The wheels have not yet come off the Chelsea bandwagon but there’s no doubt that a few wheel nuts have slackened.

No longer the force of previous seasons, albeit they have had key players sidelined through injury, big Phil Scolari has not proved to be the all-conquering emperor of all he surveys.

And now he’s faced with going though the transfer window with a limited budget which reflects that maybe Roman Abramovich has been caught up in the credit crunch and is getting twitchy over the amount of money the club owes him.

While he provides the money, he expects to recoup on his investment and the arrangement between himself and the club is a business one and not one based on benefaction.

There are rumours that Abromovich might just plug the plug on the whole operation which if it happened, would see Chelsea plunge into the depths as most of the players would be out the door.

And that must put Scholari’s future in the melting pot.

Didier Drogba has seen the writing on the wall and now wants out and will probably be gone by the start of next season.

Shrewdies have already picked up on the vibes and have smashed into Big Phil being the next manager to leave his post.

The former Brazil boss was available at 50-1 a week ago but is now down to 11-1 with Paddy Power and as short as 10s with William Hill.

Now that may just be part of the usual rumour mill that can lead to distortions in the market but ‘railway shunters ‘ would not be keen to dive in on this particular market unless they ‘sniffed blood’ in the air.

The FA Cup draw at home to Southend was the first serious crack and and if the unthinkable happens and the Blues lose the replay, the sword will really be over Phil’s head.

His saving grace could however, be the Champions League, the one prize that Abramovich desperately wants.

But Juventus could put paid to those ambitions in the next round. Defeat to the Italians would be be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Scholari. He would either walk or be given the push.

William Hill’s Graham Sharpe said, “We expected to see money for Mark Hughes after City’s defeat by Notts Forest, but it was Scolari whom we had to cut after the Southend result with people desperate to get on at 16-1 and 10-1 when we had to limit the bets to £100.”

Ladbrokes’s Robin Hutchinson said: “We were 25-1 but saw some money and he then went 8-1. It could be a reaction to the result at the weekend, but we haven’t seen any other reason for the move.”

Premiership sack race: (best prices): 7-4 M Hughes (VC); 11-4 T Adams (PP); 9-1 G Zola (PP); 11-1 P Scholari (PP); 12-1 G Southgate (PP); 14-1 T Mowbray (PP).

It’s a Grand year ahead for Andy Murray

Andy Murray’s rise up the ladder of world tennis continues and now he can become the first British Grand Slam winner since Fred Perry back in 1936.

Three-times Wimbledon champion, Perry was also the world number one for five years (1934-38) and is still the only Brit to win either Wimbledon, US Open, French Open or the one in Australia.

Murray has some way to go before reaching the achievements of Perry but of course, the 1930s was a vastly different era in terms of competition .

There’s little doubt that the Scot will be in the world’s top three by the end of the year. As John McEnroe says, Murray once had the ability to be a potential Grand Slam winner, now it will be a major disappointment if he fails to make the breakthrough.

Murray is right up there in the top four already after his latest wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in successive days in the World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

He reached the US Open final last year, losing out to Federer but has since won another Masters title and now the World Championship in Abu Dabai. A Grand Slam surely awaits Murray with his best chances probably being on the hard courts in Melbourne later this month or New York.

Murray is 6-4 to win a Grand Slam event which is not bad considering he has four chances. He definitely has outstanding prospects in the other three and the 3-1 on offer for the Australian Open in Melbourne is certainly worth an interest.

Murray Grand Slams (2009) 8-13 none; 6-4 one; 8-1 two; 40-1 three; 300-1 four.

More Power to Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor is the power when it comes to darts. Fourteen times world champion, the same number of majors won by Tiger Woods.

And now the ‘king of the board’ is only 9-2 to take the title another four times.

The maestro averaged 110.94 in his 7-1 defeat of rival Raymond van Barneveld at Alexandra Palace last Sunday and is the same price of 9-2 with Bet365 to better that average. But that should be avoided like the plague as Coral go 10-1 for the same proposition.

Taylor who is on his way to Belfast for the Premier League next month and is 8-15 to take that.

He is also odds-on to retain his world title in 2010 and 50-1 to win all eight televised ranking titles this year.

P Taylor world championships (currently 14): 5-2 fifteen, sixteen; 3-1 fourteen; 9-2 eighteen or more; 6-1 seventeen.

Premier League: 8-15 P Taylor; 5-1 any other; R van Barneveld; 10-1 J Wade; 28-1 M King, T Jenkins, J Part.

3-1 Taylor remains unbeaten in Premier League .

P Taylor specials: 8-11 over 4.5 TV ranking events; evens under 4.5.