The Hiddink Thread

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Look, If you're going to respond to my post then I really wish you would refrain from using words like "vent". I think words like that ends up producing unneeded tension and overly defensive replies. It's completely unnecessary. If you're unable to construct an argument without resorting to straw man statements like "feel free to vent" then simply don't respond to my posts and I promise to return the favor. Deal? It will save us both so much hassle.

Secondly, I'm off the opinion that when you pay 20M euros for a 29yr, you give him fair chances to adapt to a new league, build confidence and stake a claim for a starting position. Luis was not any worse than Ivanovic who, regardless of his continuous brainless defending, was allowed chance after chance...and that's exactly the issue – that under Mourinho, certain types of players are allowed time and patience while others are benched at slightest sign of a mistake.

Thirdly, regarding your hindsight is 20/20 argument......the interesting thing is that there are several members on here who had concerns about certain decisions Mourinho was making. I remember one poster on here who wrote an extensive post that Benitez was on to something by building the team around Luis, Mata and Hazard and all Mourinho needed to do was bring in a few extra pieces rather than breaking down the whole system. So I think your whole claim that it’s easy to criticize Mourinho’s decision in hindsight is a baseless claim. Many posters having been saying these things for the past two seasons.

In any case, you’re right that we won’t agree and I really don’t think you’ve contributed anything of note except make silly straw-man comments. So let’s just leave it here.

Lol 'vent' wasn't meant to offend you mate, I do apologise if it came across that way.

With Luis. Even I didn't agree at the time we signed him, everyone was saying he was one Europe's finest LBs at that point in his career and it was a no-brainer between him and Shaw. I always wanted us to sign Shaw ahead of Luis. But when you come with the label of 'Europe's best' you don't really expect to have such a long period of adapting and adjusting. If Azpi (who let's not forget Mourinho dropped at RB) can fight the great Ashley Cole out of LB then Luis should've had no trouble doing the same.

I also recognise that many posters, in the time KDB Mata Etc were sold, were vocal in their criticisms of Mourinho's choices. Again I'm not disputing that. What I'm saying on that point was I do believe Mourinho saw Oscar, Hazard, Fabrgeas, Costa etc as the main spine for the team for years to come - His words, not mine. So at the time he was getting rid of KdB, Mata, Luis, you could somewhat see what he was trying to do. Hell it was true at the time, because the level Hazard Fabregas and Oscar were playing at was great to watch.

It's unfortunate you see my views as clutching at straws, when you wholeheartedly believe Mourinho came here to set the squad up to their own detriment. But hey, I guess that's part of debating.

[Rhino's Skin 972]

Lol 'vent' wasn't meant to offend you mate, I do apologise if it came across that way.

With Luis. Even I didn't agree at the time we signed him, everyone was saying he was one Europe's finest LBs at that point in his career and it was a no-brainer between him and Shaw. I always wanted us to sign Shaw ahead of Luis. But when you come with the label of 'Europe's best' you don't really expect to have such a long period of adapting and adjusting. If Azpi (who let's not forget Mourinho dropped at RB) can fight the great Ashley Cole out of LB then Luis should've had no trouble doing the same.

I also recognise that many posters, in the time KDB Mata Etc were sold, were vocal in their criticisms of Mourinho's choices. Again I'm not disputing that. What I'm saying on that point was I do believe Mourinho saw Oscar, Hazard, Fabrgeas, Costa etc as the main spine for the team for years to come - His words, not mine. So at the time he was getting rid of KdB, Mata, Luis, you could somewhat see what he was trying to do. Hell it was true at the time, because the level Hazard Fabregas and Oscar were playing at was great to watch.

It's unfortunate you see my views as clutching at straws, when you wholeheartedly believe Mourinho came here to set the squad up to their own detriment. But hey, I guess that's part of debating.

Sssahhhhh...don't let facts fet in the way of a great unfounded conspiracy theory.

Anyway....can we play "where's Hiddink" ?

Imagine "where's wally' in his own games but we have to find Hiddink in his own theead [emoji12]

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Anyway....can we play "where's Hiddink" ?

Imagine "where's wally' in his own games but we have to gind Hiddink in his own theead [emoji12]

I think he's still walking down the guard of honour he left in 2009

[Ossie the King 634]

Is this still the Hiddink thread?

Haven't read the whole thing but that image is spot on. Apparently Jose destroyed our side whilst winning the league. Didn't have any plan for the future despite wanting specific YOUNG players to strengthen the squad in the summer.

The club's in trouble. There's no plan. Whether you like what José wanted or you think we should've built a team with David Luiz and Ryan Bertrand in it, you have to acknowledge he was the only guy in the club with a plan of how he wanted to strengthen the team and mount a defence.

The club didn't back him and those who wanted him sacked have got their wish. The hilarious thing to me in this rather shitty time is that neither of these groups have a plan of what we do to move forward.

Honestly those fans deserve Emenalo and his chums. It's just a shame the rest of us have to be taken along for the ride.

[Rhino's Skin 972]

I give up....oh well...at least I tried

[Ossie the King 634]

I give up....oh well...at least I tried

Cheer up mate. There's no Hiddink Out drive going yet. Enjoy that for a few weeks.

[Gappy 130]

I'm surely He'll need good support from the board in this market

[Fernando 6,375]

I don't think he should stay past the summer.

Is best if he leaves this summer with on high as I have a feeling he would do a good job in this spell again.

I'm already seeing some improvement in the way we play, let that continue and in the new season appoint a new manager that would continue the work.

Because at his age I don't think he has it to go another full season. And it's best to walk away when you done a good time then leave in shambles like Mourinho did.

At least if Hiddink finish on a positive note this summer he would have that as a great memory. Because he has been one hella of a coach, and to have left into retirement the way he did with Netherlands was not pleasing.

[Fulham Broadway 16,392]

Hes been brought in to steady the ship, more a PR move than anything. A sensible grandad after the crazy uncle to calm the players. Someone whos had succes to sit with Drogba next to the owner to create an illusion of stability. The reality i feel is anything but.

Yes he was good, but I dont think the players will listen to him much, theyre just playing with freedom now, so we'll get erratic results.

Next season a marque manager will arrive, but with our backroom clique, and track record, it'll be more revolving door. Then we wouldnt be Chelsea without drama and crisis.

[Blue Gino 377]

I think the players have more freedom in the pitch but to an extent. Substituting Fabregas at half time for example. Hiddink will bring back confidence to those who lost it and rid the roster of anyone deemed poison. Perfect man to clean the house prior to the club's next hire.

[Henrique 9,133]

The season is doomed. I only hope the team doesn't get relegated, but I don't see that happening, since the botton of the league is really shocking in terms of quality.

Yes, Mourinho completely destroyed the team, thats how I see things. Perhaps he didn't have full control of the transfer market, to other side, all the playes that left the club, left because he allowed to. Last season he had Felipe Luis, a player he considered so useless that allowed him to leave after one single season.

I remember when everyone were saying David Luiz was useless because Cahill is a world class defender. I cannot understand why someone would say Cahill is a better footballer than Luiz. Cahill might be more consistent, but he is consistent being mediocre every game.

Benitez had the balls to bench Terry, actually since 2011 Terry was not starting every games of the season. Mourinho reintroduced Terry as untouchable. The team was starting this season with very few defensive players.

[Henrique 9,133]

Why do people have to complain again ? Yes, that is the same line-up and yes, this is frustrating to see again and again these poor players. But you have to keep in mind two things : Guus arrived here only one week ago and that is his first game ; you will have to bear those piss poor players until the end of the season, and most certainly the next season too.

As I have said, this is is first game and he is the manager for one week — what were you expecting, a revolution ? Probably half of the players are unknown to him, especially RLC and Kennedy... Of course he will select the players he knows and the players that have the better C.V. To change the line-up he will need time to get to know the players. That is even more true for the 'youngsters'. It is always complicated to play them when you get to manage the team mid-season. And to be frank, Guus inherited a team that is too much in a dire position to make some fantasy in the first months.

The first priority is to get out of the relegation battle ; the second is to secure enough points so we will not fight to not get relegated again. Once these important prorities are done, you can think to the youngsters. Though, to be honest, I am sure that 'try to get the fourth spot' will also be ahead of 'play the youngsters'.

And as some others have mentioned, we need fresh players to play against Manchester... Maybe Guus feels Zouma's speed is more needed against Manchester than Watford. And to be honest — I will create a general commotion with this —, Zouma is not necessarily that better than Cahill — if he is indeed better... They have both their qualities and flaws, but let's be real, the difference between their level is marginal.. It 'might' be concerning in regards to his status within the team in a long-term perspective, yet, in regards to 'one game', Zouma or Cahill, it is 'Tweedledum and Tweedledee'.

The bottom line is that, before getting your guns out as soon as the first game, let's see how Guus does in his first month here to draw conclusions. Also, a change in tactics does not necessarily implies a change in personal. And anyway, prepare yourselves to see the same team for a long time — we are too deep in the season and we are in a position too bad to be able to make drastic and fantasist changes.

I completely disagree about Zouma. Zouma is 21, and no one in the world can say how far a 21 CB will go. Cahill, to his side, is a pretty averege player who had his moments, specially during 13/14 season, when he had to prove that he was better than Luiz. Now he is back at his normal.There is no reason to keep playing Cahill, the only acceptable excuse is that Hiddink arrived days ago, and doesn't even know the players.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Uhh..

You say that, but actually our squad now looks better than the 08/09 one lol. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the players he had then were a lot older and most people were saying they were too old.

The team this time actually is filled, or supposed to be, with a lot more attacking channels. The only thing you can say this team is lacking are the leaders of yesteryear lmao. This squad should be able to compete the highest level.

Talent aint all. I admire players with less techical quality but great desire to win equaly if not more as I admire most skilled ones.

We lack heart. Heart to win for chelsea. Desire to fight till end. To say fuck it we can do it. Not to try but to do. That 2009 team had that despite not as much talent.

This team resembles mercenary team at finest. I hardly doubt the WHOLE team bar two players simply dropped in form just like that and on top of that majority players get regular brainfarts. I hope Im wrong, but there is so little passion from players to play for chelsea that got me very worried.

Thinking on this, Im sure you know but Mata, Luiz, Lukaku and Schurrle were genuine HUGE fans of chelsea. Would put a better fight than any current player here.

And looking at this mess, its last time to keep buying these spanish and belgium players. Get a core of either youth or homegrown players like Stones who will actualy understand the meaning of playing for Chelsea.

[Ljpaddock 187]

• Fabregas, Pedro, Oscar, Matic : at the very best, they belong to a big team's bench.
• Terry, Ivanovic, (Falcao LOL) : not belonging to top-flight football anymore.
• Mikel, Cahill, Ramires, Remy : players for 'small' teams.
• Azpilicueta, Zouma, Costa, Willian : 'okay' players for a big team. Though, Azpi is a very good defensive right-back that plays left-back ; Zouma might be 'great' for is age but if you considere him as a first-team player (i.e. regardless of his age) he is good at best ; Costa has clear limitations in term of technic and self-control ; I have no complains in regards to Willian, though he should not be the 'player of the year'.

That leaves us with : Hazard. He is the only (out-field) player we have that is world-class. And unfortunately for us, he is not the kind of player to get on the score-sheet (i.e., he is more an 'Iniesta' than a 'Suarez').

Do you remember, a couple of years ago we did have : Luiz ; Bertrand ; Azpilicueta ; Oscar ; Hazard ; de Bruyne ; Hazard ; Mata ; Lukaku (; Aké). It was not a great team by any means however, that was an exciting project and it was a very good base to build a great team. A few key signings here and there (i.e. a great CB to partner Luiz, a great central-midfielder, a great striker) and some additions of 'good' players to compliment what we already had would have been enough to build a competitive team that would be able to play good football. Yet, two years later, we are left with a squad full of utility players, some dead-woods and some 'okay' players and only one world-class player. Above all, we are left with only a very few players that are able to do things with the ball at their feet...

We are not back to the step 1 we are back to step -10. Mata, Luiz, Bertrand, de Bruyne, Lukaku, Schurrle, Salah... We have sold all these young and fresh players. We are left with nothing to build upon and the only hope for people nowadays seems to be the combo 'Kennedy-RLC' which is a clear indication that we are at the bottom of a bottomless pit.

Why, oh why did the board let Mourinho shape the team to his non-football philosophy ? He got rid of all the players that could play football and the players that could have been a bright spark for the 'long-term'. Instead, he gave a free-pass to all of our dead-woods and utility players because they are tall and would run behind the ball like donkeys and more importantly, as they cannot keep the ball at their feet, the chances of them doing a mistake was greatly reduced, because hey, not doing any mistake is the most important thing in football.

Unfortunately, we are not Real Madrid and we are not full of 'stars'... So we can forgot to bounce back like them. No, we are going to take the Inter route, and unless other clubs mismanage their team and unless we make some signings that turn out to be brilliant, we are not fighting for the title for the five next years. I am so pissed off.

This is the best post this forum has ever seen

[Ossie the King 634]

This is the best post this forum has ever seen

It probably is if you're the type of person who uses phrases like 'non-football'to describe Mourinho's teams. In that case it ticks all the boxes for a great post.

For me it rewrites a lot of history and I'm not so she that selling players like Luiz and Bertrand was the worst thing in the world. We won the league last season. Were we perfect the whole way through? No. But no team is.

What happened is that after we won the league, we did nothing to improve the team. We stood still. We didn't get Jose's targets, who were young, 'footballing'players. He saw the problems in the team like everyone else did yet instead on John Stones, he got Papy.

Whilst it's fun for some to indulge in this narrative that it was all Jose's fault,and he's by no means perfect, the problems at this club go way beyond him.

But I think some are a little too scared to criticise the sugar daddy in the slightest. If we did, maybe he'd put us back in the toybox and play with his boats instead.

[Jase 43,479]

It probably is if you're the type of person who uses phrases like 'non-football'to describe Mourinho's teams. In that case it ticks all the boxes for a great post.

For me it rewrites a lot of history and I'm not so she that selling players like Luiz and Bertrand was the worst thing in the world. We won the league last season. Were we perfect the whole way through? No. But no team is.

What happened is that after we won the league, we did nothing to improve the team. We stood still. We didn't get Jose's targets, who were young, 'footballing'players. He saw the problems in the team like everyone else did yet instead on John Stones, he got Papy.

Whilst it's fun for some to indulge in this narrative that it was all Jose's fault,and he's by no means perfect, the problems at this club go way beyond him.

But I think some are a little too scared to criticise the sugar daddy in the slightest. If we did, maybe he'd put us back in the toybox and play with his boats instead.

I think this situation goes both ways to be honest. Peace was not wrong with he said in his post. 3-4 years ago, we started to buy certain type of players - the footballing type, if you like (seems like the latest buzzword around here) - because we wanted to change our style of play, to adopt a more attacking approach as opposed to sticking with our pragmatic football from the years before that.

We wanted to have a system in place whereby we instill this new style of play in the club from top to bottom and hire a specific type of manager to manage those players. Even if we were to sack the manager or he leaves after a few years, the style will still be there and we just need to find the same or similar kind of manager (think Barcelona). That's arguably why we were hell bent on getting Guardiola back then but when he didn't want to join us, for whatever reason, the club decided to betray what they had been planning all along by hiring Mourinho, who we all know his playing style is the complete opposite of what we tried to implement going forward.

Perhaps, they had no one else to turn to, panicked and chose Mourinho because it was a marriage of convenience - the club wanted to success with style but when they couldn't get someone to implement that style, they ditched it just for success. They probably wanted to believe Mourinho was a man changed and a man wanting to fix his damaged reputation after his Real Madrid days. On hindsight and without wanting to sound like a total hypocrite, I - and most fans too - enjoyed the success Mourinho brought to the club last season but one cannot deny that our squad depth and quality - the squad given to him with those players bought by the board - got worse each season under him.

He ostracized certain players from the start and sold them almost immediately - because they weren't tall or supposedly didn't run about enough. He doesn't put the same faith in every one in the squad - certain players can play poorly for 100 games in a row and still start every week while the minute others perform poorly, they're out of the team and we won't see them for the next few weeks. People like to say it's the players' fault for not showing the hunger, desire to fight for their place but if you were in their shoes and you see boss treat you differently to some of the other players like in this case, you would want to leave, wouldn't you?

Others play badly but still get chances to play and rectify their mistakes. You play badly and you don't get to play for the next few games and get a chance to prove the manager wrong. It's just like Peace said, it says a lot when we're almost wanting/relying on the Kenedy-Loftus-Cheek combo to spark us into life, to get us out of this mire. It has become that desperate and that is without mentioning the fact that we only have 2 players who we can put in the world class category - Hazard and Courtois (we're a top side FFS!). Maybe if he weren't so quick in ditching some of the players and kept them in the squad, we might actually have enough strength, quality and depth not to be in this mess right now. Our team is such in a bad shape that it's almost depressing that we need another major surgery and it's going to be even tougher now with our situation and the huge TV money coming in next season. At this point, we'll be even lucky to get a B-grade player in, never mind an A-grade.

On the other side to all of this, you are right in saying we did nothing to improve the team after winning the league last season. We stood still. We should have gotten in quality players but it's not in our given rights that we will get those players Mourinho wanted (e.g Pogba, Stones). Gone are the days when we can throw money at the other clubs and 'bully' them into selling their players. Maybe it is the board's fault for not doing things right to get the players but Mourinho shouldn't also be expecting those deals to completed like we're stealing a candy from a baby.

And there's also no excuse that we should be struggling this badly this season under Mourinho - with or without Pogba, Stones etc. Having those players wouldn't have solved our problems. Like you alluded to there, this team won the title last season and even if it's not perfect, they are still good/decent enough. If we're not challenging for the title this time around, we should at least be around the top 4 or in the top 10 but the fact that we aren't perhaps says a lot about the Mourinho's management with the squad than the board not getting the players he wanted. And oh, before you start pinning the blame entirely on the board on transfers, let's not forget Mourinho's own blunders in the transfer market. He, after all, was the man who championed for Falcao, Cuadrado, Salah etc and look what has happened to them now.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Haven't read the whole thing but that image is spot on. Apparently Jose destroyed our side whilst winning the league. Didn't have any plan for the future despite wanting specific YOUNG players to strengthen the squad in the summer.

The club's in trouble. There's no plan. Whether you like what José wanted or you think we should've built a team with David Luiz and Ryan Bertrand in it, you have to acknowledge he was the only guy in the club with a plan of how he wanted to strengthen the team and mount a defence.

The club didn't back him and those who wanted him sacked have got their wish. The hilarious thing to me in this rather shitty time is that neither of these groups have a plan of what we do to move forward.

Honestly those fans deserve Emenalo and his chums. It's just a shame the rest of us have to be taken along for the ride.

How do you know the club hasn't got a plan in place? That's just pure speculation from you, you're saying it as if it's some fact.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

• Fabregas, Pedro, Oscar, Matic : at the very best, they belong to a big team's bench.
• Terry, Ivanovic, (Falcao LOL) : not belonging to top-flight football anymore.
• Mikel, Cahill, Ramires, Remy : players for 'small' teams.
• Azpilicueta, Zouma, Costa, Willian : 'okay' players for a big team. Though, Azpi is a very good defensive right-back that plays left-back ; Zouma might be 'great' for is age but if you considere him as a first-team player (i.e. regardless of his age) he is good at best ; Costa has clear limitations in term of technic and self-control ; I have no complains in regards to Willian, though he should not be the 'player of the year'.

That leaves us with : Hazard. He is the only (out-field) player we have that is world-class. And unfortunately for us, he is not the kind of player to get on the score-sheet (i.e., he is more an 'Iniesta' than a 'Suarez').

Do you remember, a couple of years ago we did have : Luiz ; Bertrand ; Azpilicueta ; Oscar ; Hazard ; de Bruyne ; Hazard ; Mata ; Lukaku (; Aké). It was not a great team by any means — however, that was an exciting project and it was a very good base to build a great team. A few key signings here and there (i.e. a great CB to partner Luiz, a great central-midfielder, a great striker) and some additions of 'good' players to compliment what we already had would have been enough to build a competitive team that would be able to play good football. Yet, two years later, we are left with a squad full of utility players, some dead-woods and some 'okay' players — and only one world-class player. Above all, we are left with only a very few players that are able to do things with the ball at their feet...

We are not back to the step 1 — we are back to step -10. Mata, Luiz, Bertrand, de Bruyne, Lukaku, Schurrle, Salah... We have sold all these young and fresh players. We are left with nothing to build upon — and the only hope for people nowadays seems to be the combo 'Kennedy-RLC' which is a clear indication that we are at the bottom of a bottomless pit.

Why, oh why did the board let Mourinho shape the team to his non-football philosophy ? He got rid of all the players that could play football and the players that could have been a bright spark for the 'long-term'. Instead, he gave a free-pass to all of our dead-woods and utility players because they are tall and would run behind the ball like donkeys — and more importantly, as they cannot keep the ball at their feet, the chances of them doing a mistake was greatly reduced, because hey, not doing any mistake is the most important thing in football.

Unfortunately, we are not Real Madrid and we are not full of 'stars'... So we can forgot to bounce back like them. No, we are going to take the Inter route, and unless other clubs mismanage their team and unless we make some signings that turn out to be brilliant, we are not fighting for the title for the five next years. I am so pissed off.

Pedro was brought as a squad player and since Hazard's been injured he's been playing.

John Terry was not at fault for any of the goals today, have I missed something? Sorry but Terrhill needs to die, they're too slow to be paired with each other. Zouma must play next to him to keep enough pace in there. People have been moaning about lack of character so it would be very, very unwise to remove the only leader we have from the team. Coach Drogs can't come soon enough (and will help out DC)

We need a clean out, sure. But at least people can finally stop blaming Jose for the board not backing him - the team he was fielding really was our best team

"Do you remember, a couple of years ago we did have : Luiz ; Bertrand ; Azpilicueta ; Oscar ; Hazard ; de Bruyne ; Hazard ; Mata ; Lukaku (; Aké). It was not a great team by any means — however, that was an exciting project and it was a very good base to build a great team. A few key signings here and there (i.e. a great CB to partner Luiz, a great central-midfielder, a great striker) and some additions of 'good' players to compliment what we already had would have been enough to build a competitive team that would be able to play good football. Yet, two years later, we are left with a squad full of utility players, some dead-woods and some 'okay' players — and only one world-class player. Above all, we are left with only a very few players that are able to do things with the ball at their feet..."

:lol: Luiz was and is a terrible CB. He was a great complement to Matic in MF, but in 12/13 and 13/14 Cahill-Terry was our best CB pairing by a country mile.

Much of that project still remains - the problem being that most of them have not kicked on. When Oscar and Hazard were signed in 12/13 Oscar was supposed to end up being better than Hazard, I think we all remember the Juve game and thinking 'yeah, he's gonna go far' but it hasn't happened.

I really don't understand why people are so annoyed that we sold Mata, he hasn't done anything since January 2014 which has suggested Jose was wrong to cut him loose.

"We are not back to the step 1 — we are back to step -10. Mata, Luiz, Bertrand, de Bruyne, Lukaku, Schurrle, Salah... We have sold all these young and fresh players. We are left with nothing to build upon — and the only hope for people nowadays seems to be the combo 'Kennedy-RLC' which is a clear indication that we are at the bottom of a bottomless pit."

And that is the most ridiculous thing yet. de Bruyne is not a big character, he would still be in the same funk as the rest of the players here. No show against big teams. Luiz was sold because to advance the team we had to comply with FFP, and we brought Costa (the first great striker we've had since Drogs) and Cesc Fabregas - we needed characters in the team and Fabregas was well qualified, as well as being a midfield general - sure he has been terrible recently but it would be harsh to blame that on Mourinho. Lukaku has been "De Bruyne-ised"; last season he was awful and now he's kicked on we're suddenly moaning about selling him, but you cannot have it both ways. To get him to that level we would have had to play him instead of Costa for all of 14/15 for a very low goal yield and we would not have won the title, and even now having him here while Costa was not firing would only have brought us up about 5 places - and that's assuming he would have scored the same amount of goals this season, whcih he wouldn't as his support won't give him as much service.

Schurrle was unlucky, a muscle disease basically cost him his top flight football career, not the fault of the club at all.

Salah was not good enough as many people here said.

So yeah, Kenedy and RLC are big hopes now, because you can't just stop winning to integrate 5 youth players, not at a club like Chelsea, the average supporter would not tolerate it and I don't think anybody was moaning when we were winning.

"Why, oh why did the board let Mourinho shape the team to his non-football philosophy ? He got rid of all the players that could play football and the players that could have been a bright spark for the 'long-term'. Instead, he gave a free-pass to all of our dead-woods and utility players because they are tall and would run behind the ball like donkeys — and more importantly, as they cannot keep the ball at their feet, the chances of them doing a mistake was greatly reduced, because hey, not doing any mistake is the most important thing in football."

That's a completely fucking false statement to make - Mourinho brought in Fabregas to replace Luiz, Hazard his star man, and Costa to play good football but if anything the statement by Jose that he took the players to an unsustainable level is correct, it would explain the poor football from the same team from January onwards.

We will not finish more than mid table because there are so many quality teams this season, it's not a normal thing and next season when the new TV deal comes in we can rebuild and be better again but just about everything that could conspire against us did - other teams drastically improved while we stood still, bad luck (that West Ham game is a perfect example - the ball 1cm from being a goal, an incorrect offside decision, a harsh red card) and other teams' good form.