Big Phil takes over at Stamford Bridge

After a few weeks of speculation, Chelsea have announced their new manager and he is none other than Big Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The man who was once on the verge of becoming England manager instead of Steve McClaren but chose not to because of the FA's instance he signed before the World Cup and the media's intrusion. Despite the fact that he is still manager of Portugal and they are in the finals of a major tournament, the deal was announced by Chelsea last night, presumably because it was about to leak out.

The 59 year-old has never managed at club level in Europe and speaks n English, yet he is charged with taking Chelsea over the top in the Premiership & Champions League. I have to admit I find it a surprising appointment. There is little doubt as to his quite considerable credentials when it comes to international football, but there are legitimate questions when you look at whether he is the right man to take Chelsea forward.

His personality is strong and his players know what he expects, nay, demands of them. His players often speak very highly of him but he hasn't dealt with the day to day running of a football club for the best part of a decade. His lack of English some might say isn't a huge issue due to the lack of English players at Chelsea, but surely you need to converse in the native language of the country that you are working in?

So he takes over at Stamford Bridge on July 1 and will straight away walk into one of the best but most challenging jobs in world football. Chelsea is a great job, he has a chairman who will back him in the transfer market and can attract the best players on the planet with the lure of huge wages and playing for the biggest trophies in the most exciting league in the world.

It'll be interesting to see how he does...