The Mourinho Thread

[Tomo 21,751]

I actually agree with Henrique here, the PL has declined tactically in the last 5 years.

The entertaining games we have got in recent years isn't due to quality football, it is down to teams making defensive cock up after defensive cock up, I don't like that. Football is meant to be hard to score, hench why there are mad celebrations when teams do. High scoring games are a nice treat once in a while, but if they happen to often it actually makes a mockery off what the football is about, if there's another 7-1 in the latter stages of the world cup any time soon, serious questions will be asked.

What im trying to say is in the second part of the 00's the prem was spot on tactically, teams had to score goals through great clever play as defensive cock ups were few and far between (Derby in 07 08 the only truly awful defensive side in that era) now half the goals are scored that way.

The only good defence in the PL is ours and that's because we have a compent manager who implemented the system to help, when 2nd place Liverpool ship 50 you know some things seriously wrong.

[Beigl 1,387]

I think the problem of recent years doesn´t only lies in the defence.The midfield of the top 6 Club from the 2000´s until 2011 there were only the best midfield players at the likes of Chelsea (Lamps in his prime,Ballack,Maka,Essien..),United (Scholes,Hargreaves..),Arsenal (Fabregas,Viera,Pires..)or even Liverpool (Gerrard in his prime,Alonso..).4-3-3 was often the formation,in which the teams excelled at this time with three class midfielders,who gave the teams stability and goals (LAMPARD!!).But then the teams changed their concentration from the center of the field to the wings and hired as many good wingers as they could and ignored their stability in midfield.So got results in top-games like 8-2 or 6-0 or 4-0 a possibility and you can count atleast 5 such games in a single PL season,which was unthinkable in 2007 for example.

[HD3D 1,038]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2698182/Jose-Mourinho-believes-Premier-League-strongest-world-football.html

Mourinho is wrong about this one. I watched a Paul Braitner interview, where he said that PL, just like brazilian football, stop its development. He believes PL was the best league until 2009, but the teams stopped looking elsewhere.

PL is not the strongest in the world anymore, it still is my favorite league, but not the strongest. We just need to look at english clubs record in Europe in past seasons. Since 2009, when United were favorites, but lost to Barcelona, we only had english teams involved in 2 finals out of 5, in both finals those teams were underdogs: United got smashed by Barcelona in 2011, and Chelsea win in 2012 was a result of the heroic efforts from the players, and not a result of dominant football.

We just need to compare english top teams from past season with those ones from 2005 and 2009. Liverpool had some miserable seasons, and is only returning to UCL this season, but right now without their big star, we can't see them emulating Benitez team success. United is in decline since they let Ronaldo leave. They got weaker season after season. Even in 2013, their last successful season, their european campaign was embarrassing. City won 2 of the last 3 domestic league, but in Europe they are non-existent. Chelsea never managed to be as strongest as in the old days, 2 season ago the team was ou in the group stage.

PL can't attract the best players anymore, since 2009 PL lost the likes of Modric, Fabregas, Ronaldo, Tevez, Suarez, Bale. Fabregas is back, but he is back because his return to Barcelona never went according to the plan. Cavani, Falcao, Kroos, James Rodriguez, Guardiola, all those guys decided to go to another league (even Mourinho returned because his life in Spain was not exactly what he expected).

Well, do we have more competition in PL? Last season was an anomaly, PL usually is a two horse race, its Chelsea/United, Liverpool/Manchester, City/United, and in some season we know who is going to win in the half of it, like Manchester in 12/13, or Chelsea in 05/06, and even if that was the case, its the same argument some crazy people use to say brazilian league is the best in the world: in the start of the season we have up to 6 teams fighting for the trophy, while is Spain its always Real vs Barcelona...

There is a difference between saying the EPL clubs are the strongest in the world, and saying the EPL, as a league, is the strongest.

If you look at the Spanish league (with the notable exception this year), it's a two horse race. This is not a strong league, this is a weak league with two strong teams,

What I mean by this is, put our league's two strongest sides (City and Chelsea) against La Liga's (Real Madrid and Barcelona) and we certainly wouldn't have a chance. But put our third strongest side (Liverpool) against theirs, then our fourth strongest (Arsenal, M. United, Tottenham, Everton), against theirs, etc. etc. and eventually you will reach the conclusion that, as a league, the EPL is much much stronger.

[Namika 922]

In terms of level, La Liga is miles away from the PL now. You just have to look at theirs top players and the top players in the PL. World class players who have proved their worth in the CL or in the WC (more in the CL because it's a higher level) are very rare in the PL but you have it in abundance in La Liga.

In head to head between the two league, La Liga wins also, in 11/12 Bilbao (10 in La Liga that year!!) played with MU (second of the PL), Atletico beat us this year, Barcelona beat City easily too and it was a poor Barça too... Where the PL is better than la Liga is the way that most teams play counterattacking football which create a lot of transition and is quite enjoyable where La Liga is more calm.

I would go as far to say that we're the only team capable of competiting with the top three of La Liga in the PL thanks to José.

[robsblubot 3,595]

In terms of level, La Liga is miles away from the PL now. You just have to look at theirs top players and the top players in the PL. World class players who have proved their worth in the CL or in the WC (more in the CL because it's a higher level) are very rare in the PL but you have it in abundance in La Liga.

In head to head between the two league, La Liga wins also, in 11/12 Bilbao (10 in La Liga that year!!) played with MU (second of the PL), Atletico beat us this year, Barcelona beat City easily too and it was a poor Barça too... Where the PL is better than la Liga is the way that most teams play counterattacking football which create a lot of transition and is quite enjoyable where La Liga is more calm.

I would go as far to say that we're the only team capable of competiting with the top three of La Liga in the PL thanks to José.

causality is more difficult to establish than that...

Are players actually *better* because their teams do better? Aren't just the better teams making their players look better as usual? Likewise, bad teams make their players look bad because defenders are left exposed and attackers less involved.

And then we go back to my earlier point: since the money pool (tickets, merchandise, advertizement, etc) is more equally divided in England with more than one top club in London and Manchester, Real, Bayern, and Barca will always have this edge; hence better teams and better individual quality can be purchased (100m buys).

Chelsea makes $50 buys, and so does Arsenal... perhaps a single London club would have been able to make 100m buys without much of a problem like Real can.

This is really capitalism at work.

[-Kaplan- 410]

The Mourinho thread?

[Sheva. 5,373]

Spoke to the media today:

During a break between two training sessions on the second day of our European training camp, the Portuguese spoke about his hopes for our Premier League and Champions League campaigns.

Speaking in a conference room at the team’s hotel in Velden, Austria, shortly after overseeing an intense early morning session, Mourinho acknowledged the competitive nature of the top flight in England, but said he is confident his side can wrestle the title from Manchester City’s grasp.

‘If I didn’t think that way I would go home and let somebody else take charge of the team,’ said the Chelsea manager. ‘People can speak about other leagues but England is the only country where five or six teams can win the title. Football is about competitiveness every weekend and that only happens in the Premier League.

‘When you have the two Manchester clubs, the three clubs from London – Tottenham, Arsenal and ourselves – plus Liverpool, that’s six top teams, where all of them can win the title. That’s why everybody loves the Premier League.

‘At Chelsea, if we didn’t think we could win the league, or didn’t think we had the quality to do it, we wouldn’t be here working so hard. We respect our opponents and their ambitions, because they have the same ambitions as us, but we want to win the Premier League and we are ready for that.’

Last season’s Champions League campaign ultimately ended in disappointment when we were beaten at the semi-final stage by Atletico Madrid.

The Blues boss, however, believes our run to the last four will serve us well this time around.

‘Last year we reached the semi-finals and it was a transitional season,’ he said. ‘A team which has been a winning team for ten seasons is changing step by step, we’ve bought new players and we are trying to build for the next decade. We had a very young team at the time but, even so, we reached the semi-finals and were playing to win the competition.

‘This season we think we are going to be stronger, the younger players are more experienced, they are stable and better adapted to fighting for titles. You look around, to Spain, Germany and elsewhere in England, teams are getting stronger, spending big amounts of money and trying to sign the best possible players.

‘We will go to the Champions League group stage with one objective: to qualify. When you reach the last 16 let’s see what happens.’

The Blues play our first game of the trip tomorrow against WAC RZ Pellets, and Mourinho has praised the manner in which the team have been received in Austria by local residents.

‘When we decided we wanted to stay in Europe we had to find the right place to come,’ he explained. ‘Here, everything is good; the hotel, the service, the training ground. To have two training pitches together is important for our work and our organisation.

‘The people are very nice and friendly and they always wait until the end of our training session to ask for an autograph. At this moment everything is very nice for us.’

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/07/mourinho--big-ambitions.html

[Milan 17,955]

Jose's PC after a long time

[Viper22 2,418]

Maybe i'm being too positive, but I really do believe that even if we don't win any trophies this year as long as we show progression and that we're going in the right direction Jose will keep his job.

I understand that we would all be disappointed with 2 seasons without silverware, especially with the squad we have but I do think that Abramovich and Mourinho are trying to build some kind of stability. I liken it to a relationship between 2 people early on in their lives, left each other because they thought they could get better, trying out many other partners before realising that the best they could get was the first one they were with. And they had to be with other people to realise just how good they were together.

Sounds a weird analogy but that's what I feel it's like. Mourinho is by far the best manager we've ever had, and he never looked happier than when he was here, managing us. I feel like they're trying to build something here, with a manager that stays for at least 5+ years bringing through youth and building a dynasty similar to how Man Utd did in the first 20 years of the PL.

Winning a trophy this year is almost a must due to the pressure that would be heaped on him otherwise, but I wouldn't lose faith as long as we keep moving forward.

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Maybe i'm being too positive, but I really do believe that even if we don't win any trophies this year as long as we show progression and that we're going in the right direction Jose will keep his job.

I understand that we would all be disappointed with 2 seasons without silverware, especially with the squad we have but I do think that Abramovich and Mourinho are trying to build some kind of stability. I liken it to a relationship between 2 people early on in their lives, left each other because they thought they could get better, trying out many other partners before realising that the best they could get was the first one they were with. And they had to be with other people to realise just how good they were together.

Sounds a weird analogy but that's what I feel it's like. Mourinho is by far the best manager we've ever had, and he never looked happier than when he was here, managing us. I feel like they're trying to build something here, with a manager that stays for at least 5+ years bringing through youth and building a dynasty similar to how Man Utd did in the first 20 years of the PL.

Winning a trophy this year is almost a must due to the pressure that would be heaped on him otherwise, but I wouldn't lose faith as long as we keep moving forward.

Absolutely. Another transition period is going to be pretty hard to handle. I don't want to experience it for a very very long time.

[iseah100 5,612]

Jose Mourinho: "I have a message for Frank. Good luck and see you back at Chelsea in a couple of years.” (Telegraph)

Awwwwwww(:

Ssssssss'cute!

[Parky 739]

http://www.espnfc.com/story/1959596/jose-mourinhochelsea-would-welcome-back-didier-drogba

Chelsea would welcome back Didier Drogba if a deal can be worked out, Jose Mourinho said on Thursday, with the Blues manager insisting that "Didier belongs to us."

Drogba's contract at Galatasaray expired at the end of last season and he is currently a free agent.

The 36-year-old striker spent eight years at Stamford Bridge from 2004-2012 and scored the equaliser and winning penalty in the 2012 Champions League final. He then left for one-year stints in China and Turkey.

"We want to win matches and win titles, and Didier is one of the best strikers in Europe, who is still very adapted to the needs of the Premier League, and we are thinking about it in a non-emotional way," said Mourinho.

"If you bring him back, it is not because he is Didier or scored the most important goal in the history of Chelsea, or because I read I need an assistant, no.

"If I bring him back -- and the decision has to be made soon, because I want to close the dressing-room door -- it is because as a player he has certain qualities to make the team stronger."

Mourinho also said Drogba has the full support of owner Roman Abramovich, and revealed the personal attachments the Russian billionaire has toward his players. "Mr Abramovich does not speak a lot," Mourinho said. "But as you can imagine, he is very intelligent and he feels that people belong to the club. We feel that Didier belongs to us."

Although Chelsea said farewell to 36-year-old talisman Frank Lampard earlier this summer, Mourinho said Drogba's age would not greatly affect his spot on the squad.

"I was not a top professional player," said Mourinho. "I communicate a lot with players and former players to understand the situation better.

"When they become older, the point is not to lose quality as a player, it is about how they recover from match to match.

"A young kid plays today and in 48 hours is ready to play the next game. And in a season can play 50 matches. Between 20 something and 30, they are the same good players, same football brains. It is important how they recover from match to match.

"With Didier's profile, being a squad player I think could be important for any team. And because we know his heart is pushing him to where he feels he belongs, and because our boss has this big feeling towards him, we are thinking about the possibility."

Lampard signed this week for New York City FC, but Mourinho said he expects Chelsea's all-time leading goal scorer to return to Chelsea after his playing career concludes.

"The way Mr Abramovich approached the Frank Lampard situation is amazing," said Mourinho. "'You go if you want to go, you come back if you want to come back. And you come back the way you want -- to be an assistant, to be an ambassador, to be a director to be a coach, to be an assistant coach.' That is fantastic.

"I have a message for Frank. Good luck and see you back at Chelsea in a couple of years."

[Heisenberg 1,824]

" being a squad player I think could be important for any team "

Knowing Didier's motivation and drive he could become our N°1 striker for at least the Champions League, but maybe its just a deluded fan who is saying this.

[iseah100 5,612]

Drogba belongs to US!:wub:^_^

[Madmax 9,219]

Mourinho abandons the bus ...