When Liverpool equalised at Fratton Park on Saturday Tony Adams turned and kicked a chair so violently it collapsed. The then-Portsmouth manager knew his job was imperilled once again and Adams, whose post-alcoholic persona has radiated inner calm, briefly reverted to his old nature.
There was no such emblematic moment at Stamford Bridge as Luiz Felipe Scolari endured what transpired to be his last 90 minutes as Chelsea manager. There was the inevitable raised arms response to near misses, such as John Terry's horrible miscue from three yards in the third minute, but no great tantrums. Phil Brown, a few yards away in front of Hull City's bench, was far more animated. This was telling in itself for, like Adams, Scolari was behaving out of character. He has been one of the more expressive touchline figures this season; his subdued demeanour radiated not inner calm, but powerlessness. He seemed bereft of solutions to revive his team as they stumbled to achieve a victory which should have been a formality. The heady prospects of autumn were already a distant memory when Hull arrived on Saturday. Defeats against the rest of the big four had been accompanied by a series of grinding performances at home. Saturday offered the chance to reinvigourate Chelsea's fading challenge. Hull's own vibrant opening to the season had soured even faster than Chelsea's with one point taken from the last 21. Three points were surely there for the taking. Had Terry converted that early chance perhaps Chelsea would have won. Certainly Ray Wilkins (right), the assistant manager, thought so. The players, he said became "anxious" as the game wore on without a goal. The problem was not just anxiety. Chelsea were laboured in possession, and, it seemed, in too many cases, desire. Tackles were missed. From one such error by John Obi Mikel Craig Fagan should have put Hull ahead. Players dallied in possession, in part because of a lack of options being offered by team-mates. The new recruit, Ricardo Quaresma, began in sparkling style then faded - a microcosm of Chelsea's season. It was Quaresma's withdrawal which sparked the mutiny which appears to have panicked the board into sacking Scolari. For an hour the home crowd had been patient, if quiet, often outshouted by the 3,000 Humberside visitors. Then Quaresma's 18 flashed up on the fourth assistant's board but it was Scolari whose number was up as, from the Matthew Harding Stand, came the chant of "You don't know what you're doing". Wilkins took exception to the chant, citing Scolari's impressive achievements as a coach. He added that Quaresma, who had barely played at Internazionale in recent months, was a logical substitution as he lacks match fitness and had tired. Football crowds rarely take notice of such niceties and, besides, the departure of the team's most adventurous player was merely the focus of their discontent rather than the cause. More significant was the criticism of one ex-player afterwards who expressed his concern at Scolari's lack of a Plan B. Whatever the personnel the system remained the same, two centre-halves with a midfield shield, attacking full-backs, two narrow attack-minded midfielders and a front three which lacked either a target man (except on the rare occasions Didier Drogba played) or genuine width. The system worked superbly at the start of the season, when Deco orchestrated, but he was injured, then lost his panache, and opponents had realised the importance of curtailing the forays of Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole. Thus it was on Saturday. Kevin Kilbane and Richard Garcia were deputed to track Bosingwa and Cole, Giovanni was told to pick-up Mikel to stop him starting attacks. In the end Hull could have won having created the best chances. "We've huffed and puffed," said Wilkins. He added: "These guys are used to winning games but we're not there at the moment." Scolari ducked the post-match press conferences but in the match programme he had stressed there was a long way to go for everyone this season. Once again his judgement was awry. Brazilian boot: Views on Scolari *Dunga, coach of Brazil: "Scolari is an established trainer, there is no doubt about his skills. He is a world champion with Palmeiras and Brazil. I'm sure he will soon get another job as there is no doubt about his quality. A trainer needs time to get to know his players to get the best out of them. European and Brazilian trainers are not given enough time to get to know the players. It is difficult. Ferguson and Wenger are unusual, they are the only ones in charge for many years." *Gilberto Silva, former Brazil captain: "It's hard to transform a club when you're a new coach, Mourinho's had problems in his first year [at Inter], other managers had the same problem adapting. They need time. Maybe next year the team would have been stronger and done well because the squad has a lot of quality." *Marcello Lippi, Italian World Cup-winning coach: "It is a surprise. I feel sorry for him, He is a good coach and a nice guy but these things happen to everyone." Glenn Moore (independent) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
