Chelsea

[Fosterbloke]

I still think they'll turn to ****. They have enough quality for a top 4 finish but nowhere strong enough for the league.

This really could be an interesting season!

[Phoenix07]

I said when he first returned that he looks a bit down, not as witty or enthusiastic as in his previous jobs. His interview post Basel has done nothing to dispel that for me. Is he moping about not getting the Man Utd job? Is he just burnt out? He was still fighting with the Real Madrid board and players, and a few days later, he's Chelsea manager.

[Fosterbloke]

Rebound management

[Bender]

The Mourinho Bus will be imo stopping at Man City next

[Phoenix07]

Their CEO and DOF rejected Mourinho for Guardiola as they thought he'd be too much trouble whilst at Barcelona.

[Lee]

I hope they rot.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/why-jose-mourinho-has-already-got-stamford-bridge-blues-8827986.html

Why Jose Mourinho has already got Stamford Bridge blues

Beaten by Basel on Wednesday, Chelsea face Fulham this weekend following two straight defeats and having won twice all season. So, what is the problem?


1. A bad night for Mourinho at Stamford Bridge


John Obi Mikel was one of the few players to speak candidly about Chelsea's shortcomings on Wednesday night saying that "individually we didn't turn up". He added: "I think with the kind of players we have, with the calibre of players we have, I don't think we should be afraid of anyone. But if we play the way we did [against Basel] we have a chance of losing to anyone."

Certainly it was a bad evening for Mourinho. Marco van Ginkel looked out of his depth. Willian, who had not previously played since 2 August, was off the pace and out of position on the left side. Basel's winner was conceded from a set-piece. Strangely, Frank Lampard, one of the better performers, was substituted on 76 minutes, in spite of his record for late goals.

In the meantime, Juan Mata – Chelsea's player of the year for the last two seasons – remains on the outside, as does Kevin de Bruyne, who started the season brightly but has not figured since the draw with Manchester United on 26 August.

It is understood that Roman Abramovich's visit to the dressing room after Wednesday's defeat was not in reaction to the result and was something he intended to do regardless. There is no sense that anyone is panicking just yet, especially given all the summer pledges to work for the long term.

2. What exactly is going on with Juan Mata?

Last out the changing rooms at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, Mata would not entertain speaking to the press about his season so far which has been one frustration after the other. It can be traced back to him playing for Spain in the Confederations Cup in June, which, indirectly, ended with him being left out his country's squad for the last international break.

A late returnee to pre-season, he joined up with Chelsea in America after their Asia tour. An injury there put him even further back. Mourinho is understood to have left him out the team for the trip to Old Trafford and the Super Cup final against Bayern Munich because he favoured a more physical approach. Mata has started just two games all season, featured in only three and is yet to play 90 minutes.

His lack of game time meant he was left out of Vicente del Bosque's ultra-competitive Spain squad for the friendly against Chile and trained with the Under-21s at Cobham. A huge favourite with the supporters, the irony is that Rafa Benitez played Mata last season regardless of whether the player was fully fit.

At Chelsea the feeling is that Mourinho simply has not built up that level of trust in Mata. He may yet do so but, as it is, Mata is struggling for momentum. Mourinho brought him on against Basel having substituted him before the hour against Everton. Will he pick Mata against Fulham? It's a big call, and if he does not, then it will say much about where the midfielder currently stands under this manager.

3. Have Chelsea got enough goals in them?

Letting Daniel Sturridge leave the club in January was a difficult decision which may give those at Chelsea who accepted it at the time some cause for regret. Leaving aside the benefit of hindsight, Sturridge's time at the club felt like it had run its course and the move was beneficial for both. The striker needed a new start and Chelsea needed to freshen up their forward line with Demba Ba.

Were Sturridge still at Chelsea, in his current form, picking a striker would be easy – even if he is not quite the archetypal centre-forward who Mourinho has favoured in the past. With due credit to Brendan Rodgers, however, it is his faith in Sturridge that has undoubtedly contributed in a major way to his recent form.

Last season, Chelsea scored 75 league goals, more than any club other than the champions, Manchester United. Yet their top goalscorer in the league was Lampard with 15, followed by Mata (12), Eden Hazard (9) and Fernando Torres (8). The goals were spread around the squad, and although they finished third in the table, the absence of a prolific striker was felt. This season they have managed just seven goals in six games in all competitions.

Both Torres and Ba, who have one goal between them this season, have passed the point where they can be regarded as the solution. That leaves Samuel Eto'o for whom it is early days. Chelsea hung a great deal on signing Wayne Rooney this summer and they probably should have switched their attentions elsewhere earlier. But Mourinho was very keen on the player.

4. Teething problems for the new regime?

Mourinho has established a narrative in his introductory press conference that this Chelsea team were "kids" who required nurturing rather than "ready to win" like, he said, Manchester City's squad.

The feeling at Chelsea is that Mourinho is still in that difficult early period with his squad. He has very clear ideas of how he wants to play and the kind of rotation of players that will be successful. The players themselves are adapting but that has taken time. There will have to be give on both sides if they are to be successful.

It is not dissimilar to Benitez's early weeks in charge last season. Having started with two draws he left Oscar out of the starting XI for the next three games and picked him in alternate games over Christmas and the new year. Eventually Benitez came to trust Oscar and he played as much as any other in the run-in, but it took time for him to learn about his players.

Mourinho bemoaned his team's lack of "maturity" on Wednesday night. But he was definitive in June about how he would effect change. "It [the Chelsea job] is not about saying, 'Mr Abramovich and members of the board, I need some money with a lot of zeros at the end, I need to change half the team'." He always accepted that this would be a challenge that he had to solve, in large part, by developing his players. The last two results have confirmed that they are a long way from complete.

Home discomforts: Mourinho's defeats

Feb 2002 Porto 2-3 Beira-Mar (League)

Mar 2003 Porto 0-1 Panathinaikos (Uefa)

Oct 2003 Porto 1-3 R Madrid (Champ L)

Feb 2006 Chelsea 1-2 Barcelona (CL)

Oct 2006 Chelsea 1-1 Charlton (aet, lost 5-4 on penalties; League Cup)

Nov 2008 Inter 0-1 Panathinaikos (CL)

April 2011 R Madrid 0-1 S Gijon (L)

Apr 2011 R Madrid 2-3 R Zaragoza (L)

Dec 2011 R Madrid 1-3 Barcelona (L)

Jan 2012 R Madrid 1-2 Barcelona (CDR)

May 2012 R Madrid 1-2 Atletico Madrid (L)

Sep 2013 Chelsea 1-2 Basel (CL)

[Assassin]

Its great that the "Maureen Bubble" has burst. I guess he is not feeling "the love" any more

[Yozza]

Chelsea spent three years building a team for Guardiola and then put Mourinho in charge. It's like taking a tank into a Ferrari plant...


Put Jose Mourinho in a scrap-metal yard, and he will build you a tank. Put him in a Ferrari plant ... and he will also build you a tank.
Mourinho builds tanks.

Big powerful armored-vehicle football teams. He likes a back-four that never allows an attacking whim to distract it out of shape.

He likes to plant two bodyguard midfielders in front of that back four to fill any gaps which should appear.

He likes to have wide forwards whose talents allow them to create and score at one end but whose engines allows them to get back and cover their full-backs at the other end.
He likes a centre-forward who will muscle off two opposing defenders and offer an out-ball to a side under-pressure.

And he will allow himself the luxury of ONE No 10. Not a squad full of them as Chelsea have.
Chelsea have spent the last three years assembling a squad that would convince Pep Guardiola to take over. He turned them down.

They built a team for Pep and then put Jose in charge. What did they expect would happen?

Lightweight defenders, elegant on the ball, and comfortable in attack (Cesar Azpilicueta) and floaty midfielders, soft in the tackle but sensational in their ability to do the unexpected (Juan Mata) would be integral parts of a Guardiola side. For better or worse, Mourinho, is not enamoured.

Gerard Pique spoke after Barcelona beat Ajax 4-1 and the subject of styles came up. No two teams in Europe have such defined ways of playing as the old Dutch masters and their successors Barcelona.

Barca, under new coach Tata Martino, are trying to make certain style changes this season and there is some friction between the new coach and his players. But it is minimal because the players know that Martino’s options are limited. He can rearrange the room a little if he wants to, but most of the furniture is nailed to the floor.
'The style here since Cruyff came has not changed,' said Pique. 'You can have variations and moments in the game when you play one way or another way but in the in end the aim is always to have the ball and control the game and from there create the chances on goal.'

Asked about Chelsea’s Basel faulty episode on the same night Barcelona had coasted to such an easy win. He said: 'What you have to avoid in the group is that you fall or that there is a surprise. Chelsea, losing at home against Basel, is an example of that; it is clear that that makes things complicated.

'It is true that in recent years we have been able to qualify fairly easily and before the last game and that saves you the moments of suffering that perhaps teams like the example you have given: Chelsea, are now going to have. The key is to avoid that and avoid surprises and qualify as soon as possible.'

It’s the same-old story for Barcelona this season. Likewise Real Madrid’s counter-attacking style remains more-or-less unchanged and is enhanced by Gareth Bale’s arrival. And the other Spanish candidate Atletico Madrid also have an unalterable approach based on a back four and goalkeeper that have now been together for close to two years.

The individual ability of Chelsea’s players and their manager will surely see them through the group. But to ever win the tournament again they will need to agree on just what kind of team they want to be.

[Shaggy]

Rob Harris @RobHarris 6m
Jose Mourinho today pointing to Syria highlighting what's a real crisis - not losing 2 games

LOL

Embarrassing.

[wiw]

It is not dissimilar to Benitez's early weeks in charge last season. Having started with two draws he left Oscar out of the starting XI for the next three games and picked him in alternate games over Christmas and the new year. Eventually Benitez came to trust Oscar and he played as much as any other in the run-in, but it took time for him to learn about his players.

I don't think so somehow How can these hacks still not know what Rafa is like. Pisses me off

[danperkins]

I'm not sure why everybody gets so wound up about the guy. So many people lap up the american wrestling ****e which is all pantomime and mourinho brings some of that to the league. I'm delighted he's back. He isn't saying anything that has the slightest impact on my life. He's manager of Chelsea. Seems so many of you seem to be linking everything that happens at said club with rafa and then in the rafa thread there's more of the same and then in the CL thread its all about Rafa being brilliant and if you look in the rodgers thread there will be more comments about rafa. Everything leads to Rafa. Its about time some of you just let it go.

Rafa is like the Kevin Bacon of football.. everything leads back to him.

P.S. Kevin Bacon is a ****ing legend!

[Chris]

Hopefully he's sacked soon and English football is rid of this disgusting cunt.

[ashey]

Hopefully he's sacked soon and English football is rid of this disgusting cunt.

I want him to stay at Chelsea. They deserve each other. Horrible, horrible specimens the lot of 'em!

[Rigadon]

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says his side's poor form is because he is trying to improve their style of play.

The club have lost their last two games - against Everton and Basel - and made their worst league start in 10 years.

"I don't like the way Chelsea were playing in the last couple of years. The club doesn't like it and we want to change," Mourinho said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24177905

2011-2012 Champions League winners
2011-2012 FA Cup winners
2012-2013 Europa League winners
2013-2014 Mourinho drops Juan Mata in an attempt to improve Chelsea's style of play

[Assassin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24177905

2011-2012 Champions League winners
2011-2012 FA Cup winners
2012-2013 Europa League winners
2013-2014 Mourinho drops Juan Mata in an attempt to improve Chelsea's style of play

Maureen is the dumbest of dumb****s