The Mourinho Thread

[Tomo 21,754]

Team I play for this season, their is one player who is a massive moaner, when im on the same side as him (whether in training or both selected) im a lot more cautious in my play and more reserved, when he doesn't play or he on other team in training I tend to play with a lot more freedom and play a lot better as a result, few others in the team have said the same to me alone.

A little perspective there for anyone who will take a good performance on Saturday as "proof" the players didn't care all this time, never underestimate the physiological part of life.

Also lets not forget last time we slated the players for attitude towards the manager resulted in massive humble pie 2 months later after Munich.

[Fernando 6,743]

But it's not right and the players deserve all they get. Maybe they can learn the consequences of their awful actions; the players have been backed by the fans all season long, maybe they needed to be reminded what it's like to be hated

Yeah but it will only last for the first few weeks.

No one will care if we are doing good come March and have a positive outlook for next season.

[Tautvix 1,321]

Pretty much but most people agree that it's much easier to fire the manager then get rid of the entire team.

That is easier but the thing is. We have sacked Scolari, AVB, Di Matteo and Mourinho twice for losing the dressing room. So ffs something must be done about that because it will continue to happen... Everytime we sack the coach it's because the players power. AVB tried to play attacking style but he lost the dressing room. Jose tried to play defensive style and he also lost the dressing room. The club was the first that came out and say we are looking for stability. What stability? Imagine we get Guardiola now (even if it's not likely) so how many years he is gonna be here for? 3 or 4 years and he is gone because he is not that kind of coach who will stay for longer. But he would probably be sacked earlier anyway. Also, I see you always talking about a lack of youngsters in Jose teams. Yh that's true. But the thing is. Roman has to come out and say that he more or less takes responsibility if we fail playing with more youths. Because he asks titles and youths at the same time but it's not possible. While we would waste one season integrating young players but Mr Abramovich will not waste it. He wants titles at the same time.

[Styles 9,790]

Emenalo

Absolute legend. I just wish he made his statement about there being a 'palpable discord' between the players and manager sooner. And what a beautiful way to put it, too.

The only thing Emenalo has done wrong in this sorry episode is allow himself to be dictated to by the the fired one.

He should now push for a manager that a) knows how to actually get a team to play some decent fucking football and b ) will give the young talent a chance

Let's get it, Emenalo.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Who was waiting in the wings to push them? Let's talk about the deals that were mooted - was JT worrying about the sun setting on his career because John Stones was waiting there to pounce? Do you think he's turned up to training once, seen Djilobigi's second-hand Peugeout 206 and thought he might get dropped for him?

So you attribute this utter disaster of a season to the fact that we failed to get in the right players in the summer? Now, I would accept that if we were underperforming to a certain level, let's say we were lingering in mid table at 10th right now, but that line has been crossed long ago. It's way bigger than that. To have a squad this talented be 1 point above the relegation zone is utterly unacceptable. And Jose to me is hugely responsible for that. Okay, let's say... He couldn't motivate this set of players anymore. Fine. But this drop off is completely unprecedented.

Or how about the second-coming of Lampard, Paul Pogba, smashing them in from 30 yards as Fabregas languished on the bench?

We stood still and when you do that you get overtaken.

Yes, we stood still, and Jose then almost reversed us into oblivion. As I said before, with the amount of talent we have in the squad, this is not acceptable from any manager.

What is the club you love? Is it the badge? Is it the stadium? Or is it the people?

Now tell me a person more important to this club's identity over the last 20 years than Jose? We were already disliked by a lot of rivals yet we had a chip on our shoulders because of where we were based. Now you have a manager who takes all of that and turns it up to 11. You think we're arrogant, well here's the special one. You think we're nouveau riche scum well fuck you, we're going to stop you playing and then destroy you.

What I love about the club? It's a family thing for myself. There's plenty of Chelsea fans in my family and we all have strong emotions towards the club in that sense. It's very simplistic to say it's as simple as the badge, the Bridge or fellow fans. It's a deeply rooted connection. Jose's confidence/arrogance fits the club well when we're performing but he's lost that sort of aura about him. He isn't the same person as he was a decade ago. He sounds a lot different, bitter and deluded a lot of the times, and I'm certain this club isn't about that. Not to me anyway. Jose Mk II isn't the same as the Jose that stepped in a decade ago. Not at all.

What's more amazing is that people think the board will back whomever they place in the seat (for the next 18-24 months) next whilst they try and fabricate some 'Barcelona-lite' ideology of beautiful football.

I don't want us to play like Barcelona. I want us to develop our own identity and we were on our way of doing so. If a manager isn't producing the goods then yes, he has to go. I'm sorry to keep harping about this but... We need to get past the stage where we let a manager dictate the philosophy and ethos of this club. It needs to be the other way around.

It seems like we'll just go around and around in circles with this, so respectfully, I'll agree to disagree with you. I admire your loyalty to Jose, it's great to see - but for me my first loyalty will always be the well being and progression of the club and Jose, the legend that he is, is an unfortunate casualty of that.

[Tomo 21,754]

That is easier but the thing is. We have sacked Scolari, AVB, Di Matteo and Mourinho twice for losing the dressing room. So ffs something must be done about that because it will continue to happen... Everytime we sack the coach it's because the players power. AVB tried to play attacking style but he lost the dressing room. Jose tried to play defensive style and he also lost the dressing room. The club was the first that came out and say we are looking for stability. What stability? Imagine we get Guardiola now (even if it's not likely) so how many years he is gonna be here for? 3 or 4 years and he is gone because he is not that kind of coach who will stay for longer. But he would probably be sacked earlier anyway. Also, I see you always talking about a lack of youngsters in Jose teams. Yh that's true. But the thing is. Roman has to come out and say that he more or less takes responsibility if we fail playing with more youths. Because he asks titles and youths at the same time but it's not possible. While we would waste one season integrating young players but Mr Abramovich will not waste it. He wants titles at the same time.

If they lose the dressing room then they have to go, plus the romantic notion of managers being in complete control and players doing what their told like good little boys is an urban myth, not even Fergie had his players in complete lock down (Roy Keane prime example).

[Reddish-Blue 2,701]

Yeah but it will only last for the first few weeks.

No one will care if we are doing good come March and have a positive outlook for next season.

Don't worry, alot of 'fans' on this forum will care because their favourite manager was sacked

[Ossie the King 634]

OTK,

First off. Thanks for a very eloquent response, very much appreciated. Now, I must respectfully say that I disagree with various points you've made.

The first point I'll make is that you can't say that the squad weakened so much that we should be hovering a point above relegation at this stage of the season; no matter what you say that isn't good enough. As for integrating the youth when we're on the front foot? That's not how Mourinho works, he never has. Last season, when we clearly were on the front foot, Mourinho still was very reluctant to field youngsters. CL group stage against Sporting when RLC got a few minutes is a great example of this - we were utterly brilliant around that time but we still didn't see enough youngsters. I don't buy that we would've been playing the youth if we were doing well this season.

I think when you don't improve the squad sufficiently, you allow complacency in and I think complacent is the nicest way to describe some of the players this season. Our work in the transfer market was appalling and I think the league is so competitive that standing still sees you drop off the pace a huge amount. It was always going to be harder being the champions, but a lack of quality allied with complacency is just asking for trouble.

RLC should've got more minutes, but he also could've put a bit more effort in. I love the look of the lad but he does have the tendency to glide serenely around the pitch, part of which I think is due to it being so easy for him at times in the youth team. I also think Jose was waiting in vain for some consistency from the established names.

And that's all well and good. He's deserved it. He's been a very influential person in our club. I'll always hold him in the highest regard but that doesn't mean he's always going to be the right person to take us forward.

I think he's the only person at the club who had an ounce of vision to know where he wanted to take us. Some people might not have liked it, some might've thought it wasn't attacking enough but as in 2007, he was dictating the way this club played football.

Now we have no ethos or philosophy and we won't do for a long time possibly because it will probably be another series of rent-a-coaches in charge.

It's not about stylish football, it's about the plan we had as a club. The right path I've been alluding to is the very one Jose harped about when he came back - the ability to win in style, to nurture our young talents that we've smartly bought, to use our excellent academy and get in a few chaps made by Chelsea. We saw it last season, and we were progressing well in that aspect but we fully stalled, and started regressing, and under Jose we were not showing that we were going to get back to that level. The styles you talk about from other big European clubs - we were getting there. We're so far from that now.

But we were getting there. We had a philosophy of football, one that valued pragmatism over purity or whatever you might like to describe it. We were the anti-Arsenal in many ways but we didn't do what those other big European clubs do - we didn't invest.

Going back to youth, Jose clearly wanted John Stones and Paul Pogba. He wanted a young spine in that team and he didn't get it.

He got a 30-something Falcao, a 27 year old Djilobodgi and a 28 year old Pedro.

If that's a plan of action then he was always doomed to failure, and so will the next guy, and the next guy etc.

[Miki-Liki 405]

i'm sure being 1 point off relegation had more to do with it.

Mourinho managed to turn the fans against the club's players. What a joke!

[Fernando 6,743]

Don't worry, alot of 'fans' on this forum will care because their favourite manager was sacked

Well the match day goers will be mad, sad etc etc the first few weeks, but this will also pass.

I think we was doing good in the past before Mourinho came, but the shadow of his former self was too tempting.

Now after this season that is gone, it will be a relief for future staff as they no longer have such a big shadow hanging on them.

The same thing is happening at United.

No manager will be good enough for them because of the standard SAF left.

This is why I really believe this a reset button for us to move forward and find our own identity.

Free from the shadow of Mourinho.

[GodZola 630]

The last 2 weeks summed up the players attitude for whole of this season, miserable, terrible against Bournemouth at home, get up for it against Porto (to ensure they've still got something to play for after Jose is sacked) then back to another half arsed can't rebothered performance against Leicester!

Yes Jose made mistakes & those have done the rounds in here over & over, unfortunately the club were backed into a corner with us being 1 point off a relegation place & with this spineless bunch it was never going to change, they literally threw him under that bus!

Going to be an interesting transfer window in January, hopefully Roman will get rid of some of the gutless arseholes & start to give the growing list of talented young players we have in the ranks a chance & yes I do think Jose should have implemented this (said so a while back) & my biggest beef this season mainly because I think it could of saved him his job. Young players are hungry, they will give you that desire, enthusiasm & show some fight week in week out, José tried everything with the senior players but its been transparent they weren't having any of it. The team lacks leaders & a bond between them, pretty clear there are fractions amongst the squad which doesn't bode well for the interim?!

There might be an initial improvement but I can see us continually flaunting around the relegation zone unless there is one almighty shake up.

As for a new manager, well I don't see Guardiola coming, not sure why Simeone is being touted on here as members have got the arse about Jose defensive style so why would they want him? Think the interim could be in for a hiding to nothing but for me I would upset Spurs & go all out for Pochettino in the summer, this guy is brilliant in bringing through the youth talent & not frightened to either, we have a golden conveyor belt for him to chose from, these lads have been winning things together over the last 4/5 seasons, their all champing at the bit to impress & what better appointment than Poch who has proved it at Southampton too, yes there might be a trophyless season but in the long-term we could be entering a golden era if all that talent is nurtured in a couple of years.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Emenalo not going to address how he contributed to our shit summer? He's part of the problem, the cadre of yes men surrounding Roman and NOTHING will change.

Relegation might be the only thing that wakes Roman up to the fact that in 10 years of owning the club the only identity we have is that we sack managers.

He's a fraud who refused to improve the squad over the summer and butchered the Stones transfer. He's as much to blame as Jose for this.

It's very naive to think that Emenalo and Jose were the final decision makers in player acquisitions this summer IMO. What if Roman just didn't want to spend money?

People find it so easy to slate Emenalo, honestly.

[Styles 9,790]

I've had a very long day at work so just getting round to reading Emenalo's comments now - no wonder there are some many negative comments about him.

Emenalo dropped that fire today.

"Chelsea Football Club, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is one point above relegation. That's not good enough."

Ouch. No wonder the Mourinho fan boys are out in full force against the Right Honourable Michael Kevin Emenalo.

[iseah100 5,612]

It's very naive to think that Emenalo and Jose were the final decision makers in player acquisitions this summer IMO. What if Roman just didn't want to spend money?

People find it so easy to slate Emenalo, honestly.

It's very naive to think he didn't play a part in Jose getting fired.

[Reddish-Blue 2,701]

Well the match day goers will be mad, sad etc etc the first few weeks, but this will also pass.

I think we was doing good in the past before Mourinho came, but the shadow of his former self was too tempting.

Now after this season that is gone, it will be a relief for future staff as they no longer have such a big shadow hanging on them.

The same thing is happening at United.

No manager will be good enough for them because of the standard SAF left.

This is why I really believe this a reset button for us to move forward and find our own identity.

Free from the shadow of Mourinho.

I just hope that reset button includes SELLING underperforming/deadwood players...otherwise we are in deep trouble as a club

[Styles 9,790]

It's very naive to think he didn't play a part in Jose getting fired.

I think what played a bigger part in Mourinho's sacking than Emenalo is the 9 defeats in 16 league games.

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

Ex-Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman says Guss Hiddink has told him he'll be the new Chelsea manager. #cfc [Eurosport]

[The Skipper 20,609]

It's very naive to think he didn't play a part in Jose getting fired.

Jose has himself to blame more than anyone else. He wouldn't have been sacked if he didn't manage to steer the quality in this team to 1 point above the relegation zone.

[Ossie the King 634]

So you attribute this utter disaster of a season to the fact that we failed to get in the right players in the summer? Now, I would accept that if we were underperforming to a certain level, let's say we were lingering in mid table at 10th right now, but that line has been crossed long ago. It's way bigger than that. To have a squad this talented be 1 point above the relegation zone is utterly unacceptable. And Jose to me is hugely responsible for that. Okay, let's say... He couldn't motivate this set of players anymore. Fine. But this drop off is completely unprecedented.

Yes, we stood still, and Jose then almost reversed us into oblivion. As I said before, with the amount of talent we have in the squad, this is not acceptable from any manager.

Has any club ever won the league and then improved the side by signing he likes of players we had, losing a huge influence in Didier Drogba and selling one of the best goalkeepers in the world to a direct rival??

That's surely unprecedented too. I'm not saying it means we should be one point above relegation but you tell me what position that level of ambition is aiming for? Repeat champions? Top Four? Top half of the table?

What I love about the club? It's a family thing for myself. There's plenty of Chelsea fans in my family and we all have strong emotions towards the club in that sense. It's very simplistic to say it's as simple as the badge, the Bridge or fellow fans. It's a deeply rooted connection. Jose's confidence/arrogance fits the club well when we're performing but he's lost that sort of aura about him. He isn't the same person as he was a decade ago. He sounds a lot different, bitter and deluded a lot of the times, and I'm certain this club isn't about that. Not to me anyway. Jose Mk II isn't the same as the Jose that stepped in a decade ago. Not at all.

But what about the club is it you feel connected to? For me, the club has changed radically since I started going and not always for the better. A lot of the fans who used to go don't but there's still a hardcore. But what's there for them to relate to? It was Jose and JT, now it's only JT.

And Stamford the Lion but even he's changed and got himself a missus.

Funnily enough, the passion that was there supporting Jose in the last few months was as good as it's been for a while. Now what's left?

I don't want us to play like Barcelona. I want us to develop our own identity and we were on our way of doing so. If a manager isn't producing the goods then yes, he has to go. I'm sorry to keep harping about this but... We need to get past the stage where we let a manager dictate the philosophy and ethos of this club. It needs to be the other way around.

It seems like we'll just go around and around in circles with this, so respectfully, I'll agree to disagree with you. I admire your loyalty to Jose, it's great to see - but for me my first loyalty will always be the well being and progression of the club and Jose, the legend that he is, is an unfortunate casualty of that.

So you want the club to dictate the philosophy and ethos of the club....so that's Roman then?

You want a 50-something oligarch to dictate the way we play football? Because there's NOBODY else there who has the influence and everyone around him is a yes-person (hi Marina).

My loyalty is to the club I support and Jose was a massive part of that over the last decade because we changed so much in that time. He was the focal point for a lot of fans which is why his name was sung more than any other manager's at any other club.

What we have now is a massive void because the club didn't do their jobs properly in the summer and whilst your optimism is lovely, there's absolutely nothing resembling a soul or a philosophy left there now.

All that's left is Roman's chequebook.

[DYC. 7,542]

I've had a very long day at work so just getting round to reading Emenalo's comments now - no wonder there are some many negative comments about him.

Emenalo dropped that fire today.

"Chelsea Football Club, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is one point above relegation. That's not good enough."

Ouch. No wonder the Mourinho fan boys are out in full force against the Right Honourable Michael Kevin Emenalo.

You're enjoying this too much, Styles.

That earlier post really made me laugh though.