English Debate: Scolari Shows Cristiano Ronaldo How To Big Game Flop In Style

Luiz Felipe Scolari hasn't done a lot since joining Chelsea. The signing of Deco has, in the long run, proven to be a little superfluous. He has had fleeting moments of brilliance - and even encouraged the inner flair footballer in Frank Lampard to express himself a little bit more - but he hasn't consistently provided Chelsea with anything they didn't already have. Jose Bosingwa, though an excellent signing and one that will be remembered as part of the Scolari era, was actually signed prior to his appointment.

Offloading the likes of Claude Makelele and Steve Sidwell with such nonchalance put an incredible onus on John Obi Mikel to fill the void; something he has managed to a degree, but not against the bigger opposition, which is when a player of his mould is needed most of all.

The most obvious deficiency in Chelsea's system is the lack of width. The Blues' pursuit of Robinho, which comically backfired, bore remarkable resemblance to Real Madrid's chase of Cristiano Ronaldo. They ended up without, and, in truth, Robinho on his own could not have repaired the immeasurable damage to the squad done over time due to the offloading of Damien Duff, Arjen Robben and then Shaun Wright-Phillips, leaving only resounding flop, Florent Malouda, in the meantime.

Scolari did not do enough to redress the balance over the summer, and, in fact, only continued to stack the squad where it was unnecessary. Given a summer and a pre-season - two things Avram Grant never had - his side are actually performing worse than they did under the unassuming Israeli.

All Scolari has on his side is the big name that had the media in a histrionic frenzy upon his arrival. His subsequent failure to deliver in big games may see his nickname among the English public change sooner rather than later from the notorious 'Big Phil' - which he despises so much for its inaccuracy - to something more along the lines of 'Big Phlop' - or perhaps with an F, as long as we're being grammatically scrupulous.

To his credit, Scolari managed to mould an inventive formation out of the players at his disposal - something of a 4-1-3-1-1 - with a Brazilian twist to it, relying on the full-backs for width and creativity coming entirely from an exceptionally manned midfield. However, the system relies on brilliant performances from the likes of Deco and Michael Ballack that have not been consistently forthcoming - otherwise, it becomes a system too easy to defend against and very much susceptible to being savaged on the counter-attack.

This explains perfectly why the Blues have only been able to consistently pick up results on the road, while faltering at home and constantly falling short in the big games. They have managed just one point against Manchester United earlier on in the season, which was followed by losses to Liverpool and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge - ending an unbeaten home run in the league that had previously stretched four years under Jose Mourinho and then Avram Grant - and having it all topped off with the Old Trafford trouncing. Yesterday proved that when it comes to the big teams, home or away, this Chelsea team is not together enough to get a result.

Even their cast-iron defensive personnel have been made to look ordinary - particularly from set-pieces - which is often a sign of a team lacking in harmony. Communication breakdowns, players pointing the finger at one another and a hint of insanity: repeating the same tactics over and over expecting different results - Chelsea are a team in trouble.

Scolari has done nothing to justify the dismissal of Avram Grant. He hasn't even proven to be more of a motivator, instead cutting a sullen figure on the sidelines who has rarely, if ever, managed to turn a game with any kind of motivational speech - or tactical improvisations, for that matter. It is impossible to go on blaming the players: on paper, Chelsea's team was markedly superior to United's yesterday, but it made little difference from whistle to whistle, as the Blues failed to register a single shot on target. The same can be said of an injury-hit Arsenal side that have recently lost key players and still beat the Blues - even  Liverpool's first team doesn't really come close, when comparing player for player.

The most alarming thing for Chelsea fans is that this form could be a sign of things to come, as fears of a 'recession regression' swarm around Stamford Bridge. Roman Abramovich will not continue to pour his own millions into the club, as proven by the club's tight-fisted, Arsene Wenger-like approach to this January. The squad's key players are getting on in years, the coach looks helpless and expectations remain sky high - just how will they fulfil them without the finances to reinforce throughout the ranks?

The 2002 World Cup triumph has long been quoted as testament to Scolari's pedigree, and while he deserves credit for the achievement, it was a fairly pedestrian passage that his Brazil side ended up taking to the final. With Portugal, Scolari could only ever manage wins over England - themselves the ultimate losers on the big stage - and never quite managed to push his side to a title.

It is true that he may not have always had the squad with which to conquer the world with Portugal, but some of his selections bordered on self-destructive, and he may never be able to live down falling flat on home soil against an ultra-defensive Greek outfit that somehow did the double over his side in the first and final games of EURO 2004 to miraculously end up champions of Europe, despite entering the tournament as a bottom seeded side.

Chelsea's future boils down to just how much patience will be afforded the way of Felipao. Allowing for the fact his name alone will buy him more time than Avram Grant could have ever dreamt of being given, the most realistic of scenarios is that he and his players end the season trophyless - with the players having the good fortune of at least staying in a job.

Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com