The world is truly an interesting place right now. There's our Prime-Minister in China fielding questions from students, and making the classic mistake of trying to tell the power brokers of that Communist state about human rights; yeah right! Its like England believing that by playing Peter Crouch up front that we can out-fox the German defence in a competitive match; only to be picked off with ease. Meanwhile, of course, back home our own protesting students, oblivious to the privilege of free speech, were rampaging through his Party Headquarters in swanky Millbank. Then just as everything was settling down, Chelsea sacked Ray Wilkins!
Mr Wilkins was reviewing a Reserve team match at the training ground one minute then asked to clear his desk in the next. Football fans everywhere are genuinely stunned, if anyone thought the Rooney situation was a Pantomine, then, how do we term this charade and its not even December!
The facts that are that Wilkins, who was hired to assist Scolari, then Hiddink and finally Ancelotti, has been pivotal to the Premier League success last year. The number crunchers have tried to over-analyse roles and value and damagingly have under-estimated that virtue that transcends all things financial - loyalty. If the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge believed that this one would blow over with the help of a sprinkling of PR spin, then they were sadly mistaken. Yes, yes, yes, we read that Carlo Ancelotti has a comprehensive working knowledge of English life now: heaven knows, he can probably without assistance write his name on the chalkboard for a game of pool, work the Juke-Box, and has apparently compiled his own Fantasy Football! But somehow, we are missing the point, as one reads the drip fed copy being expertly released by the men in suits upstairs, the facts keep shouting back: Wilkins was the Chelsea captain at the age of 19, is faultless when it comes to media duties and more importantly Chelsea are as good as out of sight at the top of the league even in November; everybody knew it, even if they were not actually prepared to admit it. Football is like music, it is magical, sometimes illogical, at times beautifully but impossible to quantify. The bottom line is that Chelsea are top of the tree and were fearless, and playing with gay abandon; they were achieving something special, Wilkins was part of that collage, and now the rug has been pulled.
As I drove home on Saturday afternoon, after fulfilling another exciting Wedding engagement, I learned that Vidic had rescued Manchester United with an undeserved late equaliser at Villa, but life at the top is ruthless, and the reds know that better than anyone. I made the assumption that a routine win against feisty Sunderland would ease the Blues into a comfortable lead at the summit; one senses, that the Executive puppets at Stamford Bridge had that script already drafted to roll out on Monday as an affirmation to all commentators, pundits and fans that despite the passing of the faithful servant called Wilkins, that football moves on without so much as a loyalty timepiece. But football, has its own unique way of moralising, enter Steve Bruce a Manchester United man deep down, he too like Vidic, critically saved the side Red Devils by scoring two sensational late goals one fine day against Sheffield Wednesday back in 1993, goals that, are widely regarded as the defining moment of what is now taken for granted as dominance at Old Trafford. The significance was not lost on him, and he unleashed his hungry Black Cats to scratch out a performance and pounce on a weakened Chelsea outfit; 3-0 was not just a loss it was a proper beating. The timing of the end of this intimidating unbeaten run is a huge set-back at best, and could change the course of the title ultimately with devastating consequences for Chelsea and Ancelotti - Jose Mourinho is another genius that had to clear his desk at the Bridge. Mrs Ancelotti would do well to log onto Rightmove.com, get a valuation for the Surrey house, and re-open her clothing accounts back in Milan while she's at it, just as a precaution.
Psychologically, it may, more damagingly, have truly re-ignited a fresh and rested young Cheshire resident called Rooney, who at present has nothing to lose and everything to gain; with the exception of his splendid remuneration. With Liverpool still floundering, Manchester City toothless and terrified and Arsenal yet to truly announce themselves, the stage could yet be set for one of the greatest Premier League stories of all time. The one thing that probably could save Chelsea here is the international break, but remember Alex Ferguson has already won played a blinder in the media with his handling of "Rooney-gate," Wilkins is no longer warming the bench beside Ancelotti whispering sweet-nothings, or swapping banter in those tricky press conferences in far-flung places; he is surely destined for a busy career in the broadcast media. Alex is the King of sound bites and I thoroughly expect him now to attempt a campaign of subtle torture for his rival; similar to the way he bamboozled Kevin Keegan back in the 90s.
Ancelotti knows deep down, how valuable his mate "Butch" Wilkins was, but far more significantly is the reality that he is the manager in name alone, and that is where the trouble will really start. I sense that he may feel a right "Dandini" when Alex "Widow Twanky" Ferguson starts airing that Chelsea washing, and reminding him gently of that fact. Abramovich may, in time, wish he had stuck to playing Championship Manager and kept his Russian beak out of the Accounts Department; being "Pinnochio" like Nicholas Clegg, or the Lion from the "Wizard of Oz" like David Cameron. The Premier League has suddenly got interesting again, old English Proverb says "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
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