LDN Blue

Aye count me in, I'm with your belief on City winning.

That's basically it in a nutshell. I corrected Henrique earlier to say having a fickle nature, albeit even if its a few times, is just a by-product of football. It's part of the process of being a fan to be fickle on certain issues and Oscar seems to be one of those right now. This thread is just prime example, going back to when he was signed and the promise he showed. To then becoming an Oscar v Mata debate, that dragged on far longer than it had to! To then becoming forgotten, I mean we literally forgot about him during our struggles. No-one looked to Oscar as the man who would save our season. Let's see how we get through until the end of January. New manager syndrome is effective, ask Klopp, but lets see if its sustainable.

On this forum, certainly true. Outside of it, barely heard a mention.. And I spend a lot of time talking to football nerds. Not trying to discredit him, but it's interesting to see the levels of his popularity around here. What about him stands out? We're getting Santa?!

Why always Swansea . From Eden kicking the ball-boy in 2013 to Eva in 2015

While that's a nice picture, it's a fallacy. He'll get bored or something, but as a manager curiosity will get the better of him and he will manage elsewhere. Money talks, if Chelsea have the intention and the blank cheque to match the Simeone will be leaving Atletico Madrid. Whether he should or not, is another issue. I agree with you that we should go for a more open/positive manager, but Simeone would do wonder for organisation and defence.

This Emery fellow is flavour of the month all of a sudden huh?

Mark of respect to José perhaps, these aren't ideal times to be boasting a change of manager. I'm sure Hiddink also would rather get on with it rather than dealing with the media, who I'm sure will relish the fact they'll have a straight talking manager this time

I'll take that, but technically I'm from Harrow so if we ever draw Barnet

Let's not get carried away. We know Oscar has such games in him, his problem is consistency (or there lack of). Until he does that in consecutive games, I refrain from jumping back on the wagon. Made that mistake when he was cost Mata his role.

The club I support vs My local town.. A win-win or lose-lose?

Let's not forget Drogba had his own spell of bad form, early in career. I think we were all slightly guilty then of jumping the gun on the Ivorian, so he'll be a good influence on Costa. Let's be honest, the Spaniard isn't messing with that man. He'll be good for morale overall too, we know Drogs is banter. He should've been here to help Mourinho, but alas that's moot now.

*fickle is what you mean tbh. That's not exclusive to Chelsea fans either, it's just a natural by-product of the modern game.

"and then they said, here's a new contract!"

I don't think so. The fact Mourinho's name was heard throughout SB, throughout a 3-0 drubbing, shows how high in regard he's still left. When he came back with Inter, the reception was impeccable. We're respectful and whatever mind games or psychological warfare Mourinho must use when he's employed again, he'll always have deep respect for Chelsea fans alike.

Yeah I mean I'm not even going to try and argue he'll be long-term there, even I can't sell that one to myself But I think we agree that United team isn't far from being where it needs to be. Mourinho will do that over his time and they'll get some success in silverware. Pep will do great things with City, but it won't be quite as easy ride as he's had with Bayern

I wanna get high witchu and talk about shit like this.

Not all heroes wear capes. My g.

Yo anyone got highlights?

I disagree about the effect he'll have at United, but I guess I can only say I hope you're right. The quality of Mourinho, to me, is undisputed. If he's allowed control at United, he'll take them far, imo. Again, hope I'm wrong.

Football is an incredible thing isn’t it? On 17th December 2015, José Mourinho joined an elite club of managers who have been sacked twice by the same club, 3 years after he was brought back from the abyss. Most recent cases pre-José will point to Liverpool icon Kenny Dalglish. Football is often a debate in comparisons, comparing both managers’ second tenure from their first shows a clear contrast. Where their first tenures were full of promise, excitement & sorrow when they ended, the homecoming wasn’t quite the romantic fairy-tale. José Mourinho was brought back by Chelsea with the full hope he would be there to guide the Blues to unprecedented levels of success while building a dynasty lasting over the normal 3-4 years. Roman Abramovich and Chelsea’s “revolving door” policy has been well highlighted in the last decade, with the Blues going through no little than 8 managerial appointments in a little under 10 years since the oligarch bought the club from Ken Bates. After years of rekindling a damaged relationship, Abramovich thought he’d finally found a solution to the constant, tedious task of finding a new manager after 1-3 seasons. Only 1 manager, under the current Abramovich era, has lasted longer than 2 years at Chelsea and that’s Mourinho. As a result, Chelsea have been vilified for having an unsustainable model. Critics often citing Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson as case studies of why long-term managers yields long-term success. Yet, there’s no arguing that in the time Chelsea have hired and fired Mourinho twice, Chelsea have managed to win more titles (domestic and European) than Wenger has in his tenure. Which brings us to the question at hand, is longevity the myth that keeps on breathing? On the evidence, it seems so. The last standing long-term manager left in the current game is Arsene Wenger, following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. The Frenchman’s tenure now stretches over 19 years, approaching 20 in 2016. In that time, Wenger has won 3 Premier League titles, 6 FA Cups and 6 Community Shields. However, their last Premier League title came in 2003-04. Since then the emergence of both Manchester City and Chelsea have meant the success of Arsenal under Wenger has been curtailed. With Louis Van Gaal expected to leave in 2017, it would mean the Dutch manager’s tenure would have lasted 3 years. Manchester United will be looking for their 3rd manager in 4 seasons by this point, something that would’ve never happened in the Sir Alex era. Currently after Wenger, the longest serving manager in the Premier League is Eddie Howe (3) of a Bournemouth team placed 14th in the League, followed by Mark Hughes (2) of a 10th placed Stoke City. In fact, in the last 20 years, only 7/20 clubs have made 10 or less managerial changes, suggesting the myth of longevity is on the decline within the Premier League. But what about outside of the Premier League, does longevity prevail amongst the most successful teams? The answer, unsurprisingly, is no. 2010: Inter Milan (Mourinho 2 years) 2011: Barcelona (Guardiola 4 years) 2012: Chelsea (Di Matteo <1 year) 2013: Real Madrid (Ancelotti 2 years) 2014: Barcelona (Enrique 1 year*) *still managing Indeed, from the last 5 Champions league winning teams, only Guardiola has lasted longer than 3 years. This comes as no surprise either, upon winning the cup with Barcelona in 2011, Pep Guardiola said of his decision to leave FC Barcelona, “The day I see the light go out of my players’ eyes, I’ll know it’s time to go.” New managers bring about fresh approaches. Longevity worked for Sir Alex, because he was always able to get into the minds of his players and make sure his influence wasn’t diminishing. However, in the modern game not many managers can boast this feat. Certainly, José Mourinho’s second sacking by Chelsea has highlighted this. Reports of a ‘rat’ in the dressing room emerging in October seemed to have given insight into this. Subsequent behavioural problems by Costa and reports of an unhappy Fabregas proved to be the end of Mourinho, whether these claims are proven true or not. This author is firm in the belief that we will, one day, hear what went wrong from Jose himself. Click here to view the article

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35129915 Moving.

You're on Insta? And who said elders can't use social media

Isn't our owner buying us a new stadium surely an indication he is a football man? I don't mean to use that to excuse every decision he's ever made. But on a level you talk about, 'exactly what they want to be', well getting a 60,000 stadium is a step in the right direction.

Stats, I like you... But checkmate

Good luck Guus Hiddink, I hope he exceeds expectations and continues his fine win % at Chelsea #NotOneOfUs #IfHeWasOneOfUsHeWouldAlreadyBeInTrouble