tough game Football. It all depends on one idea, getting the ball into the opposition net, the rest is the means.
Cheers Guys
Striker
2/09/2009 10:05 pm
Well said, T and Striker. Striker's 'surreal' realm of football seems to be rearing on and on. Least about work, determination, earned fitness, skill, guile, football, passing, control, pass-and-move, shoot on sight, accurate ball movement, goals, more about who has as much financial clout and where is there a vacancy to flout it. I'm sorry, but it shows that most have more money than sense. It is said a fool and his money are easily parted. Could the same be said to football clubs and owners?
You know, I have had a vision where, owing to the passion and level of interactiveness fans would like to have with football, a TV programme was set up with one presenter (say, Adrian Childs) would host five or six fans fromindividual clubs. You could have individual programmes for the tiers of football, as you do now for MOTD showing EPL games and the football ITV show for Championship games.
So perhaps one fan each of Liverpool, Newcastle, Aston Vila, Middlesbrough, Chelsea and Sunderland, to start with, would be selected from those who have written in and applied, and they would be discussing the weekend football, just like MOTD.
In my vision, I'm asked of my opinions to the sacking of LFS, with the question going like: 'So, six months on, another one has bitten the dust at Stamford Bridge. The Bridge is falling down in South-West London, RedsMan?' And I'd say:
'Well, one could say it was written on the wall, not necessarily on the Bridge. Four big league defeats to top 4 rivals, a Carling Cup exit at home under a tepid Chelsea performance, another tepid performance at home again to a side they were expected to beat, particularly if they wish to maintain a chase to the title, and obviously the form of Didier Drogba has come into big question, the manager is the one being pointed at as the bad seed.'
Add to this the rumour players were not content with the tactics and formation, they had lost confidence in the manager's directions. A reporter said that having spent £600m into the club, Abramovich expects cups and results. That was what he had got and was getting with Mourinho, and T added the rest succinctly with Mr Grant.
But what else is there to say? Is itChelsea now expects instant success again when someone is appointed, or does it accept no cups but good performances, or is it totally that trophies and good performances are a must when you have a transfer kitty at your disposal?
Rest assured, people, that, hand on heart, I said when I heard his proposed appointment whilst he was concentrating on Portugal in Euro2008, that Scolari is a national coach, not a domestic one. Otherwise he would have been at a club after Brazil and not Portugal national coach. And I was proven right in the hastiness of his time at SB.
The month now is Ferbuary. With Robbie Keane, it was January. I have said that I would have liked Keane to have remained at Liverpool until the summer at least, and it's the same with Scolari. I would have let him remain until the summer and discuss. Still in three competitions, and yet their response at OT and Anfield was telling. The home game with Hull was the icing on a bitter cake.
RedsMan.
2/09/2009 11:34 pm
Thanks T, Striker and Redsman.
I honestly believe that Scolari was not given a fair crack at Chelsea. He was always going to have to come out of the shadow cast by Mourinho and yey was given a minimal transfer budget with which to build his own team. Contrast this to Mourinho who was allowed a freehand in the transfer market.
I like Scolari as a person and as a manager. I wish him luck!
2/09/2009 11:52 pm
the biggest mistake chelsea fc made was to sack the special one - its all come tumbling down for them since. what will roman do next?
2/10/2009 1:05 pm
Thanks everyone - very solid comments!
Redsman, I enjoyed reading about your 'vision'. Actually, there was such a format a few years ago on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports. It was quite entertaining - but lets put it this way... you would stand hand and shoulders above the others in terms of quality of footballing opinion!
Reminds me of an idea I had about the EFT panel getting together and posting videos of roundtable discussions on Youtube and here on EFT- logistics makes this difficult however!
2/11/2009 2:07 pm
Good point to make because I believe that in years to come , when my head dont ache anymore, this man will be held up to the public as the person who ruined the English football league. He has acted like a spoilt child since chucking his millions into buying trophies for Chelsea, and with their record they were only to please to take anything without the need to create. I pray that the fat russian does not get hold of the Arsenal and am very sad that a man of such calibre D.Dean has got into bed with this man. If he succeeds we ill soon see a mini super league of 6 teams all owned by Billionaires all paying more & more to beat their rivals to trophies, with thought about genuine competition and the real fans. This nightmare scenario is on its way and I for one pray im wrong.
Finally, what a great little man Eduardo has turned out to be. No moaning, no boasting, no winging, only delight at being able to play. And what a performance he and the whole team provided? IF that drive and enthusiasm could happen in every game until the end of the season and beyond, we will have a couple of trophies for the cabinet.
2/17/2009 2:51 pm
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