It seems every comment Jose Mourinho has made so far, there must be a few key words in the content - “I”, “Me”, “Top Manager”, “European Winner”. If a manager is judged by his own words, then without a doubt Mr. Mourinho would be the GREATEST manager in world football today!
Jose Mourinho, when being compared to Arsene Wenger, claimed “Chelsea is a 7-week-old baby, Arsenal is a 7-year-old young boy… People should judge Mr. Wenger’s first 3 matches in charge comparing to mine…” Fair enough, though what he failed to mention is Arsene has spent a net transfer fee less than $30 million pounds in 7 years, Mourniho has spent over $90 millions in 7 weeks.
Many people have started to compare his approach to the game with George Graham. Yet again, George never had his luxury to have so many world-class players in his squad.
Despite all this though, I do have a feeling Chelsea this season will be a real contender to the Premiership. It’s not because of his reputation. Let’s assume we had never heard of him, and he’s only an unknown manager who’s managing Chelsea at his first season in a foreign country. What would you do if you were him? (Knowing that you had just inherted a quality side, yet the players had not established an understanding due to the fact that they had not been playing together for too long.) Wouldn’t you want to play a cautious approach, to make sure even if you couldn’t win, at least you wouldn’t get beaten, so that you could buy time for your attacking players to establish a rhythm and understanding? It seems to me, Mourinho did exactly that.
Previously, secretly, I was hoping Mourinho would underestimate the lesser opponents in the Premiership, and they would pay for it by dropping a few points here and there. Yet after 3 matches into the new season, with Chelsea’s 3 oppositions being a weakened Man Utd side, Birmingham, and Crystal Palace, not only that Chelsea never did underestimate their opponents, they played with such a cautious approach that at times you might mistaken they were playing Real Madrid. If they keep adopting the same safety-first approach for the rest of the season, I can’t help but wondering - how they are going to slip up or drop points?
The quality in their side would guarantee a goal or two in every match, yet with their team playing with such a discipline and good defence, there aren’t too many teams in the Premiership that could get the better of them. Boring as they may, if George Graham could win the old Division One title twice with a squad with far less quality using the same defensive approach, dare we write off a side who had spent nearly 200 million pounds in two seasons adopting the same game plan?
26 Responses to “A seven-week-old baby may be our main threat…”
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August 27th, 2004 at 7:46 am
It will be interesting to see what UEFA has to say about Roman Iwannabuythebitch’s involvement with Chelski and CSKA Moscow.
Apparently if he has 51% interest in both clubs only one of them can play in the CL,
August 27th, 2004 at 7:59 am
And the funny part is he invested in CSKA Moscow before Chelsea. So as things stands Chelsea will be the big time losers here if UEFA can prove he have more than 51% interest in CSKA.
Fun fun fun. Can’t wait
August 27th, 2004 at 8:09 am
Chelsea has been less than impressive in its matches… I want to see them under a bit of pressure… say, down 3-1 in the 2nd half!!! then we’ll see how they respond!! They are a talent filled team, I make no bones about that. However, its a long season and they will find themselves in more than 1 or 2 difficult situations. How they react will determine if they are ok, good, very good or Invincible!!!
August 27th, 2004 at 8:23 am
Andez what is it with you and your obsession with defensive play? We all agreed with you the last time that you need a good defence to win the Championship, which we have but you also need a team that is offensive. Chelsea will be a stronger team this season compared to last because Tacklebury (Mourinho) is trying to give them a settled side which will build a better understanding but they will have to be stronger going forward as they will not be able to ride their luck as they did against Man.U and Birmingham. I would like to see them react to going a goal, or even 2 down as we did to Middlesboro.
There is no doubting that they have some great players but we have a great team and only time will tell if they ever become a team because every year Mr. Moneybags keeps adding personnel which does nothing for team spirit. You can already see that Lampard is not the player he was last year because Tacklebury has stifled his natural instincts for going forward. I feel that footballers are creatures of habit and they like to be in a team playing good football, they will overlook this if they are winning but the moment the results aren?t their wait for the moaning to start. Just look at what happened to Paul Sturuck at Southampton. George Graham won the league in a different era and I don?t think his tactics withstand today?s modern game
I think Chelskavich (Chelske sounds Romania to me) will push us a lot closer this year and I think the results between us will be the difference. If they beat us in the two league games last year and all other results went they way they did then they would have won the Premiership by one point.
August 27th, 2004 at 8:26 am
Andez,
I lift my hands up and say I was wrong when I said his style of play is like that of George Graham. You right GG did not have them sort of players whiles that Ass hole have the so-called stars but playing the most boring football since GG. I sat in the rain watching them against Palace and was boring like hell.
But when it comes to the man himself I gave up. He seems to have a comment each day whether is England, Arsenal, United, and now he is talking shity again about Rooney.
I guess now some ppl knows why I said what I wrote in June about him. For some reason even the good Chelsea fans can’t stand him with all the silly and foolish comments.
Is also a lesson to others? Sports? football” is not all about winning but what you do off and on the field.
Also what was the deal about that debate below about Lehmann? Guys behave like men and stop all these personal attacks. This is Arsenal America and not 606, etc. Agree and disagree with others by making your point clear. Some of the comments were plain silly and put lots of ppl off
August 27th, 2004 at 8:33 am
Apparently he doesn?t own any part of CSKA but the oil company he owns sponsers them to the tune of ?40 million, which to me looks like the same thing. Don?t expect UEFA to do anything and also expect Chelsea to win their match in Moscow because their players will have been told if they want their wages at the end of the month to hold back and let them have the result they want (allegedly).
August 27th, 2004 at 9:12 am
I think the election year mudslinging is creeping into everything else…
I’m just staying away from the negative threads.
August 27th, 2004 at 9:14 am
Mourinho’s challenge in my opinion is to get a bunch of superstars to fully cooperate with his vision. Porto were “unfancied”, and there were no egos to diffuse. I think Mourinho’s arrogance comes from his absolute power to recreate what he had there in a team with unlimited funds and a galactico-sized talent pool. He’s got a formula that has proven that it works in both the GG era and in this summer’s Euro’s. He believes it will stop both one-touch, slide rule football and gritty, physical football. And so far, so good.
Chelsea will n o doubt grow fiercer in a few months time, and will learn to steal games. I believe The Arsenal will have the most trouble with them around the box and in the air, and will have to come at them from every angle, with certain speed, to unhinge them. We’ll also have to be confident in midfield as we have been, and we will win. And as posts here have suggested in reference to the Boro game?HEART AND TEAMWORK WILL RULE THE DAY.
In the end our title will be sweeter, because we will know that we did it with smart and exciting football that relied on something other than deep pockets and a sand-bagging mentality.
For me, this is a fight between more than a few teams, this is a fight for European football. We MUST prove that some ever-grinning manchild with rubles to burn can’t just come in, ruin the transfer market, upset the evolution of the game, and buy a trophy.
This is war. Who better suited to win than The Gunners.
August 27th, 2004 at 9:15 am
Yep…me too.
August 27th, 2004 at 9:19 am
I read today that Abumiscratch’s holdings are linked to some sponsership for CSKA Moscow’s shirts only. They don’t seem to be worried.
August 27th, 2004 at 9:59 am
I have to say, I’ve heard a lot of Chelsea comment recently about them being at the beginning of a journey. I don’t see it that way. But we shouldn’t forget that Arsene Wenger won the Premier League in his first full season at Highbury - so if Chelsea want to make the comparison then this is the year they must win the title, or shut up.
August 27th, 2004 at 10:08 am
Anyway you look at it he has a foot in each camp.
August 27th, 2004 at 10:09 am
Me three
August 27th, 2004 at 10:39 am
I read another comment from Mourinho that really got my blood boiled today… When asked about Arsenal’s unbeaten record, here is Mourinho’s comment,”All credit to Arsenal for breaking the record… But it means NOTHING. Come and see me when you have won the European Cup. Then, I will say, you are something.” Then he added, typically never forgot to hard-selling his own achievement “My philosophy brought six titles to Proto in two years… My philosophy is to win, home and away.. what has Wenger done?”
To TeaBag, why I’m obssessed with defence? Because to me defence is the bread and butter, attack is the iceing on the cake. Not only in football, but in many other team sports like basketball as well. Tell me how Detroit Pistons were capable to beat the Lakers to win the NBA? MJ’s great Chicago Bulls, they were great offensively, but most importantly, they were great defensively as well. Watch Greece, how they won Euro 2004? Watch Germany, how they broke into final at World Cup 2002? France won Euro 2000 and World Cup 1998 heavily relied on their defence… Perhaps I grew up watching George Graham’s defensive side, that really got me believing into George’s philosophy. And I can honestly say, Arsene’s achievement today has a big part of it to thank for our famous old rearguards. Without the likes of Adams, Seaman, Keown, Dixon, Winterburn, Bould, could AW has won the double in his first full season in charge? It was a time AW was still relatively an unknown, and hadn’t been able to win the trust of Highbury faithfuls yet. The back 5 made life much easier for AW than it could have been.
August 27th, 2004 at 11:11 am
This is rather nice:
http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/publish/article_63637.php
August 27th, 2004 at 11:16 am
Anyone who isnt worried about Chelsea needs to check again. They have bags and bags of money to spend on top quality players, and, in Mourinho, a very good coach. Lets face it, no player can b.s. a manager with a champions league victory to his name. He has their defence very well organised and has promised to play ugly football until his flair players like Robben and Duff are fit. So, the spell of boring, uninspired victories may soon pass away, and then it will be game on. That said, Arsenal have never been bothered by the big spending guns. In fact, we have shown ourselves to be quite capable of slugging it out with the big boys anytime. It thus really rankled Fergie and stuck in his craw that a team with one-tenth of his budget could fight him tooth and nail for the title every season. So, bring on the 7 month old baby with its fat wallet, and we’ll show him why we are a 7 year old.
August 27th, 2004 at 11:31 am
well said!
August 27th, 2004 at 12:00 pm
Don?t get wet up over Mourinho. They press is very good when it comes to setting you up and the arrogant man will have to watch it. Uefa cup or not, he is no Wenger and not even close to SAF.
No doubt about good defending. Wenger is good as hell but also have to give credit to G Graham. We had the best ever defence in modern football ?the back 4(5)? including DB10, Parlour and not to forget Ian Wright. That team won Wenger his first double. Also have a look back at all the best teams in the past. They won things with good defence
August 27th, 2004 at 12:19 pm
It might be the Swift boat thing. Hey, and not to offend you Yanks but damn why can?t the government and opposition deal with the real issues instead all the name-calling business. After all England is that bad when it comes to the media
August 27th, 2004 at 1:42 pm
Its a battel waged for the nitwits.
I guess when the country appears so evenly divided on the major issues, its up to these weasels called 527’s to try and tip the scales. I sincerely hope I don’t live and vote in a country that can’t see through this fabricated, media-jerking garbage. Of course, I’m supplied proof to the contrary ad infinitum/nauseum.
Looking into some property on that new planet we just found.
August 27th, 2004 at 2:01 pm
I’m also obsessed with defending. What would happen to us if Lauren got injured when Sol is out too ? I know some of you think we can’t buy a world-class defender to sit on the bench, but I don’t see why not - Chelsea have 11 near-galacticos they don’t use every week. We could rotate, in fact we ought to rotate, seeing as we’re in four competitions. OK, Arsene knows best, and I guess if we’re not buying it must be because there’s no one good enough around at the moment. Still, the lack of cover with only 3 days before the window closes and the season hots up is making me scared.
August 27th, 2004 at 2:14 pm
Mourinho LOVES the sound of his own voice
Remember his ‘I am a modest man but I come to England with a curriculum vitea unmatched by any human alive’ modesty BOAST?
or his ‘God looks up to me’ claim 3 years ago.
He is good for the news hounds
August 27th, 2004 at 5:48 pm
Arsene said on the radio today that there’s a 50-50 chance we’ll sign a midfielder - Spanish, I think - before the window closes. A MIDFIELDER? When we’ve got Pires, Edu, Freddie, Paddy, Gilberto, Cesc, Flamini, Pennant - that’s 8 - plus Reyes, Clichy and van Persie who can and sometimes do play in midfield. Could someone explain to me why we need more than 11, but don’t need to strengthen the potentially flakey defence? He must know what he’s doing but I simply don’t get it. Please, please explain.
August 27th, 2004 at 8:44 pm
We don’t pay BIG money… and pay large salaries for players to sit on the bench. That is the way of Wenger. We have never had stars that sit, we would rather use our young talent in those situations. AND, we still are very successful.
Bringing in high paid / high profile players to sit on the bench would cause problems. No great footballer wants to sit. (See: Wiltord)
August 27th, 2004 at 10:12 pm
at first i was also very angry with his comments, i thought given such unlimited fund, he just have to shut up and deliver. he has no rigth to talk about others, since he is in kinda virtual club.
but anyway, seems that those comments are just his plain old technique to put pressure on others while hiding his own nerve. useless comments.
so he think he only got 7-wk old baby huh. i’d love to see what happen to the baby when its 7-yr old. but this baby ain’t seem like living that long.
too much of unhealthy russian milk is bad.
August 29th, 2004 at 6:57 am
Then why are we going after midfielders like someone with compulsive-shopping disorder? Wiltord was on the bench because the few times he played he was poor. Hope he does OK at Fiorentina, though.