Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is on collision
course with owner Roman Abramovich after the club censored critical
comments he made to fans over the club's transfer
policy.
The Brazilian World Cup winner told a supporters' forum at
Stamford Bridge on Thursday night that the club must sign players
in next month's transfer window if they want to win trophies this
season.
Scolari said: 'I think the board know it, I know it and the fans
know it. 'We need one or two more players to put in the team and if
we get them then we are in good condition to win trophies at the
end of the season and, if not, there might be problems. If we have
two more players in the squad, we will have a good chance.'
Scolari's words were greeted by loud applause but when Chelsea's
official website reported on the evening his implied criticism of
Abramovich, who has ruled out spending on players in January, was
deleted from a transcript of the question and answer session.
With Chelsea facing a vital Champions League match against
Romanian club CFR Cluj on Tuesday, where failure to qualify for the
last 16 of the Champions League would jeopardise the new manager's
position, tensions are evident at the club.
Scolari has repeatedly pressed for two new players, including a
striker, while chief executive Peter Kenyon insists there will be
little or no transfer activity next month.
Bridge exit: Chief scout Frank Arnesen is set to leave
Chelsea following cut-backs in his staffing quota
With chief scout Frank Arnesen poised to leave after the axing
of more than half his international scouting staff, and reports
that Chelsea players have asked Scolari to increase the intensity
of training, Chelsea face a difficult run-up to the transfer
window, with the manager insisting there will be problems if he
cannot sign two new players in January.
Scolari must be aware of the risk he runs should Chelsea go a
second season without winning a trophy. Abramovich places a high
value on silverware and is already on his fourth manager in five
years at the club.
Scolari's position contrasted with Kenyon's statement at a Press
conference last Monday when he said the club would be busy in the
transfer market in the summer, but not in January.
Kenyon said: 'I don't think we will be doing any business in the
January transfer window because the type of players we are looking
for are not available. Another reason is that we have still got
some long-term injuries coming back and in January or February,
Chelsea will have more player availability.
On the way back: Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is set to
return to give the Stamford Bridge club some more attacking
options
'It's too easy to say we've got to have more players in the
squad. Sure, we've had more strikers here but we only ever played
with one or two at any one time, and Didier (Drogba) will be back
soon. He's a big player.'
Kenyon has repeatedly stressed that the club need to wean
themselves off the strategy of signing players when problems arise
and decried the previous policy of 'throwing bodies at the
problem.'
Scolari has repeatedly said he wants to bring in a South
American wide player after the failure to land Robinho last summer.
A compromise is likely to be struck, with Kenyon attempting to
bring a player in on loan or entering the market if the club could
offload any of the current squad.
Scolari will be content if he gets additions but his insistence
that the club could fail without them indicates his desperation to
improve his squad. Chelsea admitted yesterday that the Scolari
transcript had been edited.
A spokesman said: 'Transcripts can be edited for a variety of
reasons. In this case it may have created unnecessary and
misconstrued media speculation again about the transfer window, a
subject the manager was always going to be asked to address in his
Press conference on Friday.
'The manager's remarks on Thursday and Friday are entirely
consistent with the club's public position.'
Despite a wonderful start to the season and after just four
months in charge, Scolari is under pressure after winning only four
matches out of Chelsea's last 10, losing the four-and-a-half year
unbeaten home record and going out of the Carling Cup to
Burnley.
Chelsea have begun to make cuts in their staff, axing 15
scouting staff last month in a move that precipitates the departure
of chief scout Arnesen in the next few weeks.
