Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he
is surprised by the dismissal from his post today of Chelsea
manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Chelsea this afternoon confirmed that they had sacked the
Brazilian, who had overseen something of a slump in form,
especially at home, that looks like it might prove terminal as far
as the Blues' title challenge is concerned.
One might expect the Red Devils' manager, famed for his use of
psychology and the underhand dark arts of 'mind games', to be
rubbing his hands with glee as he watches one of United's main
rivals for the Premier League crown implode.
Instead, the wily Scotsman, speaking to Manchester United's
official website, appears surprised by the Chelsea board's
decision, especially given the Brazilian's relatively brief time at
the club.
"I'm very surprised. It's a shock that one. He only took the job
seven months ago," said Ferguson.
"Scolari's a man of great experience. He took Brazil to the
World Cup final and won it and he was the obvious choice to
replace Avram Grant seven months ago."
And the sacking was held up by Ferguson as further evidence of
the creeping malaise of impatience that is currently infecting
football as well as society at large.
"Really it's a sign of the times, I'm afraid. There's absolutely
no patience in the world today," he added.
"Football seems more volatile now. You can't always blame the
press but they play a part. The way tabloid journalism is
today, they're competing against the internet, they're competing
against Sky News so therefore there is sensationalism
every time there's a bad result. We've all been subjected to that
over the years."
Ferguson also pointed to the brief time that Chelsea had
actually struggled whilst Scolari was at the helm, another factor
in the sacking that he found surprising.
"Having lost the European Cup final, there were still expectations
for Chelsea to do well this year. It's really only in the last
month that they've had a bad spell. So I feel the judgement
[to sack Scolari] is really based on the last month, not the
previous six months. It is a surprise," he concluded.