TCHAU BIG PHIL!

Phil Scolari’s departure from Chelsea, was of course no surprise. Chelsea’s form had dipped alarmingly in recent weeks, and he was bound to be shown the exit door. I watched the goal less draw with Hull City at the weekend, and Chelsea lacked any sort of cutting edge. Nicolas Anelka is proving to be the sulking, overpriced player he has always been, and Hull were the team who looked more of a threat throughout.

This is not all down to Scolari however. He inherited an aging team. Carvalho (who has become very injury prone), Ballack, Lampard, Anelka, Drogba and even Malouda are all either over or around the 30 mark, whilst Deco, after such early promise has begun to look his age. He is a Scolari signing of course, and the World Cup winner should perhaps have deviated away from signing yet another 30 plus midfielder.

Another major factor is the form of Petr Cech. He is just not the same goalkeeper he was between 2004 and 2006. He is uncomfortable on crosses and even his shot stopping is not what it once was. He tends to push the ball out to the opposing strikers rather than away from goal. It’s a shame, and you must say his horrific head injury and performances at Euro 2008 have damaged his confidence. However he is still young enough to come back. I hope so, because I am a fan.

Scolari has also been a little unlucky. Michael Essien and Joe Cole, possibly their two best players, have been absent for most of the season, and Drogba is just not the same, hungry player he was before. However, Jose Bosingwa, whilst showing great form against the ‘weaker’ teams has been left wanting against the stronger teams. He is great going forward, but his positional sense is quite honestly shocking. Even Hull City were exploiting the Chelsea left side last week to great effect. Bosingwa is not even as good as Paolo Ferreira defensively, and that was pretty obvious at Euro 2008, where Portugal were defensively very vulnerable, and he in my opinion was the main culprit.

I believe, Scolari, with more time would have developed into an excellent coach at Chelsea. However, his lack of club experience in Europe was exploited by the other managers of the ‘big four’, Benitez, Ferguson and Wenger, who have taken 13 points from a possible 15 against Chelsea this season. Whilst easy to say in hindsight, all that early season promise was premature as they came across quite a few average sides in the early part of the season. It seems a long time ago now, but all the pundits were heaping praise on Chelsea during September and October. At Chelsea however, there is little time for dips in form or building a team that’s not winning.

I wish Scolari luck, as he seems like a likable chap. Avram Grant was also a likable chap. Was he more respected by the players than we or they thought? His record was actually pretty phenomenal.