ChelseaFCSW6: 9 Feb 2009

Monday, 9 February 2009

Board Lose Patience With Big Phil

Ray Wilkins has taken temporary charge of Chelsea after the Premier League giants sensationally axed Luiz Felipe Scolari as manager.
Pressure has been building on the Brazilian after a series of poor results - particularly at home - has seen us fall well off the pace in the title race, and the board finally lost patience after Saturday's toothless 0-0 draw with out-of-form Hull City at Stamford Bridge.
A statement issued by the club on Monday afternoon said: "The Chelsea board would like to place on record our gratitude for his time as manager.
"Felipe has brought many positives to the club since he joined and we all feel a sense of sadness that our relationship has ended so soon.
"Unfortunately, the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season.
"In order to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for we felt the only option was to make the change now."
The club have already started their search for a replacement, with former Blues player Wilkins appointed as caretaker boss for now.

Chelsea 0 Hull City 0

Big Phil is under mounting pressure after his side was held to a dismal 0-0 draw by Hull City.
The Brazilian was subjected to jeers from the Stamford Bridge crowd, who were angered at seeing their side deliver yet another alarmingly uninspired performance on home soil, but perhaps they should have been grateful for the point.
If either side deserved to depart here with regrets, it was Hull. The Humbersiders might have arrived in west London having failed to win in the league since December 6, but they more than matched us and, with sharper finishing, would have notched a famous victory.
Our hopes of remaining competitive in this season's title race, meanwhile, look increasingly desperate. We are now two points adrift of third-placed Aston Villa and will fall within range of fifth-placed Arsenal if they win at Tottenham.
This performance matched last weekend's meek defeat at Liverpool for ineptitude and Scolari must wonder how he can inspire a revival.
Ricardo Queresma, debuting after signing on loan from Internazionale, did little to suggest he is the missing ingredient and much of the home side's play was predictable.
An early goal would have settled Chelsea's nerves but Scolari's side is painfully devoid of cutting edge.
The point was highlighted by a dreadful second-minute miss from John Terry, who had merely to lift the ball into the unguarded net from six yards after Frank Lampard's in-swinging free-kick had been spilled by Matt Duke. Instead he spooned over the crossbar.
That set the tone for a typically toothless first half from The Blues. True, there were moments of sheer bad fortune - as in the 19th minute when Queresma's fine curling shot was tipped aside by Duke - but for the most part the hosts were wasteful.
Alex might have done better than head over from Lampard's 22nd-minute corner, while a midfielder of Michael Ballack's quality should have hit the target with a 20-yard free-kick, instead of skimming the side-netting.
Throw in a handful of heroic blocks from Hull defenders and Chelsea's frustration as they trooped off for the interval was understandable.
That said, it might have been worse. Hull were largely in containment mode but they did cause the odd flutter of anxiety: Geovanni screamed an instinctive volley fractionally over from 25 yards, while Kevin Kilbane was unfortunate to see a thunderous header kiss the post.
Hull took heart from those near misses and continued to impress with their neat, incisive football. Only their finishing remained awry: Craig Fagan, for instance, had a gilt-edged chance to fire his side ahead in the 53rd minute when he beat John Mikel Obi to a loose ball and sprinted clear.
The 26-year-old spotted Hilario off his line but chipped tamely into the goalkeeper's hands.
As the seconds ticked past, so Chelsea's patience was stretched to breaking point. Didier Drogba was deployed from the bench just past the hour - although Scolari's decision to take off Queresma was greeted with chants of "You don't know what you're doing" by sections of the home support - but still Hull looked the more likely scorers.
The Bridge held its breath when Geovanni's clever pass found Marney in yards of space in the area but the former Tottenham winger could only drag his low shot past the right-hand post.
There was not even a grandstand finish from Chelsea, who by the end were doing little more than firing hopeful long balls into the Hull area, praying for a break. They might have had one when Andy Dawson appeared to handle Kalou's shot in the area, only for referee Lee Mason, who up until then had done very little to let the game flow, to wave play on, while the Ivorian shot later straight at Duke after a rare slip from the City defence.
There was still time for Hull to carve out one more chance, Fagan slipping the leash and bearing down on goal, only for Terry to save his side with a last-ditch tackle. Maybe it was more than we deserved.