The Mourinho Thread

[Essien19 1,415]

Mourinho did make a slight dent to his "v. Wenger" record in the Community Shield. It's now from "Wenger has never beaten Mourinho" to "Wenger has never beaten Mourinho in a competitive match". You can't just simply say Le Arse has never beaten Mourinho because that is now false. (And we majorly have to thank the Spurs referee for that 2-0 victory too). Okay, my bad. We didn't lose to Newcastle. But it did definitely felt like a loss. I don't understand how we are getting stronger and stronger. We rarely score open goals to this day, still losing matches, and the players looking like they don't give a crap. Also can I remind you our best player Hazard still hasn't scored a single goal this season yet? We are in to December.

But we won against the Le Arse, some things never change.

Mate, it's all about the definition; the match took place in the Premier League and therefore i think i'm not wrong saying that things never change.

Yes, one can see it differently, like i said: matter of definition!

It's like math; some people include the zero in the natural numbers others don't.

Yes, everyone perceives a whole match differently. For you, the match against Newcastle "felt like a loss".

For me, when the team is already 2:0 down and still gets the draw in the end, moral victors.

Both parties have made their valid points, i think.

Agree to disagree, it won't be the last time.

Yes, we lose, yes, we hardly score from open play, yes some players still have problems to play to their potential.

But in my point of view, we create more and more chances to win the game, but the strikers fail miserably.

Remy is a good poacher, but that miss against Stoke, you can't make that shit up, i call it very very and again very unlucky.

For me, winning is the end result, before that can become a consistency, more things have to be fixed.

Before Benteke scored the 3:1, in my opinion we were already broken, the mentality "yes we can" was gone.

Maybe i'm a bit too optimistic but i think that has changed, but that's subjective feelings, a judge would rule that one out.

Hazard couldn't score a single goal so far but that is on him. He had the chances, couldn't finish them off.

In my point of view, Hazard's play has never been about goals, he keeps opponents busy and makes room for his mates, he is able to make some brilliant passes, isn't on sunday league level when it comes to defending, imo and so on.

I think apart from his goals, that area of his stats look quite empty this season, you're right, he is better than at the start of the season.

He's manning up (again) and takes on defenders, he leads the attacking line and doesn't back down easily, imo.

He's still not perfect, still holding on too long to the ball, sometimes too slow backwards and so on, but he will be fine, imo.

Maybe i'm too optimistic, don't know.

No man. That is not what I want. He only got it half-right. Bench Costa (HUGE TICK). But that doesn't mean I want us to play with no striker. Have you forgotten about Remy? Is he there for decoration? I understood why Jose left Remy out of the squad v. Spurs, but Bournemouth? And yeah he still hasn't change! WTF is Fabregas and Ivanovic doing in our starting lineups? They don't deserve to wear our blue shirt again especially Cesc Fabregas. Banging myself against the wall on this. How can we stay positive when we expect the same results to happen?

But getting it half-right doesn't exlude you from earning credit points, some points must be awarded!

When a player doesn't perform over more than a handful games to his standard, he can't complain when being dropped.

But the coach has to have reasonable backups.

Hell, Van Gaal substituted two Champions-League winners against Wolfsburg who were not injured (imo) for a newbie and an old guy,

that's utter madness, imo.

Avb did make those "jokes", leaving Drogba on the bench and playing Lukaku against Manchester United, lol.

Remy missed a sitter against Stoke, he isn't that familiar staying on -and offside, imo.

Furthermore he offers very little apart from goals and sometimes runs .Okay, that's very important, but when playing he isn't scoring for fun, is he?

Maybe his confidence has been destroyed over the season, he should have played more, i give you that. Alright.

Ivanovic was at fault for the goal from Bournemouth, that's on Jose. Would have Baba or Kenedy made the same mistake? You never know.

Fabregas has been shit for quite some time.

Mourinho should have awarded Loftus-Cheek more playing time during pre-season and all would be better.

Otherwise, Mikel and Ramires (who hasn't been fit over the season so far) aren't much better.

We can play a game: who has been worse, Oscar or Fabregas?!

Exactly, shit or shit, difficult to decide.

Maybe you have a point: Instead of playing Fabregas we should have fielded Loftus-Cheek.

The jury is still out, we'll see, but i get your point.

It's not guaranteed, I agree but it's a start. A new vision will come in to place eventually. With Mourinho you know what you're going to get. Boring negative defensive football. You can't even put "but effective" in that same sentence anymore. But I know what we need for sure. We definitely need a change.

During a season there won't be any preparation time. Most likely, because immediate success is important,

the newly promoted head coach will go with the old guard.

Maybe not, we'll never know, but guys like Di Matteo did exactly what again?

At the moment we're in big trouble; most people envy the club, imo, and really like to stick it to us.

As i have said before: Real Madrid or Chelsea 2014, but because of social media (trollfootball and so on) it's all about the bus.

During these desperate times, it's difficult to do the flicks and make a charming smile. I have to defend him a bit, sorry.

Yes, you see it differently, agree to disagree.

Maybe "losing" is the wrong word I chose. Because if we lost 4-5, I'll still be disappointed but I still want to watch Chelsea because they gave me a disappointing yet exciting match. If we keep losing because we played some youths who are learning, I wouldn't be calling for Jose's head. Because I saw the hunger of Kenedy, RLC and Traore when they play and they will put 100% to their performances to prove themselves. What angers me, is Jose's love for his favourites. It's Jose's stubbornness is why we are losing games. On top of that, I don't like the negative football he plays, the negative personality he puts out everytime he lose... The negativity transfers from the club to the fans. You aren't feeling it yet because you'll do anything to keep Jose in this club, but it's so obvious that the reason why I'M negative because Chelsea IS negative at the moment.

When we lose, it can be a soap opera, because Jose Mourinho doesn't take any prisoners and sometimes he crosses the line.

But why does he behave this way?

Some might say, because he loves the spotlight so much, but for me it's different, why?

He cares so much, he is just a fan like me or you, maybe rather than me because i'm a very bad loser too. (that's why he's one of us, imo).

Especially in the heat of the moment bad shit happens, everyone knows that from sunday league football, is that enough for an excuse?

No, sometimes an animal must be put into his place, i think people like Marina must be ruthless sometimes, but apart from that?!

I really get your attitude and frustration, but i'm backing my man 100%, not because of being a "Mourinhonista",

no, but rather because i'm absolutely in love with the idea of having a man around who is impulsive and always looking out for Chelsea's best interests and speaks clearly that one (for example the referee) isn't allowed to fuck with Chelsea.

You can't buy that behaviour, why?

I respect Luis Suarez for his skillset and for being ambitious (the idea of getting a particular girl made him the man he is today) honorable, imo.

But after the incident with Ivanovic, Benitez didn't give one flying fuck, no matter what you think of Benitez, unacceptable,

he didn't stood up for one of our own, because he doesn't even care.

But at Liverpool he was saying nasty stuff like plastic flags.

So it's nice to have a man who cares so much, yes he is making mistakes, but he is a try-hard and i respect that.

Kenedy is already getting games, so it's possible to play for a newbie.

I'm not working at Chelsea Football Club, Bayern Munich is searching engineers, but when it's not blue, it will be, so fuck that.

Back to topic, Kenedy is getting time, Loftus-Cheek and Traore must be doing some things wrong or still not good enough, which isn't a shame.

It all leads to one simple question: what was there first? hen or chicken?

What is it all about?

Is it about "learning by doing during matches" and you will become a star, or is it about training first then playing the match where one can retrieve the skills?

Messi may like Mourinho, but not enough to leave Barcelona. If Pep comes to the PL, I believe Messi will prefer to play for Pep then Jose.

Any memories of the end of Pep's reign at Barcelona? Yes, Pep said stuff like a cycle had come to an end and so on, have we got any believers?

It's a big speculation; frankly, i can only speak for myself, i think Pep had fallen out with a lot of players, i thought that's only a Jose thing?!

Irrelevant, the point is one big name caugt my eye: Lionel Messi.

It has been reported at that time that he was unhappy with Pep and his methods, he didn't want to leave, but unhappy.

For me, from the distance Messi has always been a difficult guy to handle, i never bought in the "nice guy" image.

In any case the connection between the two cooled down a bit, yes, maybe it's better now, but at most professional, not like Ferguson and Ronaldo, father and son, big speculation in my point of view, i have to admit!

Pep Guardiola knows that winning is important, but at least for the public he says it's all about the beautiful game and philosophy, imo.

Jose Mourinho is different, imo, it's all about winning for him, yes he is able to set up nicely, but winning at all costs, the winner takes it all!

Maybe Messi is fed up and wants to try a different path, because for Messi it's about winning too, no fucks given.

After big losses, he spends most of the night alone in the dressing room and crying is little soul out because he can't take it (been reported).

I think he totally respects Jose Mourinho and his attitude, so i honestly think Lionel Messi could choose Mourinho over a revival with Pep.

Of course it depends on the cirumstances.

Conclusion:

You called me out, i know that putting pen to paper often means a lot of effort and i don't want to be the fucker who doesn't show

any appreciation for it. So i expressed my views and feelings.

I can agree with you on some things, but others, there is no agreement possible for now, but that can change, both ways, i think.

Kudos to stroey, Johnny, Fulham Broadway and others who approached me and thanked me for some posts.

As i have said before i won't leave for good, but writing in other communities more often.

So long!

[bellion 170]

Sign up that Adebayor lad on a free and sell 'em next year for a profit. Next pop in a 50p bid for that Alexis Texas fella from the Ukraine. I hear Niko Krankjar is available for loan, get 'em for a season and a half at 50% wages with an option to buy for half a mill.

We don't need another over-the-hill striker in Adebayor but that Texeira chap looks like a decent punt with his goals and age.

[bellion 170]

No but money has made it possible for managers to win titles.

Can't understand why I should feel sympathy for a manager just because he won a tittle when it was expected because of money spent.

There's nothing amazing about winning a PL when you spend a lot of money.

If anything, minnows like Pellegrini and Mancini winning a tittle shows that it's nothing special if you spend good money on players.

When you spend a standard is expected. Simple and nothing more.

Going forward, Mourinho or another manager coming in will have to make do with sensible spending with transfer budgets far below what the Manchester clubs can spend. Probably more akin to Bayern Munich's transfer budget. Regardless of FFP.

Hence. proper scouting for cheaper targets and promoting home-grown youth comes vital. The club can't keep wasting millions on the likes of Cuadrado, Schurlle and Salah without making a dent in its cash flow. Moreover, the new stadium is the top priority for budget matters and there's won't be too much left over for splashing out on players.

[Henrique 9,133]

Some fans make Chelsea look like a small club. Real Madrid put Mourinho in his place and fired him after an awful season. There is no doubt who is the big character between Real and Jose. To other side, it seems Chelsea is not allowed to fire Mourinho, because the portuguese is bigger than the club.

[Tomo 21,754]

Van Gaal played Jese Lingaard and Nick Powell in United's crucial CL tie

Mourinho may be a bit frustrating with the youth, but my God I'm glad he doesn't feel youth (like those two Van Gaal fields) that are clearly not or never will be good enough.

[kmk108 1,186]

I'm glad he doesn't feel youth either. That's Wenger's territory

[Adnane 1,101]

Dont worry mate, there are more supporters for Mourinho outside of this little forum, that is what matters in the end. Second observation I've made is that there are a lot of similar faces who are always for sacking a manager or slating them. Same faces who want Ancelotti in for Mourinho were the same people calling for his head after one trophyless season.

Same people who disappeared after Norwich and showed up post Bournemouth.

[didierforever 7,349]

Van Gaal played Jese Lingaard and Nick Powell in United's crucial CL tie

Mourinho may be a bit frustrating with the youth, but my God I'm glad he doesn't feel youth (like those two Van Gaal fields) that are clearly not or never will be good enough.

rooney, valencia, herrera, jones, shaw, morgan, rojo are all injured. what did you expect him to do?

also, even if other managers need the feel to play youth, jose is the right at the opposite of the other spectrum. he feels the need to DESTROY young players. case in point lukaku. a year of etoo was somehow better than developing lukaku. THAT in all honesty is LOL-MAX.

[didierforever 7,349]

Same people who disappeared after Norwich and showed up post Bournemouth.

hahahaha.. so people should go over the moon for chelsea beating norwich at the bridge by a solitary goal.

oh well, just shows what jose has brought us to.

[didierforever 7,349]

I already see some of the fake fans coming out to fire him, and I need to back our legend. We need him.

Jose is the best manager in the world by quite some distance, only Ancelotti and maybe Pep even come close, but I still think Pep is a checkbook manager and hasn't really been tested when it comes to building a team himself.

We are just getting unlucky. A lot of these plastics are trying to poison our fan base but we just need to stick it out.

Reasons why we are losing:

1. Refs always robbing us. I am not going to say full out conspiracy, but there is clearly some collusion between refs when it comes to Chelsea.

2. Players. Our players are not good enough. Its clear that the likes of Fabregas, Oscar, Hazard, Costa, etc are not the caliber of players that Chelsea needs and the board failed Jose in getting proper starters that would help us challenge for a European spot, and now it looks like we won't be able to get it. Not Jose's fault at all if we are being honest (looking at you Emenalo).

3. Pure unlucky. Honestly, just look at how many matches we didn't win due to luck: Liverpool, Spurs (that Lloris save), Man City, etc. Sometimes luck just can't go our way when we need it and we can't really blame anyone else but God for this. In an alternate universe we could have won these games and been at least upper mid table, if not CL spot.

4. No real leaders. When you look at the squad, who is really that voice that can bring the team together? No one. We lost our spine. Without the likes of Ashley Cole, Cech, Kalou, how can we expect this team to win? We really need a Terry type character in the room, and we simply don't have it at the moment.

5. Players are not focused on tracking back enough. We made great progress in getting rid of the lazies early on in Mourinho's time here with KDB and Mata, but I dont think we did enough. It's clear that some of these players are more interested in taking on the defenders and pulling out some flair moves instead of tracking back their man and working for the team. Even Costa is joining in now and pretending to be a winger. Its getting really bad and I think getting rid of these "flair" players is a necessity before we can really see progress. When your attackers are more interested in looking to score and assist than defending, you know you have a problem. You can out-defend a team, but you can't really outscore one. Fundamentals need to come first.

6. Youth are letting down our club. We seem to have the most arrogant and least skilled youth around. The likes of Barca and Bayern seem to have some very down to earth players coming through their ranks, and we are stuck with the likes of RLC and co. Its just annoying at this point as they seem more interested in playing time than developing PL experience. They need to be more patient and humble, they wont get playing time until they get more PL experience.

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH... oh welll... :lol: i needed this. thanks man

[Adnane 1,101]

Absolutely not, some people disappear when the results are good and reappear when we lose, I'm not talking about you.

And that saddens me, because pretty much everyone here can have fair points, but the fact that they feel the need to express their anger and criticize Mourinho and everything Chelsea related more than celebrating victories and stating the positive points really annoys me.

I don't have problems debating with people, just don't disappear and come back reigniting the subject when it suits you the most, eg. when we are losing, I hate that.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Some fans make Chelsea look like a small club. Real Madrid put Mourinho in his place and fired him after an awful season. There is no doubt who is the big character between Real and Jose. To other side, it seems Chelsea is not allowed to fire Mourinho, because the portuguese is bigger than the club.

"Nao tao ao céu, nem tao ao inferno"

Real Madrid has always overreacted when it comes to Managers. Their presidents have egos bigger than Earth. Just look at Ancelotti, even with the players AND supporters asking for him to stay and Perez didnt care. Following their actions isnt a good thing at all!

Now, we also dont need to be like some other clubs who wait until things are almost unsalvable until taking any kind of action.

P.S: I do think Jose deserves to be sacked, I just disagree with the RM comparison.

[didierforever 7,349]

Absolutely not, some people disappear when the results are good and reappear when we lose, I'm not talking about you.

And that saddens me, because pretty much everyone here can have fair points, but the fact that they feel the need to express their anger and criticize Mourinho and everything Chelsea related more than celebrating victories and stating the positive points really annoys me.

I don't have problems debating with people, just don't disappear and come back reigniting the subject when it suits you the most, eg. when we are losing, I hate that.

fair enough mate. i thought you actually agreed with the post below.

well "supporters for mourinho", will be there, but unfortunately for mourinho most of us on here are supporters of chelsea. and right now, jose is doing NOTHING but destroying the club.

as for the 2nd part of the below post - "a trophyless season". how is that even same. we might still win a trophy. an FA cup or maybe if GOD is a chelsea fan, then CL. that is hardly the point though. the point is our general play is RIDICULOUS. even in wins, we seem to go a couple of steps back. his favouritism is ruining the club with players like iva, cesc and oscar playing week in and week out. i mean keeping azpi, without a shred of doubt our best defender and infact the only player apart from willian who can hold his head high, was benched because jose just could not drop his favourite ivanovic. RIDICULOUS. should get the sack simply for that. and then there is the youth. oh well, lesser said, the better.

Dont worry mate, there are more supporters for Mourinho outside of this little forum, that is what matters in the end. Second observation I've made is that there are a lot of similar faces who are always for sacking a manager or slating them. Same faces who want Ancelotti in for Mourinho were the same people calling for his head after one trophyless season.

[Essien19 1,415]

delete.

[didierforever 7,349]

That's exactly what i meant with my criticism.

The dude put in a lot of effort to express his opinion, but all what's happening is laughing him out the door, how sad. Totally sick of it.

That's not how a community works, at least in my understanding!

Thanks for the confirmation!

I like you Didier, because you can better than that, but that's the perfect example for misconduct.

there is a difference between criticism, opinion and plain old trolling.

our youth is the least skilled? really? do i even need to say anything about it? the youth team that is winning FA youth cups almost every year, the youth team that won the europe youth league last year is the least skilled? sorry but thats not an opinion.

saying hatim ben arfa is better than messi is not an opinion. its simply being stupid.

our players are not good enough? the players that won the league with 3 games to spare are not good enough to "challenge for the CL spot" . his words not mine - read the 2nd point.

unlucky? when were we unlucky against city. we were played off the park. and even that was nothing to what pool did to us in the 2nd half. i am sorry but there is NO LUCK factor in being 14th after 15 games and having just 15 points. it just shows how shit we have been.

we won the league last season with as much "spine" as this season.

and my best point is "tracking back". well, all i see our players doing is "tracking back". we have no attack plan. we have nothing in attack. no plays, nothing. all we do is rely on individual brilliance to get us out of jail. last season hazard was on fire and we were able to do it. this season, we have looked worse than bournemouth and well, we justly lost to them.

so what are people supposed to do? you debate/argue with points that are valid and have meaning to them. some people, in trying to defend jose, cant see the biggest fault which is glaring at them. instead they try to blame everything else which is going to end up giving some very hilarous "opinions".

[Essien19 1,415]

there is a difference between criticism, opinion and plain old trolling.

our youth is the least skilled? really? do i even need to say anything about it? the youth team that is winning FA youth cups almost every year, the youth team that won the europe youth league last year is the least skilled? sorry but thats not an opinion.

saying hatim ben arfa is better than messi is not an opinion. its simply being stupid.

our players are not good enough? the players that won the league with 3 games to spare are not good enough to "challenge for the CL spot" . his words not mine - read the 2nd point.

unlucky? when were we unlucky against city. we were played off the park. and even that was nothing to what pool did to us in the 2nd half. i am sorry but there is NO LUCK factor in being 14th after 15 games and having just 15 points. it just shows how shit we have been.

we won the league last season with as much "spine" as this season.

and my best point is "tracking back". well, all i see our players doing is "tracking back". we have no attack plan. we have nothing in attack. no plays, nothing. all we do is rely on individual brilliance to get us out of jail. last season hazard was on fire and we were able to do it. this season, we have looked worse than bournemouth and well, we justly lost to them.

so what are people supposed to do? you debate/argue with points that are valid and have meaning to them. some people, in trying to defend jose, cant see the biggest fault which is glaring at them. instead they try to blame everything else which is going to end up giving some very hilarous "opinions".

You're completely right, a troll tricked me and i fall for it.

We have already settled the issue, no problem mate.

[stroey 2,525]

 

Hey guys, if Mourinho doesn't survive after Porto I will apply for the manager role. My back room team would be:

Assistant Managers: @DYC., @OhForAGreavsie, @lionsden

Coaching staff: @Magic Lamps (fitness), @Peace. (technique), @The Chels (defending), @Tomo (goalkeeping), @Muzchap (attacking).

Scouting team: @Spike (chief), @stroey, @Fulham Broadway, @Stats

Cheerleaders: @Jason, @BlueLion, @didierforever

I'm bringing in a new DoF too: @Special Juan

I'm ready to bring us back into the top 4 at the very least, this season.

Edit:

Almost forgot a very important staff member! Our new tea lady: @Leif.

 

Thanks again Skipper, haven't laughed that hard for a while on here, especially in this thread.

Will remember this post and vote it as post of the year, or at least joke of the year .

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

Absolutely not, some people disappear when the results are good and reappear when we lose, I'm not talking about you.

And that saddens me, because pretty much everyone here can have fair points, but the fact that they feel the need to express their anger and criticize Mourinho and everything Chelsea related more than celebrating victories and stating the positive points really annoys me.

I don't have problems debating with people, just don't disappear and come back reigniting the subject when it suits you the most, eg. when we are losing, I hate that.

I tell you while it's that. SIMPLE. People are expecting to beat Norwich, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Southampton etc. They take it for granted and if it doesn't happen then there's massive reaction. Who can blame them though ? I also expect Chelsea to beat them with such huge budget disproportion between those clubs and Chelsea. I don't know if you remember but even Mourinho said that before one game this season (Aston Villa, Norwich, Southampton, can't remember exactly) that with all due respect to them we're in diffrent category than them and we have more quality and simply we're better than them.

It's not like people aren't happy when we're beating team on the same level than us. For example I remember this place was rocking when we beat Man City away in 2014 or knocked PSG out in the Champions League.

[FabHazard 655]

Adam Bate

Comment and Analysis @ghostgoal

Jose Mourinho says Chelsea are creating chances but is he right?

Last Updated: 08/12/15 6:09pm

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea have struggled but what do the stats say?

Jose Mourinho insists Chelsea's underlying numbers are good, but is he right? We take a look.

Mourinho not thinking about axe

Jose Mourinho insists he retains the support of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Jose Mourinho was in defiant mood ahead of Wednesday's Champions League tie with Porto. The Chelsea boss hasn't always been one to get bogged down by the numbers but with results going badly, he is taking comfort in the belief that there are positive signs if you look hard enough.

"I feel a contradiction between the quality of the work and what happens on the pitch," he said in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "Look, statistics are statistics, but if you analyse the numbers you can get some good information.

"Match after match, we beat Chelsea records of high intensity work. In the last three matches we beat the records three times. We ran and worked more than ever, and at a certain intensity we'd never done before.

Our levels of ball possession are much higher than before, too. Our chances are higher than ever. Our number of goals is lower than ever. So, football people like you are intelligent. You have the numbers, you read the numbers, you draw some conclusions.

Jose Mourinho

"Our levels of ball possession are much higher than before, too. Our chances are higher than ever. Our number of goals is lower than ever. So, football people like you [the media] are intelligent. You have the numbers, you read the numbers, you draw some conclusions."

Let's take Mourinho up on the challenge. Is he right? With the help of Opta, we took a look at the key points raised by the Chelsea boss in search of substance to support his claims. The matter can be tackled by looking at the various metrics that he has highlighted…

Jose targets Champions League

Jose Mourinho says winning this season's Champions League is Chelsea's best way back in.

Possession

Mourinho clearly has a point here. Chelsea's overall possession in the Premier League this season stands at 56.7 per cent, up from their total of 55.8 per cent in last season's title-winning campaign. Only three teams - Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City - have had more of the ball.

Leicester's presence in the bottom three for possession is a reminder of the oft-repeated mantra that it's what you do with the ball that counts. But it's no coincidence that Europe's best sides see more of the ball and Mourinho is entitled to view this as evidence that the issues can be resolved.

Mourinho believes his job is safe despite Chelsea's recent struggles

Intensity

On the face of it, the tracking data from Chelsea's last three games is less conclusive. Bournemouth outran them by over nine kilometres, with more sprints and a greater percentage of their time spent making high-intensity runs. Tottenham outdid them on all three metrics in the previous game too.

However, what Mourinho is likely to be looking at is the upturn in comparison to the efforts of his players earlier in the season. Certainly, there are some encouraging signs here to support his claim that Chelsea "ran and worked more than ever" in recent matches.

In Chelsea's first 11 Premier League games of the season, they passed the 500-sprint mark only once. In contrast, they have since surpassed this number in three of their last four matches. Results have not improved, but this data suggests Mourinho has had a response from his players in terms of effort.

Chelsea sprints - Premier League 2015/16

Period

No of matches

Average sprints

Aug - Oct 2015

11

455

Nov 2015 to date

4

515

Chances

Mourinho has regularly pointed to the opportunities squandered by his team in explaining their poor results this season and Chelsea's presence among the Premier League's top six for chances created would appear to support this view.

Arsenal and Manchester City are the two teams to have created the most chances and are also the two favourites to win the league. Chelsea are not far behind on this metric despite struggling to find the net. "I think it's clear that we create so many chances and we don't score goals," said Mourinho.

"It's obvious that it's not a question of developing the game, going through the phases of the build-up and arriving at the last moment, putting the ball in the net. We are arriving at so many situations where we just need a tap in, and we're not doing that."

Premier League 2015/16 - Chance comparison

Team

Chances created

Clear chances

Arsenal

210

41

Man City

199

29

Chelsea

170

11

But…

Where Mourinho might be wrong in his assessment, is that there is a startling difference between the quality of chances produced by the top teams and those being fashioned by Chelsea this season.

Opta defines a clear chance as one that a player might reasonably be expected to score. In other words, the tap-ins to which Mourinho referred. Chelsea ranked joint-top on this metric last season alongside both Arsenal and Manchester City (66 chances) but it's been very different this year.

While Arsenal and City once again lead the way, with leaders Leicester next on the list, only one Premier League team has created fewer clear-cut chances than Chelsea this season. That suggests there are issues "through the phases of the build-up" as well as with the final touches

Conclusion

Mourinho has always been a coach concerned with the details and it's intriguing that he's opted to share some of these thoughts. Clearly, he is looking for evidence of a response from his team and is understandably comforted by underlying data that suggests the problems will not continue.

In terms of the team's possession numbers and recent sprinting stats, there are positive signs. The number of chances created offers hope too. But the data for clear-chances created is a reminder that there is much work left to do before Chelsea's issues are resolved.

[FabHazard 655]

In last few matches i think we played better ..It is clear that we need to improve in the final phase of play..with diego not being in the right position to score..There should be better communication between the attackers..they need to practice in the training that final third play with clear attacking patterns...The players should keep on working hard..there is no doubt they will be back to their best if they continue working hard