Matt Hughes Q&A: Hiddink the right man for Chelsea I Poll: vote for the new Chelsea manager | Debate: were Chelsea right to sack Scolari? | Matt Dickinson: Ghostbuster wanted for London address | Simon Barnes: Chelsea's quick-fix culture | Scolari sacked after meeting Abramovich | Who's next for poisoned chalice? | Divided dressing-room led to difficulties in the boardroom | Joys from Brazil fail to materialise | Giles Smith: Mourinho back at Chelsea? We can but dream | Chelsea's timeline to disaster

For all the very real evidence of discontent that has filtered out from Chelsea’s inner sanctum in the past few months, it seems that Luiz Felipe Scolari’s crime was to lose the boardroom rather than the dressing-room. Many of Chelsea’s senior players were shocked and saddened when told of their manager’s departure after training with their international teams yesterday afternoon, with John Terry and Frank Lampard acting as the messengers of doom after they had been informed of the latest twist in the life of this most turbulent of clubs by a personal telephone call from Roman Abramovich, the owner.

Despite having reservations, Terry and Lampard felt that Scolari was capable of turning things around and should have been given more time, but, unfortunately for the Brazilian, such a view was not universally held by their team-mates — a worrying state of affairs that highlights his biggest failing at Stamford Bridge. Over the course of the past 18 months, the best team spirit in the Premier League, instilled by José Mourinho, has declined to such an alarming extent that several players have begun openly questioning the authority of the manager and the contributions of some of their colleagues.

It has not quite descended into a state of civil war, but even from the outside the tensions are obvious. In essence Chelsea’s players are divided in two, between those who play for the club and the fans, such as Terry and Lampard, and those who have developed the bad habit of playing for themselves.

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In this context it is understood that several of the club’s foreign players have been to see senior boardroom figures in the past few weeks to complain about Scolari’s methods and are not displeased by his departure. While there is no suggestion that Abramovich bowed to this latest outbreak of player power, with the fear of failing to qualify for the Champions League the decisive factor behind his decision, such scheming does illustrate some of the problems that will face Scolari’s successor. There can be few dressing-rooms containing such a powerful cocktail of ego, earning power and sheer stubbornness as that at Chelsea.

Scolari is believed to have retained the backing of the majority of his players, although, crucially, their support was based largely on admiration for his qualities as a man rather than as a manager. The 60-year-old won the squad over with his affable personality and vision of free-flowing football last summer, but as the season has developed doubts began to emerge about his coaching capabilities.

In addition to the well-documented complaints regarding his training sessions — dismissed as lacking intensity and focus, with a series of five-a-sides taking precedence over proper skills work — Scolari’s tactical acumen was also questioned, particularly when it became clear that he struggled to alter the course of matches that were not going Chelsea’s way. Ultimately, he paid the price for failing to live up to the exacting standards set by Mourinho. Although he will not say so, especially with a £7.5 million payoff in the bag, Scolari is also understood to have felt let down by several of his players.

Lampard is the only one to have consistently produced his best form this season, with even hitherto reliable performers such as Petr Cech and Ricardo Carvalho suffering from a drop in form. Many of the players have been quick to blame the manager for the team’s travails rather than address their own shortcomings, but although this evasion of responsibility reflects badly on the individuals concerned, it does not do much for the reputation of the manager either.

By failing to keep them all engaged, focused and united, it appears that Scolari lost the dressing-room after all, even if they did not realise it at the time.

What they said

The manager has been a great signing for the club, he has been different class. He has the complete respect of the whole squad - John Terry, Dec 2008