Big Phil must give Deco the boot in new year

WHEN Scolari was appointed and I declared myself under-whelmed by the news, one of my fears was that we would be playing over-elaborate football — that we would sacrifice results for style.

I couldn’t have been more wrong; the football we were served up against West Brom on St Stephen’s Day at the Bridge was possibly the dullest I have seen in the last decade of watching Chelsea. I don’t get what he is trying to do.

He does not seem to see what we see — ie that Deco is simply not suited to the Premier League and is a liability when included in the team; that Drogba and Anelka need to be played together regularly to form a relationship; that we need some width.

Even his post-match interviews make little to no sense and that isn’t down to a language barrier.

I think he is totally at a loss to explain his tactics or why the team are playing as they are. Publicly arguing with players tells its own story.

Is it a coincidence that our results and form took a nose dive just around the time that Steve Clarke left? Is it also a coincidence that the team spirit seemed to abandon us at the same time? Only those involved can deny or confirm that, but Ray Wilkins was not the answer to the departure of Clarke. He may be a “nice bloke” and be TV friendly — but he has not made a name for himself in coaching circles and that is all I am interested in.

Scolari should be thanking Anelka, Mikel, Cech and Boswinga as it is purely down to these four players that we are even still in the running. But unless he instils some cohesion pretty damn quick we could find ourselves struggling to keep the pace with the usual suspects and the recent pretenders to the “big four”.

On current form, I see us finishing third, at best.

I am sorry to harp on about Deco — he’s only little after all — but the guy has totally ruined my Christmas. He can’t seem to find a blue shirt when passing, gets dispossessed with maddening ease, wants an eternity on the ball and makes our already woeful corner taking record even worse.

There is no time for his trickery in this league. There is no space for his type of football and if after four months Scolari hasn’t realised that then we really are in trouble.

I am not trying to make Deco a scapegoat for all our ills but he must be at least partially responsible for the lack of team spirit too.

The players are not stupid — they see that he is not on his game, yet he is quite obviously higher in the pecking order that team mates with currently better form. This clearly does not make for a happy camp.

One thing that was evident from Craven Cottage despite all my recent bitching, was how much we need Drogba at the moment, especially when he is in one of his “I want to play” moods.

I would have happily seen him take his leave after the Champions League final and he has often had me and the majority of the crowd screaming obscenities for rolling around feigning injury and for strolling when we need him to step up to the plate.

But like it or not, we have nothing in reserve so we need him, and he quite likes to play the super-hero.

Drogba is a player that likes to have his ego stroked — I usually do not have time for individuals such as these but needs must at the moment.

I don’t expect to win the league; I didn’t expect to win the league under Mourinho, even when we were nearly a dozen points clear and playing like champions. I didn’t expect to win the league even when we were just a point from doing so. It’s not the fact that we are not going to win the league this season that has got me so riled. It’s the fact that we are handing the title to Liverpool or United that really twists that knife.

And if I wasn’t depressed enough, this Heskey rumour just won’t go away.

Southend at the weekend in the FA Cup; perhaps Scolari could out-think them. But, remembering Burnley, maybe not.

Happy New Year everyone.

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