Post by QPR Report on Jan 5, 2009 23:40:52 GMT
Daily Mail
Punters set off Luiz Felipe Scolari scare with Chelsea boss tipped to get the sack
By Ralph Ellis - 05th January 2009
Intrigue surrounds Luiz Felipe Scolari's future after a rush of money forced a leading bookmaker to suspend betting on the Brazilian being the next Barclays Premier League manager to leave his job.
The Chelsea boss, whose side were held to a 1-1 draw by League One Southend on Saturday when a late equaliser at Stamford Bridge forced an FA Cup replay, was 50-1 with some bookmakers at the start of the day to find himself out of work.
But that price tumbled steadily and one punter was still trying to place £500 on him to go when the odds had been cut to 10-1.
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William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said: 'It came out of nowhere and we felt we had to suspend the market until we know more.
'We had expected people to be looking to back Mark Hughes or Tony Adams, and we've not been able to find out any reason why a gamble of this nature should have begun.
'It may be something as innocent as it being the tip on a subscription betting service, or it might be that somebody knows something that we don't.'
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Other bookmakers reported similar patterns, and last night Scolari was only 4-1 to be the next top-flight manager to go with betting exchange Betfair.
Time's up: Luiz Felipe Scolari is living on borrowed time at Chelsea according to betting punters
The Brazilian has been reported to be unhappy at the lack of transfer funds available as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich reins back his spending after suffering huge losses in the credit crunch.
But there has been no suggestion Scolari is under pressure from the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, even though Saturday's result meant Chelsea have won only two of their last seven home matches.
www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1106072/Punters-set-Scolari-scare-Chelsea-boss-tipped-sack.html?ITO=1490