Reports of Mourinho's departure from Stamford Bridge are now extensive with the debate now centering on whether he resigned or was fired. Here are the latest articles from a couple British newspapers with their take on the shock development - the Times and the Guardian. The Daily Telegraph and the Independent currently are without a story although the Telegraph contains a link to ESPN Soccernet.

With Ballack in the mix, Lampard's role become less clear and subsequently the English midfielder became less effective. Prior to his move to Stamford Bridge Ballack has been the fulcrum of the midfield at Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and with the German national side. Two players trying to play the same role did not work as England has experienced when Steven Gerrard and Lampard were teamed together.

While the problem of Ballack and Lampard in the midfield became more obvious as the season progressed the issue of Shevchenko's role was more apparent, in fact almost from the start. In order to play Shevchenko, Mourinho had two options - the first was to opt for the former Milan man over Drogba. Although Drogba struggled at times in his first Premiership season in 2005, it was clear to all by season two that the Ivory Coast striker was a game-winner and not someone who needed to play second-fiddle to anyone.

That left Mourinho with the option of moving to a 4-4-2 formation which he fielded for most of last season. It was a system that rarely flattered Chelsea and left them generally looking disjointed and lacking the balance and pace that was on show during Mourinho's first two seasons in charge.

What's more Chelsea seemed to lose the mental edge and application that had been such an important part of their game when the won back-to-back titles. As the fear receded in other sides Chelsea was forced more frequently to come from behind to salvage a draw or to pull off a win - a position they had rarely found themselves in before.

With rumours rife of the owner and the manager not speaking the club appeared to grow more dysfunctional as last season progressed. The move to bring in Avram Grant looked to be the straw that was to break the manager’s back but a peace deal was brokered that appeared from the outside to have everyone comfortably playing in their own sandbox. However, reports that owner Abramovich was on a mission to sign Ronaldinho just before the August 31 transfer deadline, was perhaps a clue that the fix was only a band-aid solution and the cracks quickly reemerged.  

Over the last two or three weeks the issues have compounded – an unsatisfactory explanation as to why Michael Ballack was left of the Champions League roster; the Shevchenko dilemma escalated as the Ukrainian striker put in good performance against Italy something not seen in a Chelsea uniform; a loss to Aston Villa and a draw with Blackburn in the Premiership; an embarrassing tie at home in front of a small crowd to Norwegian team Rosenborg; and then perhaps the final sign that Mourinho had cracked – his egg story at a press conference this week.

So what now for Mourinho? It’s not good news for incumbent managers. Knowing that Mourinho is again on the market provides any trigger happy Chairman with a ready replacement should any of the big clubs stumble in the next few weeks.

As for a replacement two names will be prominent. Fabio Capello is available and if Chelsea is looking for a proven and tested winner then Capello fits the bill to a tee. The other is Guus Hiddink, currently in charge of Russia’s national team. Abramovich is rumoured to have brokered the deal that placed Hiddink in charge and so there does appear to be a prior relationship.

That potential move does however come with complications beyond Hiddink dumping Russia and it comes in the form of Frank Arnesen, the current Sporting Director at Stamford Bridge (another chief!). Arnesen and Hiddink worked together at PSV Eindhoven a few years back until PSV management opted to dump the Dane in a power struggle that Hiddink won.

Verbal 97- First, can (or rather will) a team like Portsmouth or Bolton be able to claim 3rd or 4th? Second, can someone from the pack jump into the title race (i.e., is there precedence that someone as many as 16 points down at this stage of the season winning the title)?

Bobby- To answer the second question first, I can't remember anybody coming back from 16 points down, particularly as someone else has pointed out when two teams are involved. In regards to Portsmouth or Bolton or other such teams, the squad depth will have a major impact as well as avoiding injuries.  That is where the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal have a significant advantage over the other teams. If you're looking for a team to spring a surprise then maybe you look at last year when Spurs got knocked out of both cups early and were able to concentrate on the league. A third-round exit in the FA Cup, early in the New Year may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise for someone.

BlueBlades-Being an Everton Fan it has become very frustrating that we don’t seem to score very many goals. Is this the players fault or the system that the team plays? Do you think James Beattie should be moved on and the younger players given more opportunities? Victor Anachebie looks like he would run through brick wall for the side.

Bobby-I think if you go back to last year's Everton’s scoring rate has increased.  But then again, last year was pretty awful. I think you have to factor in that Arteta and Cahill are both out and they create and score a lot of Everton's goals. Beattie’s scoring rate is down significantly from when he was at Southampton and Moyes must be losing patience with him I would think. However, you have to consider that the relegation battle this year is going be very tight and although Everton are sitting in mid table I don't think they could count themselves out of trouble quite yet. Until Moyes feels safe I can't see him gambling on youngsters from the start.

Gunner 44- Great game it was. Essien is the best midfielder in the EPL at the moment the guy can do everything, even Vieira and R. Kean weren't this good where they? One thing I noticed though is the high pressure that Arsenal put on Sunday. They did the same against Tottenham and it seems to bother teams. Even Chelsea some times lost the ball because of it. So I think Wenger should keep telling his team to do that but when they win the ball they have to finish the opponents off.

Bobby-the difference perhaps is that Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane did it for season after season. The way that Arsenal played against Chelsea (early on) and Spurs was quite reminiscent of the way Milan used to play- placing the opposition under pressure high up the park. As for finishing the opponents off, I am sure Arsenal team are not missing chances on purpose!

Henry 14- Is it worth to put a player of Robben's ability on the bench when Sheva is not performing, because l feel Robben would make it in any of the top four team's first eleven, how do you view that?

Bobby- Robben tends to be quite inconsistent - on his game he could play for just about anybody, but he is not always on his game. It is quite different coming into a game than it is starting one. On Sunday, Robben was able to take advantage of a tiring Arsenal side and the space created between Hleb and Fabregas.

ranndino-The whole episode with Lehmann and Drogba provided me with some comical relief. What penalty, Bobby? They both totally exaggerated the contact and dived. Lehmann's push on Drogba would not have knocked down a 10-year old girl. Same goes for the flop Jens took when Drogba came back at him. It all reminded me of old Charlie Chaplin films really. Except his falling over looked less fake.

One small comment about Sheva. I absolutely agree that patience is required. I think he's been getting better in the last few games. However, it is really difficult for Jose to keep Robben on the bench. He completely turned the match when he came on and is 10 times more effective than Shevchenko at the moment (and I'm a big fan of Sheva). With Robben on the bench Chelsea have no width and look very short of ideas up front. It's mostly limited to individual runs by Drogba and long shots by Lampard. I still think that dumping Duff for Sheva has really hurt Chelsea. With Duff and Robben Chelsea's attack was nearly unstoppable.

Bobby- What penalty?  Then why yellow cards? I think the Duff and Robben combination was much more effective two seasons ago.  I'm not sure the statistics from last year backup your argument about Duff and Robben being nearly unstoppable. Duff only started in 18 Premiership games last season and was substituted in 14 of them.  Robben last season started 21 games and was substituted in 10 of them.  So between the two of them they only managed to complete 15 games.

USA England fan-What was your favorite goal and favorite match of the weekend, and who would you say was MVP (I'm guessing Essien)?

Bobby-There were certainly some crackers on the weekend- Essien, Matthew Taylor, Pedersen to name three.  My favourite has to be Essien though -a clutch goal.  As the MVP- I would probably go for Gilberto Silva, he held Arsenal together particularly in the first half.

Bigmacmtl - I believe there was no penalty given because Drogba was not pushed during open play?  (Drogba and Lehmann incident).

Bobby- From the commentary it certainly sounded as if the ball was in play – there was a foul, the referee booked the players, why wasn't a free kick given where the incident took place which was in the penalty box - why not a penalty?  I would agree that the referee showed good sense, but my point was that by his stupidity Jens Lehmann could have cost his team dearly.

Riocharlie- One thing I’ve noticed during the 1st half of the season, are the number of young Irish lads making strong contributions to their sides. Is there a renaissance of Irish football under way? They have a tough Euro qualifying group, how do you rate their chances?

Bobby- I think you have to keep your eyes on Ireland for  2010 World Cup qualifying. They got off to a bad start in Euro qualifying and I can't see them catching the Czech Republic and Germany.

bigdavedisaster - I have admired the play of Gamst-Pedersen since early last season great balls in especially from corners is there any talk of him moving from Blackburn?

Bobby- There was some talk a year or so about Gamst-Pedersen may be going to Old Trafford.  But I don't think a wide midfield player is really what Alex Ferguson is looking for.

Carljamaica – I am from Jamaica and I make sure I don’t miss the show when you are on. What will Man Utd have to do to get a little credit? I always wonder what team you support. Is it me or does Man Utd seem to not get much love at all. Everyone talks about their squad and it’s like everybody expects them to falter, and how they have had a good home fixture. that team as always done well on the road, from week one everyone has been predicting united will soon come unstuck and now we are in week 17. Do you think united can win the league? I just think people need to give credit where it is due and look beyond Chelsea and their whining players. A couple weeks ago Drogba said he was the best striker, now he is stuck on eight goals and a number of players have caught up with him. Man Utd. has done well and if Fergie get one or two players in January then I honestly believe they can win it. Chelsea is just stupid cause there is no way Robben should be on the bench, they can’t expect to out muscle teams every week, they need some spark that Robben has.

btw which players do you think could be available for Man Utd that would help that team in January? 

Bobby- Interesting Carl, I usually get accused of going light on Manchester United! I think people are cautious about United's chances of winning the league because of the depth of the squad, and in particular, a shortage of quality midfield players -- central midfield players -- and what would happen if Saha or Rooney were injured.Talk of signing Fernando Torres percolates every now and again, and of course, Owen Hargreaves who seems to me to be just  a younger version of Philip Neville.

Djnima - Do you think Jose will stick around if he fails to win the league or the champs league this season?

Bobby-I think Mourinho is just as liable to leave if he wins the league or the champions league this season as he is to leave if he doesn't. Ronaldo has been absolutely outstanding so far this season and has been the player of the season so far IMHO. 

Realmadridcffan - 1. Out of the EPL managers their right now, which manager gives the best post game sound bites or press conference quotes? 2. With the January transfer window coming soon, who do you see so far being mentioned as the biggest name to move to a different club? 3. What do you think of the FIFA World Club Cup? I find it is ok, but 6 teams is too awkward and with the fixture schedule as hectic as it is for the clubs in this competition, is it even feasible to have in reality?

Bobby- I like Stuart Pearce’s honesty, and I'm waiting for Steve Coppell to crack a smile. I'm not sure that there will be many big-name moves during the transfer window- Ribery perhaps? FIFA will not let the Club World Cup die so we may as well get used to it. It will take a couple of years, and a few good games for the fans to embrace it.  Next year will be the last tournament in Japan and taking the competition around the world will help.

Eriktheviking-re: Sheva I'm not sure what is worse for Sheva--Chelsea's system or Lampard either shooting whenever he gets the ball or making all those CF runs in the box. Sheva drops to receive the ball. Lampard fills the CF channel. Sheva is left supporting play.

Bobby- I thought it was interesting that the comments Shevchenko supposedly didn't make seemed quite accurate to me.  When he was at Milan it seemed like the player's knew exactly the areas that they were to operate in, while at Chelsea a number of players seem to want to operate in the same area.

This week we look at the clubs that finished six through ten in last season's Premiership.  It is understandable that fans of Blackburn, Newcastle, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan are looking to improve on last season’s showing. However, history shows that it is more difficult to consolidate the improvement than it was to leap up the table in the first place.

Let us go back three seasons to the final league table of 2003/04. Aston Villa, Charlton, Bolton, Fulham, and Birmingham City filled positions six through ten respectively. The best performance over the last three seasons has been by Bolton. They have managed to finish in the top ten in the two seasons since; the worst is by Birmingham City – they are now in the Championship. Of the others, Villa slipped to 10th the next season and then 16th last season.  Charlton, 11^th and then 13th and Fulham 13th followed by a late rally last season that took them to 12th. 

If we look at the 2004/05 league table, only Tottenham Hotspur (9th) improved their position the following year (5th). The others – Bolton, Middlesbrough, Manchester City, and Aston Villa – all garnered less points and dropped in the standings.

In fact over a four year spell finishing in the top ten has shown to be down right dangerous to a teams Premiership health. Consider this; Ipswich 00/01 (5^th) - 01/02 (relegated), Leeds 01/02 (5^th) – 03/04 (relegated), West Ham 01/02 (7^th) – 02/03 (relegated), Southampton 02/03 (8^th) - 04/05 (relegated), Birmingham City 03/04 (10^th) – 05/06 (relegated).

So for Blackburn, Newcastle, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan will be it be up or will it be down this season?

Blackburn has brought in Jason Roberts from Wigan while Craig Bellamy – a big loss – and Paul Dickov have both departed. Mark Hughes is reported to be interested in signing Mr. Loyalty aka Nicolas Anelka while acquiring Francis Jeffers would seem to be an inexpensive gamble, albeit one that it unlikely to succeed.

Glenn Roeder faces the start of the season without his two main strikers from last season and a replacement for either, yet to be secured. With Michael Owen’s injury showing complications, his time on the treatment table may extend into 2007. Shola Ameobi is the only specialist striker available at the moment and although he can mature into a 12 to 15 Premiership goal scorer he cannot be expected to carry the full load.

The addition of Damien Duff should prove to be a great investment and he adds strength to a midfield that could be one of the best in the Premiership. Defensively Newcastle showed a massive improvement in cutting the goals against from 57 down to 42 and Shay Given was a big part of the reason. If the defensive can tighten up a little more and with a midfield that can score goals, Newcastle fans might just find that a few goals may generate many points.
After all the speculation at the end of last season it looks like Sam Allardyce will still the man in charge at the Reebok come the Premiership kick off. Bolton has seen eight players leave already – seven if you exclude the strange case of Didi Hamann. Arrivals Abdoulaye Meite and Idan Tal are far from household names but big Sam has shown in the past a good eye for talent so we should not be surprised if they fit in smoothly. Further signings are promised and with the transfer window open until the end of August that gives Allardyce opportunity to shop around.

It was a great return to the big time for West Ham fans. A solid finish in the league and a trip to the FA Cup Final was more than almost everyone expected. Alan Pardew has already spent some money and is adamant that the likes of Dean Ashton will not be leaving Upton Park.

Paul Jewell is another manager who has given been given a freer role with the club’s chequebook this summer. Five players have arrived while eight have left. The loss of Jimmy Bullard will probably hurt the most along with the departure of Jason Roberts who improved as last season progressed. Other solid veteran players to leave such as Damien Francis, Alan Mahon, Stéphane Henchoz, David Thompson, and Matt Jackson might leave the depth of the squad paper-thin.

While Emile Heskey and Fitz Hall for a combined fee of around $14M raised a few eyebrows, Denny Landzaat from AZ Alkmaar might an inspired signing. Andy Webster may also be on his way from Hearts of the SPL.