The Ego has crash landed

So, come on then, who saw that coming? Imagine my bleary eyed surprise this morning when I switched on the TV to find out that Jose Mourinho was no longer manager of Chelsea. As shocks go it was up there with Keegan quitting Newcastle, Fowler returning to Liverpool and Dirty Den dying in Eastenders, then coming back to life, then dying again.

Sadly for Chelsea fans, there is little chance of Jose coming back from the dead to take the reins again at Stamford Bridge (unless this is some brilliant PR exercise) and I suppose the question has to be asked, why has he gone? With six trophies in three years and an astonishing record of never having lost a home league game under his belt, just what did he do wrong?

When Roman Abramovich took over at Chelsea in 2003, the question all football fans asked was: 'what happens when he loses interest?' Surely he would leave at some point, leaving debts of hundreds of millions at the door. Chelsea followers' response, and a perfectly valid one at that, was simply: 'well what if he never loses interest?'

This move shows that Abramovich still sees Chelsea as his plaything. He hasn't lost interest. But for possibly the first time since the Russian parked his helicopter on top of the Shed End, Chelsea fans are faced with a question: Is he good for the club?

Sure Chelsea weren't pretty to watch at times under Mourinho, but they cantered to the league title twice in his first two years. The Portuguese was perfect for the new Chelsea. Brash, loud, arrogant, and he knew it. He positively encouraged an ongoing battle with Liverpool's Rafa Benitez, the other high profile foreign manager to arrive in England at the same time as him. As a result relations between the two clubs cooled to the point of freezing, and after the nation tired of the petulant, pizza-throwing battles between Manchester United and Arsenal, English football's new major rivalry was born.

How annoying for Mourinho then that come the really big clashes between the pair, in the FA Cup and more specifically the Champions League, Benitez would always find a way to come out on top. The Spaniard is unlikely to shed a tear at today's news.

Neither are many other Premier League bosses, but while Mourinho upset fans of virtually every single club he faced during his time in England, he was loved at Stamford Bridge, and Abramovich now faces a revolt.

Mourinho's name will be sung by Chelsea's fans at Old Trafford on Sunday, if United continue their indifferent form it'll be the only thing you can hear. Yes his teams didn't play exciting football, but Chelsea fans didn't care (have you ever tried talking to them about football?) and the vast majority are deeply upset he's gone.

Abramovich has taken a masssive gamble here. He wants his team to play 'exciting football' (don't we all?) but that doesn't always mean trophies. The Russian is like a child who has seen a shiny new toy and wants it. Manchester United won the league last year playing attacking football, Arsenal and Liverpool have shown similar styles this year. Sitting in a half empty Stamford Bridge watching his team stutter to a draw against Norwegian whipping boys wasn't on his agenda when he bought the club.

And so Jose bit the bullet. There are better managers (Ferguson, Wenger and Benitez are far better tacticians) but we are unlikely to see one like him again. The Special One has ridden off into the night, leaving a trail of trophies behind him.

Your move Roman. And it had better be a good one.