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12 03 2006 Don't succumb to the anti-Mourinho agenda
"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi
Jose Mourinho has become arguably the most vilified manager in Europe. Of course, he is partly to blame with his
occasional arrogance, but now I even hear some Chelsea fans beginning to turn against him.
What Jose says outside the dressing room should be irrelevant. Sure, I would love him to occasionally be more gracious
in defeat - but since when were we experts in motivational and "mind game" skills? From my perspective, he enjoys
deflecting pressure off the team itself, and the media are the suckers that succumb to his tactics.
I am wondering why the media is so anti-Chelsea. When Chelsea were winning trophies in the late nineties the media
seemed to be pretty neutral. They probably patronised Chelsea - "they can have their small trophies now - they will
probably drop away soon". But now Chelsea are the dominant force in the English League - and will be for many years.
Many resent this. There are few Chelsea fans who write in the media - David Mellor being the only one who tends to talk
sense and have a balanced opinion. Personally, I have stopped buying newspapers, as if I believed all that was written
then I would have probably switched allegiances by now!
Away from the media, and on the pitch, Jose has certainly made a few mistakes. Playing in Real Betis without a proper
strikeforce cost us top placing in the group. However, against Liverpool at home, Chelsea had three wrongful offside
decisions given against us. Instead of concentrating on this, the media replayed Essien's poor tackle every day for a
week. Chelsea played against Barcelona without Essien or a recognised left back. I am sure if we had played Benfica
instead then we would be through to the next round! Apart from that though, I cannot really see too many massively
wrong tactical decisions he has made - although that's coming from me who has never managed teams to win the UEFA
Champions League, UEFA Cup, Premiership, etc! Sure, I wanted a more attacking formation against Barcelona, but
what do we know of what is going on behind the scenes? Just as last year Jose was right to say that Rijkaard spoke to
Frisk, so we should also not be so quick to condemn our own manager this season. He usually has an ulterior motive
that in the overall picture is beneficial to our team.
I spoke to Chelsea fans yesterday who talked about there being "something missing" when they came to The Bridge
nowadays. Well it's obvious what it is - we hardly ever go to a game expecting not to win! Do we have to win every game
4-3? Does this realistically happen? How can fans not be excited when we have the likes of Duff, Robben, Cole and
Wright-Phillips on the ball? I think some fans prefer the old Chelsea more for the days on the terraces when we could
have a laugh and burn down a town centre - but that is a completely different issue to team matters. I would never like to
revert to the style of football we played in the 80s! It seems ironic that now we have finally won the league, Chelsea fans
are still not satisfied. What more do they want? That's fine by me in a way, because we should always attempt to strive
to perfection. However, if watching football matches is so boring because we always feel we will win - why didn't we beat
Barcelona? Or Charlton for that matter in the League Cup?
I listen to other Chelsea fans who believe and regurgitate what is written in the media. We can all have our own opinions,
but if people read the same anti-Mourinho diatribe time and time again, then I guess they start to fall for these views!
Chelsea fans - start thinking for yourselves, and boycott any media outlets that you feel have a hidden agenda about
Jose. I sometimes wonder if, with Jose being the "housewives' favourite man", whether hacks with pot bellies are jealous
not only because of his success, but his looks too!
Finally, who else would you want as Chelsea manager? I could not name anyone I would like instead of him - and for his
occasional "faults" he has been gracious many a time - but the media tends to ignore his good points.
Jose Mourinho has become arguably the most vilified manager in Europe. Of course, he is partly to blame with his
occasional arrogance, but now I even hear some Chelsea fans beginning to turn against him.
What Jose says outside the dressing room should be irrelevant. Sure, I would love him to occasionally be more gracious
in defeat - but since when were we experts in motivational and "mind game" skills? From my perspective, he enjoys
deflecting pressure off the team itself, and the media are the suckers that succumb to his tactics.
I am wondering why the media is so anti-Chelsea. When Chelsea were winning trophies in the late nineties the media
seemed to be pretty neutral. They probably patronised Chelsea - "they can have their small trophies now - they will
probably drop away soon". But now Chelsea are the dominant force in the English League - and will be for many years.
Many resent this. There are few Chelsea fans who write in the media - David Mellor being the only one who tends to talk
sense and have a balanced opinion. Personally, I have stopped buying newspapers, as if I believed all that was written
then I would have probably switched allegiances by now!
Away from the media, and on the pitch, Jose has certainly made a few mistakes. Playing in Real Betis without a proper
strikeforce cost us top placing in the group. However, against Liverpool at home, Chelsea had three wrongful offside
decisions given against us. Instead of concentrating on this, the media replayed Essien's poor tackle every day for a
week. Chelsea played against Barcelona without Essien or a recognised left back. I am sure if we had played Benfica
instead then we would be through to the next round! Apart from that though, I cannot really see too many massively
wrong tactical decisions he has made - although that's coming from me who has never managed teams to win the UEFA
Champions League, UEFA Cup, Premiership, etc! Sure, I wanted a more attacking formation against Barcelona, but
what do we know of what is going on behind the scenes? Just as last year Jose was right to say that Rijkaard spoke to
Frisk, so we should also not be so quick to condemn our own manager this season. He usually has an ulterior motive
that in the overall picture is beneficial to our team.
I spoke to Chelsea fans yesterday who talked about there being "something missing" when they came to The Bridge
nowadays. Well it's obvious what it is - we hardly ever go to a game expecting not to win! Do we have to win every game
4-3? Does this realistically happen? How can fans not be excited when we have the likes of Duff, Robben, Cole and
Wright-Phillips on the ball? I think some fans prefer the old Chelsea more for the days on the terraces when we could
have a laugh and burn down a town centre - but that is a completely different issue to team matters. I would never like to
revert to the style of football we played in the 80s! It seems ironic that now we have finally won the league, Chelsea fans
are still not satisfied. What more do they want? That's fine by me in a way, because we should always attempt to strive
to perfection. However, if watching football matches is so boring because we always feel we will win - why didn't we beat
Barcelona? Or Charlton for that matter in the League Cup?
I listen to other Chelsea fans who believe and regurgitate what is written in the media. We can all have our own opinions,
but if people read the same anti-Mourinho diatribe time and time again, then I guess they start to fall for these views!
Chelsea fans - start thinking for yourselves, and boycott any media outlets that you feel have a hidden agenda about
Jose. I sometimes wonder if, with Jose being the "housewives' favourite man", whether hacks with pot bellies are jealous
not only because of his success, but his looks too!
Finally, who else would you want as Chelsea manager? I could not name anyone I would like instead of him - and for his
occasional "faults" he has been gracious many a time - but the media tends to ignore his good points.