Football without Spin - Scolari under how much pressure?

January 13 2009

Scolari under how much pressure?

Avram Grant was still in the title race with half an hour left in the season last year, and only lost the Champions League by the shavings of a post because his captain slipped on the grass. In the world of Chelsea, that is a sackable offence, and as such Luiz Felipe Scolari could be under no illusions about the sort of standard expected by the club. As Chelsea faltered at Old Trafford, and nobody else has been relieved of their duties by a Premiership club this week, it represents a great opportunity for the papers to do some speculating.

The Sun begins our round-up with their exclusive that Nicolas “I'm well-known for sulking” Anelka did some sulking when he was asked to play out wide at the weekend. Consequently:

BIG Phil Scolari’s job is on the line in the wake of an astonishing bust-up with Nicolas Anelka.

'Job is on the line'? That sounds like he might leave immediately to us, which would come as something of a surprise given how hard Chelsea worked to sign him. Also, Nicolas Anelka is hardly Mr Chelsea, so quite why any board would go against a coach who has won a World Cup for a player who has the following attitude to his appearance in the Champions League Final:

"I was asked to take one of the first five kicks. But I said 'that is out of the question, I have come on basically as a right-back and you want me to take a penalty'. So I had to go in seventh but Edwin van der Sar pushed away my shot. All the better for him, that is the game. At no point did I think I was going to come on. I was on the bench for 110 minutes and suddenly I am asked to play, not even a minute after I was sent out to warm up.”

Given that, when can we expect the review? In two months, says the Daily Express.

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH will decide on the future of Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari over the next eight weeks.

If results do not improve, Abramovich could signal a new Blues revolution in the summer by sacking Scolari and chief scout Frank Arnesen.

So, two months then. Unless, of course, it's four, as Henry Winter in the Telegraph contends, with an opening argument from 'Chelsea sources' which best articulates the reality of the club's current situation:

Chelsea sources point out that it is "ridiculous" for Scolari, one of the world's most respected managers, to have his future questioned when the team are still in the hunt for three trophies.

There appears no appetite within Stamford Bridge to divest themselves of the Brazilian just yet, although one thing is clear: there will be a major clear-out in the summer, either in the manager's office or the dressing-room.

Scolari will leave if Chelsea don't win some silverware, then. Unless, of course, that's not the case at all and actually all he has to do is stay in the mix for the trophies until the end of the year, as Matt Hughes in the Times suggests:

José Mourinho and Avram Grant left Chelsea within months of their abortive attempts to capture the Premier League and Champions League, but failure to win silverware is not necessarily viewed as a sacking offence. Rather, the club’s minimum expectation of their manager is that Chelsea should be in contention for the leading prizes at the end of the season.

Unlucky Avram, who knew that the first thing to happen at Stamford Bridge after you left was the moving of the goalposts?

So how safe is Scolari? Well, the answer is just to estimate from what the papers tell us. Which means that he'll either be sacked very soon, in two months, four months, or possibly not at all as long as he nearly wins something.