Chelsea sacked Manager JOSE MOURINHO seven months after he led the club to the Premier League title, according to the BBC. The 52-year-old Portuguese had been in his second spell at the club, taking charge in June '13. Chelsea finished eight points clear last season and won the League Cup, but has lost nine of its 16 league games so far and is 16th in the table, "one point above the relegation places." PEP GUARDIOLA, GUUS HIDDINK, JUANDE RAMOS and BRENDAN RODGERS have all "been touted as possible successors" as Chelsea Owner ROMAN ABRAMOVICH begins another managerial search. Chelsea said in a statement, "Chelsea Football Club and Jose Mourinho have today parted company by mutual consent. ... His three league titles, FA Cup, Community Shield and three League Cup wins over two spells make him the most successful manager in our 110-year history." BBC Match of the Day pundit ALAN SHEARER said he was "shocked" by Mourinho's departure but admitted Chelsea's form had been "dreadful." Shearer: "I've never known a capitulation like it from a football club. I have never known players to perform like they did last season and then be so bad now. It's unprecedented." It is "unlikely" Mourinho will be out of management "for long, given his record of success at Chelsea and other top European clubs." He guided Porto and Inter Milan to Champions League glory in '04 and '10, respectively, then Real Madrid to the La Liga title in '12 (BBC, 12/17). In London, David Hytner reported Mourinho "paid the price for the team’s dismal Premier League form and he has become the latest casualty" of the Abramovich era. The Chelsea owner has now dismissed eight managers since his takeover in '03 but he had "held off for as long as possible on Mourinho, and not only because he had given him a new four-year contract" worth £250,000 ($372,300) a week, or £13M ($19.4M) a year, in August. Mourinho will now attempt to "reach a settlement on his massive contract" and attention has turned toward who will succeed him and be charged with the "clean-up operation" (GUARDIAN, 12/17).
