Sam Allardyce, whose Sunderland side will play Chelsea on Saturday, has said he is shocked and saddened by Chelsea’s sacking of José Mourinho.
News of Mourinho’s departure broke during Sam Allardyce’s pre-match press conference. “I’m shocked to say the least” was Allardyce’s immediate response. “They must have somebody lined up.”
“I’m sad to see Mourinho go because I got to know him quite well and he’s a great character. He’s a loss to the Premier League,” Allardyce added.
“Because of the underachievement at Chelsea, even a great manager like José has lost his job.”
Former Liverpool player and manager Graeme Souness said on Sky Sports News: “Part of me is shocked and part of me isn’t shocked.
“You’d think his track record would buy him a bit of time, but I think on the other side of the coin you look at what’s happened at Chelsea this year and there has to be something fundamentally wrong.
“I think he’s lost his dressing room and some of the major players in the dressing room have given up on him. If you look at the quality of players Chelsea have right now, where they are in the league is ridiculous – they should not be down there.”
Paul Merson suggested that Mourinho could end up at Old Trafford.
“Louis van Gaal will be looking behind him” Merson said on Sky Sports News.
“If it doesn’t go well for Man United in the next week or two, I think they might look and think, one of the best managers in the world of football is available. Let’s get him.”
Thierry Henry admitted on Sky Sports News that Mourinho’s time may have been up. “I don’t know if he could have turned it around. I think the club needed to do something... it is probably a sad day if you are a Chelsea fan, but they will bounce back.”
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done for a club, they can show you the door. Going for the manager is the easiest option” Henry concluded.
“Once you fall out with players then it is a very difficult situation you find yourself in,” Alan Shearer told Radio 5 Live.
“If you fall out with two or three you can move them on. But when you go over that you’re talking about half a dressing room. You can’t sack all the players. Then you have a decision to make.”
Former Arsenal and England defender Martin Keown, also speaking on Radio 5 Live, said: “This has almost been an accident waiting to happen. If you go back to October, he was talking about rats in the camp and that he couldn’t name his team before games for fear that it’d find its way into the press.
“He didn’t seem stable right from the off this season. He was on a campaign where he fell out of love with his players. It’s quite incredible and astonishing to see the champions capitulate in the last game against Leicester. I saw players that weren’t really giving everything.”
Reaction on Twitter from former professionals was also largely critical of Chelsea players. Match of the Day pundit Trevor Sinclair said that the players “should be embarrassed by his sacking”. Gary Lineker, tongue firmly in cheek, suggested former team doctor Eva Carneiro as a replacement for Mourinho.
