Chelsea

[Neil Young]

If that's the case he's more self absorbed than I thought possible.

Hilarious jokes apart, that is how his method looks from the outside. It's get everyone behind him, working towards a common goal. If someone doesn't buy in then they can destabilise the whole thing.

It usually works in the short term but eventually is bound to fail and then there's nothing left in place when he inevitably moves on.

Whether he sticks to that method because he's had success with it or because it fuels his ego is difficult to say. Probably both.

[peekay]

Bale is one example that you don't need great game intelligence or great tactical awareness to be a fantastic player.

He is almost the same type of player as Gerrard in the same age. Plays with a lot of energy, heart, pace, winning mentality.

He played in the same positions but on the other wing and is now played in the middle in a free position.

By the way, Rafa almost never played Gerrard as a central midfielder. He probably had his reasons. He wanted to get the best out of him and you don't get that if you play him CM or DM.

Throughout his career, Gerrard has played multiple positions - CM, Number 10, right winger, left winger, right back etc and played them to a highest quality.

Look at Istanbul, Serginho was creating havoc on the left hand side. Rafa switched Gerrard to right back and immediately that threat was nullified.

Do you know what is one of the main reasons for his versatility - his game intelligence. He has the stunning ability to adapt and understand the requirements of his role on the pitch and perform that to a world class level.

In fact I am confident that if Gerrard was suddenly switched to central defense, he would be among the best central defenders in the premiership within weeks. He has been among the most versatile and brilliant player with the stunning ability to switch roles and still maintain his influence on the game. Saying that he does not have game intelligence is an insult to him.

[red g]

Throughout his career, Gerrard has played multiple positions - CM, Number 10, right winger, left winger, right back etc and played them to a highest quality.

Look at Istanbul, Serginho was creating havoc on the left hand side. Rafa switched Gerrard to right back and immediately that threat was nullified.

Do you know what is one of the main reasons for his versatility - his game intelligence. He has the stunning ability to adapt and understand the requirements of his role on the pitch and perform that to a world class level.

In fact I am confident that if Gerrard was suddenly switched to central defense, he would be among the best central defenders in the premiership within weeks. He has been among the most versatile and brilliant player with the stunning ability to switch roles and still maintain his influence on the game. Saying that he does not have game intelligence is an insult to him.

His only problem has been try to do to much sometimes , But when you imagine some of the dross he has played with throughout his career its totally understandable.

[Chris]

Throughout his career, Gerrard has played multiple positions - CM, Number 10, right winger, left winger, right back etc and played them to a highest quality.

Look at Istanbul, Serginho was creating havoc on the left hand side. Rafa switched Gerrard to right back and immediately that threat was nullified.

Do you know what is one of the main reasons for his versatility - his game intelligence. He has the stunning ability to adapt and understand the requirements of his role on the pitch and perform that to a world class level.

In fact I am confident that if Gerrard was suddenly switched to central defense, he would be among the best central defenders in the premiership within weeks. He has been among the most versatile and brilliant player with the stunning ability to switch roles and still maintain his influence on the game. Saying that he does not have game intelligence is an insult to him.

Spot on. This "Gerrard has no tactical discipline", "game intelligence" **** over the years has been laughable. He's sensational anywhere including central midfield.

[Shaggy]

José Mourinho damaged Spanish football, says Andrés Iniesta

• Barcelona midfielder criticises former Real Madrid coach
• 'I don't like talking about that person at all'

José Mourinho did more harm than good to Spanish football during his controversial three-year tenure as Real Madrid's coach, the Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Mourinho quit Madrid before the end of his contract after a 2012-13 campaign without major silverware and has returned to his former club Chelsea. His stint in the Spanish capital was overshadowed by a series of ugly incidents and he alienated a significant section of Madrid's own fans when he benched the club captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, a Spain team-mate of Iniesta's.

"You just have to look at the facts," Iniesta said in an interview published in Sunday's edition of the El País newspaper when asked if Mourinho had harmed Spanish football. "Yes he damaged Spanish football, in general more harm than good. But I don't like talking about that person at all. So if you don't mind we'll leave it at that."

Mourinho was an assistant coach at Barcelona in the late 1990s and has also managed Porto and Internazionale.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jun/09/jose-mourinho-andres-iniesta-madrid?CMP=twt_gu

[baitman]

His only problem has been try to do to much sometimes , But when you imagine some of the dross he has played with throughout his career its totally understandable.

in istanbul gerrard was amazing, putting the fires out all over the pitch
but...back in the league or for ingerlund when he was sometimes played out wide he was often coming inside to try and influence/gain control of the game, maybe due to the inability of his team mates to take care of their own roles.
this then lead to gerrard leaving big gaps and exposing our own position to opposition counter attacks.

[Vermilion]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...rid?CMP=twt_gu

[spud_gun]

Paul Wilson article in today's Observer is a cracking bit of muck raking against Chelsea and Jose. Not sure if it's already been posted (Shaggy ) ....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/jun/08/jose-mourinho-chelsea-revival

You ain't seen nothing yet. If you have already had enough of José Mourinho: The Second Coming, and were left feeling faintly bilious by all the talk of falling in love again and returning to a league that is somehow even stronger than it was when he left, wait for Monday's love-in at Stamford Bridge when the erstwhile Special One returns in person to tickle the tummies of all the newshounds who love him so.

Manchester City hope to unveil Manuel Pellegrini on the same day, but you know even at this distance that they haven't a hope of competing with the Liberace-scale archness of the event taking place in London. Mourinho is not quite as camp as Liberace, in all fairness, though he plays his audience like an instrument and his ever-faithful fans never tire of lapping up the glorious tinkling. In terms of column inches and TV soundbites Manchester City's managerial appointment can expect to be blown out of the water by Chelsea's, setting a pattern that will probably be repeated throughout the new season.

It is just as well that points and league tables are what ultimately count in football, it is not a beauty pageant or a popularity contest, though Mourinho's track record in the results game bears the closest scrutiny. Annoying as he can be at times, there is substance beneath the surface froth, or at least there always used to be. His achievements up to the point when Real Madrid appointed him bore the stamp of coaching genius, which is of course why Real Madrid appointed him. While he will not have lost that ability after three years of not quite managing to knock Barcelona off their perch or deliver the European Cup his employers demanded, there were setbacks in Spain other than results. Mourinho may well be telling the truth when he talks of returning to England a wiser, more mature manager. Having proved a divisive influence at the Bernabéu, where not only some of the players but sections of the media failed to be won over by his style, the question for the coming months is whether he will be able to rebuild himself at Chelsea or whether the cracks in the facade turn out to be permanent.

It will not have escaped Mourinho's attention that both Manchester clubs filled vacant managerial positions while he was technically available. He made it abundantly clear over the years that he would welcome an approach from Manchester United, yet not only did the invitation never arrive, the club passed over the candidate with two Champions League triumphs with two different clubs to his name in favour of a local with no trophies and almost no European experience. Mourinho will probably not go out of his way to insult David Moyes at the earliest opportunity, he can be a little bit more subtle than that, but the vexation that after all he has achieved he was only wanted by the third-best club in England is bound to eat away at him.

Manchester City would have been an even better fit than United. If you have all the money in the world and a stated desire to win five major trophies in the next five years, why not go for the coach who put Chelsea on the map and won a treble at Inter? Pellegrini's coaching pedigree is perfectly respectable, on a limited budget he turned Villarreal into a Champions League force and was rated highly enough in Spain to get his own crack at the Real Madrid job in 2009, prior to taking Málaga to a Champions League quarter-final last season.

Yet though he has unquestionably improved every club he has managed, with the arguable exception of Real Madrid, where he posted a club record of 96 points in La Liga but was still pipped to the title by an exceptional Barcelona side, Pellegrini has actually won no more than Moyes. He would be trounced by Mourinho in a show-us-your-medals contest and, though United's objections to the Portuguese seemed to be based on wanting someone for the long haul and not someone who claimed all the publicity for himself and would be gone in three years, City were known to be in the market for a manager who could bring them up to Champions League speed in as short a time as possible.

City would have represented a fresh challenge for him too, whereas Chelsea feels like a backward step. Returning to England at all is possibly a backward step, since Germany and Spain are setting the Champions League pace at the moment. When Mourinho first turned up at Chelsea, a job in England was his prize for winning the Champions League with Porto. Rafael Benítez arrived at Liverpool at the same time, after winning the Uefa Cup with Valencia. Chelsea won the league at the first attempt, and might have reached the Champions League final too but for Luis García's phantom goal in the semi-final and a Liverpool side destined to overturn all the odds in Europe that year.

Despite Mourinho's claims to the contrary, the Premier League is not quite at that level any more. The talent is elsewhere, the excitement has moved on. Roman Abramovich would have preferred Pep Guardiola, and Mourinho knows it, but the former Barcelona coach preferred Germany. Second choice and second time around, Mourinho might still be the man to supervise a Chelsea revival and shake up a rather staid London scene, though behind the warmth of the welcome it is possible to sense a slightly desperate desire to turn the clock back too. That is a lot to ask of any coach. Even a special one.

[G]

Phantom goal my arse.

[Gibbo]

Unless Roman has told Jose that he needs to sell in order to fund the signings of Hulk and Cavani?

Luiz has been linked with Barcelona. Fee of around £30 has been suggested. I dare say Mata would go for the same if not more.

If that is the fee being thrown around then i reckon we should double it just to make sure - £60 may seem like a lot but I feel he could justify the price

[Neil Young]

Phantom goal my arse.

It is so unbelievably annoying that that gets passed off as fact. And the fact it doesn't matter of course makes it even more irritating.

[Phoenix07]

By Rob Draper

Stevan Jovetic is on his way and Edinson Cavani may follow if Chelsea can match Napoli’s asking price. It is only early June and the competitive football remains two months away but the Jose Mourinho revolution is under way at Stamford Bridge.

The return of the most iconic manager in their history is galvanising Chelsea, but it is impossible to ignore the doubts held by some over the most dramatic managerial comeback in modern English football history.

As well as a raft of football issues to confront — whether to persist with the new Barca-lite style of passing football, what to do with captain John Terry and how to offload Fernando Torres — Mourinho also has to negotiate a political minefield.


Late last year, some senior figures at Chelsea barely had a good word to say about him, talking instead about the tension he brought to the place and the acrimony they felt at his leaving.

Some who worked through that era still bear metaphorical scars of the bitterness between the factions at the club, the seemingly constant conflict between Mourinho, then sporting director Frank Arnesen and the board of directors.

However, needs must and, since Pep Guardiola turned them down, Chelsea needed a manager. And having burned his bridges at Real Madrid, Mourinho, needed a club.

Mourinho talked almost coyly about his return last week as a second marriage. In reality, it is more of a shotgun wedding.

Romance will presumably be in short supply at the first meeting between Mourinho and Michael Emenalo, whose job before joining Chelsea was coaching girls at the Tuscon Soccer Academy in the United States.

The Chelsea technical director is said to have offered to resign once Mourinho was confirmed as the new manager, presumably sensing conflict.

Abramovich turned that offer down and insists Emenalo is still in charge of player recruitment. So players such as midfielder Andre Schurrle, for whom negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen are under way, were chosen by Emenalo, as was the new Brazilian right-back, Wallace.

A key member of staff at Chelsea during Mourinho’s last reign cites the signing of Andrey Shevchenko as the principal source of tension between owner and manager.

‘Roman’s principal interest is the players and their recruitment,’ he said. ‘And Roman does have a lot of advisors around him who all offer an opinion. But Roman is a sponge for information and he has absorbed a lot in 10 years. I would imagine it will now be a more studied view between them on who to target.’



Mourinho will also have to get used to a new way of working if this relationship is to be as long term as he says it will be. When he left Chelsea in 2007, Marina Granovskaia was a PA at the club, albeit one of some stature with a direct line to Abramovich. Today she is seen by some as the key player in decision-making at the club, alongside director Eugene Tenenbaum.

Mourinho is capable of inspiring enormous loyalty. Staff at the club were stunned when, early on in 2004, he turned up at a routine quarterly meeting for heads of department.

No manager had ever bothered to do so, but Mourinho walked into the meeting, introduced himself and said: ‘We are all department heads, all equal. I am the head of the football department and whatever we do on the pitch affects your job here. It is important I am at the meeting.’

His personality dominated the club. ‘It will surprise some people but he is extremely courteous to the executive staff, almost deferential,’ said his former colleague. ‘He wasn’t bombastic or a bully in areas which weren’t his domain. In his areas, he was the king. But if it was something he didn’t have expertise on, he would defer to you and he was good to work with.’

On the pitch though, Mourinho will have some very specific problems. He inherits a squad that was signed for Guardiola, including ‘tiki-taka’ players such as Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard.

Mourinho’s use of pace and power does not naturally lend it itself to their game. Given that one of the reasons for Mourinho’s original exit was his inability to deliver what the owner considered to be fantasy football, the integration of the trio known as the three amigos into the side will be viewed assiduously. As will his treatment of John Terry.

The captain remains a rallying point for Chelsea fans but he is 32 and not the force he was. His contract runs out at the end of next season and Chelsea are unlikely to consider renewal until the autumn. Even then it is likely only a one-year deal would be under discussion.

Mourinho must decide whether to stick with his captain or be rid of him, all the while considering what Abramovich and his emissary, Emenalo, want. Terry still holds considerable sway, as evidenced by a training ground discussion after the 2-0 defeat at Manchester City in February.

Terry had been left on the bench that day by interim manager Rafa Benitez and fellow stalwart Frank Lampard was substituted after 68 minutes.

With the team at a low ebb, Benitez took the players to the centre circle of the training ground, so no one else could listen in. He challenged them to improve and Terry led the way, defending the players.

Another senior player weighed in, saying that the team had won the Champions League the year before so could not be all bad. Benitez responded by pointing out that players such as Didier Drogba and Saloman Kalou, who had subsequently left the club, had played a key part in that triumph.

In the middle of the exchange with Terry, one foreign player interjected in Spanish: ‘Don’t worry boss. He’s only having a go because you left him on the bench and you took his best mate off after 68 minutes.’



Clearly, not everyone at Chelsea buys into Terry’s leadership. But the fact that the player expressed himself in Spanish, so Terry would not understand, demonstrates that nobody is yet prepared to confront him to his face.

Chelsea are in the market for a new centre-half, looking at Porto’s 22-year-old Frenchman Eliaquim Mangala, although it does not necessarily follow that Terry will be the fall guy. Gary Cahill may not make the Mourinho cut and David Luiz does not look like his idea of a central defender, although the Brazilian is loved by fans and the club’s hierarchy.

Mourinho has a choice: Sell Luiz to Barcelona to raise funds for the players he wants or empower his fellow Portuguese speaker as the new leader of the dressing room — a move that would signal to Terry that his days as the dominant force are over.

Somehow, Mourinho must find a way through all the intrigue.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz2Vjp1wTPD
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[Shaggy]

Fascinating. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Love the fact that Rafa took Terry on and won.

[Phoenix07]

By Ben Smith

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22818467

The return of the Special One has stirred up old passions at Stamford Bridge like never before.

To the fans, memories of the trophies, medals being thrown into the crowd and the thrill of being top dogs in England remain as vivid as ever as Jose Mourinho begins his second spell at Chelsea.

His first news conference on Monday will prompt a media maelstrom like few others. The passing of time has done little to dim those images of glory and success, or dull those famous phrases he conjured as English football fell under his thrall.



Mourinho may have delivered Chelsea's first league title for half a century - and much more besides - but the subsequent differences, difficulties and discord have largely been forgotten.

The only simple thing about the final six weeks of that first spell was the statement that Chelsea released in the early hours of 20 September 2007. It read: "Chelsea and Jose Mourinho have agreed to part company by mutual consent."

Nothing more, nothing less.

The final 24 hours of Mourinho's reign began with a phone call on the morning after Chelsea's turgid 1-1 home draw with Rosenborg of Norway in the Champions League Group B opener.

He was summoned to Stamford Bridge for a meeting at 2pm.

It later emerged that club owner Roman Abramovich had postponed an overseas business trip to attend. Even then, Chelsea insiders thought the sudden meeting had more to do with the woeful attendance of 24,975 from the previous night than the immediate future of the manager. They were wrong.

Abramovich, chief executive Peter Kenyon and director Eugene Tenenbaum were all present as Mourinho was told of the board's frustrations. Why had results dropped off? Why could the team not play a more attractive style? Why did Mourinho continue to embarrass the club with his public outbursts?

Few know how Mourinho behaved in that meeting but the suggestion is he dared the board to sack him and find another manager who could bring them the success he had.

A few hours later, Mourinho gathered with the bulk of his squad outside of the stadium for the short journey to a Fulham Broadway cinema for a screening of Blue Revolution - a film about the club's new era of success.

Frank Lampard, John Terry and Petr Cech were not present, having already received messages from their manager telling them of his expected departure. Players who were present were bemused as their manager walked the length of the team bus shaking each of their hands without a word of explanation.

Mourinho did attend the screening of the film, even shaking Abramovich by the hand as he arrived. Some 90 minutes later he returned to Stamford Bridge for another meeting - his last.

He left the stadium at around 9.30pm and more players soon learned of the news.

By this point, news had started to spread of Mourinho's departure. Chairman Bruce Buck and other directors were called into an emergency board meeting on how to handle the news and with whom to replace Mourinho in the short term.

At 1.45am the next morning, Chelsea released a statement. By 3am it was decided director of football Avram Grant would take over as manager.



There had, however, been signs of the trouble long before.

What began as a friendship between Mourinho and Abramovich based on the club's success gradually became of clash of personalities.

The first cracks appeared as early as May 2005 when Mourinho felt his authority had been undermined by Abramovich's decision to recruit Frank Arnesen from Tottenham Hotspur as director of scouting and youth development.

It was further eroded by the signing of £30m forward Andriy Shevchenko and the arrival of Avram Grant on the coaching staff.

Mourinho wanted neither.

More problems came in January 2007 when Mourinho and Abramovich clashed over what the Portuguese saw as a sudden refusal to provide necessary investment.



The manager had been told he would not be allowed to sign a striker in that transfer window. When he asked for a defender as cover for the injured John Terry, he was offered a choice between PSV Eindhoven's Brazilian international Alex and Bolton's Tal Ben Haim.

Mourinho wanted neither.

The manager's reluctance to play Shevchenko regularly and Abramovich's desire to bring Grant into the coaching set-up further chipped away at the relationship.

A fragile peace did break out as Mourinho led Chelsea to the FA Cup in May 2007 but the summer exposed old wounds. Knowing Mourinho was unhappy, Abramovich sounded out Jurgen Klinsmann about replacing him, but before he could do the deal he was talked down and persuaded to give the Special One another season.

The damage had, however, been done - the short peace proved a false one.

There were hints of the discontent on Chelsea's pre-season tour to California. When asked about Grant's appointment, Mourinho said: "He must not interfere with the power I have in my job. So, welcome. I will try to help him with what happens at a club like Chelsea."

But that was just the start. Mourinho's relationship with a number of players was strained at best. As Chelsea prepared for their final pre-season friendly against Danish team Brondby in Copenhagen, Shevchenko announced he was not fit and withdrew from the match with a back problem. Chelsea won 2-0, while Shevchenko was photographed at Sunningdale Golf Club on the same day.

Chelsea's poor start to the new Premier League season - their worst since 2000-01 - left them fifth in the table, albeit only two points behind leaders Arsenal.

In the fortnight before his sacking, they lost 2-0 at Villa Park and drew 0-0 with Blackburn, before the Rosenborg result.

Mourinho began to avoid news conferences, instead sending his assistant Steve Clarke in his place. When he did speak, he was frequently grumpy, enigmatic or cryptic. On the other hand, the underlying message was sometimes crystal clear.



"It's all about omelettes and eggs," he said in his last conference. "No eggs, no omelette. It depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket, you have class one, class two and class three eggs.

"Some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem."

After the Rosenborg draw, witnesses say Abramovich entered the dressing room.

His appearance was not altogether unusual but one source described seeing the owner, tactics board in hand, taking players to task over their performance - with Shevchenko acting as a translator.

Mourinho was not present, having spent only two minutes in the dressing room before attending to his media commitments. The men exchanged a few words in the players' lounge later - but there was no hint of what was to come.

Mourinho has told friends his departure from Chelsea remains the most painful and hurtful experience of his career. At that point, it was hard to envisage a time when the Special One would ever return.

Time has healed old wounds but to what extent, remains to be seen.

At his news conference there will be smiles, promises and warmth - but Chelsea and Abramovich must hope this second marriage brings more than just instant gratification.

[Arn]

In the middle of the exchange with Terry, one foreign player interjected in Spanish: ‘Don’t worry boss. He’s only having a go because you left him on the bench and you took his best mate off after 68 minutes.’

Mata?