Jose Mourinho - Dead Man Walking?
January 5th, 2007 by Cathy ThompsonIt really is only a matter of time before “the special one” receives his marching orders, that’s if he doesn’t do the honourable thing and leave on his own accord before then. His tenure at Chelsea has been filled with controversy not to mention FA intervention and if the Blues fail to lift the title this season then I feel its game over for Mourinho.
The man has brought two back to back titles to Stamford Bridge but it seems that his seemingly unbeatable elite gang of players are starting to come apart at the seams. What exactly is it that has went wrong for Mourinho though? Is it his fall out with Abramovich that is interfering with the morale of the players? Is it his rather large mouth which is prone to outbursts which attract criticism from the rest of the footballing world? Or is it, despite having one of the largest cash reserves in modern day football, he has simply failed to purchase quality players that can fit into the club?
Lets look at the bare facts. Mourninho has paid some hefty transfer fees not to mention wages for super flops such as Wright-Philips, Shevchenko, Kalou, Kezman, Del Horno, Ballack and the list goes on. These players have failed to achieve a portion of their potential whilst at Chelsea and therefore it raises the question of what went wrong? Personally I believe that a good deal of the blame must rest on the shoulders of Mourinho. His public criticism of Shevchenko was full of childlike petulance and although I’m not advocating the Arsene Wenger “my players are perfect” school of thought I do think that he went too far in his condemnations of the Ukrainian star and that his managerial integrity has been undermined as a result.
Mourinho has brought two titles to the Bridge but with the financial backing he has received I feel that any top flight manager could have done the same thing. Mourinho simply is failing this season, he does not look half the man he did last season, even his insults and criticisms lack that Jose quality and for those reasons I fear the end is near. With Manchester United looking their strongest in years Chelsea face a near impossible task to attempt to bridge the gap between the two clubs, both in points and in team performances.
This saga seems to prove one thing - It really does seem that money does not bring everyone happiness.
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January 5th, 2007 at 9:53 am
What a load of old cobblers, so many factual inaccuracies, I don’t know where to start.
To the author - don’t give up your day job. You’re neither a writer or a journalist. And you don’t know much about football either, judging by this crap.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Which facts are wrong then Shocked? Come on, tell us which facts are inaccurate? I’ll tell you which ones: none of them. Just because you disagree with the writer’s opinion does not give you the right to personally attack them.
I’ve made it pointedly clear that personal attacks on writers will not be accepted on this site so either comment on the article in question with sensible agreement or opposition or save us both the time and hassle and don’t comment at all.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:24 am
the man is of course either driven by jealousy or is a fan of one of the big clubs. there’re so many games to play, so many cups to be won and undoubtedly 6 points is not that huge a gap - remembering man u was 12 pnts behind arsenal seasons ago but still won the league. of course jose has made lots of mistakes, be it tactical and purchasing like all managers. but people, often in england it is the weaknesses the media focus rather than on the positive. when a club is owned by a russian billionaire with a foreign manager who does not buge to ‘the english characteeristics’, ie being hypocrat and not talking his mind things are blown more out of proportions. jose will be there next season and it is no shame to lose the league.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Shocked! The fact that you attack me instead of concentrating on the article tells me a lot. I don’t mind if not everyone agrees with me but please make your comments rational and informed. Please give me details of these elusive inaccurate comments?
No? Didn’t think so.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:45 am
what have said about anti-foreign mentality, ‘the english characterstics’, if it is which has hit u hard, read ‘the english’ by jeremy paxman, but beware he uses very powerful words, then u can see how measured i’m. with other comments, which one do u want repeated, that ther’re many games to go & man u was once 12 pts behind or jose will be therer next season? the temptation to harp on weaknesses, with total disregard of balance and proportionality, are like diseases. what is that u’r shocked about. may be we start with differnt perspectives, u with an attack on chelsea and jose and me say hang on a minute u lack blance. what is the problem?
January 5th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Your one-man campaign to sack the Special One is doomed. This is the man who bought Drogba, Essien and Carvalho remember - outstanding performers for the double champs. If you wanted to ignore the four critical injuries (Cech, Terry, Cudicini & last season’s PotY Joe Cole) and criticise Jose for this year’s ‘failings’, you should have looked at who he sold (& not the conniving Gallas or indisciplined Huth). Chelsea have missed Duffa & Eidur in Robben & Cole’s absence. But the poor form of Maka, Sheva, Ballack & Boula is not down to Jose.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Fact number one wrong in the first line. JM never said he was “The Special One” what he actually said was that “….in me Chelsea have recruited a special one”. It may not seem much but the misquote totally changes the whole emphasis of his first press conference from him saying confidently that he was a good manager to the popular misconception that he portrays himself as some god-like creature. So from this one little word the whole tone of the article is rubbish.
Coming apart at the seams? - a long unbeaten run and second in the table, Carling semi finalists and into champions league knockout stage top of a group which included Barcelona - oh the abject failure of the man.
What is also wrong is that he is treated differently from every other manager. We could all name a long list of every managers failures - what is true is that until a player gets to a big club no one knows how the player will perform so most signings are a bit of a punt. 3 of your list are in their first season of premiership football and it takes virtually everyone time to adapt, why should these 3 be any different? The disappointing one is SWP who cannot handle the pressure of a big club and has been poor despite over 60 appearances for Chelsea.
The assumption that anyone could win back to back titles with that amount of money spent is also complete rubbish. Ranieri didnt, Inter havent for years. In fact you contradict yourself in the very last sentence. If money doesnt buy happiness then what got the back to back titles?
Football is about 11 men on a pitch playing against another 11. No one can have a monopoly of the best players - there are just so many about - so titles will always go to the most deserving side, obviously money plays a paet but it is so much more than that.
It took long jumpers nearly 25 years to catch up with Bob Beamon’s record leap. Chelsea and JM raised the bar and it looks like Man U have taken 2 years to catch up and have more points at this stage than ever.
Good, there is a title race back on again but a sacking offence if we dont win it? - Sorry but it shows little understanding of the skills required or the realities of the game. It is real you know - Championship Manager is not real life - everything is not programmed in.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Did Mourinho buy Kezman?
Personnally Thomo, I’m not entirely convinced that Mourinho was behind the purchases of Ballack and Sheva. From what I understand he was even against these signing because he knew the discord it would cause.
The fact that he did so well at Porto tells me he has some nouce about managing a club and that Chelsea’s ‘falling apart at the seams’ (athough 2nd place aint all that bad and the CL hasnt even restarted yet!) is more down to Kenyon and Ambramovich’s lust for big names to sell the club and make Chelsea the worlds biggest by 2010.
It would be unfair to say it was Mourinhos fault. He has proven he is a great man manager. He’s not even a football man and hes done far better for himself than the likes of Tony Adams, Paul Merson and even people like Kevin Keegan. His success has been down to his ability to apply simple common sense to the game that so many ‘football’ managers are incapable of. His failures though would probably be the fact that he isnt a football man meaning that his ability to change on field situations and tactics is lacking to the likes of Rijkarrd and Benitez.
I can understand it is easy to become prejudiced because he has a big gob. For some this is an irritant. For some a breath of fresh air. But his record speaks for itself.
Chelsea’s problems, if there are any, may go far deeper than there eloquant front. Yet something tells me that the media spounting the usual hyperbole to make things far more dramatic than they actually are.
Mourinho may be closer to the modern day Brain Clough than anyone else in the league hence my fairly supportive stance.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Kebe was not refering to you but to the first post by “shocked”
January 5th, 2007 at 11:00 am
The text is a little biased but aren’t all opinions? You make it sound like Chelsea is evil. At least people criticising Chelsea for very minor flops shows that they’re perfectionists. And overtaking Man Utd is a challenge, but not ‘near-impossible’. Anything can happen, and no, losing the league on second place isn’t a shame.
January 5th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Dear Thomo,
You are absolutely entitled to your opinions and comment, and are equally entitled to constructive criticism. Having said that your tabloid (” Dead Man Walking” “marching orders” “doing the honourable thing and leave”) approach does leave me a little surprised that you can’t take some robust comments without a little more resolve.
On matters of elusive inaccurate comments perhaps could you explain the background to Mr. Mourinho’s “falling out” with Roman Abramovich. When did this happen, what was said, how were matters left, where has this been reported? I look forward to the details.
My only other comment would be that your article is not very balanced (and you would quite rightly say it doesn’t have to be as it is only your view). Are you also a proponent of the Alex Ferguson is rubbish school? After all didn’t he buy djemba djemba, Kleberson, Forlan, Miller, and more dodgy keepers than either of could remember, etc, etc. Buying players is always a gamble - some will perform as expected and some won’t. Can you name a top manager who hasn’t bought a dud. The only real guarantee of whether a manager is good or not are the trophies they deliver and Mourinho has done that consistently, at more than one club, and Sir Alex Ferguson has won a thing or two as well. Another point you should consider is that players do not settle immediately, Essien and Drogba are prime examples. Presumably they were duds in your eyes 12 months ago but I can’t imagine they are now. In summary despite the “gang of players coming apart at the seams” Chelsea are in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup, through in top place of their group in the Champions League, in the FA Cup and amazingly (!) second in the league with every chance of overhauling Man Utd over the next few months. What a disaster!
Kind regards,
BM
January 5th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
The wrong fact is that kezman was not bought by jose, he was boughtby ranieri
January 5th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Bones: Mourinho was unveiled on the 2nd June 2004 as Chelsea boss, Kezman signed 2nd July 2004.
If you’re going to be pedantic about facts please don’t get them wrong yourself!
January 5th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
BM I don’t particulary like Alex Ferguson but I do respect the man and I do respect the job he has done as a manager. I don’t want to take away from the fact that Mourinho has won the premiership twice but as I pointed out in my article he had infinite financial backing and this has made the big difference.
I also admit that there will be players that don’t play to par, god how I remember Rebrov, but there has to be a reason why so many top players fail to perform when they get to Chelsea. Something or someone is failing and I believe it is Mourinho.
Also second is no shame of course! Unless your Abramovich of course! You have to admit that Jose is not the man he was 12 months ago - he apologied to Andy Johnson for goodness sake!
January 5th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Dead man walking?
Ha Ha!
Always makes me laugh the hysterical anti-Chelsea bile, fueled by envy and jealousy.
Let me get this straight; Chelsea, despite serious injury problems, are 2nd in the league, 2nd in current form (over the last 6 matches they have achieved only 2 points less than Man Utd) and are in ALL competitions (as oppossed to Man Utd).
Will the writer agree to come back at the end of the season and write an article about Mourinho again (referring to the article he?s written above)?
Why doesn?t the writer look at say, Wegners purchases that have failed to deliver (there have been plenty of them), or the money and bloody history of clubs like Real Madrid, Houliers 120M on players without the league title…or indeed Fergusons first 7 years in charge - outspending every club in the country yet winning NOTHING.
Nowadays, the so obvious anti-Chelsea agenda is so repetitive and boring - and most of all so hypocritical! Newspaper owners have an axe to grind with Abramovich (I?ll let you all decide why) and they serve up their slops to the grateful, frustrated plebian masses from a trough that is called the media. The british don?t like a man (I am british for the record) who wears his heart on his sleeve - especially when he is a winner like Mourinho.
Mourinho doesnt take any nonsense from the press (in fact he?s so good at manipulating them for his own means) and they don?t like it. Players feel motivated under him ( I recall Eidur Gudjohnson saying that the players couldn?t wait to get up to go training when he arrived). The oppo fans, the media…”don?t like it up em” - and Mourinho keeps ramming it right up there!
I for one will be very sad when, eventually, he leaves Chelsea.
January 5th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Thomo,
I do agree that Jose apologising to Johnson was a blip but I doubt it will happen to often!
As for players - I think the ratio of failures is always going to be higher at a top club as the standard required is that much higher.
If you don’t like Jose (and amazingly some people don’t!!) that’s fine but to suggest that a rocky Christmas (where Chelsea didn’t actually lose) whilst some key players are injured is likely to see him getting the boot is a bit far-fetched (in my opinion of course).
BTW has there been reports of a falling out between Abramovich and Mourinho?
BM
January 5th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Mine was a personal opinion piece based on both facts and my own personal views. The fact that Abramovich drafted Sheva into the team when Mourinho wasn’t over fussed as was argued in one of the earlier comments has somewhat rippled the waters between the two. Thats what was reported at the time and thats what I’m referring to. Feel free to disagree but my personal view is that the two will never be best buddies as they both want to be pack leader!
I will admit I dont like Jose and that I dont like Chelsea but my reasoning is that money corrupts. Im not jealous believe me if a rich Russian sugar daddy came sniffing around my club I’d be gutted. All these “businessmen” are draining the life blood out of the premiership. Remember the days when it was actually about the football?
January 5th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Fair do’s Thomo - I might not agree with you but I always enjoy a good argument. Keep writing.
BM
January 5th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Remember the days when it was all about football?!!!!!
Of course, before Roman came along, everyone wore hobnail football boots, thick socks, lace up shirts and trotted around smoking a pipe in the true corinthian spirit didn?t they? After matches they supped bitter - all rivals together! When the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd carved up the old Division 1 so that they got a bigger slice of the pie and made life even more difficult for division 2 football clubs, it was because it was all about football????!!!!!!!
When the bigger european clubs got together to form G14 all those years ago to make sure they could pressurise UEFA so that they would get maximum possible out of european competitions in terms of TV money, it was because it was all about football wasn?t it???!!!
For “Remember the days when it was all about football?” READ “Remember the days when the old guard Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool used to win everything and everyone else knew their place?”
Nothing to do with “when it was all about football”.
January 6th, 2007 at 2:54 am
Dear Thommo,
My earlier post (at the top) was my knee-jerk response after reading your piece. I don’t normally attack people.
Generally, I find a lot of the rubbish written about Mourinho to be extremely tedious. It really shouldn’t surprise me when football fan bloggers get it so wrong - much of what they have to go on, is basically what they read in the papers. And much of what is written in the papers is crap. Facts are skewed and Mourinho is frequently misquoted. There are a handful of decent journalists like Oliver Holt and Henry Winter who have resisted the temptation to jump on the anti-Mourinho bandwagon.
Mourinho is no saint and he’s not perfect (who is?). He is passionate, very human and frequently funny. On occasions attempts to liven up his press conferences and give the journalists a good line or humourous quote (rather than the usual boring pre-game diatribe) have backfired (ie) mischievous reporters have put joke comments in a serious context and the reader is none the wiser. That is only a small point. Mistakes by journalists often get repeated by others and these stories take on a life of their own.
Jose will probably one day write a book about his career and I predict that he’ll be generally positive about the English game (which he is), but he’ll lament the English media for the way they turned public opinion against him. It’s ironic, because some of these so-called journalists who delight in attacking him at every opportunity have in the past lamented the lack of characters in the game. Do we want caricature football managers who only ever say they’re “over the moon” or “gutted”. When he leaves English football (whether that’s next year or in five years), the Press will come to mourn his departure, because like the late, great Brian Clough, he is a genuine character.
You asked me to respond to points raised in your piece. Some of them have already been addressed by other posters, but I’ll deal with a few:
- Jose never called himself “The Special One”.
- Why should he do the “honourable thing” and quit? Chelsea have drawn a couple of games and uncharacteristically conceded a few goals (hardly surprising given that Chelsea were without Cech, Terry and others) Is this unbeaten patch really “falling apart at the seams”? If anything, the hysterical reaction to Chelsea’s drop in form is a reflection of Mourinho’s high standards. The truth is Mourinho’s still in contention on four fronts and is held in enormous regard by his players (and former players who have only good things to say…Duff, Gudjohnsen) and the vast majority of Chelsea fans.
- When did he fall-out with Abramovich? How do you know this to be true? In one of his very rare interviews, Abramovich recently said that he was enjoying this season more than the previous seasons because it was close and exciting.
- Is Jose really more outspoken than Ferguson, Wenger or any other Premier League manager? Or do the Press just make more of a meal out of what Jose says. I am not saying Jose has never erred. Though he is also frequently taken out of context.
- He has failed to purchase quality players that can fit into the club. Really? Drogba, Essien, Carvalho, Ashley Cole. Surely, you’re not suggesting these players have failed? I know it’s early days with Cole, but so far so good. It’s interesting that it took a season for Drogba and Essien to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League (something that foreign players at other clubs have too had to endure before coming good). Maybe next season, we’ll see some of his more recent buys come good. The one true disappointent so far has been Shaun Wright-Phillips. I could easily recite the names of all the big, expensive signings by Ferguson, Wenger, Benitez and others who have flopped. There’s an element of risk in hiring players (particularly from overseas) - not all shine. But I don’t think Jose’s transfer record is any worse than his rivals. It’s probably better.
- Chelsea did not pay a hefty transfer fee for Ballack. We got him on a free, though given his stature in the game, he’d be getting a good pay packet. He’s not lived up to the expectations of many, but it’s a bit premature to call him a super-flop. Kalou is very young and has shown plenty of promise. He is fast, can beat defenders with ease, but is let down by poor finishing. He has shown sufficient talent to persevere with and if he can improve those aspects of his game that currently frustrate, he will prove a very shrewd purchase by Mourinho. Kezman failed to adapt to the English game and was sold for a profit. Del Horno was good at first, but lost his way and was reportedly homesick for Spain. These things happen. As for Shevchenko, what club in the world wouldn’t have wanted a player of his pedigree? Either he is really not suited to the Premiership or his confidence is so low that he is in a rut. Maybe both. Old injuries haven’t helped and Chelsea’s diamond midfield might not give him the service he was used to at Milan. He’s dropping deeper to collect the ball. I would love to see his luck change. Mourinho did give him lots of support to begin with, but his patience has either run out, or he’s trying a different tactic to motivate him. I was disappointed by his public criticism of Shevchenko, though other Chelsea fans, who think the Ukranian is not trying enough, believe he deserved a bit of a serve.
- You say that money buys success but doesn’t really bring happiness. Which is it to be? Jose acheived great success at Porto with meagre resources. At Chelsea, he had the pressure of turning great resources into success. He inherited a strong squad from Ranieri, but it didn’t have a winning mentality - that has been Jose’s achievement, along with his painstaking preparation and tactical acumen. History is littered with examples of clubs like Inter who have thrown money at managers, only to fail. In today’s game, money is an essential pre-requisite to success, but it doesn’t guarantee success. And as Dixon9 neatly points out, football was hardly puritanical before Abramovich came along. Let’s not get misty-eyed about the recent past.
-
January 6th, 2007 at 2:54 am
Dear Thommo,
My earlier post (at the top) was my knee-jerk response after reading your piece. I don’t normally attack people.
Generally, I find a lot of the rubbish written about Mourinho to be extremely tedious. It really shouldn’t surprise me when football fan bloggers get it so wrong - much of what they have to go on, is basically what they read in the papers. And much of what is written in the papers is crap. Facts are skewed and Mourinho is frequently misquoted. There are a handful of decent journalists like Oliver Holt and Henry Winter who have resisted the temptation to jump on the anti-Mourinho bandwagon.
Mourinho is no saint and he’s not perfect (who is?). He is passionate, very human and frequently funny. On occasions attempts to liven up his press conferences and give the journalists a good line or humourous quote (rather than the usual boring pre-game diatribe) have backfired (ie) mischievous reporters have put joke comments in a serious context and the reader is none the wiser. That is only a small point. Mistakes by journalists often get repeated by others and these stories take on a life of their own.
Jose will probably one day write a book about his career and I predict that he’ll be generally positive about the English game (which he is), but he’ll lament the English media for the way they turned public opinion against him. It’s ironic, because some of these so-called journalists who delight in attacking him at every opportunity have in the past lamented the lack of characters in the game. Do we want caricature football managers who only ever say they’re “over the moon” or “gutted”. When he leaves English football (whether that’s next year or in five years), the Press will come to mourn his departure, because like the late, great Brian Clough, he is a genuine character.
You asked me to respond to points raised in your piece. Some of them have already been addressed by other posters, but I’ll deal with a few:
- Jose never called himself “The Special One”.
- Why should he do the “honourable thing” and quit? Chelsea have drawn a couple of games and uncharacteristically conceded a few goals (hardly surprising given that Chelsea were without Cech, Terry and others) Is this unbeaten patch really “falling apart at the seams”? If anything, the hysterical reaction to Chelsea’s drop in form is a reflection of Mourinho’s high standards. The truth is Mourinho’s still in contention on four fronts and is held in enormous regard by his players (and former players who have only good things to say…Duff, Gudjohnsen) and the vast majority of Chelsea fans.
- When did he fall-out with Abramovich? How do you know this to be true? In one of his very rare interviews, Abramovich recently said that he was enjoying this season more than the previous seasons because it was close and exciting.
- Is Jose really more outspoken than Ferguson, Wenger or any other Premier League manager? Or do the Press just make more of a meal out of what Jose says. I am not saying Jose has never erred. Though he is also frequently taken out of context.
- He has failed to purchase quality players that can fit into the club. Really? Drogba, Essien, Carvalho, Ashley Cole. Surely, you’re not suggesting these players have failed? I know it’s early days with Cole, but so far so good. It’s interesting that it took a season for Drogba and Essien to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League (something that foreign players at other clubs have too had to endure before coming good). Maybe next season, we’ll see some of his more recent buys come good. The one true disappointent so far has been Shaun Wright-Phillips. I could easily recite the names of all the big, expensive signings by Ferguson, Wenger, Benitez and others who have flopped. There’s an element of risk in hiring players (particularly from overseas) - not all shine. But I don’t think Jose’s transfer record is any worse than his rivals. It’s probably better.
- Chelsea did not pay a hefty transfer fee for Ballack. We got him on a free, though given his stature in the game, he’d be getting a good pay packet. He’s not lived up to the expectations of many, but it’s a bit premature to call him a super-flop. Kalou is very young and has shown plenty of promise. He is fast, can beat defenders with ease, but is let down by poor finishing. He has shown sufficient talent to persevere with and if he can improve those aspects of his game that currently frustrate, he will prove a very shrewd purchase by Mourinho. Kezman failed to adapt to the English game and was sold for a profit. Del Horno was good at first, but lost his way and was reportedly homesick for Spain. These things happen. As for Shevchenko, what club in the world wouldn’t have wanted a player of his pedigree? Either he is really not suited to the Premiership or his confidence is so low that he is in a rut. Maybe both. Old injuries haven’t helped and Chelsea’s diamond midfield might not give him the service he was used to at Milan. He’s dropping deeper to collect the ball. I would love to see his luck change. Mourinho did give him lots of support to begin with, but his patience has either run out, or he’s trying a different tactic to motivate him. I was disappointed by his public criticism of Shevchenko, though other Chelsea fans, who think the Ukranian is not trying enough, believe he deserved a bit of a serve.
- You say that money buys success but doesn’t really bring happiness. Which is it to be? Jose acheived great success at Porto with meagre resources. At Chelsea, he had the pressure of turning great resources into success. He inherited a strong squad from Ranieri, but it didn’t have a winning mentality - that has been Jose’s achievement, along with his painstaking preparation and tactical acumen. History is littered with examples of clubs like Inter who have thrown money at managers, only to fail. In today’s game, money is an essential pre-requisite to success, but it doesn’t guarantee success. And as Dixon9 neatly points out, football was hardly puritanical before Abramovich came along. Let’s not get misty-eyed about the recent past.
-
January 6th, 2007 at 6:37 am
What utter crap!
Mourinho has the best record of any manager ever in the Premier League.
He hasn’t lost a home league fixture during his entire tenure at Stamford Bridge.
His Team have lost less games than United this season in all competitions.
He has the same points this season as he he had from the comparable fixtures last seaon.
His team is still capable of winning all four competitions - United cannot..
Sure looks like a dead man walking to me…. NOT!
January 6th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Are you a trainee reporter for the Sun or the Mirror?
January 6th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
There does seem to be a bit of an overreaction to Chelsea’s recent slump. I’m not a Chelsea fan, as readers of SotG will probably know, but it’s a bit premature to say Mourinho will be sacked (although if he doesn’t win the league, who’s to say Abramovich won’t sack him? We’ll have to see, I guess).
Some of Mourinho’s comments to the press have annoyed me before, but then I take a deep breath, take a step back and realise that what he says doesn’t matter. Much of it is rubbish - take his assertion that Utd should be “11, 12 or 14 points ahead” of Chelsea by now (something which is mathematically impossible) - and I think he knows it’s rubbish, but he says it because then we (fans and the press) are talking about what he has said rather than discussing his team. It helps take the pressure off his players. Or at least he must think it does.
I think it’s fair to say though that with practically unlimited funds you could characterise 2nd place as a failure, to a certain degree. Also I think another thing that riles non-Chelsea fans is that despite having a great and expensive squad, Chelsea often play quite pedestrian football. Mourinho could have assembled one of the best and most exciting teams football has ever seen, but instead he has assembled a functional, rather predictable, one.
Oh and then there’s the constant moaning. Take before today’s FA Cup game vs. Macclesfield. “We have no players” he said. I’m sorry? No players? Give me a break. Macclesfield have no money and lost three players to broken legs in the space of a month! How can they replace them? Well, they can’t unless they can get some free transfers or loans in. Meanwhile, John Terry is out for a few weeks so Jose can just go and splurge more cash on a top-class centreback, while he may well buy another striker ’cause one he paid ?30m for isn’t quite delivering the goods. That’s what annoys me about Mourinho the most, I think. He has no sense of perspective.
January 8th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Why should Mourinho be worse thought of at Chelsea for the controversial comments he makes. His CEO is Peter Kenyon. The guy who thought the League winners last season would come from a small group of one. The one who allowed himself to be photographed with Rio Ferdinand and Pini Zahavi. The one who dragged everyone to the almost public meeting with Ashley Cole. Why should the controversial but honest comments of Mourinho be so badly thought of at the club?
Just curious.