Such was the crushing nature of the party's general election defeat, Michael Foot's Labour manifesto of 1983 came to be known as "the longest suicide note in history". In Naples on Tuesday night, Andre Villas-Boas may have penned the most succinct. It was just a list of names.
Not the slip of paper waylaid in a Naples hotel - later gleefully presented to the world by Gazzetta dello Sport - that had the names of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien in the starting line-up, but the one submitted to the match officials hours later at Stadio San Paolo that contained none of the above in the starting line-up.
Ahead of a daunting Champions League fixture at one of Europe's most intense arenas, Chelsea's manager showed he had serious cojones when exiling his more experienced players. It was quickly interpreted as a brazen power play and an attempt to curb insurrection after a difficult few weeks in which discontent has percolated through the squad.
But as Napoli cut Chelsea's paper-thin defence to ribbons, it was impossible to escape the notion that in doing so the manager may have bet the house and lost, spectacularly so.
That infamous team sheet caused ripples when announced. Though Terry was absent due to injury, the other three senior figures were deliberately placed on the bench, told that on a night crucial to Chelsea's season and the future of their manager, they could not be relied upon from the start.
Three players who have played such a crucial role in shaping the Abramovich-era Chelsea - the most successful in the club's history - were told they were not required in the heat of battle.
Now, Early Doors has never run a Central American Junta, but it seems likely that if you are to conduct a purge of your generals on the eve of a key engagement, you better well win the thing. In failing to do so, AVB appears to have left himself open to a military coup. If senior players weren't unhappy before last night, the fact that yet another Champions League campaign has seemingly passed them by, at an unusually early stage, may now ensure they are in mutinous mood.
Indeed, the Chelsea manager confirmed following the defeat in Italy that both Lampard and Cole had questioned the decision to leave them on the bench.
"I had a conversation with Ashley and Frank before the game," Villas-Boas said. "As normal, given the players they are and the experience they have, they felt they could have helped the team. That's perfectly understandable. Of course they were disappointed but they were decisions they have to accept and move on.
"It was a technical decision. Regarding the formation, with Mata playing behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1, we chose two sitting midfielders tonight who are two hard workers in front of the defence. That's not to say that Lamps could not do it — for sure he could — but that was the decision we took. It was about sitting and covering up for the amount of gain the wing-backs of Napoli get. People can have an opinion [on the selection] but it was based on what was the best team in my thoughts."
To ED's mind, the critical decision was to leave out Essien and, as Villas-Boas says, deploy Ramires and Raul Meireles as the two nominated shielding midfielders. The folly of such an approach was exposed when the latter let Ezequiel Lavezzi drift away from him to score the opening goal.
In fact, Chelsea's defence were left completely exposed to the relentless and brilliant attacking trident that is Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik as the Napoli frontline surged forward time and again. This particular corner of Italy has not seen such an unstoppable, red-hot tide since Vesuvius buried Pompeii. Gary Cahill and part-time slapstick comic David Luiz were engulfed, and burned to a crisp. All that remained of the latter was a Sideshow Bob wig that had melted and congealed on the scorched earth.
It was a quite devastating night for Chelsea and their manager. But aside from Essien, whose omission was clearly a huge error, Villas-Boas's team selection was perhaps not as horrific as has been made out in some quarters. After all, when Jose Bosingwa departed due to injury to be replaced by Cole, the score was 0-0. Furthermore, ED fails to be convinced that the presence of Lampard would somehow have negated Napoli's tactical and physical superiority over 90 minutes.
No, the problem for Villas-Boas lies in the fact that the very act of benching these experienced players may have turned elements of his already restless squad further against him. A 4-1 defeat with the old guard in place would arguably have been less damaging for his job prospects.
At present, Chelsea are leaking like a rusty tanker. Tales of dressing room unrest are proliferating, with Wednesday morning's Sun relating another tale from behind closed doors. Under the headline 'Bench Warfare' the paper describes a fiery meeting on Sunday which saw Cole tell his manager: "I came here to win medals and trophies, but I'm never going to do that with your tactics." It is also said Cole feels he is being treated "like a robot" as he is being told "exactly how to play". Perish the thought.
The Sun also claims that Villas-Boas chose to bench Cole, Lampard and Essien on Wednesday precisely for their willingness to speak out during said meeting, and that his decision to do so provoked further unrest amongst the squad. If true, this kind of poisonous atmosphere will surely not persist for long, and Tuesday's result makes it all the more likely that the manager will be the victim of a power struggle.
The most frustrating aspect of this situation for Villas-Boas is surely that change is urgently required at Chelsea. Sir Alex Ferguson identified some years ago that as a team they were approaching a plateau and the squad remains full of ageing players who are now in decline. Villas-Boas has taken steps to try and change this squad dynamic - making Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge and Ramires central to his plans is evidence enough of that - but taking on the big beasts that have survived Mourinho, Grant, Scolari, Hiddink and Ancelotti is proving a fatal task.
The kind of power play that Villas-Boas attempted on Tuesday night needs to come from a position of strength. A run of two wins in 10 league games was not the right context in which to attempt such a show of authority and when a victory would have provided vindication of his bold manoeuvre, the lamentable nature of the performance and the result from a team bereft of confidence and lacking in organisation just leaves him weaker than ever.
As Villas-Boas himself said of that infamous team sheet: "Whatever the explanation, it would be fantastic if we won the game. Any explanation now is useless, given the result."
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I wish to apologise sincerely and unreservedly to everybody I have let down and to whom my actions over the last few months have caused offence. My wish is to concentrate on playing football for Manchester City Football Club." - Just five months after refusing to warm-up as a substitute, Carlos Tevez says sorry in an attempt to weasel his way back into City's affections. The man who complained he was treated "like a dog" by Roberto Mancini returns with his tail firmly between his legs.
FOREIGN VIEW: The inaugural edition of India's Premier League Soccer, featuring World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro and former France international Robert Pires, has been postponed because of a lack of venues, organisers told Reuters on Wednesday. The six-team competition, modelled on the successful IPL Twenty20 cricket tournament, was slated for a March 24 start in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal but the organisers said they could not secure the stadiums owned by the state government. "Discussion is on with the state government but even if it is sorted out by the end of this week, we would need time to prepare the fields," Dharamdutt Pandey, CEO of the event management company which conceived PLS, said by telephone.
COMING UP: The Champions League continues as FC Basel take on Bayern Munich and crisis-torn Inter visit Marseille, but as an appetiser we have Manchester City's Europa League second leg against Porto at 5pm. Mancini's side lead 2-1 from the first leg.
There are also games in the Championship, League One and League Two, as well the SPL, Serie A and Ligue 1 on a busy night of football. Prior to that, Jim White files his latest column at lunch.
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