How do you solve a problem like Mourinho? Well, you sack him. That's football according to Roman Abramovich. Mourinho becomes the only manager sacked twice by the Russian. The most successful manager in Chelsea's history, gone. It is ironic that Claudio Ranieri should put the final nail in Jose Mourinho's coffin by beating Chelsea with his impressive Leicester side in what was now, Jose's final match in charge as Chelsea boss. Ranieri was the first to lose his job after the takeover of Chelsea by Abramovich in 2003, making way for the self titled special one, Jose Mourinho.
Seven sackings later and the departure of two interim managers at the end of their contracts, Chelsea once again find themselves searching for another manager. So how have Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Andrea Villas - Boas, Carlo Ancelotti, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Roberto Di Matteo and Mourinho again failed to build a legacy at Chelsea similar to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal or Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United?
Mourinho came back to Chelsea in what was billed as the messiah returning home, back to the only place he had been truly loved. This time he was not the "special one" but more so "The happy one". He spoke of building a legacy at Chelsea and the possibility of staying there ten years and building Chelsea into a force both in England and in Europe. Things looked good for Chelsea coming third in his first season back and winning the double just seven months ago. Things must have occurred during the summer. It is hard to comprehend how a team of title winning players just a few short months ago could now play so badly and be just one point of relegation in sixteenth place in the league.
The departure of Didier Drogba in the summer may not have left a huge void in the squad in terms of playing but his experience alone would have been a huge factor in the dressing room. The departure of Frank Lampard, the previous season, too seemed a crazy decision given the fact he went on loan to rivals Man City and played in vital games in their season let alone against Chelsea, in which he scored for City. This season also saw him publicly criticize his players and there seemed to be a falling out with skipper John Terry hauling him off at half time against Manchester City which seemed to add even further pressure on him. The fallout with Dr Eva Carneiro on the opening day of the season seemed to have unsettled his side with many players in the squad were close to Carneiro and possibly had divided opinions on how the matter was handled which added to the unrest that was already bubbling in the squad.
Mourinho's battles with the FA, Arsene Wenger, his fines, his talk of referees conspiracy's, his stadium ban and his refusal to admit he was wrong in the handling of the Carneiro case only further helped decide his future, let alone his results on the pitch. Despite all this many will be shocked that he has departed and many believe he is the man who could have turned things around.
Mourinho may be glad to get away from Chelsea it is not the Chelsea he had known previously and the friendships he had formed with certain players from that first spell were not forming with this new squad he assembled. He openly criticized them on many occasions and even spoke of being betrayed by them. He has many talented players in his squad of which he has failed to get the best out of.
So as Chelsea go in search of yet another manager it is clear the idea of any manager being allowed to build a legacy at a club are long gone. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger will remain a privileged two that were allowed to do so in the Premier League age. If you were told before the start of this season both Swansea and Chelsea would sack their managers before Christmas you would have been sent away for tests. Even Manchester United after twenty six years with the one manager will soon be searching for manager number three in just four years.
Mourinho is a top manager and he will be in demand. As for who Abramovich goes for next is anyone's guess. Abramovich like many owners now do not see a football club as a fans club anymore, they don't care about history they only care about money. football clubs are now first and foremost a business if the business is not succeeding as in business the manager has questions to answer and he will face the chop. It is sad in a way that Football is now run this way and this is the norm. Ex players will be reluctant to go into management for this reason.
Players have contracts and cannot move clubs only in transfer windows. Something similar need to happen to help managers and give them some sort of stability in charge of their clubs. It would relieve them and their players of the pressure of the sacking looming and stop the speculation on a daily basis in the press. Talks need to happen within the footballing body to help protect managers and stop owners like Abramovich wielding the axe whenever he chooses. Fair enough it is his club and he is entitled to run his club the way he chooses but he and those like him are ruining the beautiful game for everybody.
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