The Mourinho Thread

[Gilvorak 3,734]

THIS!!!!!!

Also some people are either naive, not smart or just have a supernatural talent for being moaners because Jose has proved recently with Real Madrid and our earlier form this season that he can build an attacking team. He's just not as stupid as some to do it at the expense of titles and frustrating players such as Hazard who want to win important trophies here. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it took some hours to burn it down.

He showed Roman, the players and the fans that wanted to see that he can do it. When some key players stopped performing or got injured and he realized we would be coming down in terms of performance he chose the pragmatic way which will assure us the title, will give players confidence and joy (not to mention relief) and it's even been teaching them how to scrap results at the end of matches, run the extra mile and win when not playing well. It's all positives, but the fast food generation doesn't know how to wait a couple of years to really transition a toothless team into confident, smooth winners. I understand most of members under 25 thinking like that - waiting really isn't a part of many of theits dictionaries because they were born in the immediatist culture. It's people older than that I struggle to understand where they come from with this rush to have everything perfect asap.

Let's not pretend the Real Madrid team he supposedly built into an attacking team wasn't scoring a shitload of goals both before & after him. They routinely turned over fodder but always reverted to type against the bigger teams and paid a heavy price for it.

Lets be honest, there would probably be less complaints about our turgid football if the pragmatic nature of Jose's philosophy wasn't a constant theme throughout his managerial career. You're delusional if you think we aren't going to be parking the bus in another CL knockout tie or playing a RB at RW in a CL semifinal at home next season.

No one's expecting us to put 5 or 6 past teams every week but stylistically we're clearly behind the very best teams. The key elements of a truly great team are missing in this current side.

[stroey 2,525]

I've seen big improvements in terms of winning mentality and good football this season.

Having Cesc the maestro and two deadly strikers in Costa and Remy completely change our game, we were playing superb football at the beginning of the season. Too bad Luis didn't play a lot, he could improve our game even more.

WBA 2-0 and Westham 2-0 as prime examples. At the beginning of the season we beat all teams with 2 goals+ difference.

The second thing where I'm even happier with is the winning mentality. The addition of Costa, Cech's decision to stay and the return of king Drogba brought more fighting spirit. Last season we could not even think of grinding out wins, or playing bad but still win the game. This season we came back from a shocking 2-2 at Hull to win the game, fought till the end to win the game against Everton, Stoke, Aston Villa and QPR. The only game where we were "lucky" is the 1-0 at Westham, thank Thibo for that day.

When things don't go smoothly you rely on your mental strength, and I've finally seen this in this team.

This team is still a work in progress, we are far from the complete team. We've showed that we can play beautiful football and we've showed we can fight to win games.

And if we gan go on to win the title, I'm sure Mou and the staff in the summer will search for players to complete our team like they did with adding Matic, Cesc, Costa, Remy, Willian, Zouma and Luis to our squad.

Implementing youth is something what will happen when the pressure isn't that big anymore, and that will only happen if we win the title. 5 years is too long for us, winning the title will do us good. Have some faith and let's hope we can celebrate the title together soon.

[Polo7 3,496]

Reading Redcafe's match thread for our upcoming game and it's depressing how many posters suggest we're going to play defensive football and park the bus (especially at home too). That's not the type of football I hope the club continues to be associated with.

Maybe you should start supporting another team then?

Winning will always take priority for me, playing great and losing is still losing. We were playing the best football for the whole half of the season, but that still isn't good enough is it. Never is never will be. The quicker your type of whingers move on from supporting this club the better. We are on route to winning our first title in 5 years and look at all your posts.....moaning.

Also on the topic of youngsters, if we play youngsters and we lose people will still complain about Mourinho picking the wrong kids or the wrong match to play them.

[didierforever 7,349]

If Arsenal played the way they are now from January 1st, they will be sniffing the title.

If City were playing at their absolute best, the title will be theirs.

If we drew with QPR yesterday and Stoke, more pressure would have gone to Chelsea as United and Arsenal would have smelled a lot of blood from us.

We are lucky. Full stop. Yes, NONE of those scenarios above happened because we were lucky. We have nothing to show in the 2nd half of the season except that Swansea game that we are strong and mean business.

Almost every Chelsea game in 2015, I wasn't comfortable at watching them. Didn't score more than 2 goals in a game in 2015, bar Spuds (still lost), Hull (goalkeeping error) and Swansea.

Do Arsenal have to be like 3 points behind us before we start playing well again or something?

IF i was tom cruise, i would be shagging all the women in the world.

IFS.

but somehow u neglected the best part dude. we DID play as good a football as possible for 4 months. much much much better than arsenal's. AND we can still win the games that we should be winning even when we are not playing at our best. THAT IS NOT LUCK. you can be lucky once or twice, not over months. so stop using rubbish arguments. and that needs a FULL STOP.

chelsea dont play to suit your requirements and make you comfortable. we have lost some form and that is majorly down to our best performers in the first half of the season (costa, cesc and matic) either being injured, out-of-form, suspended. and we dont have replacements who can play at their levels. we are still a squad in progress. just 2 years ago, we were barely qualifying for CL and getting dominated by EL level teams.

our recent results show that we have the character and the winning mentality needed to do what is necessary even when not pplaying well. something that arsenal and city and shown that they lack totally.

and while we are dealing in IFS, let me add one of mine

IF WE HAD PLAYED THE WAY WE HAD FOR THE FIRST 4 MONTHS, WE WOULD HAVE WON THE LEAGUE WITH MORE THAN A 100 POINTS.

seems fair, does not it.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

I've seen big improvements in terms of winning mentality and good football this season.

Having Cesc the maestro and two deadly strikers in Costa and Remy completely change our game, we were playing superb football at the beginning of the season. Too bad Luis didn't play a lot, he could improve our game even more.

WBA 2-0 and Westham 2-0 as prime examples. At the beginning of the season we beat all teams with 2 goals+ difference.

The second thing where I'm even happier with is the winning mentality. The addition of Costa, Cech's decision to stay and the return of king Drogba brought more fighting spirit. Last season we could not even think of grinding out wins, or playing bad but still win the game. This season we came back from a shocking 2-2 at Hull to win the game, fought till the end to win the game against Everton, Stoke, Aston Villa and QPR. The only game where we were "lucky" is the 1-0 at Westham, thank Thibo for that day.

When things don't go smoothly you rely on your mental strength, and I've finally seen this in this team.

This team is still a work in progress, we are far from the complete team. We've showed that we can play beautiful football and we've showed we can fight to win games.

And if we gan go on to win the title, I'm sure Mou and the staff in the summer will search for players to complete our team like they did with adding Matic, Cesc, Costa, Remy, Willian, Zouma and Luis to our squad.

Implementing youth is something what will happen when the pressure isn't that big anymore, and that will only happen if we win the title. 5 years is too long for us, winning the title will do us good. Have some faith and let's hope we can celebrate the title together soon.

You sir, deserve a bottle of champagne.

We have really grown in terms of our mental strength. We are now scoring late winners and converting draws to wins like Fergusons manutd used to, if we regressed in style of football we actually got far better in mental strength.

No way we win last season at Westham, QPr home and away, Hull, Everton, unless we play them to death. Now we can score late winners and annoy the crap out of our rivals hoping we drop points like Ferguson used to do.

Our second half of the season the whole team got fatigued because of no rotation and the bench midfielders are not on the same level as starters in creativity (Ramires, mikel, etc)so this summer we need another 2 quality midfielders so that we can still create/dominate when any of the Matic-Cesc-oscar combination is missing or fatigued, while also getting cuadrado to gym so he can come on for Willian a few times.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

Reading Redcafe's match thread for our upcoming game and it's depressing how many posters suggest we're going to play defensive football and park the bus (especially at home too). That's not the type of football I hope the club continues to be associated with.

But you just know how we're gonna set up. You just know that. And yesterday in Monday Night Football Gary Neville said that Mourinho is going to play with Zouma in the midfield and we will have 6 defensive players and will rely on magic from Hazard or set-piece. But everyone know that as a truth now. Everything different from that will be a surprise. We're only associated with that type of football.

We have to set up defensively against such players like Young, Fellaini and never uncapped Herrera. At home. Only think to grind out draw at the end.

And people here will tell me that I should dance because we survived.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

But you just know how we're gonna set up. You just know that. And yesterday in Monday Night Football Gary Neville said that Mourinho is going to play with Zouma in the midfield and we will have 6 defensive players and will rely on magic from Hazard or set-piece. But everyone know that as a truth now. Everything different from that will be a surprise. We're only associated with that type of football.

We have to set up defensively against such players like Young, Fellaini and never uncapped Herrera. At home. Only think to grind out draw at the end.

And people here will tell me that I should dance because we survived.

How would you set up then? You can still play good football with or without Zouma in the team.

If anything with him nullifying Fellaini he might give us more freedom in midfield to pass and create.

[Gilvorak 3,734]

But you just know how we're gonna set up. You just know that. And yesterday in Monday Night Football Gary Neville said that Mourinho is going to play with Zouma in the midfield and we will have 6 defensive players and will rely on magic from Hazard or set-piece. But everyone know that as a truth now. Everything different from that will be a surprise. We're only associated with that type of football.

We have to set up defensively against such players like Young, Fellaini and never uncapped Herrera. At home. Only think to grind out draw at the end.

And people here will tell me that I should dance because we survived.

Yeah, that segment hit me hard for some reason. We're comfortably sat atop of the League, playing at the Bridge & have players like Hazard, Cesc & Oscar yet the discussion was about how Mourinho was going to nullify United. Rightly so as well.

[Kieran. 6,317]

rival fans make fun of our style of play, now I can't enjoy our first title in 5 years

[lionsden 4,689]

But you just know how we're gonna set up. You just know that. And yesterday in Monday Night Football Gary Neville said that Mourinho is going to play with Zouma in the midfield and we will have 6 defensive players and will rely on magic from Hazard or set-piece. But everyone know that as a truth now. Everything different from that will be a surprise. We're only associated with that type of football.

We have to set up defensively against such players like Young, Fellaini and never uncapped Herrera. At home. Only think to grind out draw at the end.

And people here will tell me that I should dance because we survived.

Ideally it should be our opponents who are worried about us and devising strategies to shut us down but sadly that's not the case thanks to Mourinho's overly cautious and pragmatic approach. He's so one dimensional in big games that it's unreal. And people were criticizing wenger when he said Jose's too afraid of losing, He was absolutely spot on.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

Ideally it should be our opponents who are worried about us and devising strategies to shut us down but sadly that's not the case thanks to Mourinho's overly cautious and pragmatic approach. He's so one dimensional in big games that it's unreal.

Well, we could be like City and still attempt to play our normal game and get hammered like they did last week even when we're not on the ball or we can play the waiting game and win.

We're at home, I can't remember the last game we parked the bus at home. Must have been PSG, because in the rest of our home games we've played expansive football and I expect mostly the same in this match, just with a heavier midfield. Wouldn't be surprised if we fielded 4-5-1 tbh.

Expect Solanke on the bench if Remy is not fit.

[darrus 422]

Just noticed the change in thread name, whoever did that is right on cue...

[Kieran. 6,317]

"The Moaning Thread" is the greatest edit seen on this forum.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

Oh and to those questioning tactics vs QPR: Would you consider it wise to fight fire with fire when our 2 best midfielders are one the verge of a 2 match ban for the 2 biggest fixtures in our calendar? Especially when we were going to get muscled out of the game regardless. On such a narrow pitch too, we were rendered ineffective. We didn't even have any of our strikers fit except 38 y/o DD.

I think we did well considering the circumstances, and now we're set up to win the next 2, which we CAN do.

[lionsden 4,689]

People moaning about people moaning about Jose and the team. Oh the irony.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

The moaning thread?? :lol:

[Polo7 3,496]

People moaning about people moaning about Jose and the team. Oh the irony.

Nah the moaning thread pretty much sums you up. Welcome to your heaven!

[stroey 2,525]

For people moaning about our set up in big (home) games, our record last season at home:

United 3-1

City 2-1

Liverpool 2-1

Arsenal 6-0

Spurs 4-0

This season:

Arsenal 2-0

Spurs 3-0

You can't win with such figures by "parking the bus."

I've let out the away results cause people are moaning bout the next big home game. But even our away results are quite good.

People have short memories, you guys should not blindly follow the media and opposite fans. Teams dream of having this kind of results in big games, can we improve? Of course, but we are a work in progress and we should really be happy with what we're doing.