The Mourinho Thread

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Can I just say, he got it absolutely spot on today, and Zouma in midfield was a stroke of genius.

Other managers, like Pep for example, get all the praise in the world for tactical "hipster moves" like playing a CM as a striker or a full back as holding midfield, but I thought that giving Zouma this role, in such a big game was a great example of effective pragmatism, and just pure genius. Deserves massive credit for it, imo.

Tbh I thought it looked a bad move until Terry's goal, after that it proves to work so well. Btw Pep get praises because his changes are really weird and not logical, Alaba CB in back 3, Gotze in CDM...etc while Jose's reputation for negative football and seemingly a defensive move causes people to complain imo.

I thought tactic was spot on too, even though before the game I wasn't.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Tbh I thought it looked a bad move until Terry's goal, after that it proves to work so well. Btw Pep get praises because his changes are really weird and not logical, Alaba CB in back 3, Gotze in CDM...etc while Jose's reputation for negative football and seemingly a defensive move causes people to complain imo.

I thought tactic was spot on too, even though before the game I wasn't.

The thing is, it wasn't particularly a negative defensive choice from Jose. People before the match predicted that he might play Cahill or Zouma in midfield...and I think they were wrong! Because we did not by any stretch of the imagination "park the bus" or play with 3 CBs.

I think, and this was more obvious in the first half but happened in the second as well, just as the decision to play Zouma in midfield was for defensive reasons of winning first balls in midfield (which we all know neither Cesc or Rami can do) it was also just as much for offensive reasons. Whenever our CBs had the ball at their feet (not on counters) Zouma moved past Cesc and Ramires and played almost as the #10 to provide the long ball option for them which was an issue for us at WHL.

He very much played the "Fellaini role" which I thought was very unpredictable and is only logical in retrospective. Also motivated by necessity and pragmatism rather than for the sake of "creativity".

[The Chels 2,502]

The most pleasing difference was that we went for the second goal. It duly arrived, we had good counter attacking opportunities and we limited Spurs to very few chances. Bravo, Jose!

[tiby2979 175]

Been on this forum for years, can't believe i am still suprised by these childish replays.

Let me remained you this i watch football to be entertained, and i hope all of you do the same because it is only rational reason to watch compitition sports. A football club responsibility is to entertain their fans, because this is why we pay them with our time and money. This is an unequivalent truth that no one should forget. Forgeting this is like a a public company shareholder forgeting that the company unequivalent responsibility is to them.

We beated a mid-table team, while playing a small team tactic. Simple down to the truth.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

If you don't rate José Mourinho as a manager then you know fuck all about football. Sorry. He's forgotten more about football than I'll ever know. Sure, he gets it wrong now and again and even I find his rants insufferable at times. But he's the best man for the job; he's one of us, and he'll win us titles.

Fuck fancy football. I don't care. I wouldn't care if we won a league title with 20 wins and 18 draws and we only scored 20 goals all season. WINNING is entertainment; the fancy football and the 6-0 wins are all nice bonuses. We could have played pretty football, opened the game up, and got mullered like we did at White Hart Lane.

Fed up of fucking FIFA players thinking they know how to manage a team

[Liquidator 5,176]

Absolutely love him! As a manager he has everything. Loves us and we love him. Felt so special winning it today, that smile on his face that we haven't seen for so long. I hope this is the start of something incredible at Chelsea

[kellzfresh 7,229]

The most pleasing difference was that we went for the second goal. It duly arrived, we had good counter attacking opportunities and we limited Spurs to very few chances. Bravo, Jose!

He knows how to set up counterattacks, he never lost it. Just needs to do it in more matches so our players get used to it and make our counters more fluid with better understanding.

[Fernando 6,454]

fail - Cahill did play in the back & it's safe to say Jose proved us all wrong today w/ his starting 11

Cahill by the usual self starting lineup would have cost us. Thank god that mourinho put zouma to help with the defense.

[DoubleO 192]

Was nice to see him and Faria after the match. He has gone quite a long time without trophies and finally he's at it again. I also liked his post-match interview. José is definitely building something big right here and it's very enjoyable to be a Chelsea fan at the moment. Finally we are in a stable condition with a long-term manager.

I think this won't be the last trophy for this season. Cmon Chels!

[iseah100 5,612]

Been on this forum for years, can't believe i am still suprised by these childish replays.

Let me remained you this i watch football to be entertained, and i hope all of you do the same because it is only rational reason to watch compitition sports. A football club responsibility is to entertain their fans, because this is why we pay them with our time and money. This is an unequivalent truth that no one should forget. Forgeting this is like a a public company shareholder forgeting that the company unequivalent responsibility is to them.

We beated a mid-table team, while playing a small team tactic. Simple down to the truth.

Weird, I thought the main point was to win? I follow Chelsea because i love the club. I don't care how we win trophies, as long as we win them. Arsenal play nice football, as do City. Look where they are. Did you enjoy our CL win?

[Jase 43,479]

It wouldn't be a Mourinho thread on TalkChelsea without a few fellas moaning after we won a big game (or in this case, a trophy)...

[The Mak 4,459]

So happy to see the man lift that cup today, you can easily see how much it meant to him. A trophy is a trophy to this man and he didn't lift one for nearly 3 years; it must've felt like an eternity to such a successful and hungry man.

Here's to José lifting the big one in May! He'll go ballistic, can't wait!

[robdog 2,084]

Cahill by the usual self starting lineup would have cost us. Thank god that mourinho put zouma to help with the defense.

This will be the only the only thing I remember from GC from today

[J.F. 1,484]

[OhForAGreavsie 5,890]

Been on this forum for years, can't believe i am still suprised by these childish replays.

Let me remained you this i watch football to be entertained, and i hope all of you do the same because it is only rational reason to watch compitition sports. A football club responsibility is to entertain their fans, because this is why we pay them with our time and money. This is an unequivalent truth that no one should forget. Forgeting this is like a a public company shareholder forgeting that the company unequivalent responsibility is to them.

We beated a mid-table team, while playing a small team tactic. Simple down to the truth.

The only thing, the only thing, that makes a person a professional footballer is that people are prepared to pay to watch the team they play for. I happen to agree with you that when I pay I'd like to see my team play on the front foot, dominate matches and win. I don't believe however that it's for me to tell other people what they want to watch or what it is they should choose to pay for. We'd both concede, wouldn't we, that it is up to individuals to decide these things for themselves.

Neither of us therefore could, or should, presume to know why people do what they do. One thing we might claim to know however is that although some fans will accept defeat if the team plays well, they will not accept it for long. The attitude of almost all supporters is that if their team's results do not live up to expectations, then they do not consider themselves entertained, no matter what the quality of the football. No one who has ever read a fans' forum, or listened to a football phone-in, can be in any doubt about that.

So what does a manager of Chelsea football club have to do to satisfy me and you? Simple, he has to win and he has to play attractive football.

My point of view is that we do not yet have the squad to play beautifully all the time, and expect to be successful doing it. In my opinion, the squad does not contain enough depth of quality to make that possible. I therefore break Jose's task into two separate parts. In the summer he has to make more moves that improve the squad and we'll all judge him on how well he does. In the meantime however, he has to carry on winning. If this means that the boss must sometimes, or perhaps even often, compromise on style, then compromise away Jose; compromise away.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,890]

Been on this forum for years, can't believe i am still suprised by these childish replays.

Let me remained you this i watch football to be entertained, and i hope all of you do the same because it is only rational reason to watch compitition sports. A football club responsibility is to entertain their fans, because this is why we pay them with our time and money. This is an unequivalent truth that no one should forget. Forgeting this is like a a public company shareholder forgeting that the company unequivalent responsibility is to them.

We beated a mid-table team, while playing a small team tactic. Simple down to the truth.

By the way, it's perfectly clear what you're saying, which is what counts after all, but your post does contain a couple of typos which I thought I'd mention in case that's helpful.

What should be the word unequivocal, has come out as, unequivalent, and what should be the word beat has appeared as beated.

[Blue Gino 377]

Incredibly happy to see the joy on Mourinho's face and his celebrations which was a huge highlight and I hope he stays for years to come.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Final whistle verdict: Very mature victory

Jose Mourinho was delighted after seeing his side crowned Capital One Cup kings courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, the clubs fifth success in the competition in our history.

Man of the Match John Terry, outstanding throughout, set us on our way with a goal on the stroke of half-time, reacting quickest to pounce on a loose ball inside the Tottenham penalty area after theyd failed to deal with a Willian free-kick, and firing into the back of the net.

In truth, there had been little to choose between the teams up until that point, but 11 minutes into the second half we extended our advantage when Diego Costa, a constant threat, took a Cesc Fabregas pass in his stride and beat Hugo Lloris at his near post with a left-footed strike which deflected off the leg of Kyle Walker.

Eden Hazard came closest to adding a third when he curled an effort inches wide of the far post, and ultimately we were able to see the game out with Petr Cech seldom called into action.

Speaking to the media after the game, Mourinho started by praising the opposition.

First of all I want to say that in the middle of my happiness is space to think about Mauricio Pochettino, his staff and Tottenham as a team and a club, said the Blues boss. I met him in Spain many years ago as a player and then when he was a young manager when I was at Real Madrid. He came to England, proved himself, nobody game him anything for free.

He did fantastic work at Southampton, came to a big club like Tottenham and is building a fantastic team. They gave us a hard final, they made us be humble and think about the game strategically.

The second thing I want to say is that now I dont think about John Terry, Azpilicueta or Diego Costa. I think about Courtois, because without him there would have been no final, we would have lost against Liverpool. I think about Matic, Filipe Luis and Oscar, the guys who didnt have a chance to play. I think about Schwarzer, Salah, Schurrle, all the guys that started the season with us, they are all winners.

He then analysed the game itself

We played to win, they were the team they are and we were strategic. We were comfortable and found a solution to keep the stability after Matics suspension. Im very happy because a team that isnt very mature, a team with lots of young players, adapted very well. We changed the position of the triangle in midfield, the game we played was one of a very mature team, which we are not, so Im very happy.

Mourinho spoke about the importance of the victory for all connected with the club

For me its important to feel like Im a kid, before the game I had the same feelings as my first final. Its important to feel the same happiness after the game. I know I have a team to build, which is what we are doing but its difficult for me to live without winning things even if we are doing the work to be stable for many years. Its important for me, the boys and for the club its another cup.

Its the first trophy for a new group of players. You have Cech, Terry and Drogba but after that everyone belongs to a new group of players, so for the team its very important.

Mourinho was full of praise for Kurt Zouma, who played in defensive midfield

Its very difficult for a central defender to play there, they are pressed in their faces, you have to think quicker and make decisions quicker, but our new Marcel Desailly worked very hard during the week and the kid did a fantastic job for us.

With just Fabregas and Ramires against a team like Spurs, we would have been in trouble because they move the ball very well. From the first minute we pressed them high, Lloris was building high instead of short. We didnt give them the game they were expecting.

The Portuguese explained why Petr Cech started ahead of Thibaut Courtois

I chose him because this was his competition, we made a decision to make Courtois our first-choice keeper because he is the young one, the future and he is amazing for his age. We said this would be Petrs competition, but when I started giving him a Champions League or Premier League match now and again, I opened the door for myself to play Courtois in this competition. I wanted to play him away at Liverpool and we were successful with that. They are both doing so well that everybody feels comfortable with every decision. I try to be fair and Petr deserved to play today but we all know Courtois deserves the cup as much as him.

He also spoke about Nemanja Matic, who missed the game through suspension

The boy was sad, we were sad for him. He made the speech in the dressing room where he expressed his pain and asked the players to have the pleasure he couldnt have. For me the real pain was to see a player [Ashley Barnes] play yesterday and Matic not to play today.

He admitted he had difficulties keeping news of Liverpools win over Manchester City away from the players

The perfect day was to win the final. I prepared them for an impossible mission, which was to not know the Man City result. I didnt want a television in the hotel or on the bus. I didnt want any reactions to that, we were successful but one member of my staff, Silvinho, jumped up on the bus. I wanted to kill the guy, a member of my own staff broke the rule. I wanted to stop them having a reaction and focus on what they had to do, we had a very difficult job against Tottenham.

Mourinho felt Zoumas inclusion allowed Cesc Fabregas to influence the game higher up the pitch, where he laid on our second goal

It was important Fabregas had the freedom to put his feet in that area. If we played without Zouma I would have needed to play Fabregas and Ramires in a position to keep the stability for the team and he wouldnt have been there. Sometimes you are not happy with yourself but Im very happy with myself because knew it was a decision whereby if I lost the final the experts, the ones who know more than me, would kill me.

It wasnt cautious. When you are going from the first minute to reach Mason and Bentaleb in their half, so they cannot build from the back, its not cautious.

He also spoke about the character shown by Diego Costa

He needs the team, without them its difficult to do anything. He needs to keep his nature as a person and a player. He played a final at the top of his motivation, there was no yellow card because he did nothing to deserve a yellow card.

Diego has to be Diego, to feel the differences between playing in a Latin country and playing here, and I think hes doing it very well for us.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2015/03/final-whistle-verdict--capital-one-cup-final.html

The real Jose is back. The happy one is back. I'm almost crying seeing that Matic part. Lol at Silvinho.