The Mourinho Thread

[FabHazard 655]

In last few matches i think we played better ..It is clear that we need to improve in the final phase of play..with diego not being in the right position to score..There should be better communication between the attackers..they need to practice in the training that final third play with clear attacking patterns...The players should keep on working hard..there is no doubt they will be back to their best if they continue working hard

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

hahahaha.. so people should go over the moon for chelsea beating norwich at the bridge by a solitary goal.

oh well, just shows what jose has brought us to.

Loyalty is a powerful thing. I know you lost hope with Jose after the Ivanovic saga and I'm running low on patience now too after he benched Azpi and fielded our two worst fullbacks, and didn't play Kenedy despite the great shifts he puts in week in week out - I expect him to play today.

However, I do think Jose can turn things around still, despite contrary evidence. And that's a statement, we've debated this enough times already, we will bring in a striker in January and with somebody that can finish the many chances we create we'll save our season.

[ZOS 580]

Absolutely not, some people disappear when the results are good and reappear when we lose, I'm not talking about you.

And that saddens me, because pretty much everyone here can have fair points, but the fact that they feel the need to express their anger and criticize Mourinho and everything Chelsea related more than celebrating victories and stating the positive points really annoys me.

I don't have problems debating with people, just don't disappear and come back reigniting the subject when it suits you the most, eg. when we are losing, I hate that.

Normally, after a loss, I hate coming here at all. But now I'm very critical of Jose... people are making it harder for those of us who want to vent our anger. Shit is getting very real. Chelsea is in a dangerous situation. I don't get how some here are calm.

[didierforever 7,349]

You're completely right, a troll tricked me and i fall for it.

We have already settled the issue, no problem mate.

yup mate!!

[LukakutoStamford 779]

Jose is a malignant narcissist. He takes no blame any time and instead blames any conceivable event that could be construed as debatable as the reason why Chelsea lost.

He cannot turn around and anyone who thinks so is being hoodwinked by his deception.

Chelsea is broken arm and its not just Jose but he is certainly a large part of it.

Jose may have been the best manager in the world but there are about 100 managers who would have Chelsea well above 15 place and out of a relegation battle.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Adam Bate

Comment and Analysis @ghostgoal

Jose Mourinho says Chelsea are creating chances but is he right?

Last Updated: 08/12/15 6:09pm

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea have struggled but what do the stats say?

Jose Mourinho insists Chelsea's underlying numbers are good, but is he right? We take a look.

Mourinho not thinking about axe

Jose Mourinho insists he retains the support of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Jose Mourinho was in defiant mood ahead of Wednesday's Champions League tie with Porto. The Chelsea boss hasn't always been one to get bogged down by the numbers but with results going badly, he is taking comfort in the belief that there are positive signs if you look hard enough.

"I feel a contradiction between the quality of the work and what happens on the pitch," he said in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "Look, statistics are statistics, but if you analyse the numbers you can get some good information.

"Match after match, we beat Chelsea records of high intensity work. In the last three matches we beat the records three times. We ran and worked more than ever, and at a certain intensity we'd never done before.

Our levels of ball possession are much higher than before, too. Our chances are higher than ever. Our number of goals is lower than ever. So, football people like you are intelligent. You have the numbers, you read the numbers, you draw some conclusions.

Jose Mourinho

"Our levels of ball possession are much higher than before, too. Our chances are higher than ever. Our number of goals is lower than ever. So, football people like you [the media] are intelligent. You have the numbers, you read the numbers, you draw some conclusions."

Let's take Mourinho up on the challenge. Is he right? With the help of Opta, we took a look at the key points raised by the Chelsea boss in search of substance to support his claims. The matter can be tackled by looking at the various metrics that he has highlighted…

Jose targets Champions League

Jose Mourinho says winning this season's Champions League is Chelsea's best way back in.

Possession

Mourinho clearly has a point here. Chelsea's overall possession in the Premier League this season stands at 56.7 per cent, up from their total of 55.8 per cent in last season's title-winning campaign. Only three teams - Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City - have had more of the ball.

Leicester's presence in the bottom three for possession is a reminder of the oft-repeated mantra that it's what you do with the ball that counts. But it's no coincidence that Europe's best sides see more of the ball and Mourinho is entitled to view this as evidence that the issues can be resolved.

Mourinho believes his job is safe despite Chelsea's recent struggles

Intensity

On the face of it, the tracking data from Chelsea's last three games is less conclusive. Bournemouth outran them by over nine kilometres, with more sprints and a greater percentage of their time spent making high-intensity runs. Tottenham outdid them on all three metrics in the previous game too.

However, what Mourinho is likely to be looking at is the upturn in comparison to the efforts of his players earlier in the season. Certainly, there are some encouraging signs here to support his claim that Chelsea "ran and worked more than ever" in recent matches.

In Chelsea's first 11 Premier League games of the season, they passed the 500-sprint mark only once. In contrast, they have since surpassed this number in three of their last four matches. Results have not improved, but this data suggests Mourinho has had a response from his players in terms of effort.

Chelsea sprints - Premier League 2015/16

Period

No of matches

Average sprints

Aug - Oct 2015

11

455

Nov 2015 to date

4

515

Chances

Mourinho has regularly pointed to the opportunities squandered by his team in explaining their poor results this season and Chelsea's presence among the Premier League's top six for chances created would appear to support this view.

Arsenal and Manchester City are the two teams to have created the most chances and are also the two favourites to win the league. Chelsea are not far behind on this metric despite struggling to find the net. "I think it's clear that we create so many chances and we don't score goals," said Mourinho.

"It's obvious that it's not a question of developing the game, going through the phases of the build-up and arriving at the last moment, putting the ball in the net. We are arriving at so many situations where we just need a tap in, and we're not doing that."

Premier League 2015/16 - Chance comparison

Team

Chances created

Clear chances

Arsenal

210

41

Man City

199

29

Chelsea

170

11

But…

Where Mourinho might be wrong in his assessment, is that there is a startling difference between the quality of chances produced by the top teams and those being fashioned by Chelsea this season.

Opta defines a clear chance as one that a player might reasonably be expected to score. In other words, the tap-ins to which Mourinho referred. Chelsea ranked joint-top on this metric last season alongside both Arsenal and Manchester City (66 chances) but it's been very different this year.

While Arsenal and City once again lead the way, with leaders Leicester next on the list, only one Premier League team has created fewer clear-cut chances than Chelsea this season. That suggests there are issues "through the phases of the build-up" as well as with the final touches

Conclusion

Mourinho has always been a coach concerned with the details and it's intriguing that he's opted to share some of these thoughts. Clearly, he is looking for evidence of a response from his team and is understandably comforted by underlying data that suggests the problems will not continue.

In terms of the team's possession numbers and recent sprinting stats, there are positive signs. The number of chances created offers hope too. But the data for clear-chances created is a reminder that there is much work left to do before Chelsea's issues are resolved.

Simple answer: No!

Long answer: Fucking absolutely fucking not!

[lucio 5,391]

fair enough to Jose, he got everyone fired up, and demonstrating their desire tonight.

i'm not convinced still, he didn't take the necessary steps to improve us, we know what they are by now.

he'll be here for the forseeable future, possibly some more horrible league results incoming, hopefully not

only thing to do, is buy jose as many , wonderful non CL tied players as possible in Jan

[Henrique 9,133]

Bold prediction: against all odds, Mourinho will lead Chelsea no 2016 UCL glory. You read it here first.

[jcf 16]

We're in the next stage

The team played very well

and

José is staying

...

What a beautiful day!

[LAM09 6,547]

All is rosy at the bridge.

[didierforever 7,349]

thank you for making the right decision ATLAST.

it is 3 months late, but atleast he finally did it.

hope he NEVER again plays cunt fibreglass again.

[Atlas Lion 1,223]

Played very well is an overstatement. Did better, but lots to be improved.

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Good Work Today.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

No fabregas, good defence

[Muzchap 8,966]

Here until the summer now

[Essien19 1,415]

thank you for making the right decision ATLAST.

it is 3 months late, but atleast he finally did it.

hope he NEVER again plays cunt fibreglass again.

Credit were Credit is due.

You have been proved right!

Fabregas was the problem, keep him out!

[hjperdeath 2,226]

Good to see Roman in the crowd. Happy for the man, tough few weeks and now two sets of fans singing his name.

[Thendo 1,088]

thank you for making the right decision ATLAST.

it is 3 months late, but atleast he finally did it.

hope he NEVER again plays cunt fibreglass again.

I really respect your opinion and I agree, Fabregas should've been benched long time ago. But come on how old are you? Yes hes been underperforming all the season, but things like this; calling our own players a cunt etc is draging this forum down to RAWK levels...

Otherwise, good lineup and subs from José today, but I can't understand why Remy couldn't get like 10-20 minutes atleast, Costa weren't that great. What's the point in subbing him on with like 3 mins to go?