The Mourinho Thread

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Final whistle verdict: The complete performance

Jose Mourinho was thrilled with the emphatic result against Schalke as well as his teams performance which was close to perfect from the first minute to the last.

The Blues romped to our equal-biggest ever away win in the Champions League tonight, with three first-half goals and two in 60 seconds after the break doing the damage.

John Terry, Willian and an own goal had us 3-0 ahead at the interval and more scintillating football after the break was rewarded when substitutes Didier Drogba and then Ramires netted in quick succession. It was no less than a brilliant team performance deserved, as Mourinho acknowledged afterwards

We played a fantastic match, the manager enthused. The team is very confident. We needed to come and play and we showed that from the first minute.

The team was always in control playing top quality football, strong defensively, no mistakes, no real saves for Courtois, just one rebound which hit the bar. It was very impressive.

In the second half we didnt need to chase the game and give them a chance to counter-attack, we could wait for them to make a mistake. We faced the second half with a different profile but the team was so solid. Normally a team winning four or five nil makes a defensive mistake or allows the opponents to score a goal, but we didnt.

I think they have to accept we were too strong for them. When you lose against a team that produces a perfect performance and a perfect result its not your fault.

Tonights performance followed on from Saturdays exceptional first-half showing against West Brom

The team was fantastic from the first minute to the last. If the result has to be different it must be with us getting another couple of goals.

I dont remember Chelsea playing in this way away from home. Obviously there have been some great victories away from home - with me, with other managers - but this was very impressive, very complete. The reality is tonight any team that played against us would find it very difficult because the players were fantastic.

Everything the players do is with big focus and ambition but at the same time with this component of happiness, of flair, of beauty. We are very happy because at the moment we are having good results and at the same time we are playing really, really well.

Mourinho explained why he thinks his players are enjoying their time on the pitch so much

When the team is playing the way we are playing the players dont get tired because we have so much control of the game. The ball does the running. The way we are playing is a pleasure for the players Fabregas was saying that after the game against West Brom.

The victory guarantees top spot in our Champions League group

I dont set targets. In this moment we are very confident, we go match after match, step by step.

We have one Champions League match in December but were qualified and top so its a good situation for us. Lets see what happens at Sunderland with this mentality.

Diego Costa was withdrawn midway through the first half

He took a knock in his leg. He is ready for Saturdays game.

Mourinho was asked how this team compared to the ones he managed during his first spell as manager of Chelsea

Every team has its own profile. Sometimes people try to put a stamp on managers this manager is this or that. The good ones adapt to the realities of the situation. At the moment this team is completely different to my team from 2004 to 2007.

This team to be better than other Chelsea teams needs to win. At the moment it has zero titles. We have to transform the quality of our game into results, which we are getting now but we have to try to win things so this team goes into Chelsea history as a brilliant team and a team that won something.

Our former boss Roberto Di Matteo, now in charge of Schalke, concurred with Mourinho...

Chelsea were super in the way they played, he said. They were ice cold. We played against a really great team.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/11/final-whistle-verdict--schalke-away.html

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Mourinho: "To win 5-0 away in the Champions League is not normal. To win 5-0 in Germany is even more not normal" #CFC

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

CAREFREE!

[Blue Armour 4,324]

it's impossible... working with him full time, day after day they saw everything he does to motivate players, they saw how he prepares his training sessions, they saw his philosophy. The thing is he's a genius, especially tactically and that one doesn't teach to another, even if they try hard. It's like a talent such as Hazard, you either has it or you don't, you can't teach someone dribble like that, it's inherent to them. Mourinho's understanding of the mechanisms of the game is something special. People can learn a lot of things from him, but that's his. Someone would have also to have the same to be able to be like him, but then again they wouldn't have learned it from him either, they would have been born with that.

Never said anyone of them would become like Mourinho. I just said he would only teach the people who he wants to be taught

[Madmax 9,219]

Dare I say it yet? R.I.P November.

[Tomo 21,733]

My biggest worry a couple of season's back is we were losing a real spine and identity to the team, 12/13 was a little baby step back in the right direction after two years of stagnant and stale football, Hazard, Oscar and Azpi helped breath some fresh energy into a stale side but for me their was a massive concern as we had no prime players (well none at the level needed to challenge at the very very top) and no real spine which helped massively our success of 2005-2010.

Our squad was so unbalanced and so unorganised even Jose needed a year to sort it, but boy has he sorted it. In Tibo, Terry, Matic, Cesc, Oscar, Hazard and Costa he has set us a spine ready to challenge at the very top for the next few years (i honestly don't believe Terry's retirement is as close as people think) and with Jose hopefully staying for the duration this time, he will replace the players before it becomes an issue and we stagnate again.

I can never tire of saying just how lucky we are to have this guy at this club, no more signing un needed players, no more Torres playing 90 minutes every game, no more player power, no more Maloudas of 10/11 playing shite strolling through games and getting picked regardless the next time, no more unbalanced squads, get in!!!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Great article in the Telegraph today:

How Jose Mourinho's Chelsea became England's cavaliers in the Premier League and Champions League

[Fernando 6,496]

Brilliant job so far, boss. . He's delivered on his promise so far concerning the "evolution" of Chelsea. We are playing with fantastic style and swagger, imposing our will on teams home or away. The contrast of our play in this same fixture last season, where we defended very deep and played on the counter attack for 90 mins and today was there for all too see. We destroyed them this time. I was admittedly concerned after the City game but right now I have nothing but praise for Jose and the way he has us playing football.

21 games unbeaten and we carry on.

You mentioned City, this is Schalke.

If you think we will play like this against Real Madrid, and Bayern your in for a shock.

And to be fair, against the like of these we will have a higher chance of progressing via defending and counter attacking then to try to outplay them.

People will criticize him because we will play like a "Small" team but it will be the smart thing to do.

[sutro 1,026]

Jose is creating his masterpiece right here and now and we are very lucky he's doing it with our club

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Unbeaten Chelsea are leading the way with style, flair and substance... here are the stats that prove they are No 1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2850121/Unbeaten-Chelsea-leading-way-style-flair-substance-stats-prove-number-one.html

[Fernando 6,496]

Jose is creating his masterpiece right here and now and we are very lucky he's doing it with our club

We have a good balance team now.

Yet I still will feel our defense is our weakest link.

[sutro 1,026]

We have a good balance team now.

Yet I still will feel our defense is our weakest link.

It is but he will figure that out without a doubt.

The thing that makes me very excited is that some of our key players are still so young but yet they perform fantastic on the very top level.

I wonder what it will give when they are hitting their prime, did the future ever look more blue than it does now?

He's really creating something very special here imo.

[Jase 43,479]

Suspect Mourinho will have taken 'extra joy' from beating Schalke yesterday...

[Styles 9,790]

Suspect Mourinho will have taken 'extra joy' from beating Schalke yesterday...

Thought so too. Was it just me or did he seem quite cold towards Di Matteo?

[The Chels 2,502]

We have a good balance team now.

Yet I still will feel our defense is our weakest link.

It is. I know we won 5-0 but I don't like how we back off and allow the opposition so close to our box. When defending we often had a 6-man defence which is all good and well but when the opposition are so close to goal anything can happen. Watching Atletico now just reminds me of how ridiculously good they are at pressing. The opposition hardly every get near their box and that way you don't have to worry about lapses in concentration, a moment of brilliance or a fluky deflection, etc. They also still maintain a big attacking threat and they're hardly every pinned back (exception was the end of the CL final) unlike us.

In contrast our pressing is much more localised which can be more easily bypassed and that leaves big gaps in the middle. In comparison to Atletico, our defensive system against the biggest teams relies too much on luck imo which is what consistently lets us down in the CL semis.

[Viper22 2,418]

It is. I know we won 5-0 but I don't like how we back off and allow the opposition so close to our box. When defending we often had a 6-man defence which is all good and well but when the opposition are so close to goal anything can happen. Watching Atletico now just reminds me of how ridiculously good they are at pressing. The opposition hardly every get near their box and that way you don't have to worry about lapses in concentration, a moment of brilliance or a fluky deflection, etc. They also still maintain a big attacking threat and they're hardly every pinned back (exception was the end of the CL final) unlike us.

In contrast our pressing is much more localised (2v2 usually) which can be more easily bypassed and that leaves big gaps in the middle. In comparison to Atletico, our defensive system against the biggest teams relies too much on luck imo which is what consistently lets us down in the CL semis.

Hmm. While I also like a good pressing game you (and a lot of others on here) need to realise that if you press too hard you will leave gaps in behind that good teams will exploit in their sleep.

There are pros and cons to both standing off and high tempo pressing, you need to be adaptable and be able to use whichever is needed at the time, which I feel like we are.

Maybe we should start pressing earlier on but it's not like our sitting off is costing us at all. We haven't conceded more than 1 goal in a game since the 13th September. That's 2 and a half months ago. We've played some good teams in that time too (Schalke & Arsenal at home and Man City, Everton, Man Utd, Schalke and Liverpool away).

While we might not be keeping as many clean sheets as we might like, we should just accept that our style of defending (standing off that little bit longer, drawing the opposition onto us by giving them a sniff of our goal) is helping our attack and go forward ability. We've scored more than once in every game but 2 in the league this year (those 2 being both away games in Manchester where we scored 1 apiece), and that's just fantastic. Part of that has to be down to our ability to draw the opposition out of their defensive positions by allowing them more space on the outside of our box.

It's just a thought, but seems logical enough to my mind. We wanted a more attacking outlook to the team and we have got it, albeit at the sacrifice of a little bit of defensive solidity.

[The Chels 2,502]

Hmm. While I also like a good pressing game you (and a lot of others on here) need to realise that if you press too hard you will leave gaps in behind that good teams will exploit in their sleep.

There are pros and cons to both standing off and high tempo pressing, you need to be adaptable and be able to use whichever is needed at the time, which I feel like we are.

Maybe we should start pressing earlier on but it's not like our sitting off is costing us at all. We haven't conceded more than 1 goal in a game since the 13th September. That's 2 and a half months ago. We've played some good teams in that time too (Schalke & Arsenal at home and Man City, Everton, Man Utd, Schalke and Liverpool away).

While we might not be keeping as many clean sheets as we might like, we should just accept that our style of defending (standing off that little bit longer, drawing the opposition onto us by giving them a sniff of our goal) is helping our attack and go forward ability. We've scored more than once in every game but 2 in the league this year (those 2 being both away games in Manchester where we scored 1 apiece), and that's just fantastic. Part of that has to be down to our ability to draw the opposition out of their defensive positions by allowing them more space on the outside of our box.

It's just a thought, but seems logical enough to my mind. We wanted a more attacking outlook to the team and we have got it, albeit at the sacrifice of a little bit of defensive solidity.

But we do leave lots of gaps because of our disjointed pressing. For example Matic will press high on his own, get bypassed and leave huge gaps behind. How often do you see Atletico leaving gaps between their defence and midfield? They are unbelievably good at their pressing game and in comparison we are very disorganised even though we have the players for it in Azpi, Luis, Willian, Oscar and Matic especially.

The current system will not cost us against the smaller sides but in the biggest matches, it tends to leave us either far too open (eg United/Lpool away) or far too defensive (eg City away). Still we can get away with it because these teams aren't that clinical unlike in the CL. Jose has always struggled with maintaining the balance which is why he regularly gets knocked out in the CL semis. I really can't see the advantages of his big game tactics, especially in the CL (park the bus, local and disjointed pressing) over a system which involves collective counterpressing and counter attacking even after scoring. The latter results in the concession of fewer chances and creation of more chances if done properly which we are more than capable of doing.

[Jase 43,479]

Thought so too. Was it just me or did he seem quite cold towards Di Matteo?

Don't think it's far-fetched to say that Mourinho is annoyed by the fact that RDM won us the Champions League, a trophy he failed to win with us. And not to mention, RDM did it in under 6 months while Mourinho couldn't do it in 3 years.