Phil is Out!

Luiz Felipe Scolari is out at Chelsea, paying the price for the team's tumble in recent weeks, which included a 2-0 loss to Liverpool, a 3-0 loss to Man U, and, the final straw, a home tie against Hull City. The sacking has predictably provoked a wave of commentary.

Phil himself says it was because of the team's failure to land Robinho this summer.

Gianluigi Buffon says it will make the Blues tougher in the Champion's League draw.

Alex Ferguson says the move is emblematic of soccer in the modern era.

"It is a sign of the times. There is absolutely no patience in the world now."

[Break]

"Teams like Manchester United and Arsenal have built over longevity, they've let the manager build a team then rebuild and rebuild again," he went on. "It works even down in the lower leagues. People are changing managers two or three, maybe four times a season - they don't understand how long it takes to build a side and once you've built a side you only need to change two or three players, or maybe one player, to make it better.

But if you keep sacking managers it's never going to happen.

Jon Carter agrees, though with less dismay.

A Soccernet write-up shows that the firing will precipitate the third gigantic coach's buyout in a 18 months, with the sum total of the three taking a £40 million bite from Abramovich's bank account.

Among the potential replacements: Guus Hiddink, Roberto Mancini, Frank Rijkaard, and, in what seems like a bit of a curveball given that he was the recipient of one of the buyouts mentioned above, Avram Grant.