CHOULO19

Was actually hoping you'd weigh in about how psychologically that irrationality and hysteria come to be when it concerns something as emotional as that

Thanks. My point was more about singling out of those three players based on reports and not on whether he had lost the team. I don't think there's anything wrong with booing the entire team if you think they've let the manager down. That would probably motivate them more as a squad. But picking on two-three players based on reports that have already been disputed by the papers that published them is irrational to me. Btw, the quote about being betrayed was, as is the case with like 90% of Jose quotes, taken well out of context. The original sentence iirc was something like "We identified in training four movements that Leicester make and the two goals came from one of them: Vardy making a diagonal run when Maherez is on the ball. So I feel that my work is-I don't know if this the right word-betrayed." You can find the original interview on YouTube if you like. Links like this? Come on mate, it's the media selling papers/clicks: https://www.google.com.lb/search?q=Chelsea+news%3A+Jose+Mourinho+and+Cesc+Fabregas+were+allies+not+enemies&oq=Chelsea+news%3A+Jose+Mourinho+and+Cesc+Fabregas+were+allies+not+enemies&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8 Let me put it this way: I think that Emenalo's post is about as deserved as the criticism he is getting for the sacking of Jose. I agree about the performance against Sunderland, though. Thought we showed a bit more determination in the first half but the second half was a typical performance from this season. The two early goals and the fact that Sunderland's defense was schoolboy level made the performance look A LOT better than it actually was. As I said in the OP, we are in NO WAY out of the ditch that we've dug ourselves into.

The sacking (again) of the most successful manager in the history of Chelsea FC was always going to be an emotional affair, but the reaction to it among the Chelsea fan-base has been nothing short of mass hysteria. A hysteria that has manifested itself during our much needed win against Sunderland with the targeting of specific Chelsea players with nonconstructive boos from the crowd as well as down right disgraceful signs calling them rats and snakes. Jose was always going to get the sack after the last four months. Any sane evaluation of the situation would conclude that, for some time now, it has been a question of when Jose will be fired, and not if; with the most optimistic predictions giving him until the end of the season. What did those who were shocked by the sacking expect? Chelsea Football Club, the current champion of England is involved in a relegation battle in the middle of December! Whether or not Jose was the main culprit of this fiasco of a season is completely irrelevant. As the man in charge of the team he was always going to be the one to suffer the consequences. That is the actual definition of a position of power and responsibility. Whatever you believe was the main cause of this disaster, the board's decision to sack the Portuguese was not unreasonable. Another irrational symptom of the sacking seems to be the abuse aimed at Michael Emenalo by people who admittedly have no idea what his actual role at the club is. It seems the Nigerian has become the John Obi Mikel of board directors, destined to be scapegoated for every unfortunate event regardless of his role in it. But by far the most irrational response to the sacking has been the singling out of certain players, namely Fabregas, Costa and Hazard, as the guilty parties in the sacking of Jose Mourinho. The accusations are not based on performances, as it excludes some of the worst performers this season such as Matic who Jose famously singled out as "unable to make a pass", vice captain not-so-marvelous Ivanovic, and Oscar who was actually cheered when subbed off on Saturday. Instead, the accusations are based on journalistic reports from "inside information" about a role of 'player power' in Jose getting fired. The inside information is so obviously reliable that the same papers are now contradicting their own claims and saying that Fabregas was actually Jose's biggest ally in the team (again based on inside information!). Again the uncritical acceptance by a majority of Chelsea fans of these baseless accusations by some journalists can only be explained by the irrationality resulting from the hysteria, not least because those players are very unlikely to hold any significant power inside the squad. But even assuming, for the sake of arguing, that these stories are indeed true (besides the obvious conclusion that Jose was either completely oblivious to his own squad or a complete idiot for continuing to field players who want him fired), three players staging a 'revolt' may excuse sitting just outside the top four, but it cannot justify the champion of England being in a relegation battle zone on Christmas. So that alone cannot relieve the manager of responsibility nor make the sacking unfair or unjustified. I am in no way saying that those three players, or any other player, bar maybe Willian, are innocent from this 'crime' that is this season. Everyone at the club shares responsibility, from the players, to the manager to the board. But ultimately, Jose is gone, so the booing is not actually supporting anyone. On the contrary the singling out of players is completely counter productive and will only destroy their confidence and create a more tension in the team. Calling them snakes and rats is downright disgraceful for a fan base that has always prided itself on backing any player who puts on a blue shirt, even Torres! Ultimately, those upset by the team playing well after Jose was sacked are no better than those who were upset when we beat Porto because they wanted the Portuguese gone. Finally, I fully understand the level of emotions surrounding the Chelsea faithfuls, after all we are all going through them together, but I think that at this critical time we, as fans, need to play our part in getting the team back on track, because we are in no way out of the ditch that we've put our selves in. We really ought to create the best possible atmosphere for the boys and the new manager to try to salvage whatever possible from this wretched season. I urge you to keep calm in the knowledge that Chelsea Football Club will survive this and continue to strive because at the end of the day, no one person is bigger than the club, not even Jose Mourinho.

How am I taking away their right to express their opinions?! I'm saying that singling our players is counter productive and hurts the team. If you still want to boo specific players after that I'm not going to put gag on your face, am I? Of course it does. I'm not saying I know more than you where to park or get a beer around Stamford Bridge, but the football and performances of the players we both experience the same. Why in the world would your opinion on any of the things being discussed here count more than mine? Ridiculous.

No there isn't. The love, passion and dedication to the club has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you go to games and it certainly doesn't mean that the opinions of those who do are more important than those who don't. Debate me with logic, don't dismiss my opinion because you think your opinion matters more.

Alright, that was OTT from me, I apologize. But your "we're real fans, you're second class" is incredibly annoying and not really a valid point.

Get off your high horse you condescending twat I am not stopping anyone from expressing their opinion or debating and I will not stop expressing mine. If you don't like it either debate it or ignore it.

I'm not saying ban booing from football matches, all I'm saying is that in this is it is clearly counter productive and damaging to the team. If I were at the grounds, I would have been booing the entire team and the manager since October. The burden of proof is not on me prove that it is only speculation but on you to prove that it is actually true. Go ahead... Also, let us for the sake of arguing assume that it was true, then the first conclusion would surely be that Jose was insane because he kept on playing them, but more importantly even 2-3 players actively trying to undermine the team does not justify the champion being involved in a relegation battle in December.

As I said above, the booing was in no way based on performances as some of the our worst performers since the start of the season were actually cheered which made it a lot worse because players were being singled out based on speculation more than anything. Well as long as you're not being intolerably condescending about it...

I'm sorry, but I have no idea what the first two paragraphs mean. I genuinely don't. We all watch the games and not a single Chelsea player has been his best this season bar Willian, or even from the start of the year. Some slightly better than others, some slightly worse. Usually when the whole team is under-performing this badly you look at the manager. As for the last paragraph, I think we're all in this together and can feel the same frustration and grief but that cannot be justification for irrationality. No idea why you're trying to make a distinction between fans at the ground and those not. Makes absolutely no difference in analyzing our situation. Completely different than being booed by opposition fans. You get energy and drive when booed by the opposition. Your confidence is crushed when you're booed by the fans you are playing for. I've always taken pride in the fact that Chelsea fans never boo their own, not even in the extreme cases like Torres. Call me naive but I support whoever is wearing the shirt till the end.

Not sure how true it actually is, but I heard an interview with Graeme Le Saux a few years ago where he was talking about the era and he actually said that he and Zola were promised new contracts if the team reached the CL but the plans changed after Roman came and that Zola had played it like it was his decision to leave because he didn't want to upset the fans and create hostility towards the new owner.

Because they booed Cesc and Costa and not say Oscar or Iva or Matic who have playing just as bad. In the case of Costa, he basically continued his form yesterday that he's been showing all season and was booed the worst. So let's not kid ourselves, it was NOT about 'commitment' nor form. We're in a relegation battle ffs! Boo the entire team, boo the board, boo Jose who played a major role in getting us here. You have every right for that. I've 'abused' no one but I will continue to say that picking on specific players will only hurt the team because, well, it does!

But the booing was not aimed at the board nor was it aimed at the whole team. The supporters were booing specific players (because of journalist reports based on "inside information" and we all know how reliable those are!). This will only alienate those targeted players and destroy their confidence. It's counter productive and will only hurt the club. Also if it were about the commitment and not showing ambition then the boos should have started in October the latest. No, the boos were about the sacking of Jose and hence unfairly and even pointlessly putting the responsibility on the shoulders of two or three players. As I said, there is no sense in booing because Jose was sacked, he's gone now regardless. As fans we should now be doing our part in helping the team rise above the crisis and get back to some kind of decent form not help destroy whatever morale remains among the players.

Absolutely brilliant today, especially in the first half. Our best performer for me after Oscar. Didn't Maka say in his auto-biography that JT was the one who got Jose fired the first time around?

Exactly what does booing some players achieve? Jose is no longer here, so you're not actually supporting anyone, while the players on the other hand will still be wearing blue shirts at least until January. So the booing is only going to damage the team. Also, being upset because the team played well after Jose was sacked is no better than when some were upset when the team beat Porto because they wanted Jose sacked. Equally disloyal to the CLUB. Keep The Blue Flag Flying High

Might be the only one but I'm really not a fan of Simone. He makes Jose look more gentleman-like than Ancelotti!

I don't understand why people on here are upset. I mean he clearly isn't if he's taken the time to wear a costume for the launch of the Star Wars movie....

Looking at the table, Chelsea looked as screwed as an 8-year-old boy in the house of lords a pig's head in a David Cameron party. Seriously, though, we should probably stop destroying Jim's thread

Unless you mean before his first spell here, but even then...

"Vardy tore through the Chelsea defense like a missile through an Afghan wedding..." Too subtle?

Thanks for everything, Jose....again! You will always be remembered and loved as a Chelsea legend. That said, the reactions are completely irrational, but I guess that was always bound to be the case. It's been for some time a matter of when and not if, with the most optimistic guesses being that he will be sacked at the end of the season. Regardless of how much actual blame you think is on Jose, as the manager he will always take the responsibility. The new manager (hopefully Hidink not that other guy whom I've never heard of before) will likely raise morale and get the team playing better in the short term, but in no way are our problems solved. We need major changes in the starting XI in the summer.

I can write on Tuesdays as I am free in the afternoons, maybe like a weekly column or something (I'll get my agent to talk to you about payments )

Literally just read that it was 136,000 from the Times or something I think everyone is just guessing.

So you'd like to see 9.8 of these 14 dropped?!

:lol: Funniest thing to happen in a while and that's before half the 'members' of the so called coalition said they have absolutely no idea what KSA is talking about