Big Phil sizes up Chelsea challenge

So ‘Big’ Phil Scolari has taken up the hottest of managerial hotseats at Stamford Bridge.

Scolari was the obvious choice once Milan’s Carlo Ancelotti dropped out of the running, it seems the only surprise about the appointment of the Portugal boss was the timing.

With their usual disregard for other teams and other competitions the Stamford Bridge outfit chose the middle of a major tournament in which Scolari’s current charges are involved.

It can’t have been Big Phil’s choice and word has it that the news broke from London to pre-empt the event being leaked to the press.

The Blues claim they waited until Portugal were confirmed as being through to the last eight as group winners but it does seem hard to conceive that it would have all been quiet without Arda Turan’s late deflected goal for Turkey that sent Switzerland packing and Portugal through.

With no national team competing in Euro 2008 to occupy the British press, journalists will be framing every Portugal game as one featuring ‘the future Chelsea manager’.

Meanwhile every British-based player will be (if they haven’t already) quizzed on their relationship with the gaffer and how it could influence their future.

This can only cause a distraction and I hate to think how we would react if an England team and their manager were treated this way.

But we must look forward and so far the response has been almost exclusively positive to Big Phil’s imminent arrival in England.

There are doubts about the fact he has never managed a European club before and, more significantly, his minimal command of the English language.

But there is a general consensus that the one tiem England target is the man Chelsea need to bring the best out of big players and put his stamp on the scene.

My only worry is we’ve heard it all before. The coach who is an outsider, with a reputation for doing things his own way and a refusal to be intimidated by anyone – is this a case of The Special One mark Two?

Even If it is some Chelsea fans may say ‘bring it on’, after all Jose Mourinho won the Premiership title in his first few seasons.

But the whole reason the Mourinho era turned sour at the Bridge was because Jose became too much of his own boss and started to clash with the Abramovich and the club’s power brokers such as Avram Grant and Frank Arnesen.

Grant may have departed following a gutsy effort in a doomed managerial appointment but Arnesen is as influential as ever (if not exactly who was behind the transfer of Jose Bosingwa as Grant was leaving the club).

While Abramovich is seemingly becoming disillusioned judging by his more frequent matchday absences and is responding by taking more decisions upon himself and his close circle.

The question might well be will Big Phil prove too big for Stamford Bridge?