The Mourinho Thread

[Jase 43,479]

so why not discuss the changes he's made yesterday?

That's the whole point of the post. It was so damn quiet. A lot of people were saying before match how difficult that match was going to be, crucial for us and whatnot. Then he makes a change, we win comfortably and not one word here about it is posted. Had we drawn or worse, lost, them this place would be on fire. I'm not saying we shouldn't discuss. But there are people who are only willing to engage into discussions these days if it's about moaning, criticizing, etc...

What he did yesterday offered a lot of food for thought... still no one talks about it

Had we not won yesterday, people would be blaming Mourinho for playing Mikel in midfield..

[Barbara 15,149]

Had we not won yesterday, people would be blaming Mourinho for playing Mikel in midfield..

I don't like our midfield with him, I feel that to play Cesc behind the striker and give us more in the final third we have to play Mikel. It doesn't mean it wasn't effective. I was complaining about it through and through though. I hate that we lose to much in the pivot, in the transition, in the way we dominate midfield to have Cesc behind the striker.

we need someone better to replace Cesc in the pivot. I'm positive Mourinho moved Cesc ahead for a combination of two things: the game was too physical for Oscar to play at all and too physical to have Cesc in the pivot. The change isn't only about Oscar. If Oscar handled those games better, Cesc would still play #10 and Willian would be dropped. So imo Cesc was moved higher also because it would have been suicidal to play him in the pivot away at Stoke

But the idea of Mikel still makes me frustrated. Hopefully when Ramires finally recovers (maybe he also had mono, who knows) he'll get a chance there too because I'd rather have Ramires and Matic than Matic and Mikel. But who knows if that'll work.

[LemmeBorrowThat 124]

So Mourinho's asking bench players to be patient and make sacrifices for the good of the team. Is there truth to that statement? Yes. Do players have a right to be mad when they think they've made the effort to be given a chance even when others are struggling? I would also say yes. It's a real 50/50 situation.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I don't like our midfield with him, I feel that to play Cesc behind the striker and give us more in the final third we have to play Mikel. It doesn't mean it wasn't effective. I was complaining about it through and through though. I hate that we lose to much in the pivot, in the transition, in the way we dominate midfield to have Cesc behind the striker.

we need someone better to replace Cesc in the pivot. I'm positive Mourinho moved Cesc ahead for a combination of two things: the game was too physical for Oscar to play at all and too physical to have Cesc in the pivot. The change isn't only about Oscar. If Oscar handled those games better, Cesc would still play #10 and Willian would be dropped. So imo Cesc was moved higher also because it would have been suicidal to play him in the pivot away at Stoke

But the idea of Mikel still makes me frustrated. Hopefully when Ramires finally recovers (maybe he also had mono, who knows) he'll get a chance there too because I'd rather have Ramires and Matic than Matic and Mikel. But who knows if that'll work.

Actually Jose moved Cesc forward because he wanted to start Mikel in the pivot, not the other way around (which means I was completely wrong when I said that Jose should play Oscar at 10 when Cesc is out of the pivot). He said so himself after the game and hinted at it before. He said we want to match Stoke's physicality in midfield and we wanted to play with two holding midfielders to leave no space for Bojan to operate in and to "cage" Crouch so that even if we don't win first balls, we are sure to win second balls.

Analyzing the match tactically a bit, I think Mikel played an important role yesterday. He had very good defensive numbers yesterday, though obviously incomparable to Matic's who was simply world class. But more importantly, I think the role he played allowed Matic the freedom to put on the incredible display we say yesterday. That is because Mikel's discipline means that Nemanja can cover a much larger area with his pressing and tackling. He could cover for fullbacks and press higher without having to worry about leaving the center and back four exposed, especially on transitions.

The two together in the middle of the park also allows us to physically dominate the opposition in the middle of the park which was obvious by the fact that Cameron's and Nzzonzi's were practically invisible in the match. It also cuts down the amount of work the back four have to do since both are so excellent defensively and almost completely annihilates the possibility of an opposition player running at our CBs which has been a major issue this season.

The down side is that we lose a creative player in the team as well as a goal threat and just a body in the final third. So obviously not something for every game, but I thought it was certainly a promising experiment and I expect it to make a few more appearances before the end of the season.

[Tomo 21,751]

Luis, Schurrle and Cech amoungst other's must not be happy with their lack of play time this season yet despite that their doesn't seem to be a murmur of discontent between any one.

Goes to show just how good Mourinhos man management is, not many managers could leave out such high profile player's constantly without noises of discontent.

[the wes 7,212]

[LDN Blue 7,903]

So Mourinho's asking bench players to be patient and make sacrifices for the good of the team. Is there truth to that statement? Yes. Do players have a right to be mad when they think they've made the effort to be given a chance even when others are struggling? I would also say yes. It's a real 50/50 situation.

Funniest thing is, we have one of the smaller sides in the pl. It's simply because we've remained injury free that those fringe players dont get more chances.. The only way they get time is via suspensions

[robsblubot 3,595]

Had we not won yesterday, people would be blaming Mourinho for playing Mikel in midfield..

Likewise, same folks who said Mikel was not culpable for the loss against Newcastle are now saying Mikel played a pivotal role in the win yesterday....

[The Chels 2,502]

Luis, Schurrle and Cech amoungst other's must not be happy with their lack of play time this season yet despite that their doesn't seem to be a murmur of discontent between any one.

Goes to show just how good Mourinhos man management is, not many managers could leave out such high profile player's constantly without noises of discontent.

I think whether there are noises of discontent or not depends more on the players than Jose's man-management skills. The 3 you mentioned seem to be very hard-working and professional whereas someone like Casillas obviously couldn't handle being dropped.

[Tomo 21,751]

I think whether there are noises of discontent or not depends more on the players than Jose's man-management skills. The 3 you mentioned seem to be very hard-working and professional whereas someone like Casillas obviously couldn't handle being dropped.

We all thought Lamps would have never pulled off the stuff he did under AVB, and Cech has previous under Scolari.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Nice interview with Jose at BT Sports. Lol, at Balotelli story.

[stroey 2,525]

Nice interview with Jose at BT Sports. Lol, at Balotelli story.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/jose-mourinho-qa-full-transcript-4869757

Great read indeed