The Mourinho Thread

[zolayes 14,489]

I find it interesting how the rules are so different from country to country. The amount of regulations you have to keep to in countries like The Netherlands and Germany would never allow you to run a club into the ground like that. Then you see a big clubs like Leeds and Parma just vanish into thin air.

ask Maggie Thatcher then look at our banks and our Financial systems .. Banks lost BILLIONS but still paid those responsible millions in bonuses .

[Blue_Fox_ 2,086]

Remy and Falcao are only getting starts because Costa has been suspended. When Costa returns against Villa it is going to be back to warming the bench for Remy and Falcao. There starts will only come in cup games if they are lucky. Aboubakar would be silly to come here unless he was looking for a bigger paycheck.

As i've said, José would have to get the rotation right with another possible future top striker, also, right now Costa would rightfully take back his spot, our other two aren't really good atm.

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

I find it interesting how the rules are so different from country to country. The amount of regulations you have to keep to in countries like The Netherlands and Germany would never allow you to run a club into the ground like that. Then you see a big clubs like Leeds and Parma just vanish into thin air.

Again Risdale at Leeds far to ambitious spent obscene amounts on players and wages thinking they would be guaranteed Champions League Football every season. When i was young Leeds were arguably the biggest club in the country. Early 70's Man United were post Busby and Liverpool hadn't started to dominate.

[Stats 7,147]

As i've said, José would have to get the rotation right with another possible future top striker, also, right now Costa would rightfully take back his spot, our other two aren't really good atm.

Costa is our undisputed no.1. He is not going to get rotated. Jose does not do that. Not going to happen. Let's differentiate reality from hope.

[Fulham Broadway 17,333]

Wrong choice of words. Those high up in hierarchy.

I've seen people labled as plastic for wanting the manager out. Those in charge have been getting rid of managers for decades.

Sticking to Mourinho would the best option imo so I would agree with that decision.

Of course theyre fucking plastic. Theyre running a business. End of. They dont spend all their disposable income following the team, get chelsea tatoos, queue, get treated like shit by stewards and the old bill. All they are interested in is making a profit.

In terms of plasticity percentage Bates would be the most.

[Pizy 18,954]

Man. These are borderline embarrassing comments. So Ivanovic keeps his place because he's tall and an aerial threat? Come on, José. Being more vulnerable to set pieces is a trade off I'm willing to risk if it means playing Baba and Azpi.

[Azul 1,615]

https://twitter.com/Chelsea_HQ/status/650790304405155840

Man. These are borderline embarrassing comments. So Ivanovic keeps his place because he's an aerial threat? Come on, José. Being more vulnerable to set pieces is a trade off I'm willing to risk if it means playing Baba and Azpi.

Oh man that's just laughable smh

[Jase 43,479]

Jose Mourinho will carry on as Chelsea manager - but club’s hierarchy have discussed his future

Under-pressure Jose Mourinho will walk away if he loses the support of his Chelsea players

Jose Mourinho is right - Chelsea would be mad to sack their manager now

[Blue_Fox_ 2,086]

Costa is our undisputed no.1. He is not going to get rotated. Jose does not do that. Not going to happen. Let's differentiate reality from hope.

Exactly why i've said, if,would,possible and if. Signing Aboubakar is a hope in itself isn't it?

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I find it interesting how the rules are so different from country to country. The amount of regulations you have to keep to in countries like The Netherlands and Germany would never allow you to run a club into the ground like that. Then you see a big clubs like Leeds and Parma just vanish into thin air.

Definitely, it's pretty tragic to see how anyone can be allowed to own a football club and be allowed to run it so badly! Hope that won't ever happen to us.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

Long read, but very good.

The return of Dark clouds to Chelsea FC

It is a huge indictment on a professional football manager when amateurs like myself can pinpoint without much difficulty exactly how he will set up his team to play and exactly who the weak links in said team will be so as to game plan to exploit those weak links. If amateurs can do this with ease and almost uncanny accuracy how much more other professional football managers for whom this is a full time job? Such is the plight of our manager Jose Mourinho. He has literally gone from a hero to a zero in the span of a few months and with this precipitous decline in the fortunes of Chelsea FC we have now moved from the euphoria of a double title winning season with fantasies of pushing on to dynasty establishment to the harsh reality of Dark clouds once again standing over our dear club and no clear answers nor path forward.

As my prior articles have attempted to detail this mess we find ourselves in is not the result of one person or party bearing the entire blame. When a marriage ends in divorce invariably both parties involved have played a part even if the blame is disproportionately shared but most who are objective and not just syncophants will acknowledge that Jose has a big load of the blame to bear for where we find ourselves today. There is a scripture verse that says "pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall" It is a haunting warning for those who get so wrapped up in themselves and their past achievements that they get fooled into thinking there are more than human and larger than life and it is a warning Jose had best heed if he is to turn this mess around.

One clearly overarching theme that has lined all the mistakes and missteps Jose has made this season thus far revolve around insufferable arrogance. It is an arrogance that made him think he could continue to fool other managerial colleagues in the BPL with the same old tricks he pulled last season to lift the BPL title. It is the same arrogance that has made him stubbornly stick to the same team formation when it is obvious that he does not have the best personnel in form at this time to implement that system with any chance of success. It is the same arrogance that has made him insist of picking certain players to play day in day out when their on field performances don`t merit it while he had rooted others (arguably more deserving) to the bench. It is the same arrogance that has seen him heap blame on certain select players, on the board (by obtuse comments), on the referees etc but not shouldered like a man the blame he should be taking himself. It is the same arrogance that saw him feel himself too big to apologize for his appalling behavior and language in the medic-gate saga (To both Eva Carniero and Jon Fearn). That insufferable pride has finally led to his fall from grace in spectacular fashion.

I did not watch the match against south Hampton today live. I had promised to spare myself the misery if I saw the same stubborn formation and line up arrangement fully expecting that it would mean a repeat of a familiar script we have seen way too many times already this season. Almost as though I were a prophet (and I am not one believe me) the match played out as anyone with simple gifts of deductive reasoning and pattern recognition would have predicted. With Ramires paired with Fab as Jose`s idea of a central mid field pivot, with the weak link Ivanovic maintained at right back, with the spent force of Falcao as our striker up front and with JT returned to the line up at the expense of Zouma it was clear how this would turn out. As usual Jose did exactly the same thing (just with a few different actors in the parody) with a high defensive line , same old 4-2-3-1 and the same insipid pointless possession for its sake with little cutting edge in the final third. The results were predictable..once again our only goal came from the individual brilliance of Willian on set piece display, once more we conceded at least two goals ; this time 3 and frankly after now seeing the whole match any objective person knows we were lucky thanks to a frankly inept ref and Begovic pulling of some top draw saves to not have been walloped to the tune of 5-7 goals with two clear PKs in that mix. All this at Stamford bridge which just a season ago was a veritable fortress.

As bad as all this was though the singular event that struck the most painful chord for me was how Jose treated Nemenja Matic in this match. To begin with this guy should have started; the whole of last season he did the job of two men in anchoring a 2man midfield set up with fab as his partner. Matic`s struggles this season in my mind are simply because Fab`s defensive woes have worsened and the rest of the BPL has gotten wise to Jose`s last season trick and now flood the midfield and exploit Fabs defensive weakness essentially leaving Matic hung out to dry in the midfield and expected to stop the onslaught of oncoming opposing attacking mids on his own. The thanks he has got from Jose for all his efforts is to be scapegoated and reportedly dressed down in public in the presence of team mates while the true culprit; joses insistence on a 4-2-3-1 no matter what and a defensively inept Fabregas have all been give a free ride. It was bad enough to not start matic in this match but then to bring him on as a sub then sub him out again as a second sub is one of the most egragrious professional insults a manager can give a player. To essentially say to a player..you didn`t deserve start and after subbing you on I now realize that was a mistake..you are so poor, its better I spend a second of the three precious subs I have just to take you of again is the essentially destroy that players self esteem. I doubt that there is any coming back from this as far as Jose`s relationship with Matic and he is our best and most vital central midfielder.

Any one deluding themselves let me clear the smoke and mirrors..we as a club are now at a cross roads and face a rubicon. It is looking ominously similar to the way things looked during AVBs time here when it became clear as day that the manager had lost the dressing room. It is really starting to look like Jose may have reached that point. If he hasn`t yet he is not far of. For any team to achieve anything of note in a league as competitive as the BPL the players must give at least 100% consistently. The margin of error between success and failure is too thin to accommodate players whose heart is no longer in it. If the majority of the players have tuned out to Jose he (and by default) Chelsea FC are in major trouble. If quoting Zlatan Ibrahmivoic players are no longer ready to run full speed at concrete walls because the manager says so then we are in deep trouble. We cant eject these players..they all have valid contracts and as long as they show up for training and come on the pitch when the manager says so they get paid regardless. Once that bond of trust between manager and his players is broken it really leaves only one way to get solutions..rightly or no the manager invariably becomes the sacrificial lamb.

Forget about title defense, forget about any trophies, forget about top 4, forget even about Europa league qualification. We are currently 16th in a 20 team league with 8 games of 38 already played, we are currently second as far as the team with the highest goal conceding rate in the entire league..only Sunderland is worse with one more goal conceded and we are tied in this dubious distinction with Newcastle the side we were so lucky to scrape a point from last week..and who Mancity wiped the floor with today. This is the new reality for Chelsea FC, the BPL defending champions that if we are not careful and don`t turn this around very soon the relegation cellars is the place we will be battling to escape from for most of this season.

The question is what to do and I am sorry to disappoint those expecting some sage advice. All I know is we are in deep trouble. The way and manner we are dropping points is far more concerning than the points lost. The lack of passion, investment, interest and intensity by most of the players is very disturbing as is the lack of versatility and courage in the formations and football philosophy Jose has his team playing . January is very far away..transfer window acquisitions wont save us. Any wise perceptive person knows the risks inherent in the 'sack Jose' rants that are getting louder and yet the longer Jose persists in delusionary behavior the deeper the hole Chelsea digs itself. This is the quandry, the conundrum that Roman and the board are now faced with...to pull the trigger or wait hoping for a miracle.

All I can hope is that Jose has a eureka moment when he wakes up to reality, acknowledges all the mistakes he has made and makes swift, courageous sweeping changes to his approach to the game and player selection. I can only hope he finally sees the strength that humility and the ability to acknowledge ones faults and say sorry gives a man. That he wholeheartedly and unreservedly apologizes to those of his players that he wrongly and unfairly marginalized and rebuilds the broken fences in the Chelsea FC wall. Our team of players is certainly not as bad as the results suggest. Heck this lot won the BPL just last season with 3 games to spare. They are simply badly demotivated, and very poorly coached and managed at the moment and that is on Jose.

The question that must be asked though is this; Is Jose man enough to change? Because as we all know substantive change is never easy. Does Jose have the cojones to reinvent himself? Change his approach to the game, evolve and be willing to drop old vets that are past it and actually give a fair chance to youngsters? IF he does not not have that courage something will have to give before long. Either he walks away of his own accord before his entire managerial legacy goes to the toilet or Roman intervenes. I must say I have been impressed by Romans restraint thus far. We all know our owner does not suffer mediocrity kindly and has dispatched many a manager before for far less appalling results.

Jose finally need to take some time for self reflection; I can think of no other coaching great ( except maybe Gus Hiddink's recent horror run with the Dutch national side) who has overseen such a calamitous reversal in team fortunes in such a short time. Rather than making cheap excuses and looking for someone to blame for this mess he needs to show that he is indeed the man by looking critically at what he has been doing wrong and acknowledge that the buck stops with you him. Man up Jose, quit looking to shift blame, grow a pair and make the painful but necessary changes that need to be made to turn this thing around while that still remains an option. KTBFFH!!!

Read more: http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=557462#ixzz3ndikVrtF

[Jase 43,479]

Man. These are borderline embarrassing comments. So Ivanovic keeps his place because he's tall and an aerial threat? Come on, José. Being more vulnerable to set pieces is a trade off I'm willing to risk if it means playing Baba and Azpi.

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't we used to have a whole bunch of small players and only a few big ones in the starting XI under Benitez/RDM? The 2 center backs, 2 midfielders in the pivot (especially if they were Mikel, Luiz and/or Lampard) and 1 striker (either Torres or Ba). Five tall players there (sometimes 4 if Ramires was part of the pivot) and I don't think we conceded many goals from set pieces!

[zolayes 14,489]

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't we used to have a whole bunch of small players and only a few big ones in the starting XI under Benitez/RDM? The 2 center backs, 2 midfielders in the pivot (especially if they were Mikel, Luiz and/or Lampard) and 1 striker (either Torres or Ba). Five tall players there and I don't think we conceded many goals from set pieces!

sorry but zola was 6 '5 and le Saux was even bigger .. exactly what you need for a LB

[Fulham Broadway 17,333]

Return of Dark Clouds to Chelsea article above...

"the question is what to do ?-all I know is we are in deep trouble"

[Henrique 9,133]

Jose Mourinho will carry on as Chelsea manager - but club’s hierarchy have discussed his future

Chelsea also accept that he is a great manager, the best of his generation, and his track record and capabilities have earned him the chance to turn the team around and climb the table

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/11911256/Jose-Mourinho-will-carry-on-as-Chelsea-manager-but-clubs-hierarchy-have-discussed-his-future.html

From same article:

"Mourinho needs to find answers quickly if he is not going to earn himself only a stay of execution. Despite winning the league last season, despite signing a new £8.5 million-a-year, four-year deal in August and despite being the most popular manager in Chelsea’s history, Mourinho remains far from safe."

"The Premier League now goes into the international break with Chelsea then facing winnable matches at home to Aston Villa and away to West Ham United, with a Champions League tie away to Dynamo Kiev and a Capital One Cup tie away to Stoke City before they host Liverpool at home on Saturday October 31. It appears a pivotal run of fixtures for Mourinho."

[Muzchap 8,966]

Long read, but very good.

The return of Dark clouds to Chelsea FC

This is what I have been saying - but it's much more eloquent

As for those still saying 'believe in Jose' - please read the above and pinpoint exactly where the author is incorrect?

The Board have made a huge mistake not dismissing him - no way is Jose going to change and the sooner we see the back of him at Chelsea - the quicker we can start to restore some pride, passion and order (namely winning games).

[Muzchap 8,966]

Is there a time you try to be positive?

Yeah he's absolutely positive (as am I) that Mourinho's time is done here and the sooner he goes the better...

And to be fair to him @Henrique - he has been saying this for nearly a year - at first I laughed at him, now I'm no longer laughing... The same with @Lionsden and others who were also critical.

It's truly a sad situation - but like in medical situations - cut off the bad part to save the good part!

[Muzchap 8,966]

Yes he is going tomorrow in Portugal to visit his father lol

I'm glad you find this situation funny

However, for me this is no laughing matter - this is a very serious time

[Henrique 9,133]

Jose Mourinho will carry on as Chelsea manager - but club’s hierarchy have discussed his future

Under-pressure Jose Mourinho will walk away if he loses the support of his Chelsea players

Jose Mourinho is right - Chelsea would be mad to sack their manager now

Martin Samuel article is just the old "firing manager is wrong" press nonsensical. It seems he doesn't know whats going on.

Comparing Borussia situation last season with Chelsea this season is lazy. When Borissia was playing UCL Final in 2013, their best players were Lewan and Goetze, both are playing for Bayern. Borussia is not a team that can even dream about paying 40m for an unproven Everton's CB. Chelsea have enough resources to build a decent squad, and if the quality is low at the moment, well, its the team he created.

To be honest most of english press seems to be lazy when Chelsea is the subject, they are so obsessed with Liverpool and United, they just don't know whats happening elsewhere. Before the season started veryone was saying Chelsea had the strongest squad and full of depth. Joke.

[xPetrCechx 13,573]

Man. These are borderline embarrassing comments. So Ivanovic keeps his place because he's tall and an aerial threat? Come on, José. Being more vulnerable to set pieces is a trade off I'm willing to risk if it means playing Baba and Azpi.

Only 3? how?

Terry/Zouma/Cahill (2 of them) + Matic + Costa...