No Way Jose!

[STEVIEG]

I mentioned this in the Chelsea thread but Sky are now on it too

Is Jose gone?

Roman must be fairly stupid if this is true

[afeencalleddan]

I mentioned this in the Chelsea thread but Sky are now on it too

Is Jose gone?

Roman must be fairly stupid if this is trueI was only thinking today surely they'll move fast and get Capello in. He'd fit in with their set up.

[STEVIEG]

I was only thinking today surely they'll move fast and get Capello in. He'd fit in with their set up.

Has he the flair that Roman wants though?

[STEVIEG]

Talk of Ramos here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_art icle_id=482822&in_page_id=1779&ito=newsnow

[afeencalleddan]

Has he the flair that Roman wants though?I think he could sort out a lot of problems like building bridges with Ballack, etc. He might have the balls to kick out Lampard and build the team around Ballack and Essien. Just cause he gave Real a bit of bite doesn't necessarily mean that he's negative or lacking flair. A good manager will come to a club to sort out the problems and then adapt a certain style depending on the characteristics of the available players. Otto Rehaggel used to be known for attacking football but he had to adapt when managing Greece cos the players were limited. I know certain managers like Wenger have a philosophy on how the game should be played but I wouldn't categorise every manager.

[wat_boy]

pako ayesteran was rumoured to be linked with utd and chelsea about 2 weeks back, cant see him getting the top job and the chavs though.

[STEVIEG]

I think he could sort out a lot of problems like building bridges with Ballack, etc. He might have the balls to kick out Lampard and build the team around Ballack and Essien. Just cause he gave Real a bit of bite doesn't necessarily mean that he's negative or lacking flair. A good manager will come to a club to sort out the problems and then adapt a certain style depending on the characteristics of the available players. Otto Rehaggel used to be known for attacking football but he had to adapt when managing Greece cos the players were limited. I know certain managers like Wenger have a philosophy on how the game should be played but I wouldn't categorise every manager.

I agree

Real Madrid attacked their way to the title in April and May

I dunno whether Abromavich would see that though, and i think the closeness of the Chelsea players to Jose will make things tough for them

Ironically, if this is true, i reckon it may make Uniteds task tougher on Sunday, as Chelsea attempt to win it for their old boss

In the long term though, a hard manager to better

[afeencalleddan]

Talk of Ramos here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_art icle_id=482822&in_page_id=1779&ito=newsnowI don't think the timing is right for him. I'd say after the whole Spurs affair and the tragedy with Puerta he'd be reluctant to walk out unless he has a real brass neck.

[st finnbar]

bye bye jose, bring your rubbish tatics elsewhere:mrgreen:

[STEVIEG]

I don't think the timing is right for him. I'd say after the whole Spurs affair and the tragedy with Puerta he'd be reluctant to walk out unless he has a real brass neck.

Thats' what i was thinking with the Spurs stories too

And the result tonight won't help things either

[STEVIEG]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7003912.stm

[STEVIEG]

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/04_03/mourDM0705_468x695.j pg

[xvis]

wow!

[st finnbar]

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/04_03/mourDM0705_468x695.j pg

well it seems he has cut his own throat :lol:

[xvis]

It wouldn't surprise me if he was booted.

..Chelsea haven't looked right this year, the Ballack squad omission looks like he is to set to be offloaded in the winter, and the Shechenko situation rumbles on.


edit: he's gone.

Chelsea haven't looked as hungry as last year. ..the star names haven't blended to fuel the master plan at Chelsea, ..and the half empty stadium the other night has reflected that.
The press moanings and rattlement of the spring also damaged his standings, ..as did the very poor performances against Liverpool in the CL semi, ..particularly second leg have seen Jose's rep tarnished.

I think also the impact of Sven at City as a club manager has opened a few eyes at Stamford Bridge as to other ways to go, ..but for the main alternatives .... Hiddink has signed a new contract, Ramos I'm not sure he sure about...


...Is it a coincidence... Carlos Quieros?!? :p

[STEVIEG]

...Is it a coincidence... Carlos Quieros?!? :p

The Jackal denied the unrest reports and it's unlikely that Roman would go for a similar nationality!

Having said that, he might do a deal with Fergie and take them down:)

All sorts of talk flying around

Klinsman to Chelsea

Jose to Spurs

and most bizarrelly of them all for me

Jol to Chelsea!!!!!!

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9760/mourinhoog1.gif
I hear Steve Staunton might be free soon

[xvis]

The Jackal denied the unrest reports and it's unlikely that Roman would go for a similar nationality!

Having said that, he might do a deal with Fergie and take them down:)

All sorts of talk flying around

Klinsman to Chelsea

Jose to Spurs

and most bizarrelly of them all for me

Jol to Chelsea!!!!!!

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9760/mourinhoog1.gif
I hear Steve Staunton might be free soon

The interesting angle is where next for Jose,

..this is a step back for Chelsea for a while.

It's more and more ON for Liverpool.

[STEVIEG]

First Premiership manager to get booted this season too (if it's true)

Should be an interesting fallout

I have a lot of time for Jose

His teams never lost a home game in the league, some record

Though this summer and last summer he made some poor decisions in the transfer market

[farranreeboy]

keep the chin up jose

[Eoin]

First Premiership manager to get booted this season too (if it's true)



Wonder what odds the bookies were giving on that pre-season!!

Shocking stuff though, could have chelsea in disarray for a while. The title race is wide open now!

[sixes]

Just officially confirmed on the website.

Mutual consent sighted

[Captain Planet]

big loss to the premiership, not just chelsea. I'll miss his wit.

[Eoin]

big loss to the premiership, not just chelsea. I'll miss his wit.

Be interesting to see what he does now. I'm sure he won't be short on job offers.

[CHANCE]

Will there be counselling available ? The buddy is a Chelsea fan and i just broke the news to him. haha

[xvis]

big loss to the premiership, not just chelsea. I'll miss his wit.

Big time. ...too much a clash of ego's at Chelsea.


..expect the Roman/Kenyon/Arnesen pantomine show to develop into meltdown for a bit.


The players loved Jose, ..this won't sit well.

[MonTheHoops]

He was sacked alright yeah.

Capello isn't a negative replacement. Anyone remember his Milan side of the early 90s?

[mightyquark]

Heard he left by mutual resent!

[Lamps]

Big loss to the premiershit. Probably the top WUM and second best manager after Wenger

[POL]

The door is open for Keane

[RonnyB]

It was always going to end in controversy at Chelsea for Mourinho & if he has walked I dont blame him. Having the owner buy players he wants rather than the manager requirements, then bring in a coach for 1 of these players as well as looking for the team to play a different style to the one that bought 2 titles, while the manager has an ego like Jose is just asking for trouble.

I feel sorry for Jose in this mess. He's without doubt a great coach but Roman cant seem to keep out of team affairs.

[3pointplay]

The SFI exposed Joes, He had to go.:D

[homer jay]

deschamps in the running

[POL]

Keane was seen in London yesterday

[FL4ZGN]

Keane was seen in London yesterday

They should send him to Paris for a team talk with the gohys.

[shammy feen]

My guess is that Avram Grant will be next manager.

To be honest im sad to see Jose go...he brought us our first league title in 50 years and for that he will always be welcome back at the bridge. However the infighting and bickering was always only going to end up with one result..

[homer jay]

They should send him to Paris for a team talk with the gohys.

maybe they should. he'd put the final nail in the coffin of their world cup hopes.

[shammy feen]

Article posted on BBC Website 2 days ago.

Confucious say Red Ken talk with forked tongue...


Last Updated: Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 09:38 GMT 10:38 UK http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/sol/shared/img/v3/dot_629.gif

Mourinho is key to glory - Kenyon



Chief executive Peter Kenyon insists Chelsea's hunger for success will not cost manager Jose Mourinho his job.
Kenyon says Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's long-term plans for the Blues include Mourinho at the helm.
He said: "There's loads of speculation that if we don't win Jose gets fired, but that's not the way we think.
"It's about winning in style and building that dynasty, and that's what Roman wants to be part of; Chelsea becoming part of Europe's dynasty."
Former Manchester United chief executive Kenyon revealed Chelsea's desire to become a worldwide brand in the same manner as his former employers.
Kenyon said: "Over a 10-year period, you need two European Cups to be a world club, and you have to dominate your domestic league.
"We have an infrastructure to deal with that and people to deal with it.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
"We will win the Champions League, the question is when," Kenyon says in the Chelsea documentary Blue Revolution.
"We've got a squad, a structure, a belief and we've got quality; I believe the Champions League is not far away."
Kenyon also claims Mourinho is the most similar manager to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson he has yet seen.
After joining Chelsea in 2003, Kenyon was instrumental in bringing former Porto boss Mourinho to Stamford Bridge to succeed Claudio Ranieri.
The Chelsea chief executive said: "After the first week I didn't feel Ranieri was up to the job. Having been around a winner like Sir Alex, Ranieri certainly didn't come into that class, so we embarked on looking for a new manager.
"We came up with Mourinho who was young and different.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif

"We'd seen some of the best names but he was hungry and thought differently and I saw he had some of the same qualities as Alex Ferguson.
"He's a winner and we were lucky enough to get him, and I think we've had some success since then."
Kenyon also revealed that Abramovich has concerns about Chelsea's on-field image, and that the Russian billionaire is keen to couple success with style.
"He's passionate about Chelsea; he's passionate about how we are perceived, how we do things. If we win, we want to win stylishly, everyone buys into that. "He's the best possible thing that could have happened to Chelsea," added Kenyon. "He's thoughtful, he's strong and he's been a very successful businessman. But he's very different to how anybody would portray him because nobody knows him."

[FL4ZGN]

Article posted on BBC Website 2 days ago.

Confucious say Red Ken talk with forked tongue...


Last Updated: Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 09:38 GMT 10:38 UK http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/sol/shared/img/v3/dot_629.gif

Mourinho is key to glory - Kenyon



Chief executive Peter Kenyon insists Chelsea's hunger for success will not cost manager Jose Mourinho his job.
Kenyon says Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's long-term plans for the Blues include Mourinho at the helm.
He said: "There's loads of speculation that if we don't win Jose gets fired, but that's not the way we think.
"It's about winning in style and building that dynasty, and that's what Roman wants to be part of; Chelsea becoming part of Europe's dynasty."
Former Manchester United chief executive Kenyon revealed Chelsea's desire to become a worldwide brand in the same manner as his former employers.
Kenyon said: "Over a 10-year period, you need two European Cups to be a world club, and you have to dominate your domestic league.
"We have an infrastructure to deal with that and people to deal with it.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
"We will win the Champions League, the question is when," Kenyon says in the Chelsea documentary Blue Revolution.
"We've got a squad, a structure, a belief and we've got quality; I believe the Champions League is not far away."
Kenyon also claims Mourinho is the most similar manager to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson he has yet seen.
After joining Chelsea in 2003, Kenyon was instrumental in bringing former Porto boss Mourinho to Stamford Bridge to succeed Claudio Ranieri.
The Chelsea chief executive said: "After the first week I didn't feel Ranieri was up to the job. Having been around a winner like Sir Alex, Ranieri certainly didn't come into that class, so we embarked on looking for a new manager.
"We came up with Mourinho who was young and different.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif

"We'd seen some of the best names but he was hungry and thought differently and I saw he had some of the same qualities as Alex Ferguson.
"He's a winner and we were lucky enough to get him, and I think we've had some success since then."
Kenyon also revealed that Abramovich has concerns about Chelsea's on-field image, and that the Russian billionaire is keen to couple success with style.
"He's passionate about Chelsea; he's passionate about how we are perceived, how we do things. If we win, we want to win stylishly, everyone buys into that. "He's the best possible thing that could have happened to Chelsea," added Kenyon. "He's thoughtful, he's strong and he's been a very successful businessman. But he's very different to how anybody would portray him because nobody knows him."

This from the guy who said he had Manchester United in his blood.
The so called life long United supporter.

That guys likes money more than Roy does.

[Roman Abramovich]

truly gutted jose is gone. a great entertainer. a great manager. Chelsea will be a better team to watch. capello & deschamps out of work?
personally id go with either hiddink or dennis wise/poyet.

[homer jay]

This from the guy who said he had Manchester United in his blood.
The so called life long United supporter.

that's kola you're thinking of.

[FL4ZGN]

truly gutted jose is gone. a great entertainer. a great manager. Chelsea will be a better team to watch. capello & deschamps out of work?
personally id go with either hiddink or dennis wise/poyet.

If Kola said that i'd put it in my sig.

[Jim Comic]

bizarre, truly bizarre.

[Jim Comic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7004083.stm

[Jim Comic]

My guess is that Avram Grant will be next manager.
..

your guess seems to be correct

chelsea for relegation, can't see him having the respect of the dressing room

[Roman Abramovich]

If Kola said that i'd put it in my sig.

then you know nothing on wise and poyet. They a great partnership. two chelsea heros, two guys who support attacking free flowing football. Two coaches who have suffered relegation and stuck by their team, two coaches who got deducted 15 pts and just got on with the job of getting promotion.

They are a great duo.

[Roman Abramovich]

your guess seems to be correct

chelsea for relegation, can't see him having the respect of the dressing room

doubt chelsea will be that silly. all speculation at the moment

[Lamps]

your guess seems to be correct

chelsea for relegation, can't see him having the respect of the dressing room

that was no guess, that story was there before i got to work and that was 8 o clock.

SFI. Always watching

[wayne gayle]

"Mutual consent" my arse. He was sacked but his ego couldn't take the public knowing that so he asked the club to put this spin on it.

[Jim Comic]

if the fai act quickly and sack stan then jose might be in charge at croker for the germany game :)

or with fergie not getting any younger it'd be some craic if he ended up at o.t. next season

or jose down the cross to replace richardson?

[sunbabe08]

arent man u and chelsea playin against each other on sunday???? :)

[Mr Jefferson]

Jose couldn't contain his surprise on being told Romans booting him out

http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00210/jose_mourinho__mana_ 210478c.jpg

[shammy feen]

that was no guess, that story was there before i got to work and that was 8 o clock.

SFI. Always watching


It honestly, actually was just an educated guess. Didnt realise it had been announced already.( Has it?)
Avram Grant arrived in the summer and he is a big buddy of Abramovich. Hes been sitting on the bench for the last few weeks with Mourinho. It was either him or Steve Clarke who would fill the managerial slot until a big name came in and Abramovich was always going to pick his buddy over a dour scot..

[Coin]

Never liked him.

Although I did think that he would have been one of very few managers with the balls to stand up to Abramovich. I was wrong though, he didn't. He should have walked when Shevchenko and Ballack were foisted on him. Its not like he would have had trouble getting another job.

[STEVIEG]

It honestly, actually was just an educated guess. Didnt realise it had been announced already.( Has it?)
Avram Grant arrived in the summer and he is a big buddy of Abramovich. Hes been sitting on the bench for the last few weeks with Mourinho. It was either him or Steve Clarke who would fill the managerial slot until a big name came in and Abramovich was always going to pick his buddy over a dour scot..

Yup, Clarke and all the back room team are gone now too, correct?

Jose will be missed

A great character

The Lampards and Terrys of the world will be gutted

[shammy feen]

Yup, Clarke and all the back room team are gone now too, correct?

Jose will be missed

A great character

The Lampards and Terrys of the world will be gutted

Philby is probably wacking off to this news.

[Roman Abramovich]

Yup, Clarke and all the back room team are gone now too, correct?

Jose will be missed

A great character

The Lampards and Terrys of the world will be gutted

i dunno i think terry could have turned on him.

[shammy feen]

i dunno i think terry could have turned him on.


:shock:

[Jim Comic]

Guus Hiddink, Jurgen Klinsmann and Frank Rijkaard are all touted as strong candidates to take over the helm. (The Guardian)

Meanwhile, the former Juventus coach Didier Deschamps, Sevilla's Juande Ramos and Fabio Capello are also believed to be on the hitlist. (The Times)


So was Jose Mourinho pushed or was he sacked?

Mourinho walks, but the club claim he was sacked. (Daily Mirror)

A bust-up between Mourinho and his captain John Terry is believed to have spelt the end for the "Special One". (The Sun)


So who will be in charge of Chelsea for Sunday's clash at Manchester United?


Owner Roman Abramovich is set appoint the club's director of football Israeli Avram Grant as caretaker boss. (Daily Mirror)




OTHER GOSSIP
BBC pundit and former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer believes £30m Andriy Shevchenko will prove his worth at Chelsea. (Various)

[Roman Abramovich]

i tought frank rikard would be managing chelsea this summer and jose managing barca.

[FL4ZGN]

then you know nothing on wise and poyet. They a great partnership. two chelsea heros, two guys who support attacking free flowing football. Two coaches who have suffered relegation and stuck by their team, two coaches who got deducted 15 pts and just got on with the job of getting promotion.

They are a great duo.

Two guys managing in the third teir of english football.
Two guys unproved at the top level.
Two guys that no top club would touch with a barge pole.

[STEVIEG]

Two guys managing in the third teir of english football.
Two guys unproved at the top level.
Two guys that no top club would touch with a barge pole.

I disagree to a certain extent

They are both doing really well and are Chelsea (cunts) though and through (kinda)

It would be a brave decision but not necessarily the worst one ever

The only major problem i'd see would be that Wise and Poyet wouldn't command the same respect as they are relatively young

Also, most of this Chelsea team have won titles, Wise has not

anyway, it's Grant

[Roman Abramovich]

Two guys managing in the third teir of english football.
Two guys unproved at the top level.
Two guys that no top club would touch with a barge pole.

arsene wenger was managing at grampus eight in japan when arsenal signed him. sam allardyce couldnt get a job cross channel so took a job from limerick (confirm?). Steve stauton was a no-one and look at the great job hes done with ireland. Roy keane wasnt even a manager when sunderland signed him. Jose mourhino was bobby robsons translator.
















































the stan one was a joke.

[KolaKubes]

Predictable.

I fear he'll be the next Utd manager.

I'm sure he'd be very successful but I don't like his football.

Hopefully, Chelsea will now implode, starting on Sunday.

[Jim Comic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7004083.stm

[oliver hymn]

truly gutted jose is gone. a great entertainer. a great manager. Chelsea will be a better team to watch. capello & deschamps out of work?
personally id go with either hiddink or dennis wise/poyet.

i presume you are joking.

[Armitage Conway the 2nd]

Wonder what odds the bookies were giving on that pre-season!!

Some feen got 85-1..........too good of a price i would think

[Actin The Sham]

Jose will go to Inter.

[FL4ZGN]

arsene wenger was managing at grampus eight in japan when arsenal signed him. sam allardyce couldnt get a job cross channel so took a job from limerick (confirm?). Steve stauton was a no-one and look at the great job hes done with ireland. Roy keane wasnt even a manager when sunderland signed him. Jose mourhino was bobby robsons translator.
















































the stan one was a joke.

Had Wnger not signed a new contract would you like to see Wise/Poyet at the Emirates?

Those two are a couple of jerks.

[Roman Abramovich]

Had Wnger not signed a new contract would you like to see Wise/Poyet at the Emirates?

Those two are a couple of jerks.

as they are both hardcore chelsea men then no.
on ability and how they get teams playing and methids etc then yes.
your being very harsh on wise and poyet. I feel this comes from ignorance and hatred rather than actual knowledgeable views on how good they actually are.

[FL4ZGN]

as they are both hardcore chelsea men then no.
on ability and how they get teams playing and methids etc then yes.
your being very harsh on wise and poyet. I feel this comes from ignorance and hatred rather than actual knowledgeable views on how good they actually are.

The guy had no control of the dressing at Leeds last year. Fair play for getting Milwall to the FA Cup Final but imo i think managing Chelsea is way to big for him. Let him get Leeds back where they belong and maybe then i will agree with you.

As for your points on Wenger and managing Grampus 8, every Tom, Dick and Harry knows that he turned down the French national team while managing at Monaco (where he was very sucessful). Take at look at the calibre of player he had under him even before he went to Japan and you can see why Arsenal went for him.

BTW he is Bruce Rioch.

[STEVIEG]

Movement of Jah People...........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7006084.stm

[RICH]

Movement of Jah People...........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7006084.stm

ha ha. would be great if that was to materialise. i think chelsea were mad to get rid of jose. he got great respect from the players which made for a great team spirit. it will be very difficult for avrim grant to lift the team for the game against man united on sunday.

[sunbabe08]

ha!!!!! oh dear. just shows how a lot of the players respected and admired him more than any one else in the club, but they better be careful, i dont think roman would be to bothered if he lost a couple of players. sure he can buy more :rolleyes:

[mau]

Come with me to any lower-division match. You’ll probably get a half-decent football game. You’re a journalist, you write down significant information in your notebook. The home team make lots of chances but convert only one, then get caught on the break. The match ends, but your intrepid information-gathering does not.

You go to a room, generally bare and unloved, and wait. Eventually – always long enough to keep you in your place – the managers come in, one by one. “How did it go, Ron?” “Well, we made lots of chances. But in this league, you get punished if you don’t take them and that’s what happened today.”




And you and your half-dozen colleagues write all this down as if the words were coming from a burning bush. “Were the substitutions tactical, Ron?” “Fresh legs up front.”

Then one of the long, ugly pauses that characterise encounters of this kind, before someone asks: “Any knocks, Ron?”

The experience of watching a football match is not valid until the manager has spoken. Many, if not most newspapers will be deeply unhappy about a match report unless there is a “quote” from the manager. “We’ve got to work hard in training all week. There are no easy solutions in football.” And we write this all down as if it were Analects of Confucius. Is it not surprising that managers get their heads turned?

José Mourinho represents the ultimate triumph of this: The Cult of the Manager. He has done as much as is humanly possible to render the action on the pitch irrelevant. With Chelsea, the story was always the manager. Players, what do they matter? Like Alfred Hitchcock’s actors, they are cattle.

Mourinho was football’s star. His entire career was a sweet revenge on the gods that made him unable to play the game. But he was never interested in football for itself; rather, it was football as a vector for power that enthralled him. That was his strength and ultimately his downfall.

Because the truth of the matter is that, ultimately, football is a game about spontaneity; about fragments of individual brilliance allied to a corporate resolve. If you reduce football to a series of set-plays, you reduce the capacity for surprise and, therefore, the potential for winning.

But Mourinho hated spontaneity. He sought control. He wanted people who only ever crossed on the pedestrian crossing, not realising, or rather, not understanding that a city without jaywalkers is a city without artists.

He didn’t want artists. He didn’t trust them. He liked ordinary talents developed to extraordinary lengths: Terry, Lampard, Makelele, Drogba. These were people he could control, these were players who would not get between the manager and his public.

One club, one star. Le club, c’est moi. Football’s traditional belief is that the team are an extension of the manager’s nature. Why, you may ask, were Chelsea not flamboyant, feisty, cocky, maverick, paradoxical, intermittently brilliant? Because Mourinho is primarily interested in power. The maverick side of his nature is merely the way he set about claiming power, for it is power, not perversity, that defines him.

As a result, the team were in subjection to the manager. This wasn’t a team who cut loose, ever; this wasn’t a team you watched for the sake of this player or that player. You wouldn’t catch Mourinho signing Cristiano Ronaldo or Cesc Fàbregas, talents that need a certain amount of slack in the rope.

Rather, Mourinho put his faith in method and control. Chelsea were effective enough but never reached beyond the brilliantly ordinary. The truly exceptional was always beyond their reach, perhaps beyond Mourinho’s understanding.

How else to explain his failures with Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack? To fail with one might be regarded as a misfortune; to fail with two looks like a personality disorder. A manager who takes on two of the finest players in Europe and gets scarcely anything from either – indeed, seems to delight in their misfortunes – must ask questions not about the players but about himself.

These two players were stars and, as such, they didn’t fit into Mourinho’s plans. They were a threat to him. It was important for him that they failed, and they did. This is heresy: it should be the belief of every coach that anyone of sufficient talent can be accommodated.

Mourinho preferred other methods. They work, too. They worked for Mourinho at FC Porto, where he won the European Cup, and they worked well enough in England to bring two league titles, even if a second European Cup was always beyond him with Chelsea.

But these methods have their drawbacks. The first is that if you rule the exceptional out of your game, you are going to have problems when you encounter the exceptional among your opponents. You have eliminated the element of individual inspiration. In fact, the only place in which individual inspiration was allowed to flourish with Chelsea was with the goalkeeper. Petr Cech’s head injury was the single reason Chelsea failed to win the league title last season.

The other drawback is that your team are going to be less fun. Less fun to watch, less fun to play for. And you can argue all you like that a win is a win and that it doesn’t matter whether you went the pretty way or the ugly way, the fact is that Mourinho found himself in trouble at Chelsea because of a disagreement on the subject of aesthetics. It is true, yet it is not true, that Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, parted company with Mourinho because he was unable and unwilling to deliver football like Barcelona. That was the proximate cause, of course, an ever-growing dissatisfaction with the fact that Chelsea’s highest ambition was to achieve a sustained and brilliant mediocrity.

But the ultimate cause was different. If it hadn’t been aesthetics, it would have been something else. Mourinho established a one-star club, with one man attracting all the attention, making all the stories, setting the agenda, one man as the centre of power, one man as the moving spirit, one man eclipsing all others. It really should have occurred to him that a man who had spent 500 million quid to establish the club as a publicity vehicle for himself may get a little bit irritated by that.

Because the truth is that Mourinho’s power was only ever an illusion. He drew attention to himself, he had the nation’s football press delighting in every pose, every absurdity, every contradiction, but he was never truly in charge of Chelsea. Such power as he had was loaned, not achieved or given.

Mourinho reminds me of the critic in Anthony Powell, whose goal “was to establish finally that the Critic, not the Author, was paramount”. The cult of the manager is designed to promote the idea that the manager, not the player, is paramount and Mourinho’s is the ultimate expression of this cult. And that’s why Mourinho had to go – because the cult is based on a false premise. In the end, the players are the stars.

[STEVIEG]

Ajax coach coming into join Chelsea as technical coach in a few weeks, with Grant remaining manager, according to loads of reports in tomorrows papers

We might see a different Chelsea after all

[Rebelred]

Ajax coach coming into join Chelsea as technical coach in a few weeks, with Grant remaining manager, according to loads of reports in tomorrows papers

We might see a different Chelsea after all

John Terry was totally asleep for Valencia's goal last night

[KolaKubes]

John Terry was totally asleep for Valencia's goal last night

Very fortunate not to get punished on one or two other occasions as well.

Ferdinand was outstanding on Tuesday, not a mention.

Terry brutal last night, I believe he was being "hailed" by his manager afterwards.

[Lamps]

Very fortunate not to get punished on one or two other occasions as well.

Ferdinand was outstanding on Tuesday, not a mention.

Terry brutal last night, I believe he was being "hailed" by his manager afterwards.

Thats what years of doing the business gets you.

Shit sticks and for Rio he'll have to live with it.

I also believe Ferdinand gets away with some awful blunders being brushed over. Maybe not from RTE but certainly by the others.

That said, neither are in the top 2 or 3 centre halves in Britian

[Rebelred]

Thats what years of doing the business gets you.

Shit sticks and for Rio he'll have to live with it.

I also believe Ferdinand gets away with some awful blunders being brushed over. Maybe not from RTE but certainly by the others.

That said, neither are in the top 2 or 3 centre halves in Britian

Ferdinand was good the other night but Vidic is absolutely brilliant at the moment

[Lamps]

Ferdinand was good the other night but Vidic is absolutely brilliant at the moment

Vidic is outstanding from what I've seen of him but even he has the odd clanger, and for being such a hardy boy he can make the most of challenges against him.

[KolaKubes]

If Kola said that i'd put it in my sig.

[And another]

[KolaKubes]

Vidic is outstanding from what I've seen of him but even he has the odd clanger, and for being such a hardy boy he can make the most of challenges against him.

Eh.

All players have the odd clanger Lamps.

All players make the most of challenges against them.

Welcome to soccer.

[Lamps]

I'd have Carvalho,Toure and Gallas as the 3 best centre halves, followed by Terry and Vidic.
Carragher looks to be gone well back from the bits i've seen, didn't see the game last night but heard he was poor again

[Lamps]

Eh.

All players have the odd clanger Lamps.

All players make the most of challenges against them.

Welcome to soccer.

You're angry about yesterday aren't you?

Look lad, it had to be done.

I think Vidic is dodgy against smaller pacy players.

[KolaKubes]

I'd have Carvalho,Toure and Gallas as the 3 best centre halves, followed by Terry and Vidic.
Carragher looks to be gone well back from the bits i've seen, didn't see the game last night but heard he was poor again

Ferdinand is much better than Terry.

[3pointplay]

You're angry about yesterday aren't you?

Look lad, it had to be done.

I think Vidic is dodgy against smaller pacy players.

Lover's tiff?:p

[KolaKubes]

You're angry about yesterday aren't you?

Look lad, it had to be done.

I think Vidic is dodgy against smaller pacy players.

What happened yesterday?:confused:

[ebenezer]

Ferdinand is much better than Terry.

I'd rather John Terry in my side. He does the basics well, tackling, heading, blocking etc. He is also strong and doesn't switch off as much as Ferdinand.

[KolaKubes]

I'd rather John Terry in my side. He does the basics well, tackling, heading, blocking etc. He is also strong and doesn't switch off as much as Ferdinand.

I'm not doing the Ferdinand "debate" again.

[RonnyB]

Ferdinand was good the other night but Vidic is absolutely brilliant at the moment

I thought I was watching visa versa the other night with those 2. Rio throwing his body in front of shots & Vidic playing long spraying passes to the front men.

[Rebelred]

I'd rather John Terry in my side. He does the basics well, tackling, heading, blocking etc. He is also strong and doesn't switch off as much as Ferdinand.

Terrys form hasnt been the same this season though. I think he may struggle more under the new regime of attack and entertain at Chelsea. The odds are there will not be someone sitting as deep right in front of him, leaving him more open to quicker, skillful forwards such as Torres

[KolaKubes]

I thought I was watching visa versa the other night with those 2. Rio throwing his body in front of shots & Vidic playing long spraying passes to the front men.

They're both class.

All the talk is about how Utd aren't scoring goals, what about a ridiculously solid looking defence?

And they had to carry John O'Shea the other night.

[RonnyB]

They're both class.

All the talk is about how Utd aren't scoring goals, what about a ridiculously solid looking defence?

And they had to carry John O'Shea the other night.

Speaking of O'Shea I wouldnt have him in defence for United anymore unless in real crisis. He does a better job in midfield I think now. I'd have given Simpson a chance on Tuesday but that would have been risky against Mancini.

[Lamps]

What happened yesterday?:confused:

I exposed you and your comparisions.

You are not permitted to do such things as you have no point of reference.

[Lamps]

All the talk is about how Utd aren't scoring goals, what about a ridiculously solid looking defence?


Have you no shame

[Philby]

pako ayesteran was rumoured to be linked with utd and chelsea about 2 weeks back, cant see him getting the top job and the chavs though.

Rumours of Pako joining Chelsea for next season have resurfaced after he walked out on the director of football job at Sociedad due to a disagreement with the owner...hope he gives the chavs a wide berth.