Today the public learned that two premiership managers were sacked by their respective clubs. One clearly deserved it, and the other was probably just as blind-sided as I was.First, let's start with Tony Adams (the one who deserved it). Two wins in sixteen league games. Arguably I have said enough to justify being fired, but it actually gets worse. Adams seemed to drain the life out of Portsmouth, and it came to the point where nearly every one of their starters was linked with a move away. Letting go of an unmotivated and cold Defoe was probably the only good thing that happened under Adams. Yet that does not change the fact that Defoe was the sole reason that Portsmouth was doing well in the beginning of the season, and his departure was not going to help anything except for the club's financial situation. Anyone that watched Portsmouth under Adams will agree with me that they were just pure trash. Losing to a Liverpool side with no recognized strikers, 6 defenders and no coherent formation did not reflect well on Adams either.
Now onto Scolari, to whom the title of this article is dedicated. Let's face it, Chelsea have not been all that inspiring as of late. But neither was Manchester United at the beginning of last season. Point being teams go through hot streaks and cold streaks. I don't know where the Chelsea board was at the beginning of the season, but the football Chelsea were playing was some of the most sensational stuff I have seen from the side. Eighty five times more entertaining than anything Mourinho and Grant produced. It seemed that Scolari had finally brought the sort of flair and entertainment Abromovich had been seeking. Deco announced his arrival with a bang, Bosingwa looked like a shoe in for best right back of the season, and the entire squad looked invigorated and hungry to win. I don't think much has changed since then except that opponents have figured out how to nullify Bosingwa and Deco. But if I had to venture a guess at why Chelsea are not doing so well, it would be that Scolari never fully integrated Drogba back into the squad. In fact that is problem the same reason he was fired. His row with Drogba probably did not go over so well with the board or the fans, and consequently Scolari will now be scanning the newspaper ads for a new job.
What bothered me the most about this whole affair was that Scolari had the audacity to blame his poor string of results on not getting Robinho over the summer. It is nice to get the players you want, but really, was there not enough talent at Chelsea to form a team that could challenge for a treble? I had my doubts that Scolari would be able to fashion a good side out of a group of players that contained so many similar players (see Ballack/ Essien/ Deco/ Lampard), but he pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Now I am just left wondering what it takes to keep your job in the Premiership. So on one hand, Scolari was a fading star (since his system of marauding full backs was found out) and maybe he underachieved a bit, but on the other hand, team owners love to kick a dog while he is down, and have no patience for poor form. Honestly, if anyone deserves credit for suffering through the on going cycle of replacing managers, it is the players. They must wipe there mind clean every time a new manager comes in, adjust to his system, impress the new manager and consequently fret over their starting spot until they secure their place in the side again. It makes me glad that I have no part in an of it.
