The Mourinho Thread

[nowhereman 7]

Mourinho has achieved a lot with Chelsea so I think he deserves more time, at least until Christmas, if by then he will not have turned things around then he'll need to go and be replaced with a manger who is good at developing young players and playing attractive football like Klopp.

[Alan Partridge 1,124]

They would be mad to sack him

[The Power 147]

A shit goalkeeper and we'd be losing games 6 or 7 nil. Mourinho's gone absolutely mad, which is funny seeing as how he's always been a bit mad but this time he's still blaming everyone else he can and not dropping shit players. He didn't get the right players in as cover (imo Cabaye, Alderweireld would have been good enough) and well now, we've blown the league title.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

Hope that 2 weeks are enough to sort his contract situation.

Voted for yes.

I'm probably the biggest Jose fan boy but you can't help him if he wants it so much. What infuriates me the most is that he didn't see that coming yet internet warriors did. I used a phrase in March or April that even unarmed eye can see problems in the squad and in the team and there are many things that are not rosy. There was me and other guys but honestly it was so obvious I'm not taking pride for that. Yet the guy that has UEFA Pro badge since 1992 and is coaching at the top level for 15 years pretends to be blind, as long as scoreline is good, no matter performance, no matter if you were lucky or not lucky, he thinks everything is alright. He really believed that we were actually that good last season, imagine that ! He should be using PSG matches as a reference where the team is. Instead he decided to ignore that and he is literally abusing this term "champion" like if this is giving special skill and status to the players and make them better. But problems as were previously as are now with or without champion badge on a shirt. The team should be developing all the time. Yet we're resting on our laurels completely, thinking that we already are at the peak and it is our manager who allowed this to happen. So blind. But remember, he can't hear critics over clanging of all his medals !

In attack we look abysmal. We can't interchange few passess, we look way way more like a country who meets every 2 months than a club. No drilled attacking patterns, no triangles, literally like this element wasn't exercised. We rely on individual brillance. This article from ESPN that attacking drills under Mourinho are very basic, as true as it was, it's not discovering much we can't see. Especially our counter-attack looks shocking, the amount of time we did great transition with few passes you can count on both hands and half of that amount is from City game at Etihad in 13-14 season.

Yet our manager looks clueless, he doesn't try anything and I mean anything to change that. We kick ourself in heads. Sort the full-backs at least, how HOW EVERY CLUB AND COUNTRY play with two natural full-backs yet we still can't do that and try Ivanovic at RB and Azplicueta at LB over again ? It's basic thing to give you few new options, there's a reason why every manager does that. But our manager even this can't change. He is so limited in attack it's un-be-liavable.

The idea that we still play with Cahill, Ivanovic and JT in backline never stop to surprise me. We know every of them is limited and every of them needs protection to actually perform and we're in 3rd season and still play with so XX century defensive block. We won't start building attacks from the back when you have backline so vulnerubable for any act of pressing. We will always have Sunderland mentality.

I wrote this before that I think no one from ours attackers actually developed. You can have a case with Hazard but I say he's supreme talent and he had to develop no matter what. Apart from one in generation talent in Hazard, who is better under Mourinho ? You just have to thank us from the whole footballing world that we didn't sign Douglas Costa because now we would call him fraud, another Willian, toothless technican, no end product, overrated. The whole footballing world now have a great player to watch who otherwise would be ruined, devoid of confidence and playing on a right wing with no purpouse. Thank letter from the world of football beckons for Chelsea.

And how I can ignore how big, annoying liar he is ? What's still with all the talk that he picks players based on performance and there's no untouchables ? How stupid I feel when 1,5 years ago I tried to speak to the people that KdB was in already lost cause and Mourinho/Chelsea gave up on him before he gave up on them. He didn't want to fight for his place. Yes, with manager oriented around 12-14 names who alienetes squad players and berefts them of any confidence, literally like he was on exterminate mission.

How you can imagine him being here long-term when he can't identificate problems BEFORE they arise and how you can imagine him being here long-term if he can't rotate ? If he has untouchables, deprive any others of confidence when they feel as low as ever in their carrer. This guy takes it to the whole new level. Now whole squad feels alieneted not just bench players. Why we start pre-season so late ? Because players were fatigued. Why they were fatigued ? Because there was no rotation. Vicious circle. If we were still scraping wins coming into this season Mourinho would again orient around few names and tire them to death.

I'd prepare safe landing. We have to get to top 4 whether is it with Mourinho or no it's different matter. We will make huge signings in winter to save the season.

However there are no sings for him being able to be at the club long-term. When motivation is down you see how limited we are. We can't rely on something we drilled in training because there's nothing there.

We should prepare Jurgen Klopp. He's basically Mourinho 2.0 with pressing, counter-attack, intensity, something Mourinho was known for. He is also great character and personality so we won't lose that either. He integrates youth. He does speak English well. Yes, he had terrible last season but there are few circumstances softening assessment and it was after 6 seasons at the club not 2 ! He also took sabbatical so should be fresh to start again with clear head. Something Mourinho should do btw.

[lionsden 4,689]

Jose was absolutely spot on when he said that this is a crucial moment in the club's history.

Mourinho is the greatest manager in the world, and if we can't achieve stability with him, then we will never achieve stability.

The things you see on this forum sometimes. greatest manager in the world, my ass.

[DH1988 1,193]

on sky at the moment on the yellow ticker that hes survived a board meeting this morning

[borriske 330]

Had all of this typed out last night at 1.00 am, but for some reason it got lost during the posting... sigh

The club seemed largely reluctant to open the wallet in the last window, so a free Falcao signing is about as good as we were going to get. He cost nothing and is reportedly on lower wages than previous clubs which makes him a low risk signing. Plus, we know now for a fact that José isn't in complete control of signings so whether or not Falcao was his call or not only he and the club know.

He may have cost very little, but at the same time the chance that he would contribute anything to us was close to zero as well. Plus I felt it was disrespectful to remy as well who had performed excellent the season before. Indeed, we're not completely sure that Mourinho was behind the transfer, but he always seemed supportive of the move, even before he was signed (http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/jose-mourinho-vows-help-radamel-5863839). And he has a habit of signing similar players (eto'o/drogba). I do get the feeling though that indeed JM may not have been fully backed during the transfer window, so that can be a strong argument in his favour.

Ivanovic has been grim and I would happily see him dropped. But I'll say what I believe, as I have said in other posts, it seems the squad are not playing for the manager and I suspect he's pick those who he trusts.

Calling out players? Good. He could call every one them out at the minute and they'd all deserve it. He wouldn't be the first great manager to do so either.

And you can only trust those players if they in turn trust you, but how are you going to win them over with those line ups? I agree, 90% of the squad including Matic has done nothing to earn that trust this season and deserves to be benched, but it is too late now to for bullying tactics, it is only going to antagonize them further. He is still stuck with those players so he HAS to rally them behind him. And the only way you're going to do that i think is to be tough but more importantly fair.

As for integrating Baba, from what I've seen, which is very little, I think he looks good, but as I said before I'm not on the training ground every day so can't offer an opinion as to whether he's Chelsea caliber or not. Djilobodji or whatever he's called? Don't even know why we bought him, comes across as a panic buy and nothing more, he'll be off soon.

I expect a FB who cost between 14 and 22 mil £ to be good enough to at least be tested after 2 months. I mean after all this time he is not going to improve any further just training with the squad. The only way you're gonna know if he is good enough, is to play him. And should he not be up to par yet, the only chance he has to improve is, again, to give him more playing time. Agreed though on Djilobodji, maybe it wasn't justified to mention him. That whole transfer just feels a mess and i feel sorry for the lad. He only wanted to play CL football...

"Us against them attitude", all for it. Why not?

There's nothing wrong with it in itself and it can indeed be helpful under the right circumstances. But I think that taken to extremes for a long period of time as Jose likes to do, it's effects will wear off and may even cause a backlash, especially if you have no other approach even when things turn to sh*t. Someone posted a link earlier in this thread that explains it in more detail. (http://www.espnfc.com/club/chelsea/363/blog/post/2643933/jose-mourinhos-methods-now-in-doubt-at-chelsea)

I'm no expert on these things, just want to give my two cents. Enjoyed your detailed response though.

[King11Didier 916]

Why he is still our manager??

[lionsden 4,689]

A shadow of his former self as a manager and an absolutely terrible,sulky personality who never takes responsibilities for his failures, unrepentant and stubborn, rude and crass etc. What's their not to love, There's no other manager I would rather have here for the long term.

I'm starting a #keepjoseatthebridgefor10years campaign. Who's with me?

[herzogian 148]

Why he is still our manager??

The board is giving him another chance. Maybe it is the most reasonable thing to do. Finding a replacement now will be hard and Mou can try to proof himself at least till december. I still think he eventually has to go though, Mourinho doesn't seem like the man who can turn this situation around. I could be wrong of course.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

Why he is still our manager??

They give him time and I think it's certain we spend big in January. Top 4 is a must no matter what.

[Azul 1,615]

I've said that he should stay until the end of the season out of respect but IF he plays Ivanovic AGAIN next week then Jose has truly lost it.

[Henrique 9,133]

Rumors coming from DM are reporting he survied a meeting:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3259268/Jose-Mourinho-survives-meeting-Chelsea-board-not-sacked-despite-poor-start-season.html

If thats true, it means the board is thinking about sacking, if that was not the case, there was no reason for the meeting.

When your are doing a bad job and there is meeting with your boss where is said your job is safe, your boss is basically saying: we believe you can fix this mess, otherwise you are fired.

With the current form, Mourinho will be lucky to even survive untill december.

[DYC. 7,542]

Tell me what would those transfers do at the current situation? Who are those transfers that he wanted?

Mouinho biggest failing is getting the best out of his players; almost every midfielder and forward has either stagnated or regressed at Chelsea. The frightening thing is that the longer our players have been exposed to Mou tactics and training the worse they have gotten.

Remember how good Matic was when he arrived? Damn it seems like a distant memory when he had that game against City and had prime Yaya in his pocket. Was a Lion when he came in, and literally the perfect DM he had everything? Now he got shamefully substituted as a sub.

Cesc in his first few months here was so good. Not just his assists but he was genuinely controlling the game. Always on the ball and always looking to receive the pass and passing forward. Now the game just passes by and he avoids the ball, and has been like this for most of last season too. Or Oscar how much promised he showed in his first first season, the boy has stagnated and I know him and many other players are better then they have showed under Mou.

How about the players who have left like KDB, Salah, Cuardado. They have been sensational since leaving Mou and his tactics.

It is honestly disheartening when Chelsea fans or oppositions take a swap at our players. Call Hazard overrated, Oscar shit, Cesc a fraud, Matic a poor mans Carraick. It is simply not true, under a friendlier attacking tactic and training they would be different players.

I really wish our players the best and it would be such a waste for them to continue under Mou. They deserve better.

it doesn't matter who we bring in you simply cannot over look this.

I have to agree with this. A bit scary when you think about it. But yeah, the players are quality.

@Gilvorak,Another note should be made about that Arsenal team

97-98 - Winner

98-99 - Lost by 1 point

01-02 - Winner

02-03 - Lost by 5 points

03-04 - Winner

04-05 - Lost by 12 points

Aside from the 04-05 season, they could have very easily gone back to back. That is just hypotheticals though, they didn't at the end of the day. Just perspective.

But isn't just about counter-atacking. That is just one facet of play. All those teams can counter-attack and will score a goal from few passes, but they can retain possession when necessary. This Chelsea team looks limp in attack, especially on the counter. I'm not saying that the entirety of the game should be countering but it is something that is needed. Being able to punish teams quickly from a single error is vital. Being flexible is the most important thing, I believe.

Also, it should be appreciated that the Bayern team that dominated their way through the 12-13 season under Heynckes played counter football.

Agree with your point on the poor counter-attacking of this team, at times simply dreadful (but tbf, we have seen some wonderful counter-attacking goals like Schurrle's goal vs City). It's an issue I've had since last season. But that's what happens when you often win the ball deep in your own half and possess defenders lacking in ability on the ball and the attacking players then have to cover acres of space before reaching the opposition goal. This Chelsea side isn't the fastest either.

But the part I've bolded is not true. Heynckes' Bayern were a very dominant possession side. They bossed possession and pressed high with succes. Of course they would never pass up the opportunity hit you on the break. They only resulted to counter-attacking against Barca in the semis because Heynckes realised he can't 'out-Barca' Barca, displaying sensible flexibility. Those performances were the most famous and defining of that season because they trashed the mighty Barca, but that was a not a true reflection of that team's style.

[!Hazard! 3,394]

The board is giving him another chance. Maybe it is the most reasonable thing to do. Finding a replacement now will be hard and Mou can try to proof himself at least till december. I still think he eventually has to go though, Mourinho doesn't seem like the man who can turn this situation around. I could be wrong of course.

In another words, if we lose to Villa he is as good as gone. I'm not surprised if the board use the international break as a scouting mission to figure which managers they could get aboard.

[Styles 9,790]

I've said that he should stay until the end of the season out of respect but IF he plats Ivanovic AGAIN next week then Jose has truly lost it.

Thankfully there's an international break so we don't have to watch Chelsea play for 2 weeks.

[DYC. 7,542]

They give him time and I think it's certain we spend big in January. Top 4 is a must no matter what.

Never happening. Spending big in January is stupid anyway. Most winter signings need time to adapt.

It's a window to help fix certain crucial needs. Not signing a fullback would be catastrophic.

[Jase 43,479]

@Adnane, think you have beaten Barbara to the longest written post ever on TalkChelsea.