There have long been arguments that there is too much ‘player power’ in the game. The last time this really made the headlines was when it was suggested that Jose Mourinho was forced out of his job at Chelsea by a few players complaining to Roman Abramovich.
Surely the same thing couldn’t happen again at the same club again could it?
Dismissed
Well, former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has now spoken out about why he thinks he was dismissed by Roman Abramovich just a few short months into his three year contract. He spoke to O Globo newspaper,
“The real owners of football at the moment are the players. The coach, in most European clubs, has no strength to contradict them. The people sacked are always the coaches. The main players already know this. That was my problem at Chelsea. Drogba, Ballack and Cech did not accept my training methods or my demands.”
The fact is that big things were expected of Scolari. He took over from the unfortunate Avram Grant who so nearly brought the success that Abramovich craves with a simple task. To win the Premier League and the Champions League.
Pointed
He started really well but things began to go wrong on the pitch and within weeks, Scolari was on his way. He has now clearly pointed the finger at the likes of Drogba, Ballack and Cech for failing to produce their best for him as they were not totally in tune with his methods.
Scolari clearly feels that these players undermined his authority and were directly responsible for his sacking.
Responsibility
Whilst it is obviously the manager’s job to get results, the players must surely share the responsibility. Mr Abramovich and his people decided that Scolari was the right man to lead the club to European and domestic success. It is then the player’s job to work under that manager to try to achieve that success. If they fail to deliver what the manager wants, is that the manager’s fault or the player’s?
Surely it is the job of the player’s to adapt to what the manager wants and then to produce the goods on the pitch to the best of their ability. If player’s refuse to accept the manager and fail to produce their best, is it not them who should be forced out of the club rather than the manager?
Healthy
It can’t be healthy to have the level of player power that there seems to be at Chelsea. Clearly Guus Hiddink was a popular boss. Now he has gone and Carlo Ancellotti has come in. If, after a few weeks, some of the Chelsea squad don’t like Ancellotti or his methods, will they go running to Abramovich and get him the sack as well?
Could it be that we have an answer to the question as to why Chelsea just can’t quite reach the heights that Manchester United reach? Player power does not exist at Old Trafford. Sir Alex is by no means a dictator, but in the end, what he says goes. The players know that and on the few occasions that player’s have stood up to, or spoken out about Sir Alex, they have been in the first taxi out of Manchester.
Trust
The board of directors at United trust their manager and allow him to get rid of the likes of Paul Ince, David Beckham, Jaap Stam and Ruud van Nistelroy although from a pure footballing sense that may seem a strange decision to make.
Maybe, just maybe, if Mr Abramovich had told the likes of Drogba and Ballack to go away and get on with the job they are paid millions of pounds to do, and if they don’t like it, they know where the door is, Scolari may have led Chelsea to glory.
Of course, we will never know, but I fear that Chelsea will never become what they want to become whilst the players have so much influence on what goes on behind the scenes.
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
