Mourinho's return is a mistake

‘Never go back’ they say. But Jose Mourinho has done just that and is once again at the helm of Stamford Bridge as manager of Chelsea.

Mourinho’s time at Real Madrid has been stressful for the mere spectator. The political circus and civil feuds which have surrounded recent times at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium have taken their toll on him.

His hair is shorter and greyed, his skin sags slightly from his tired face. The Mourinho at his inaugural Chelsea press conference this time around will be a little less vibrant than the ‘special one’ who memorably entered the English game back in 2004.

Back then he was hungry to gain the reputation as the greatest manager in the world. He was on the breadth of the wave of having taken a Portuguese club team to Champions League victory – an achievement none had predicted.

The young, charismatic Mourinho had a clean history with nothing on his record but victory. Now he re-enters after, perhaps, his CV’s only blotch; his failure at one of the biggest clubs in the entire world.

Mourinho was tasked with toppling the Spanish domestic dominance of Barcelona, somewhat of his arch-nemesis, and also putting Madrid back in the reckoning for European honours, a competition with which they have such great history but have struggled with in modern times.

But Mourinho could not handle the pressure in Madrid. He could not survive under the watchful eye of President Florentino Pérez who loomed over him like the burden of a mountain of debt. And for the first time in his career his man-management failed to control the dressing room. In the likes of Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos he encountered players with egos as big as his own who revolted against his regime.

Mourinho’s return is almost an attempt to pick up where he left off and forget the time in between his reigns. By returning to Chelsea, Mourinho is trying to return to 2007, or at least 2010 before he joined Madrid, when he was a young man who had never failed.

Admittedly Chelsea have not challenged for the title in the last two seasons, but they have won the Champions League, a trophy with which they have had such an intimate relationship yet which was so elusive to them. If Mourinho could swoop in and snatch this holy-grail for Chelsea then I would suggest his appointment would be justified.

But Roberto Di Matteo has already won the Champions League with Chelsea leaving them with an identity crisis. Chelsea no longer need to prove they can win the major trophies. They are seeking longevity, style and purity – Mourinho has many effective qualities but he does not possess any of these.

Roman Abramovich and his advisory board ditched Mourinho back in 2007 and after several heirs failed to emulate Mourinho’s success, the Russian tycoon finally tried to reinvent Chelsea under Andre Villas-Boas. Young players were signed under a young manager who wanted to win with style.

But unsurprisingly Abramovich became impatient waiting for the long-term project to come to fruition and the stop-gap coaches ever since Villas-Boas was dismissed have merely built a long, winding road back to Mourinho.

Mourinho’s return to Chelsea has the feel of an old, successful TV show returning to air years later. The cast all look a little older and have all experienced highs, lows and misdemeanours since the original production, making the purity of what was originally created somewhat tainted. Additionally, the expectation created by the popularity of the original will be suffocating.

It was key that Mourinho signed up to the second coming, he’ll probably bring Michael Essien back with him. The likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard were always willing to be involved. The absence of stars like Didier Drogba just means it won’t be the same.

‘He’s coming, he’s coming!’ Brace yourself for the fanfare and a love-in between Mourinho and the media. Mourinho has spent the last year alienating himself from the Spanish press whilst cleverly convincing the British media that they adore him.

I hope Mourinho is successful for the sake of English football. The Premiership is certainly in need of a boost. But I wonder if it would’ve been better to hold on to the nostalgic memories of Mourinho’s story at Chelsea rather than to add a new chapter which has the potential to ruin the ending.

Mourinho is an effective manager for specific situations and is a fascinating man. But whether he is tailored for Chelsea in 2013 is certainly questionable.

Follow me on Twitter @RichMaher93

West Ham vs. Chelsea Preview

At this moment in time it’s very difficult to be a happy West Ham United supporter. It’s difficult to determine whether the recent transfer window can be deemed a stable success or an uninspiring, gutless failure. And it’s difficult to be optimistic with regards to gaining anything at all from today’s game against our frighteningly powerful and convincing champion neighbours, Chelsea.
Whether the transfer window slamming shut on that fateful evening proves to be an upward path for the better, or a slippery slope to the championship, one thing remains certain; it will be an evening of great significance for the future of the club. Whilst we held onto the talismanic figure of Scott Parker, much to the delight of David Sullivan’s ego, along with our, once, vibrant English core of Robert Green, Matthew Upson and Carlton Cole, we have received nothing in terms of the ‘David Beckham’s, ‘Thierry Henry’s or ‘Ronaldinho’s whose monstrous reputations were conveniently linked to our club at peak season ticket selling periods. Perhaps David Sullivan and his partner in crime, David Gold, should realise that, like themselves, West Ham fans are not idiots. Our persistent season ticket purchases are not in the wake of outlandish, fabricated rumours but unquestionable loyalty and the desire to see our commitment matched on the pitch.
Perhaps in the days of FA Cup finals, Carlos Tevez and Eggert Magnusson, we may have lost touch with reality and been drawn in by the exaggerated claims of Champions League dreams, but after recent seasons, our expectations have been sent crashing down to earth with such imbalanced periods of mediocrity or turbulence. Our support has become so cynical that even in the honourable situation of our player being called up for international duty, we’d bet good money on an injury being sustained. Or even if we destroyed Chelsea by six goals today, a loss at Stoke the following week would be a distinct possibility. The one thing we ask for is commitment. Even if we lose today by a comfortable amount of goals, if I see some display of passion I will the leave the stadium a much happier Hammer than when I entered. If I see, even one hard, meaningful challenge on Frank Lampard by anyone but Scott Parker or Mark Noble, or even something as little as Carlton Cole viciously shrug off John Terry as he advances in on goal, I will take some salvation and attempt to accept we have the foundations to remain in this incredibly competitive division, but at the moment I am struggling to see the passion we need to survive. There is an absolute lack of fight which was evident in our last great escape or even the eventual relegation in 2003.
David Sullivan has even conceded that some want-away foreign employees ‘couldn’t be bothered’ to play for us during the trading season in the expectancy of a move, but as these haven’t materialised, I hope he is right in saying they have no choice but to now pull up their socks and battle for the team, I don’t care whether that is to keep West Ham in the Premiership or to cement their place in the shop window, but it is in the best interests of the likes of Valon Behrami, who have flirted with brilliance but never quite achieved it, to make a name for themselves. Whether Avram Grant has the physical drive to fire these players up to do so, is debatable.
I was disappointed with the appointment of the dour Grant. His uninspiring nature and, in my opinion; inexperience did not make him the standout contender for the role of the Mr. Fresh the owners wished for. Although he has seemingly achieved some success in England, this was all handed to him on a plate and he has, effectively, created nothing of his own. But now we are stuck with him. We mustn’t take the lead of the ridiculously predictable, lazy ‘News Of The World’ story that he has ‘3 games to save his job’, as they attempt to destabilise us and foreseeably jump on the bandwagon of our failure. This is Grant’s chance to create his own dynasty and we must get behind him.
We could all see that this would be a difficult start to the season and although it’s disappointing; being pointless at this stage was always a possibility. It seems ridiculous that three games in to the campaign you are all subject to a worried, relegation-threatened article, but it is likelihood we’ve all accepted many a time, only to be proved wrong and reminded why we love football so much. This is a long season, and now we’ve selected a 25 man-squad, we are without the playing staff uncertainty previously suffered and are given the stability needed to mount some kind of form. So let’s enjoy today, there is no pressure for us to get anything from the game, it’s a London derby and who knows? We can be a funny old team.