Big Phil's Chelsea: A Tougher Task Than Mourinho's

Upon hearing of the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari from the Chelsea managerial job, I was surprised for a time and then it sank in that it was just a continuation of the mentality that has stopped Chelsea from becoming a major European powerhouse.

They are now onto their fourth manager in two years, which is clearly not the foundation on which to build a side capable of challenging the domination of Manchester United and the seemingly indomitable Sir Alex Ferguson.

Scolari inherited a side that had been in relatively good shape considering the upheaval that had been the sacking of the clubs most successful ever manager, Jose Mourinho.

Although Avram Grant took over for a time the team was still really Mourinho's and continued to play his style of football.

Grant was unfortunate enough to apparently "blow" a couple of trophies which by anyone's estimation was a bit of an exaggeration considering that his main opposition was a resurgent Manchester United guided by one of the most successful managers of all time whose team was, at the end of the last campaign, literally firing on all cylinders.

A Formidable Pedigree

So when Big Phil took over it was with much fanfare and many were sure that the one had finally arrived who could perhaps help them to forget "the special one".

Scolari came with a formidible pedigree, with seventeen trophies in club and international football. Including Brazilian League titles, two Copa Libertadores (South America's equivalent to the Champions League) and the big one, the FIFA World Cup of 2002.

There was obviously no doubting that this man had talent, talent that had been demonstrated time and time again.

There was however one huge difference that came into play between the beginning of Scolari's appointment and the beginning of Mourinho's.

Mourinho's Special Timing

This difference was in the indifferent form that the Premier League's most successful ever manager and his side were experiencing at the time Mourinho gained the Chelsea job.

When Mourinho took over, United had finished a disappointing third, a full fifteen points off a blistering pace that was set by Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.

Mourinho was presented with a golden opportunity when this happened. United were not the force they had been and Arsenal were in need of adjustment and change as well.

He inherited a team that had been carefully assembled by the unfortunate Italian, Claudio Ranieri, who was responsible for bringing several players that blossomed after Mourinho took over the team.

The team had also in the Italian's time been gradually improving and becoming a formidable team unit which was to ultimately prove beneficial for the incoming Portuguese.

So it happened that Mourinho's Chelsea blitzed the field in the 2004-05 season and became only the fourth side ever to win the Premier League trophy.

With a side that had been partially assembled by the previous manager and perhaps tinkered with once too often, the newly appointed, self-proclaimed "special one" was able to leave a disjointed Manchester United and a stuttering Arsenal in the dust as his side finished with a whopping 95 points from a possible 114 available.

Liverpool and Manchester United, A Different Prospect in 2008-09

Compare this with the situation that was in place at the time of Scolari's appointment and it could not have been more different for the Brazilian.

Manchester United had won the league for the first time since 2003, they had also added to this the Champions League and had started to demonstrate the imperious form which they have become known for this season.

Add to this a Liverpool coached by the Spainiard Rafa Benitez, who for the first time in many years looked capable of being more than also-rans, and it was a bit of a recipe for disaster for the South American.

Challenging On All Major Fronts Not Quite Good Enough

They started the season with a bang though, walloping a dismal Portsmouth and it was soon forgotten that Robinho had been snatched from under their noses by Manchester City. (After his sacking Scolari was adamant that if he had gotten Robinho things would have been different.)

It was in the next few months that they found that it was not going to the cakewalk that Abramovich was maybe expecting. Manchester United inexplicably just kept playing good football and Liverpool inexplicably started to.

Despite Scolari having kept Chelsea very much in touch with the leaders and importantly taking them through to the second round of European competition, he was given the sack to the disappointment of many of Chelsea's players and fans.

Scolari was up against it from the start.

The team was in need of more of a tune up than Chelsea were financially capable of and its main opponents had been tuning things up to near perfect levels in the meantime.

Stability Sacrificed in the Hope for Instant Success

A huge reason why so many were shocked by the sacking is that most people realised that it was not possible for Scolari to make a quantifiable challenge on Manchester United and Liverpool this season.

His team was just not strong enough and the squad was not deep enough to match the other challengers as has been seen in the season to date. The loss of Essien and the inability to replace him is evidence enough of this.

So he is sacked and another extremely capable manager is sent off down the road to possible success elsewhere, if a team is willing to give him longer than half a season, that is.

As is often repeated in the press and by footballing greats and pundits alike it is stability that is the key to great sides and their continuing success. It is extremely rare to see instant success in football that is seen so often in the business world.

Often if it is seen, it is the product of years of work by previous coaches and managers.

Which was definitely a factor in Mourinho's "instant" success.

Abramovich is a businessman and not a footballer.

This by now is abundantly clear.