The Mourinho Thread

[LondonsFinest 692]

Anybody else wonder if we will sign a second player. I didn't know where to actually post this. We have a short squad and in terms of Attacking midfielders we currently have 4.(5 if you consider Fabregas in terms of rotation) Still Jose said, if 1 player is to leave he will be replaced, if 2 are to leave, then two will be bought. Meaning, we are waiting on the Schurrle deal to happen or we are not signing anyone?

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Anybody else wonder if we will sign a second player. I didn't know where to actually post this. We have a short squad and in terms of Attacking midfielders we currently have 4.(5 if you consider Fabregas in terms of rotation) Still Jose said, if 1 player is to leave he will be replaced, if 2 are to leave, then two will be bought. Meaning, we are waiting on the Schurrle deal to happen or we are not signing anyone?

I'm not so sure. We don't have too many competitions to worry about, we're out of the FA Cup and there's only one game left in the League Cup. We have Willian, Hazard, Oscar, Cuadrado, Remy(who can play wide if needed) and Ramires.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Here's the thing. The issue isn't so much that we parked the bus but that we had absolutely no tactical plan other than to keep inviting unneccessary pressure. Would it be that risky to counter them with 3 players with well calculated and rehearsed play? Not to mention the benefit of holding the ball and retaining posession in midfield instead of hoofing it aimlessly off field just to invite another wave of constant attack.

So here's a better idea: let's open the game up even more for City by attacking with our twelve fit outfield players, most of whom played 120 minutes of a semi-final on Tuesday night. What a brilliant tactical idea that would have been.

We had a shit hand dealt to us yesterday but we still managed to make a fist of things. Considering the circumstances, and the fact it was a "do not lose" match, we should be content with a point. I don't like the way we sat off either, but the players were clearly jaded and considering how dominant City were in terms of possession and territory, we made them look toothless. How many times did they really test us? Twice? Can't be disappointed with that.

Until now I'm satisfied with Mourinho this season. Winning a big trophy this season is an obligation in my opinion. The team is 5 points clear and thats what really matters. The team is also playing good and solid football.

We could play shit football like last year for all I care. I just want to win a trophy, which is an obligation, as you quite rightly assert. A trophyless season would be unacceptable given the quality of this squad.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

PL title is a must this season considering we already got most of the toughest away matches out of the way. If we lose it now with just 15 games left and 5 points lead we would have bottled it.

[xPetrCechx 13,598]

PL title is a must this season considering we already got most of the toughest away matches out of the way. If we lose it now with just 15 games left and 5 points lead we would have bottled it.

How much home game - away games we have?

[Laylabelle 9,754]

Every game a cup final.Got tough away games out the way but still likes of Villa,QPR etc who shouldn't cause a upset but are capable if dont play how we can

Home-8-Everton,Burnley,Southampton,Stoke,Man U,Palace,Liverpool,Sunderland

Away-7-Villa,Leicester,West Ham,Hull,QPR,Arsenal,West Brom

[supporter 3,088]

Every game a cup final.Got tough away games out the way but still likes of Villa,QPR etc who shouldn't cause a upset but are capable if dont play how we can

Home-8-Everton,Burnley,Southampton,Stoke,Man U,Palace,Liverpool,Sunderland

Away-7-Villa,Leicester,West Ham,Hull,QPR,Arsenal,West Brom

All Right. It's time to go looking at how many matches are left until the end of the season.

I think we've suffered a lot in games away The Bridge, but in this second part of the season we have a much weaker rivals away from home.

Initially, we will not suffer so much away The Bridge (I hope this).

Chelsea. Position. 1. Points. 53.

Away matches.

1. Aston Villa. Position. 16. Points. 22.

2. Leicester. Position. 20. Points. 17.

3. West Ham. Position. 8. Points. 36.

4. Hull. Position. 18. Points. 19.

5. QPR. Position. 19. Points. 19.

6. Arsenal. Position. 5. Points. 42.

7. West Brom. Position. 15. Points. 22.

Regards.

[LondonsFinest 692]

I'm not so sure. We don't have too many competitions to worry about, we're out of the FA Cup and there's only one game left in the League Cup. We have Willian, Hazard, Oscar, Cuadrado, Remy(who can play wide if needed) and Ramires.

I was actually thinking about that, that even with CL we don't have the FA to tighten our schedule and coming out of that competition has its pluses. I think we may see some activity, but as Wenger would say( Oh, God): "Only if the right deal comes."

[BlueLyon 9,359]

The only thing we 'suck' at this year is keeping the lead.

We were leading twice vs city, once vs united, once vs liverpool (ccup) and once vs spurs. And vs bradford but that wasnt big game.

We have not won single of those games, if we cant handle to score and keep that lead, we have to change the tactics in future.

Mou said its better to lose fighting, than win or draw with poor game. But he is doing exact opposite. As long we will be winning long term its OK though.

[Jase 43,479]

Jose Mourinho was tactically astute in Chelsea's draw vs. Man City

[Jase 43,479]

The only thing we 'suck' at this year is keeping the lead.

We were leading twice vs city, once vs united, once vs liverpool (ccup) and once vs spurs. And vs bradford but that wasnt big game.

We have not won single of those games, if we cant handle to score and keep that lead, we have to change the tactics in future.

Mou said its better to lose fighting, than win or draw with poor game. But he is doing exact opposite. As long we will be winning long term its OK though.

Yeah...but we have also won games after throwing away a 1-0 lead - 2-1 vs Bolton, 2-1 vs Shrewsbury and 2-1 vs QPR. They might not be big teams but the victories were important in getting to where we are right now.

[edetarod 2,155]

i feel that we just need to win a big trophy this season and everything will be alright

it will do Mourinho alot of good and so our players to kick start their Chelsea careers

that's why it's imperative we win the league this season

[The Chels 2,502]

Yeah...but we have also won games after throwing away a 1-0 lead - 2-1 vs Bolton, 2-1 vs Shrewsbury and 2-1 vs QPR. They might not be big teams but the victories were important in getting to where we are right now.

You would surely expect a team like Chelsea to overturn deficits, especially against teams of the quality you mention (we shouldn't lose the lead in the first place). You would not expect us to consistently lose 1-0 leads in the big games, however.

Edited February 1, 2015 by The Chels

[Jase 43,479]

You would surely expect a team like Chelsea to overturn 1-0 deficits, especially against teams of the quality you mention (we took the lead against QPR by the way). You would not expect us to consistently lose 1-0 leads in the big games, however.

But those games weren't about overturning 1-0 deficits...

[The Chels 2,502]

But those games weren't about overturning 1-0 deficits...

Apologies. Misinterpreted what you said & have edited my comment.

[Jase 43,479]

You would surely expect a team like Chelsea to overturn deficits, especially against teams of the quality you mention (we shouldn't lose the lead in the first place). You would not expect us to consistently lose 1-0 leads in the big games, however.

Yeah but it happens. Just because we're Chelsea, doesn't mean we have the right not to lose leads, regardless of who we face. Moreover, the leads we lost against QPR, Strawberry, Bolton are the same with the City, Tottenham, Liverpool ones - they all happened because of individual mistakes.

[supporter 3,088]

Winning the League Cup can change our dynamic in certain games / certain times.

We are Chelsea and for a team like us being two consecutive years without winning any trophy would be a big failure.

I see some anxiety about it. Not only in Jose, also in our players. Last year we were eliminated in the semifinals of the Champions League, and we lost the Premier League at the last moment.

Jose and our players know this, and I think they do not want to risk at times for fear that we will do the same as last season.

So in big games we played with intelligence and pragmatism. Step by step and thinking about any kind of risk.

I think if we win the League Cup, in some way, that could relax the anxiety level we have now, and that can free our players and Jose.

The League Cup is a minor trophy, but can help us to manage better our anxiety.

Regards.

[The Chels 2,502]

Yeah but it happens. Just because we're Chelsea, doesn't mean we have the right not to lose leads, regardless of who we face. Moreover, the leads we lost against QPR, Strawberry, Bolton are the same with the City, Tottenham, Liverpool ones - they all happened because of individual mistakes.

Of course it's natural that we lose the lead on occasions but it has happened a lot this season - too many times for it just to be a coincidence. If you look back at why we have conceded the lead in all the games we have, you will obviously find an individual mistake but they usually come as a result of a bigger issue. For example: City away - sitting too deep against 10 men, United - sitting too deep, Tottenham - huge spaces in the midfield. Personally I don't agree with always completely dissolving the system and the manager of blame when individual errors take place.

[Jase 43,479]

Of course it's natural that we lose the lead on occasions but it has happened a lot this season - too many times for it just to be a coincidence. If you look back at why we have conceded the lead in all the games we have, you will find obviously an individual mistake but they usually come as a result of a bigger issue. For example: City away - sitting too deep against 10 men, United - sitting too deep, Tottenham - huge spaces in the midfield. Personally I don't agree with always completely dissolving the system and the manager of blame when individual errors take place.

We were hardly sitting deep at City when they scored their goal - it happened because two players just went AWOL for a few seconds. At United, their goal came from a set piece (no thanks to Phil Dowd!) and we failed to mark Fellaini and Van Persie. Against Tottenham, it was just one of those days where everything went completely wrong - individual errors, team mistakes which were partly caused the management of Mourinho in the bigger scheme of things.

[The Chels 2,502]

We were hardly sitting deep at City when they scored their goal - it happened because two players just went AWOL for a few seconds. At United, their goal came from a set piece (no thanks to Phil Dowd!) and we failed to mark Fellaini and Van Persie. Against Tottenham, it was just one of those days where everything went completely wrong - individual errors, team mistakes which were partly caused the management of Mourinho in the bigger scheme of things.

Hmm I still disagree. Against City, for example, why were they allowed to progress so far into our half and all the way into our box? When that happens it's inevitable that individual mistakes would prove costly. Schurrle/Ivanovic were obviously at fault but who is responsible for allowing that to happen, for deciding not to press a 10-man team and keep them as far away from our box as possible? The system/manager.