Chelsea Managerless Ahead Of Crucial EPL Showdown With Man United !

20 Sept 2007

An Earthquake erupted at Stamford Bridge yesterday at the wee hours ( Singapore Time ) ! All are saved except for one major casualty - Jose Mourinho who was the only unlucky victim in this sudden ' Earthquake ' to shake Stamford Bridge last night !

Don't worry , in case u haven't heard the news yet , the victim in this sudden earthquake ' here simply means the sudden sacking of Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho ! Yes , Chelsea are now managerless ahead of this Sunday's crucial EPL Showdown with EPL defending Champions Man United !

This shocker of a news could not come at a worst time as three days later they are due to meet defending Champions Man United in a crucial EPL Showdown away to Old Trafford .Chelsea are now left without a coach and will surely be left reeling from the shock and at the sudden loss of of Jose Mourinho , a successful coach who has won them the first EPL title in 50 years in his first Season as coach in 2004 .

Although there had been numerous reports that all is not well behind the scenes of Chelsea Football Club as Jose Mourinho and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich are not exactly on good speaking terms and that speculations are buzzing that Mourinho may be forced to leave , this news still came through like a bolt of lightning out of the blue ! This comes as even bigger surprise and shock for a coach who has won all major throphies possible in English competitions ( FA Cup , Carling Cup & EPL ) yet ironically he is the first coach to be packing his bag and heading home ahead of the more likely manager casualties all this while - Tottenham Hotspurs coach Martin Jol or even Derby County manager .

Yes , Chelsea may not have been winning but their performance are not exactly THAT bad either . Aside from that shock 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa , they have managed to avoid defeat with goalless draws against Blackburn Rovers (EPL ) and a 1-1 draw with Rosenborg in the Champions League two days ago . Bear in mind that they did this without Frank Lampard , Ballack and Drogba who are injured . Lack of striking ammunition upfront , like how Man United suffered without Rooney and Ronaldo earlier in the Season , this can still be considered acceptable .

However , just look at Spurs , their performance has been horrific . Goalkeeper Paul Robinson continue to make mistakes and the team failed to hold on to their lead and conceding late goals . Their last memorable win in the League was a 4-0 thumping of Derby County . Even the latter which has been thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool , 4-0 by Spurs and due to face Arsenal away this Saturday still have their manager in the job ( but won't be for very long either , I guess ) .

So what is seriously wrong with Chelsea that warrant Jose Mourinho as the first manager casualty of the Season ? Is it because of that 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa , that Roman billionaire is still so sore about ? Or is there a bigger dark secret that none of us really know that is the cause of this 'earthquake ' at Stamford Bridge ?

What this sacking will do to the Chelsea players remains to be seen though , especially with their meeting with Man United is fast approaching this Sunday and they are now without a coach . Advantage for Man United , perhaps ?

*Question : Although there has been numerous reports that Jose Mourinho may be forced to leave with his sour relationship with the Russian owner , does the sacking of Jose Mourinho still come as a surprise to u at all ? Why or why not ? Tell us how this will affect the Chelsea players ahead of their clash with Man United this Sunday ?

*We welcome your views & comments ! Tell us what u think !