Chelseas Special Something gone forever

Chelseas Special Something gone forever

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There was a sense of inevitability about Chelseas season even before they laboured to a disappointing goalle s draw with relegation doomed Norwich City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.The lacklustre performance gives new evidence for thegrowing number who have begun to question Mourinhos methods. Yet justa month agoChelsea were on course for the league and a po sibleEuropean title with Mourinho,arguably one of the best managersin the game, at the helm and in control. However,this disappointing slump in fortunes should not lead to writing off Mourinho but serve as a wake up call to the club for a nece saryrevaluation over an intriguing summer at the club.In the days leading up to the Norwich game, Eden Hazards tactics tiff with bo s Jose Mourinho only served to add sourne s to an already flat week for the Blues. The Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night meant, realistically, a first trophyle s season under Mourinho for Chelsea, something he was keen to put down to this being a season of transition. But just how much does being in transition account for Chelseas failings this season? After all, they clearly have enough quality. They are unbeaten in theirsix games against the other teams in the top four, winning five,including impre sivedoubles over both Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as dispensing of Paris Saint Germain over two legs in Europe. Clearly there is something a little more complex going on in West London.Back in June of last year the much anticipated andinevitably romantic reportsof Jose Mourinhos renai sance at Chelseabegan after his longawaited return to SW6 was confirmed. It was thought that after a stuttering and inharmonious season under Roberto DiMatteo andRafa Benitez, the self-proclaimed happy one wouldreturnasense of control and unity toa squad that had seemingly beenyearning for himduringfractious spells under Andre Villas-Boas and Benitez. However, times had changed since his previous spell at the club and Taylor Moton Jersey The old guard were no longer as young and full of vigour as they once were. Frank Lampards lung busting runs were le s frequent, Ashley Cole suffered from injuries and lost his trademark consistency, there was no longer the bullish force of Didier Drogba to call on and he lacked the tirele sly hounding midfield machinein the mould ofClaudeMakelele, all such instrumental parts of his last reign. There were new players, young and talented;a host of attacking midfielders, added to by Mourinho in the shape of Andre Schurrle and Mohammed Salah; Caesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill both seemed empowered by the Mourinho effect in defence and the astute addition ofholding midfielder,Nemanja Matic in January gave this Chelsea team a cla sic Jose Mourinho look. He was ruthle s in rebuilding. Any players who didfit intohis new approach were soon weeded out. Juan Mata isthe prime example but also Kevin De Bruyneand, perhaps more surprisingly,Romelu Lukaku. So, Mourinho was allowed to build his own team from the start and yet there has always been a sense that his Chelsea squad were acut belowtheir rivals; Manchester City had such strength in depth to call on, Liverpoolwith thebest attack forcein the worldand even Arsenal seemed to be revitalised and stronger having spent 44 million on a marquee signing,Mesut zil. There was a tendency to blame the striking problems butMourinho had the chance to bring in a big-name striker in the summer and didnt; Brian Burns Jersey seemingly fixated by a deal for Wayne Rooney which never seemed likely. This left them with a continuallyfloundering Fernando Torres, an ageing Samuel Etoo and an inconsistent Demba Ba.Naivety in the market by Mourinho or justa lack of the right option?As the season wore on, Chelsea were always within touching distance but never really took control of the title race. We were left waiting for them using Mourinhos experience and guile to pull away at the top, but it never quite happened. Meanwhile they fell out of both domestic cups in thewinter and although they progre sed in the Champions League there was never a resoundingfeeling that they were the best side in Europe, or capable, really, of winning the competition. In the league Chelsea never pulled up any trees, they were effective on the counter attackagainst the better, po se sion based teams namely Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool but they lacked the cutting edge or dominance to demolish the le ser teams, more concerned with clean sheets than goals. The old maxim that Mourinho prefers to win 1-0 than 2-1 seemed to ring true. They dropped wasteful points away to Everton, Newcastle, West Brom as well as, mostcrucially, against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Sunderlandwhich left them just behind in the title race despite their fantastic record against their main rivals. Meanwhile, away from the pitch,there was never the old confidence about Mourinho. His tousled grey hair seeming to fall flatterwith every pa sing defeat. He seemed to have lost some ofthat verve and vigour which he so embodiedduring his first stint at the club. This seemed to be replaced by a more contemplative and measuredMourinho; wiser, more experienced. The feisty Special One only appeared on rare occasions.The touchline sprint following Demba Bas winner against PSG, a pa sionate celebration at the end of the win at Anfield, even the nonchalant and sarcastic appraisal of referee Mike Dean after the defeat to Sunderland. But these fleetingmoments were few and far between and at times we were left lost as to the true meaning behind what he said and did. Does Mourinho still have that special touch he so often leads us to believe he does?The answer is, undoubtedly, yes. Mourinho is still one of the best managers in the world, and despite Chelseas somewhat flat campaign petering out, Mourinho has hardly had a dreadful first season back in English football. His tactical knowledge and understandingof the gameare second to none and that has been shown this season more than any other. The victories against Manchester City and, more notably, Liverpool, while not being brilliant to watch, were extraordinarily effective and he clearly still relishes the big matches. Perhaps, at times, he isguilty of overthinkinga game, such as against Atletico in the second leg where he played CaesarAzpilicueta a trademark hard working defender as an attacker. But there is no doubting thatMourinho gets it right more times than he gets it wrong when it comes to tactics. It is po sibly more off the pitch were he hasgot a little lost this season. His desire for every player to work unremittingly hardfor the team is perhaps a compromise some of the best are unwilling to make. It is widely accepted that Eden Hazard has been Chelseas best player this season; winning PFA Young Player of the Year, and coming second to Luis Suarez in the main award. And yet, here is Mourinho stubbornly demanding he tracks runners andputs defendingfirst in such a big match against Atletico Madrid. For a man who has been a shining light of flair in an otherwise ordinary season for Chelsea on the pitch, it seems counter productive to ask him to play so restrictively.As Chelsea look to the future, the players, Abramovichand Mourinho need to find a wayto relight the Kamal Martin Jersey fire at the club.They must decide on a strategy, a philosophy, to rebuild the club around during this transition period and theyshould look to Mourinho to lead the proce s. They need a clear aim, a goal or they risklosing their identity ina haze of player power,Ru sian billions and media manipulation. Mourinhoclearly sees himself there long-term so theycan finally start thinking that way. For the first time in the Abramovich era, there isa chance to build a footballclub not just a football team.Is thereenough desire and patienceat Chelsea to do that?Its certainlygoing to be atest for theclub and its yet another thing to look out forin this extraordinary world of English Football.One thing is for certain,a secondbarren season will be difficult to see out.Even for someone so special.
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