Big Phil identifies dearth of wizards as reason for his demise

Monday Luiz Felipe Scolari is unexpectedly sacked as Chelsea manager after just under six months in charge, with his side still in contention for three trophies. He is the club's third manager in less than 18 months. He later blames injuries, a failure to invest in new personnel, mistakes on the pitch, the poor quality of his wide men and the lack of what he calls a "magical player" for his demise. Other than that, things were pretty good. Meanwhile, Tony Adams is let go by Portsmouth after being gifted all of 13 League matches as manager. Sven-Goran Eriksson is installed by the bookies as favourite to replace him. Grannies the length of the south coast have already been placed under protective custody. Tuesday Guus Hiddink is appointed Chelsea manager until the end of the season. He will continue as coach of the Russian national side. He claims there is no problem with him holding the two positions. He could easily take on more work, he says. Indeed, it can only be a matter of time before Gordon Brown calls to ask if he might take a look at the economy when he's got a moment. Wednesday England's footballers lose 2-0 in a friendly with the European champions Spain. Some observers are disturbed by one aspect of Fabio Capello's team selection, claiming it lacks respect for a former giant of the English game. And yes, it is something of an insult to his memory that Phil Jagielka now has a mere 106 fewer caps than Bobby Moore. Thursday British sport's super fan is revealed. It is announced that Sir Brian Bender, permanent secretary at the Department for Business and Regulatory Reform, attended 52 events as a guest of corporate hospitality last year, including the Derby and Wimbledon. With a jolly a week, it doesn't leave much time for business or regulation. Perhaps Hiddink could help with his workload. Friday Chelsea discover that in one league table at least they are so far ahead of the pack, everyone else needs binoculars to spot them. Their accounts for last season show that of a £65.7 million operating loss, £23.1 million was taken up by compensation to sacked managers and coaches. That's a full £23.1 million more than the amount paid out by their rivals Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton put together.

Source: Telegraph