Well, the most obvious – OK, the most amusing – assumption to make in the light of Luiz Felipe's out-of-the-Blues departure from Stamford Bridge is that Chelsea wanted to beat Portsmouth to Avram Grant.
Funnily enough, the reasons for Scolari's demise are not entirely dissimilar to the ones that did for Tony Adams. Both took over teams that were on the slide and suffering from the apparent disenchantment of their Russian owners. And both palpably failed to convince some of their biggest players that they could arrest the decline.
In Chelsea's case, of course, the demise has been slower but much sharper. They have fallen from a mighty height – from back-to-back Premier League winners to a position where their ability to reach next season's Champions League seems to depend to a large extent on injuries at Arsenal and even Everton. Scolari's greatest achievement – winning the 2002 World Cup – was made possible by monumental balls-ups by the main rivals, but relying on such serendipity is a risk Chelsea have clearly decided not to take.
Chelsea's problems pre-date Scolari, of course. It was Jose Mourinho's railing at the initial signs of stagnation that precipitated his departure two years ago and Grant deserves a degree of credit for ensuring morale and performances did not completely unravel last season. Recent events, however, suggest much of the praise for last season's run to the Champions League final and second place in the Premier League should be given to the club's erstwhile assistant, Steve Clarke.
West Ham's have looked a slick and well-drilled side since Clarke joined Gianfranco Zola at Upton Park, with the midfielder Mark Noble saying as recently as last Friday that Clarke has dramatically improved the "standard and speed" of training. That is the exact opposite of the accounts some Chelsea players have given of daily life under Scolari and Ray Wilkins. And their listless, unimaginative displays since their fleeting early-season vibrancy have made rumours of dissatisfaction easy to believe.
A dearth of top-class wingers and a surplus of stodgy midfielders meant Scolari inherited an unbalanced squad and injuries to Didier Drogba and Michael Essien were certainly grievous blows. Scolari, however, proved unable to overcome these problems, seemingly failing to inspire his players and certainly coming up short in terms of devising a coherent shape or a cutting tempo.
The addition of Ricardo Quaresma - and a belated, given the circumstances, confidence in youngsters such as Miroslav Stoch and even Gael Kakuta - may have helped given time, but Chelsea's decision to cut him loose now suggests the Brazilian's relationship with key players was beyond retrieving.
