Big Phil’s big impression

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/2008/07/luiz_felipe_scolari_arrived_be.html

For all the anti-Liverpool bias that I notice only Reds fans seem to find throughout Phil McNulty’s blogs, I tend to agree with him on pretty much all of his generally witty (if not quite up to ‘Robbo’ standards) and perceptive pieces on the twists and turns of the footballing world. This one’s no different really – though perhaps tinged a little by the fact that I have a lot of respect for Luiz Felipe Scolari (to give him his full name) as a person and as a manager. It was this last factor, doubtless, which led to my reaction to the announcement that Scolari would be taking over from Avram ‘Toad of Toad Hall’ Grant (and yes I know he used to be at Portsmouth) being one of genuine delight – not an emotion with which I greet most things Chelsea do – not least due to my disappointment at Scolari’s twice having (wisely, I guess) ruled himself out of the poisoned chalice that is the England job.

There will be plenty of other blogs and fansites (if BBC 606 is anything to go by) that discuss at length the way Scolari will shape Chelsea’s performance in the Premiership, so I will only go so far as to say that, given Chelsea under Mourinho (much like England under McClaren) became synonymous with dull, workmanlike performances that scraped out undeserved victories against plucky underdogs, Scolari will presumably take a little of his Brazil and Portugal experiences with him and hopefully continue what Grant’s Chelsea showed occasional promising signs of doing, and play some entertaining football at the same time as giving the rest of the Big Four a run for their money. No, Mr Abramovich, that’s not code for ’spend more money’; it’s plain English for ‘GO AWAY and let managers do their job themselves’.

As one of apparently many realistic fans of a club which can only in the long-term hope to challenge the four-club cartel at the top of the Premier League if at all, I can at least claim a degree of impartiality here (though I am willing to admit that, purely on the style of football played, Arsenal would be my team of choice if pushed), so my comment will be on the dynamic I think Scolari’s arrival will have on the Premier League. He’s not as confrontational as Mourinho, and I rather hope he does not try to keep the traditional rivalries with Spurs, Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal as alive as the ‘Special One’ did; at the same time, I do like managers to show a bit of, well, life on the touchline (here’s looking at you, Avram), so Scolari can hardly do far worse than to aim for a sort of happy medium. While hell will freeze over before we see the managements of these ambitious clubs indulging in any sort of Lennon-esque love-in, I would appreciate it if Scolari concentrated on making his team interesting to watch rather than himself interesting to listen to – because you can pick fights with Ferguson, Wenger and Benitez (or should I say Klinsmann…) without being paid £6m for the privilege.

At any rate, however Scolari intends to play his cards (and for starters, I’m honestly not sure why he’s clinging so hard onto Lampard when most of Chelsea’s midfield are better at what they’re supposed to do), I think we could be in for a top-notch season, though I’ll happily eat my words if things go completely different to how I’d imagined. Ferguson has already dropped some hints about retirement, and rumours are spreading that the shadowy Carlos Queiroz is set for the Portugal job; I doubt there’s much more patience in the Arsenal boardroom for the drought of silverware that Wenger has recently presided over; I’ve seen bits of chaos theory that look more predictable than the Liverpool teamsheet, which has doubtless taken its toll on the club’s big performances of late; and all the while the perennial vultures of Everton, Blackburn and Aston Villa, along with a Ramos-rejuvenated Spurs side and maybe even our very own Pompey, are circling and waiting to pounce on any error by the top 4 in order to sneak into the Champions League places by the back door. We’ve got some tasty transfer sagas in the offing, not least Lampard, Drogba and Ronaldo, and the rest of the summer to add to the list of crazy stories. Let’s start one off, shall we? Gianluigi Buffon to sign for Hull City – if that doesn’t keep them in the Premier League, nothing will…

~ by Marius Ostrowski on July 8, 2008.