I have to admit to not being too surprised at Chelsea's appointment of Luiz Felipe "Big Phil" Scolari as their new manager but I think it's the conspiracy theorist in me that helped arrive at the certainty before it happened.

For starters, Chelsea have a few Portuguese international players already in their first team squad, namely Carvalho and Ferreira, who know all too well what a talented man Scolari is. Secondly, they've already agreed the transfer of Portuguese national right back Jose Bosingwa for the start of the new season and wouldn't it be nice to think that the new coach would appreciate the talents of a £16m new player before he started? Of course it would.

Thirdly, Deco has been given the go-ahead to leave Barcelona but, surprisingly given the still incredible talent of the little Brazilian Portuguese midfielder, there have been no major moves so far from Europe's top clubs to secure his signature. Could he have had some insider knowledge of the managerial merry-go-round this summer and decided to wait until Scolari's destination was known before committing his future?

Lastly, the "will he/won't he?" saga of Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Manchester United (or Real Madrid). Sir Alex Ferguson hasn't been slow to notice the proximity between the new coach at his club's biggest domestic rivals and his star player and who is to say that Scolari hasn't fuelled the flames of dissent in young Ronaldo's mind as he prepares to push for a move to Spain.

Overall, it's hard to say if Scolari can transform his success on the international stage to European club football, he has the pedigree in South America but his last major club success was almost a decade ago - could Chelsea have made a very costly mistake or is Big Phil the new Special One?