Scolari Pays for Failing to Stop the Rot

In the end, the only surprise was the timing. Chelsea had been expected to give Luiz Felipe Scolari the chance to keep alive his hopes of winning a major trophy in his debut campaign in English football by backing him up to and into the Champions League last-16 fixture with Juventus later this month.

The Brazilian, however, had been teetering on the brink for some weeks now, his abilities to draw the best out of the playing talents at his disposal under increasingly scrutiny, and the board of directors' decision to push him simply betrayed their conviction that he had lost any power to do so.

It was not the thought of Chelsea exiting Europe's elite competition to Claudio Ranieri, the manager they ruthlessly removed in 2004 to make way for Jose Mourinho, although what a revenge story that would have been for the Juventus manager. And nor even was it the very real possibility of the defeat itself, which would have ended the club's season, give or take a tilt at the FA Cup, before the coming of spring – a challenge in the Premier League already appearing beyond them.

It was the realization that an untreatable rot had set in, which threatened the very pillars of the project that Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner, has bankrolled. With frustration overwhelming their senses, sections of the Stamford Bridge crowd chanted on Saturday, during the 0–0 Premier League draw with Hull City, that Scolari did not know what he was doing. Some of the principal figures in the dressing room must have had to bite their lips to stop themselves from joining in.

Scolari had lost them, largely because of his lack of understanding of what it takes to prepare for the rigours of a long English season. What started as raised eyebrows and mild alarm took on a harder edge as the winter months came and then threatened to become outright mutiny. Players were considering their futures, what to do in the summer, and there were fears of an exodus. There is the argument that the club could benefit from shedding one or two egos, a few who have passed their prime, but the disillusionment in the dressing room, primarily among the overseas players, was widespread.

To supporters, it manifested itself in a host of dazed and confused recent performances. How could a team that featured the spine of Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka perform so listlessly? Scolari's methods bemused them. When he took over last summer, having led Portugal at the European Championship finals, the players were surprised by his training regime and how relaxed it was.

Scolari had previously been in charge of his native Brazil, famously guiding them to glory at the 2002 World Cup, and he had not only been out of club football for some seven years, he had never before managed in a European league. There are many differences between the club and the international scenes but one of the most fundamental concerns the time that managers have with their players. International managers have far less and because they tend to receive the players in peak physical condition, courtesy of the daily grind at club level, they prioritise work with the ball and tactical fine-tuning.

Scolari seemed to take this approach to Chelsea. There were, of course, fitness drills but players grew worried that they were not sufficiently intensive and that, as a result, they were slightly but crucially short on big-match conditioning. Terry, the club captain, and Lampard, the vice-captain, went to Scolari, on behalf of the squad, to voice the concerns. The situation, however, did not improve and other players went to directors to say that they remained worried.

When his team turned on the style to beat Portsmouth 4–0 on the opening day of the season, in the west London sunshine, hope sprang eternal. A series of swashbuckling away performances helped to maintain momentum, even if results at home started to turn but over the last couple of months, the impression has been of a team running out of steam and of a manager groping helplessly for fresh ideas.

Scolari's reputation alone could not carry him through the difficult times. He needed to prove himself as a coach and a man-manager but instead, he grew erratic. Having complained at missing out on the forward Robinho on transfer deadline day last September and, with it, more varied attacking options, he failed singularly to find a Plan B with his existing players, as he steadfastly refused, for example, to try Anelka and Didier Drogba as a strike partnership. On the other hand, his flitting from defensive man-marking to zonal systems and back undermined confidence.

He was never given the freedom of the transfer market to shape his own team, but his one cash signing, the midfielder Deco, came to epitomize his reign. Wonderful at the start, full of nice touches and promise but, ultimately, reduced to a shadow. Scolari, who struggled to handle the media when the going got tough, took to hiding behind his assistant Ray Wilkins.

Like Avram Grant, Scolari never escaped the shadow of Mourinho, certainly not in the eyes of certain players, whose respect for the Portuguese ran deep. There was the suspicion last season, when the team fought to the very last in the Premier and Champions Leagues, that they did so on their own terms. With Scolari gone, player power has screamed once more.