The Mourinho Thread

[bushman 2,043]

Jose loves controversy. Where else is going to find it if not at Chelsea ?

Perfectly fitted club for his character, I feel.

To dismiss his achievements over the years based on one short stay at Real is just not warranted, I feel.

[The only place to be 11,313]

There are no better options if you have no imagination.

So who would you suggest?

[Amblève. 4,995]

You can already feel the vibe Jozay causes. This is where he belongs, everybody knows it. Just a matter of weeks till his appointment is officially announced.

[Hutcho 8,443]

There are no better options if you have no imagination.

???

Santa Clause?

There are no better options available, because there are no better options available.

Name me one manager who is better than Mourinho and available.

[Styles 9,790]

So who would you suggest?

Pellegrini. I'd contact Heynckes and see if he's interested. Just anybody else at this point. I want the club to exhaust all options before we start paying Mourinho 11m a season.

[Styles 9,790]

???

Santa Clause?

There are no better options available, because there are no better options available.

Name me one manager who is better than Mourinho and available.

Well Mourinho isn't technically available. He signed a contract extension until 2016 last season.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Pellegrini. I'd contact Heynckes and see if he's interested. Just anybody else at this point. I want the club to exhaust all options before we start paying Mourinho 11m a season.

So Mourinho failed at Madrid because he only won one league title.... But pellegrini is a good option for us despite coming second in the league with Madrid?

That expensively assembled squad... Who helped assemble it expensively?

I get that you don't like Mourinho. I don't quite understand why but he's clearly the fans choice. He helped build what this club is now and whilst he ain't perfect neither is this club. But he gets this club. He understands the culture. He's got the arrogance and the swagger that is such a great fit.

Exhausting other options is the best way to describe the appointment of Pellegrini because he'd be gone before March.

[Special Juan 28,141]

Contracts in football mean about as much as a failed betting slip.

[bushman 2,043]

To worry about Jose´s contract...he rips it up & tell them to stick it. I am sure, there is a clause in his contract where he can walk. Otherwise, he would not talk so openly about leaving.

To hire some almost 70 year old German to coach at Chelsea...?

Perhaps, he might not even live through all the pressure too long.

[Madmax 9,219]

Kinda torn. Of course Mourinho is a great manager and even without the past baggage he'd be near the top of any managerial shortlist for a club like Chelsea. Personally, I'd be happy to have him but not distraught if not, so long as whoever comes in is given a fair crack of the whip, and by that I mean 2+ years minimum. The transitional season is over, these players (and the summer signings) are waiting for that missing ingredient that will turn them into England's dominant domestic team and for that to happen, we need some sort of continuity. Next season really should be our season if we handle things right; the Premiership is really not up there with where it used to be 5-7 years ago. Obviously with the names doing the rounds (Pellegrini, Simeone, Zola, Poyet, Moyes) I'm assuming the appointee will get the basics right (using these players to their strengths, managing the older guys well, tapping the u-19 talent, etc).

[Styles 9,790]

So Mourinho failed at Madrid because he only won one league title.... But pellegrini is a good option for us despite coming second in the league with Madrid?

That expensively assembled squad... Who helped assemble it expensively?

I get that you don't like Mourinho. I don't quite understand why but he's clearly the fans choice. He helped build what this club is now and whilst he ain't perfect neither is this club. But he gets this club. He understands the culture. He's got the arrogance and the swagger that is such a great fit.

Exhausting other options is the best way to describe the appointment of Pellegrini because he'd be gone before March.

He spent one season at Madrid in which he had no say over transfers. Mourinho has had more power at Madrid than any other manager in decades. Valdano (director) was sacked just to give him more influence at the club. He has had free reign and this what you have; a club in turmoil, falling out with own players, uncompetitive in the league basically all season and comprehensively beaten by a team that cost a fraction of Madrid's in the Champions League. And apparently he wants assurances he will have free reign at Chelsea! Amazing.

I loved Mourinho in his first two seasons at Chelsea but then something happened in the third season and I went off him. The football was awful, he was forever moaning about players/transfers and his narcissism since then has gone through the roof. Listening to him talk last night I forgot he was a football manager and could have mistaken him for a pop star the way he was talking about the media hating him and wanting to be loved etc. I just want a competent manager who coaches well and no extra drama. Mourinho is more trouble than he's worth...both figuratively and literally.

[The only place to be 11,313]

He spent one season at Madrid in which he had no say over transfers. Mourinho has had more power at Madrid than any other manager in decades. Valdano (director) was sacked just to give him more influence at the club. He has had free reign and this what you have; a club in turmoil, falling out with own players, uncompetitive in the league basically all season and comprehensively beaten by a team that cost a fraction of Madrid's in the Champions League. And apparently he wants assurances he will have free reign at Chelsea! Amazing.

I loved Mourinho in his first two seasons at Chelsea but then something happened in the third season and I went off him. The football was awful, he was forever moaning about players/transfers and his narcissism since then has gone through the roof. Listening to him talk last night I forgot he was a football manager and could have mistaken him for a pop star the way he was talking about the media hating him and wanting to be loved etc. I just want a competent manager who coaches well and no extra drama. Mourinho is more trouble than he's worth...both figuratively and literally.

He had £200 million spent on making the team better - if he's happy to have that happen to his team without saying anything, why on Earth should we want him here? Madrid is the place for a seat-filler, a custodian who will manage for a few years, keep the stars happy and then move on. I don't think many strong-willed managers would do well there to be honest.

Mourinho being more trouble than he's worth is perhaps accurate. He's high-risk/high-reward but he's a great tactician, a great motivator and someone clubs can get behind. It happened here, it happened at Porto and it happened at Inter.

If you want someone 'competent' without 'extra drama' then I think you're at the wrong club. We've always been a bit dramatic, a bit high-maintenance and a little bit Hollywood Diva. It's part of our appeal and it comes with being in 'fashionable West London'. That's why Jose was the perfect choice.

Pellegrini is low-maintenance, competent and won't cause much drama - he's the perfect choice for Arsenal. He ain't Chelsea. I'd rather have Ranieri back if we're going down that road.

[Special Juan 28,141]

The people who go on about contracts etc are the same people who post a link from the Daily Mirror on another topic regarding transfers.

[Martina 210]

Managers need to fit the clubs they manage. That's why Benitez was so popular in Liverpool - he fit the bill in so many ways.

IMHO Chelsea has been the "enfant terrible" for quite some time. Some fans embrace it and some don't - but that's a "fact". We're the club people love to hate and we make the headlines. And while 10-20 years is continuity for some clubs, 4 years is an eternity for Chelsea.

Jose is the perfect fit for me - but if he doesn't come then I'd prefer Hiddink.

[Strike 7,489]

Yep. One league title and no Champions League finals with the most expensive squad in football. Nobody seems to care about his record though or the fact he's once again leaving a club in turmoil having fallen out with several players.

But I am not really convinced that Jose's managerial abilities are suddenly on the decline. One bad stint at Real can't make him a bad manager altogether. At Chelsea, Inter he had close relations with the players. Lampard, Terry and a few others still call him 'boss' years after he's left. You have to look at the Real Madrid dressing room and say, there's something seriously wrong there.

He wins but at what cost? He has been out-thought and out-coached several times in the last 3 years.

He has been out-thought at times but overall, i'll put Madrid down as a mixed bag. Last season's 100 point haul and La Liga win seems to be forgotten over this season's problems and also, Champions League is an intense competition in the later stages and in the past 3 years, I feel Jose has been quite unlucky not to have reached atleast one final.

I think he's the best manager for the job. A lack of real options may be the main reason for it but I'm hoping he can return to the club and go about business like it's 2005. A rough target over 2 years - Bring Chelsea upto PL Title Race level, few good cup runs (1-2 trophies) and integrate the youngsters. The last one - integrating youth - is something he failed to do last time around but he has the talent now compared to Sinclair, Sahar and Hutchinson back then and i am hoping that he gives them a fair chance i.e Chalobah over Essien, Lukaku over Ba etc.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Pellegrini is low-maintenance, competent and won't cause much drama - he's the perfect choice for Arsenal. He ain't Chelsea. I'd rather have Ranieri back if we're going down that road.

Just like Moyes!

[Hutcho 8,443]

Well Mourinho isn't technically available. He signed a contract extension until 2016 last season.

[Alabama 1,992]

the second coming of Mourinho

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[Jase 43,479]

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5412?cc=4716

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22367374?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Two good articles to read on Mourinho.

[Styles 9,790]

He had £200 million spent on making the team better - if he's happy to have that happen to his team without saying anything, why on Earth should we want him here? Madrid is the place for a seat-filler, a custodian who will manage for a few years, keep the stars happy and then move on. I don't think many strong-willed managers would do well there to be honest.

Mourinho being more trouble than he's worth is perhaps accurate. He's high-risk/high-reward but he's a great tactician, a great motivator and someone clubs can get behind. It happened here, it happened at Porto and it happened at Inter.

If you want someone 'competent' without 'extra drama' then I think you're at the wrong club. We've always been a bit dramatic, a bit high-maintenance and a little bit Hollywood Diva. It's part of our appeal and it comes with being in 'fashionable West London'. That's why Jose was the perfect choice.

Pellegrini is low-maintenance, competent and won't cause much drama - he's the perfect choice for Arsenal. He ain't Chelsea. I'd rather have Ranieri back if we're going down that road.

I'd agree that he's a great motivator (not so much a great tactician) and there would be benefits for his return most notably fighting our battle when it comes to referees. Honestly if he came back I wouldn't be upset but I'd be disappointed that we've become such a basket case of a club that we can't entice somebody like Klopp/Guardiola when perhaps a few years ago we could have.

I know you wanted Guardiola so don't you think it's a massive swing from Guardiola to Mourinho? Do you think the club has a plan any more or are they just making it up as they go along? When the Guardiola option was still available people here and everywhere else were talking about tactics/players/youth but with Mourinho you don't get that sort of discussion.