The Mourinho Thread

[lionsden 4,689]

Do i like the style of play from the team so far?

No, but what should we do?!

Mourinho has already shown his grumpiness, he is clearly unhappy with the performances of some players.

In the last game Mourinho brought Loftus-Cheek and Kenedy into the game, they performed well.

Instead of Loftus-Cheek or Kenedy there could have been Mikel...

A fellow fan thinks that the departure of Moses makes room for Kenedy or Traore, only the future will tell...

Are you seriously asking this question? Isn't that what we are paying the manager millions for, to get the best out of his squad and limit bad performances to a bare minimum while the team shows clear signs of improvement that we haven't seen since january.

For starters he could drop under-performing players like Ivanovic, fabregas, Costa, Matic et al and give chances to players like Baba (move azpi to right back), Remy, Kenedy, RLC and co. Also the way we have been relying on hazard and to a lesser extent fabregas for creativity and our horrendously poor defensive displays, the way we are constantly dominated and overrun in midfield against every decent opposition and so on reeks of tactical deficiency and flaws. we do not attack and defend well as a team and that's up to the manager to sort out.

Instead of Loftus-Cheek or Kenedy there could have been Mikel...

A fellow fan thinks that the departure of Moses makes room for Kenedy or Traore, only the future will tell...

Have you seen the Champions-League Squad from Chelsea?

There are some good prospects in it, for example Loftus-Cheek, Kenedy, Traore, Baba, Zouma and so on...

Jose rewards good performances in training and limited time in matches.

The new guy Papy isn't in the squad, Mourinho prefers giving some young players a proper chance.

Why did it not work out for Kevin de Bruyne?

The player has to respect the manager, Zouma doesn't whine or moan in public, he accepts every decision.

That's how it should be...

I have and it means absolutely nothing. The likes of Ake, RLC, Christensen,Bog also made last season UCL squad and we know what happened.

Jose rewards good performances in training and limited time in matches.

Since when? is that why Remy, one of our most productive players last season has been completely abandaoned and our best player in pre season, Moses has been shipped out on loan again without playing a single minute for us. What about Ake and Kalas what reward did they get for their good performances?

On the other hand it could be said that he definitely doesn't punish awful/bad performances from players he considers his favourite/untouchables like Ivanovic, fabregas,Costa just to name a few.

[Tomo 21,733]

The fact that most people are now only criticising mourinho when in reality the only difference between the second half of last season and now is the result, shows how result oriented some fans really are. My prediction is, once we get a couple of wins under our belt, the teams garbage performances and issue with the team will be overlooked and swept under the carpet as usual. As fans, We have the lowest expectation and standard of the "top teams" on Europe.

There is actually a big difference in performances for me, right now we look as open as a defensive unit as we have ever been, the stats are damming.

Second half of last season wasn't pretty but there was nothing to suggest was what was coming in August, our players were tired/lost form so we strangled the life out of games to get us over the line. We never really looked open or exposed at the back, whereas now.....

[Essien19 1,415]

Are you seriously asking this question? Isn't that what we are paying the manager millions for, to get the best out of his squad and limit bad performances to a bare minimum while the team shows clear signs of improvement that we haven't seen since january.

For starters he could drop under-performing players like Ivanovic, fabregas, Costa, Matic et al and give chances to players like Baba (move azpi to right back), Remy, Kenedy, RLC and co. Also the way we have been relying on hazard and to a lesser extent fabregas for creativity and our horrendously poor defensive displays, the way we are constantly dominated and overrun in midfield against every decent opposition and so on reeks of tactical deficiency and flaws. we do not attack and defend well as a team and that's up to the manager to sort out.

The manager has to make the decisions, but it seems that everything is up for discussion, so i have asked you.

Ivanovic is playing his worst football for Chelsea, but he is the vice captain, a valuable member of the league winning squad last season.

Yes, his performances has dropped significantly this season, but who should have replaced him?

The board decided to sell Filipe Luis; Zouma as a left back and Azpilicueta on the other side, or Ramires as right back?

I am not sure about that. Futhermore Baba isn't in shape, maybe after the international matches he is ready...

Oscar is injured, so we should play without Fabregas? Who brings the element of surprise to the table?

I only can pass 5 meters Loftus-Cheek, or one of the high-valued members Ramires or Mikel?

I prefer Loftus-Cheek next to Matic, not without him.

Kenedy? I think he is way too inexperienced to start week in and week out...

Instead of Matic we should play Mikel?

We should cut Jose some slack, he didn't get his wished players despite talking to the board in may about his goals.

He said that a player like Costa isn't available every summer, next summer we go again, maybe Pogba and Stones?

Would you prefer buying a player like Witsel with a 4 year contract and then unable to secure a worldclass talent like Pogba next season?

I prefer the long-term act, but each person is entitled to have his/her own opinion!

We don't live in a perfect world where everything is perfect, every team has problems and bad spells.

I think an academic recognizes the problems, but it isn't so easy to solve it immediately.

Now, consequences has been announced, we'll see. I think Jose will be ruthless!

Since when? is that why Remy, one of our most productive players last season has been completely abandaoned and our best player in pre season, Moses has been shipped out on loan again without playing a single minute for us. What about Ake and Kalas what reward did they get for their good performances? On the other hand it could be said that he definitely doesn't punish awful/bad performances from players he considers his favourite/untouchables like Ivanovic, fabregas,Costa just to name a few.

Remy should have played more, i agree with you on that one.

But Falcao came on and scored against Crystal Palace, Jose made the right call.

I don't like the loan of Victor Moses, i think he was one of the best players in preseason.

What was the reason to play him when you don't fully trust him?

Maybe Mourinho was surprised by the performance of Traore and especially Kenedy in training?

I don't know..

Kalas couldn't impress the coach from Köln, maybe he isn't that good, who knows.

But Ake is a good player, at least that's my opinion, very sad that Jose still doesn't trust him, i would love to see him in the squad.

We already have Loftus-Cheek, maybe Jose thinks one inexperienced prospect in central midfield has to be enough.

I don't like that but Jose knows best, as you said, he is paid millions by the club to make the judgement call.

I have and it means absolutely nothing. The likes of Ake, RLC, Christensen,Bog also made last season UCL squad and we know what happened.

Touché!

Last season Mourinho spoke highly about Loftus-Cheek, i believe there is a chance.

Loftus-Cheek and Kenedy played some minutes against Crystal Palace, a game Chelsea needed to win, so the case isn't hopeless, i think.

[Blue Armour 4,278]

Honestly, the more I think about it the more I think that the board have actually tied Jose's hands here. With the rumours of him giving the board exactly what we needed as a team way back in April, and then us trying to buy players at a last ditch attempt because results weren't going our way... It's quite disturbing. The quite random signing of Michael Hector done it for me.

Would we have signed Pedro if we had a good start to the season? I actually don't think so, which is very worrying. Time will tell.

If that's really the case, then the board have made the same classic mistake they made back in 2010 after we won the title....

Basically assume that if players A,B,C were instrumental in winning the title then, A, B and C can win it for you again with no worries....forgetting that A, B and C are not machines or series of stats...and that at least 2 out of the 3 are guaranteed to lose form or at least not match the same performance level they showed last season...

[Fernando 6,453]

Being in a difficult situation, such as where we are now, I think the smartest way that Jose could take is to go for young players.

If Jose plays with Iva - Cahill - JT - Azpi with Zouma in midfield it would be a terrible mistake. Especially when people start saying that Jose could be sacked as happened in 2007. (Incidentally, I am totally against a hypothetical change of manager, Jose is perfect for us, but he has to change his mind).

If Jose repeats an approach of the "bus" against Everton and we lose, the situation could become hysterically dramatic (metaphorically).

But if Jose bet on a new team, with players like Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Baba, Oscar or Kenedy (in addition to Pedro), even losing the feelings would be very different.

It would not be a situation of paranoid drama because, at least, we would be betting on young players and trying to change our negative trend.

I'm not saying that a defeat could be good. In fact, if we do not fall into a situation of an anxiety attack, we can beat Everton clearly. In addition humiliate Martinez would be perfect.

But a team with Zouma - Baba - Ruben Loftus-Cheek - Oscar - Kenedy, with that team, Jose would be launching a strong message to some of our players to get their reactions and they stop being in a comfortable situation / with no competition / unmotivated.

Sometimes Jose says it is very difficult to bet on young players because of the difficulty / anxiety of being on a team that has to win every game. But now in a difficult situation where we are in - 8 points in the table, bet on young player is the best option because if we lose, at least we will be building a good future for the team. Betting on young people is easier now than ever.

Amen my friend.

Said it before, I would not be mad if we finish 2 or 3rd while having a go with some younger players.

Is not like we asking to have a full team of the younger players but use at least 2.

And protect them, not throw them under the bus for crying out loud.

[Heisenberg 1,824]

I just hope we wont do a Dortmund, because it can happen to everyone, Klopp is a top quality manager but still in the league he failed to motivate his squad, José is human too, he can simply lose it and needs a break, ( summer do fine in these case, not talking about sacking or mutual consent ). I see no drama in our start of season, its is Mourinho's fault, because he started our downfall since Tottenham away, you know what I mean.

[LAM09 6,744]

I hope he finally learns from his continued selection mistakes and drops the weak links. We have a squad of players for a variety of positions, so let's start to use them.

[Adnane 1,101]

One thing i'm sure of, is that of all the managers that passed in this club while I've been a supporter, there can be only one that is sitting in his office during this international break, rewatching game by game, trying to figure it out where it all went wrong, making decisions, and working his ass off to find solutions, and that is Mourinho.

We'll come back stronger for sure, over the last 10 years, we always did anyways, that's part of our DNA.

[lionsden 4,689]

There is actually a big difference in performances for me, right now we look as open as a defensive unit as we have ever been, the stats are damming.

Second half of last season wasn't pretty but there was nothing to suggest was what was coming in August, our players were tired/lost form so we strangled the life out of games to get us over the line.

And whose fault was that? If the manager trusted and rotated his squad better and more efficiently not only would it have prevented the burn out you are referring to but it might have helped us keep some of the squad players that left, due to lack of playing time.

We never really looked open or exposed at the back, whereas now.....

games like Hull city (away), man city away, PSG Home and away, Liverpool COC, Bradford FA cup, we looked just as open defensively. if you didn't limit it to just defensive performance and included all the games where we looked poor and completely devoided of ideas there would be even more examples of those from last season.

[Tomo 21,733]

And whose fault was that? If the manager trusted and rotated his squad better and more efficiently not only would it have prevented the burn out you are referring to but it might have helped us keep some of the squad players that left, due to lack of playing time.

games like Hull city (away), man city away, PSG Home and away, Liverpool COC, Bradford FA cup, we looked just as open defensively. if you didn't limit it to just defensive performance and included all the games where we looked poor and completely devoided of ideas there would be even more examples of those from last season.

Not saying it wasn't on the manager for not rotatingitsmore down to the displays then vs now, I wasn't too worried about them because like I said it was obvious we only had one agenda in mind and that was just getting over the line, yeah we looked lethargic at times offensively but I always felt we would get the points, a big difference compared to now, honestly we could have Watford at home next and I'll fear defeat.

Also those games you've mentioned were the only ones where the defense was a real problem last term, this time round they have all fallen off a cliff, even Cesar is losing a few 1 on 1s and that's unheard off. Against City Aguero had 5 clear chances before he actually scored, that's unheard off for a Chelsea team let alone one managed by Mourinho,before these four games the only times I have seen us cut open so much was Barca and Bayern on the CL run in 2012, but for obvious reasons no one was that bothered in any of the post match threads.

Point is tho for me there is no comparison between the displays second half of last season and this, the former we were proffesional answer focused on getting that title come hell or high water, this season so far we have been playing like a bunch of ametuers not even that from a defensive POV.

[lionsden 4,689]

Not saying it wasn't on the manager for not rotatingitsmore down to the displays then vs now, I wasn't too worried about them because like I said it was obvious we only had one agenda in mind and that was just getting over the line, yeah we looked lethargic at times offensively but I always felt we would get the points, a big difference compared to now, honestly we could have Watford at home next and I'll fear defeat.

Also those games you've mentioned were the only ones where the defense was a real problem last term, this time round they have all fallen off a cliff, even Cesar is losing a few 1 on 1s and that's unheard off. Against City Aguero had 5 clear chances before he actually scored, that's unheard off for a Chelsea team let alone one managed by Mourinho,before these four games the only times I have seen us cut open so much was Barca and Bayern on the CL run in 2012, but for obvious reasons no one was that bothered in any of the post match threads.

Point is tho for me there is no comparison between the displays second half of last season and this, the former we were proffesional answer focused on getting that title come hell or high water, this season so far we have been playing like a bunch of ametuers not even that from a defensive POV.

Fair enough.

I still believe that jose's complacency or inability to address our form (performance wise) since January is the biggest reason for this mess we find ourselves at the moment. The "as long as we got the result, everything is fine" mentality is not acceptable for a club looking to enjoy a long term success domestically and in Europe. The board also share some of the blame as well ofcourse. it goes without saying.

[Gappy 130]

Interesting articles from Jake Cohen

"Chelsea would be much better served spending superstar money on superstar talent.

That said, there's not exactly a huge pool of players that could walk into Chelsea's starting eleven (just ask Loic Remy, Radamel Falcao, Ramires, Filipe Luis, Juan Cuadrado, Andre Schurrle, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, etc.), and for the relatively few players who could, they're either already playing for a huge club that can offer just as much as Chelsea can, or their club will be reluctant to let their marquee player leave, as we just saw this summer with Paul Pogba. "

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/9/2/9111837/what-went-wrong-for-chelsea-in-the-summer-transfer-window

[Gilvorak 3,734]

Lionsden with some great posts in this thread. If the result at our appalling poor form since mid January is to throw more money at the problem then doesn't that make Mourinho a chequebook manager?

I watched PSG play Monaco the other day & the quality of football they play in comparison to ours is lightyears ahead of us. Every single one of their players apart from Cavani is elite in possession. They split Luiz & Silva, push both Aurier & Maxwell high up the pitch & Motta (who was sensational) is the outlet, constantly recycling possession & controlling the game. That's a brand of football Jose initially promised the fans (while passive-aggressively criticizing Benitez for negative football) in one of his early press conferences when he returned

"I had one meeting – not five, 10, 20 – with Mr Abramovich and we were convinced this was the way we want to do it. I don't want to defend as a low block, central defenders playing in midfield or long balls to a lonely striker. We want to be proactive.

"If you sit there deep in a low block, with no spaces, you can do that for three hours. No problem. I've played like that many times at certain clubs and it's not a criticism. It's an option. I went with Inter to Barcelona and, for 60 minutes, we played with 10 men. If we'd had to play for another 60 minutes, we could have. But I don't want my team to play like that."

Over 2 years later & we still play a rudimentary style of play utterly reliant on one player who gets blasted when he can't consistently deliver.

[Fernando 6,453]

Lionsden with some great posts in this thread. If the result at our appalling poor form since mid January is to throw more money at the problem then doesn't that make Mourinho a chequebook manager?

I watched PSG play Monaco the other day & the quality of football they play in comparison to ours is lightyears ahead of us. Every single one of their players apart from Cavani is elite in possession. They split Luiz & Silva, push both Aurier & Maxwell high up the pitch & Motta (who was sensational) is the outlet, constantly recycling possession & controlling the game. That's a brand of football Jose initially promised the fans (while passive-aggressively criticizing Benitez for negative football) in one of his early press conferences when he returned

Over 2 years later & we still play a rudimentary style of play utterly reliant on one player who gets blasted when he can't consistently deliver.

It is why I'm baffled at the new contract he got.

We did exactly the same mistake real Madrid did in giving him a contract extension after winning the title.

I think you learn more from the season where you don't win much.

Take a look at pellegrini and Mourinho career in England the past 3 years.

What is the difference?

That even though both having rich teams they won the same trophies with the exception of one thing. There's progression in pellegrini team of style.

Third season of Mourinho what is our style?

It's understandable to be very pragmatic your first season but after 3 seasons we should have an idea what the guy is about.

Now ask yourself is this the guy to really lead us for a decade?

At the moment I don't think so. He continues to be a manager for a 3 to 5 year solution.

And you know what? That's fine, but let's not get long term stability just for the sake of it.

It has to be someone that has the same philosophy of the club.

And by those quotes you just put it looks like the philosophy of the club and Mourinho are not being met at the moment.

[DYC. 7,542]

Lionsden with some great posts in this thread. If the result at our appalling poor form since mid January is to throw more money at the problem then doesn't that make Mourinho a chequebook manager?

I watched PSG play Monaco the other day & the quality of football they play in comparison to ours is lightyears ahead of us. Every single one of their players apart from Cavani is elite in possession. They split Luiz & Silva, push both Aurier & Maxwell high up the pitch & Motta (who was sensational) is the outlet, constantly recycling possession & controlling the game. That's a brand of football Jose initially promised the fans (while passive-aggressively criticizing Benitez for negative football) in one of his early press conferences when he returned

Over 2 years later & we still play a rudimentary style of play utterly reliant on one player who gets blasted when he can't consistently deliver.

Tbf, PSG still have troubles of their own in Europe.

That quote from Mourinho is classic though.

[Oscar 441]

The overall makeup of the team is still top 2 in the league (only City is better)....

Should still be fighing for the title and domestic titles regardless of not getting pogba and a cb.

However, Jose needs to be sacked in order for the fight to begin again.....

[DYC. 7,542]

It is why I'm baffled at the new contract he got.

We did exactly the same mistake real Madrid did in giving him a contract extension after winning the title.

I think you learn more from the season where you don't win much.

Take a look at pellegrini and Mourinho career in England the past 3 years.

What is the difference?

That even though both having rich teams they won the same trophies with the exception of one thing. There's progression in pellegrini team of style.

Third season of Mourinho what is our style?

It's understandable to be very pragmatic your first season but after 3 seasons we should have an idea what the guy is about.

Now ask yourself is this the guy to really lead us for a decade?

At the moment I don't think so. He continues to be a manager for a 3 to 5 year solution.

And you know what? That's fine, but let's not get long term stability just for the sake of it.

It has to be someone that has the same philosophy of the club.

And by those quotes you just put it looks like the philosophy of the club and Mourinho are not being met at the moment.

Chelsea don't need a manager to stay for 10 or 20 years. There's only one Ferguson.

A manager for 4 or 5 years is more than enough. Chelsea need stability in the type of manager they appoint, and the type of players they sign.

[Laylabelle 9,351]

4-5 years is very optimistic..