Matt Teale's blog

A rare, but welcome return to London Tonight for me today and as someone who works as both a news and sports journalist, I've picked a busy day to be back in the capital.

Chelsea have confirmed they've 'parted company' with manager, Andre Villas-Boas, which is football speak for 'they've sacked him'. For many, his departure less than a year into the job has been on the cards for several weeks and Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League yesterday was the straw that broke the camel's back. Chelsea's fans - and more importantly for AVB - their billionaire Russian owner, Roman Abramovich, demands results: specifically, qualification for the lucrative Champions League, which means finishing the season in fourth place or better in the Premier League.

Chelsea are currently fifth in the table, three points behind London rivals Arsenal and with recent results and performances patchy at best.

A statement from Chelsea this afternoon says, 'the results and performances of the team have not been good enough and were showing no signs of improving at a key time in the season'. But there is another factor at play here and that is the relationship AVB had with his players. Rumours of dressing room unrest and his failure to get some of Chelsea's more senior squad members on board the good ship AVB, ultimtely led to its sinking. The fact that the 34 year old AVB is a similar age to the likes of Frank Lampard and John Terry may not have helped him stamp his authority.

So, what and who next for Chelsea? Well, in the short term, Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed as interim manager until the end of the season. On Tuesday they travel to the Midlands to play Birmingham in the FA Cup, followed by Stoke at home in the Premier League next Saturday before entertaining Napoli in the Champions League on March 14th. In the long term, the names in the frame include Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola and a familar name and face around Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho.

As the manager of the best team on the planet, tempting Guardiola from the Nou Camp to Stamford Bridge might be tricky, although the Premier League is the ultimate test for any manager or player. As for whether the self proclaimed, 'Special One' is ready for a return to England after falling victim to Abramovich's hair trigger himself, only he (and Abramovich) can say.

Mourinho was snapped in London last week while reportedly scouting for property. It's also believed he's set to leave his current post at Real Madrid (who are currently well ahead of Barca in the Spanish league) at the end of the season. No surprise then that Mourinho has been installed as the favourite with the bookies. Either way, Chelsea need to find a long term answer to a manager problem that has seen the kit man printing initials on the track suits of seven different 'Gaffer's' since Mouinho 'parted company' with Chelsea in September 2007.

Matt Teale