Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Jawbone54 · Feb 10, 2009, 02:18 AM

Luiz Felipe Scolari has been pushed off the globe by Abramovich.

The Brazilian, who joined the Premier League club last summer, was expected to reinvigorate the club's fortunes and lead them to titles at home and in Europe, but after a poor run of form the axe has fallen.

So Chelsea slips to fourth, and Scolari is cast aside?

It doesn't seem right that whether it's any of the major soccer/football leagues, the NFL, or the NBA...managers and coaches are tossed aside, sometimes within a year of being appointed. Raiders, I'm looking at you.

Isn't this a relatively new manner of conducting business in the big sports leagues? Was there always such an immediate expectation for things to go as well as they always have (or had been 20 years ago)? Again, Raiders...still looking at you.

I'm no Chelsea fan, but Scolari took the job 7 months ago, and he's already gone?

Ridiculous.

Andrew Stephens · Feb 10, 2009, 08:42 AM

It's not just ridiculous it's actually counter productive.

Teams that sack their managers in short order do not win championships. That takes a long term plan.

Such sackings also discourage innovate and creative thinking as well as punishing strategies that require time to suceed.

mattyb · Feb 10, 2009, 09:48 AM

It is counter productive, but this is the same problem as the financial mess that we're in : short termism. We need results fast, we must win the league this year, must have a cup.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager of Manchester United since 1986. He didn't win anything until 1990. Since then, well you can wikipedia him.

Pity the managers where I work aren't sacked after a bad 'run'.

dcmacdaddy · Feb 10, 2009, 01:05 PM

This seems to be the way with Abramovich's minions. Scolari was what, the third coach in less than three years? How long did Avram Grant last? Not quite a full season and he took the Blues to the Champions League final and almost came out top of the table in the Premier League. All anyone seems to care about is "getting the silver".

I think you and I can agree that we are lucky the folks that run Arsenal have a long-term vision in mind for Arsene Wenger. Otherwise, he would have been gone a couple years ago. But he has provided fans with consistently high quality teams. (Well, it's debatable about this year, but give the younger ones time to prove themselves.)

Jawbone54 · Feb 10, 2009, 01:10 PM

Ferguson:

Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed his shock at Chelsea's sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari but believes the sudden end of the Brazilian's tenure is a "sign of the times".

"He is a man of great experience; he took Brazil to World Cup winners - and was the obvious choice to replace Avram Grant. It is a sign of the times. There is absolutely no patience in the world now."

Well said.

Fix the economy now = bail-outs
I'll buy what I want now = credit card debt
Give me cheap food now = drive-through fast food and an obese nation

Jawbone54 · Feb 10, 2009, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

I think you and I can agree that we are lucky the folks that run Arsenal have a long-term vision in mind for Arsene Wenger. Otherwise, he would have been gone a couple years ago. But he has provided fans with consistently high quality teams. (Well, it's debatable about this year, but give the younger ones time to prove themselves.)

More love for Arsenal. I like.

SpaceMonkey · Feb 10, 2009, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by Jawbone54

Isn't this a relatively new manner of conducting business in the big sports leagues? Was there always such an immediate expectation for things to go as well as they always have (or had been 20 years ago)?

I don't really have the knowledge of the soccer world to comment on that sport, but in American football I think the practice has become more common as the compensation has increased. People demand more immediate results for their money.

Dakar V · Feb 10, 2009, 01:27 PM

It's been a record year in the NBA, and we're just hitting the half-way mark.

dcmacdaddy · Feb 10, 2009, 04:15 PM

Here is an interesting article/commentary on the sacking of Scolari from the Independent. It gets into some more of the back-room, executive-level issues.

James Lawton: Scolari exit exposes Chelsea as no more than a rich man's indulgence - News & Comment, Football - The Independent

Jawbone54 · Feb 10, 2009, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

I don't really have the knowledge of the soccer world to comment on that sport, but in American football I think the practice has become more common as the compensation has increased. People demand more immediate results for their money.

Which is ridiculous, especially when a coach comes in an implements a new system. Even Phil Jackson and Tex Winter's triangle offense took two years to pay off with a championship in the Chicago Bull's glory days.
I'll leave out the fact that it also drained the life out of basketball for the next decade.

Originally Posted by Dakar V

It's been a record year in the NBA, and we're just hitting the half-way mark.

Bingo. All sports are suffering from this impatience.

When a coach is allowed to become part of a team's persona, it builds personality in a team, IMHO. Case in point: Tom Landry, Alex Ferguson, Chuck Daly, John Wooden, Joe Paterno, etc. It does a team good to have a long-term face of authority.

Dakar V · Feb 10, 2009, 05:42 PM

Jerry Sloan.

Jawbone54 · Feb 10, 2009, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar V

Jerry Sloan.

Nice.

20 years and counting, if I did the math properly.

JKT · Feb 10, 2009, 06:24 PM

Devil's advocate:

When Ferguson took over Man U, they were a truly dreadful team which the club wanted to be better. When Scolari took over Chelsea, they were one of the top two teams in England who wanted to stay that way. Ferguson got years to sort out Man U because they needed it and radical improvement is not something that could be achieved overnight. In contrast, Chelsea could only stay where they were or get worse. Whether or not 3rd or 4th for a season or two instead of 1st or 2nd is "worse" is a matter of opinion though most fans probably think it isn't that bad.

Personally, I think it is absurd how quickly they appoint then get rid of people, but then again the amount of money that can be won or lost is even more so, and ultimately that is what is driving things.

mattyb · Feb 11, 2009, 05:00 AM

Although no details were given, some reports have suggested Scolari could walk away with about £7.5m.

Utd won the FA Cup in 83 and 85 (I was there at Wembley) and were doing well to win the league in 85/86 (apparently it was the sale of Hughes to Barca that rocked the boat - it had been agreed near Xmas iirc), but then bottled it. Hardly a dreadful team, but they were being overshadowed by Liverpool - which as any sane human will tell you is unacceptable.