Allardyce ‘shocked’ by Mourinho sacking

Chelsea fans have turned on the club after the sacking of manager Jose Mourinho.

Former Liverpool boss and Mourinho’s former assistant from his first spell at the Bridge, Brendan Rogers is also available, while Diego Simeone has become hot property since dragging Atletico Madrid out of the shadows of city rivals Real en route to winning La Liga in 2014.

Chelsea announced that Mourinho had left the club “by mutual consent” after a run of nine defeats in 16 games that has seen the Premier League champions slide to within a point of the relegation zone.

After the match, Mourinho said he was “betrayed” by his players.

“One possibility is that I did an fantastic job last season and brought the players to a level that is not their level and now they can’t maintain it”.

The Blues will face Paris St-Germain in the next round slated for January 16-17 and February 23-24.

After easing to the league title in May, Mourinho was awarded a new four-year contract.

Chelsea’s website hailed Jose Mourinho on Thursday as the best manager in the club’s 110-year history but it did not stop Russian owner Roman Abramovich firing him for the second time in eight years.

However, this season has been more hard, with Mourinho embroiled in a controversy that led to the departure of Chelsea’s female team doctor Eva Carneiro.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown told BBC Sport that Mourinho’s exit was “an accident waiting to happen”, with ex-England and Newcastle United captain Alan Shearer said to BBC Radio 5 live: “I have never known a capitulation like it from a football club”.

Standing at 33/1 he is an outsider – but still a possible replacement for Mourinho.

Guus Hiddink has been tipped to take over as caretaker manager until the end of the season, which would be a repeat of the role he fulfilled at the club following Luiz Felipe Scolari’s dismissal in 2009.

“I’m not surprised at all that he’s gone”, said Hudson.

For Chelsea and Abramovich, facing a season out of the Champions League and with a temporary move to Wembley in the offing while Stamford Bridge is rebuilt, the only guarantee is uncertainty.

“Mourinho has suffered a turbulent campaign amid widespread reports of unrest in the Chelsea dressing room”.

Chelsea said they would not be making any further comment until a new appointment was made. It’d be a pretty bad indictment on the players if they actually go and perform a lot better than they have done recently just because Jose has lost his job.

“Whilst there is huge sentiment for the individual who has done so much for the club, the facts of the matter remain that Chelsea Football Club is in trouble”. He won the Champions League with FC Porto in 2004 and with Inter Milan in 2010, before and after his first tenure at Chelsea. “His legacy at Stamford Bridge and in England has long been guaranteed and he will always be warmly welcomed back to Stamford Bridge”.