Recent reports from The Evening Standard confirm Jose Mourinho, the current Chelsea boss, is feeling the heat from his own players after weeks of abysmal performances. The loss of form has taken a massive toll upon the club’s bid to resurrect their season and defend their Premier League title.
The Evening Standard believes a vast majority of the dressing room has got increasingly disappointed with the manager’s handling at the club.
Some rumours also suggested Chelsea might go for a £15 million buy-out clause for Diego Simeone, the Atletico Madrid boss, to replace the Portuguese if the current string of dismal, hapless performances does not improve soon.
Currently Chelsea sit only a couple of places above the relegation zone, with eights points in their kitty from an equal number of matches. The recent losses to Porto in the Champions League and the 1-3 loss at home to Southampton have certainly piled Mourinho under intense subjugation and criticism.
Many are already doubting if the ‘Special One’ has lost his Midas touch and whether he would be capable of producing a turnaround, though he has remained firm on his point.
“The results are not adapted to my quality and my status but I am coping well with the situation. I am the best man for the job. I don’t think there is a better man to come in and do it,” he said.
Now the question that comes to the fore is whether John Terry’s assertive statement, “If there is anyone who can dig us out of this hole, it is Jose Mourinho” is anywhere near true?
Coming to facts and records, Mourinho, whenever he has drawn his first game of the season, has gone on to win a treble (this time around, they drew their opening game against Swansea).
Secondly, he is the defending champion and out of all the current Premier League managers, he has the best winning percentage with just under 69 (it has taken a hit after the four losses this season).
Some people ruled Chelsea out in 2013, when Jose Mourinho made his Stamford Bridge return, however his “little horse” found a way to dominate most of the season. However a late collapse saw them finishing four points off Manchester City, the crowned champions.
As far as this season has panned out, the camaraderie in the set-up was broken early in Mourinho’s spat with club doctor Eva Carneiro, and a humiliating loss to Manchester City at the Etihad. Presently, they have won a mere four games from 11 in all-competitions, which is incredibly bad for the reigning champions of England.
Coming to the big discussion, whether he should be sacked by the management after this dismal array of results, the answer to that would be a definite no.
Why? As he famously said “I am a Special One”; Mourinho still has the potential to resurrect Chelsea’s season and perhaps make a late bid for a title challenge.
Another look at the Premier League table would suggest that they are only 10 points from the leaders Manchester City, and eight points behind the joint-point holders in Arsenal and Manchester United. No team in the Premier League this season has gained absolute ascendency and have been any runaway favourites.
Manchester City certainly were on a roll before they received unexpected jolts at the hands of West Ham, Juventus (in Champions League) and a thrashing against Tottenham. Recent trends also prove City’s performances take a dip mid-season, as was evident last campaign after New Year’s Day, when they lost track of Chelsea.
Moving to the red half of Manchester, Louis van Gaal’s men are still in transition, though stats suggest they have won five of their eight encounters so far. Even van Gaal admitted this would probably not be his team’s lucky year; the recent hammering at the hands of the Gunners (by a margin of 3-0) would have certainly been a big blow.
As for the Gunners, they have lost to Chelsea this season when Wenger had the biggest chance to do his first-time Premier League reverse against Mourinho, at a time when Chelsea were really reeling. Their inconsistency this season might give teams like Chelsea, Southampton and Everton a chance to eke into the the top four.
Although they looked superb against Leicester and Manchester United, there is no point in hiding the fact that Wenger’s men have lost both their Champions League encounters against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos.
This unpredictability and other twists and turns as the season progresses might just give Chelsea the opening to make a late resurgence. They still have 30 more matches to play.
Coming to the Chelsea team, there has to be some quick alterations if they are to turn things around swiftly. Mourinho would be aware that some of his key players including the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Branislav Ivanovic and Radamel Falcao have failed to deliver the goods after being given their chances, and as far as Mourinho is concerned, he would definitely make some like-for-like changes to strengthen the set-up.
It would not be a surprise if the new-recruit Baba Rahman gets his position at left–back with Cesar Azpilicueta taking the right-back slot. Kenedy might replace Falcao up front in their upcoming game against Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa. Fabregas might get benched for Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The game against Aston Villa might hold decisive if Chelsea are to achieve consistency in their performances. After this they will play Dinamo Kiev in an away fixture, and whether they can regain momentum is something worth watching.
Speculation is clouding over Mourinho’s tenure at the Bridge with players like Nemanja Matic and Azpilicueta reported to be unhappy with him. However as Terry quoted before – if Chelsea take the gamble of sacking him at this crucial juncture, it would pull them further towards the relegation hole.
He is still the best manager in the world, and given his due time, he might prove why he is so.
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