I was having a conversation with my son at the weekend, as the goal we conceded to West Ham signaled that already this season we have conceded more than in any full season since 2003-04. If you think about it logically though, that makes complete sense because that was the last season our play was adventurous enough not to rely more heavily on our defence than attack to win games.
How unusual for Jose Mourinho to be surrounded by controversy eh?
Arriving in London in the middle of the fully expected media circus, Mourinho announced he’ll still be ‘The Special One’ at the end of tonight, no matter what happens. Although whether Mario Balotelli agrees after he was rumoured to be left back in Italy following a training ground bust-up with his boss, is another matter.
In case any of us dare forget, Jose Mourinho enjoyed a great record at Stamford Bridge during his time at Chelsea and not even I would dismiss that.How long would he have kept it up if he’d stayed? Read more »
Champions League last 16 second leg: Chelsea v Inter Milan
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: Tuesday, 16 March
Kick-off: 1945 GMT
Right, here we go then, Jose Mourinho’s first game at Stamford Bridge since he left and he’s milked the publicity for all it’s worth.I know, I know, it’s very unlike our shy and retiring former manager but there you go.
You’d assume no-one could be as confident ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League game at Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho but you’d assume wrong because Samuel Eto’o is every bit as certain of a win.
Jose Mourinho comes back to Stamford Bridge for the first time on Tuesday since he left in September 2007.It goes without saying he’ll come back in a blaze of publicity because let’s face it, that’s Jose Mourinho, but that’s the only similarity between this visit and any other time he’s been inside the ground.
Because this time around he isn’t The Special One, he’s the opposition.
When the opposition talk about our dangermen ahead of games, it would usually be all about Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Nicolas Anelka maybe.Whoever it is they think will do the most damage though, it’s fair to say none of them would put Florent Malouda down as much of a worry – and yet, he seems to be emerging as a pretty consistent threat down our left hand side. It’s taken a while, seeing as he signed for us in 2007 and has been a bit hit-and-miss a lot of the time but something just seems to have clicked for the Frenchman lately – and whatever it is, long may it last.
We completely dominated this one for the most part and but for a superb equaliser completely against the run of play that made a game of it for a while, we weren’t given too much to worry about.
Carlton Cole comes back to Stamford Bridge today a much improved player to the one we sold in 2006. But whilst in footballing terms our former striker has clearly progressed, it seems he might not have moved on quite as far in his head.
With more than a hint of bitterness recalling his own version of how it used to be, Cole says “I had good days at Chelsea but not that many. My future is at West Ham now and I want to put one over Chelsea because this is my club. Everything happens for a reason. I always knew that, once I got games under my belt, I would learn and progress.I’m at a happy place now but when I was there, I wasn’t that happy. I wasn’t maturing there and I was seen as the little boy. It can be hard when you come through the ranks at a club, although JT has handled it all well.He came through the Academy there and has gone on to be a top England defender. For me, it was never as easy and I had to leave, to put down roots somewhere else.I would train well all week and know I wasn’t even going to be on the bench at the weekend. There were so many stars there it was hard for me to make an impact.I was always going out on loan and I didn’t want to do that. When I finally left it was a relief really, a weight off my shoulders, because I could go somewhere else and push on.”
It’s weird he’s forgotten how he couldn’t even turn up for training on time when he was at Chelsea, so maybe the reason he was seen as ‘the little boy’ was because he behaved like a twelve year old. And as for his recollection of John Terry having an easier time of it, I suppose it’s fair to say he arrived shortly after we’d almost sold JT to Huddersfield but even so, if my memory serves me right, after acting the twat himself, Terry got his head down and earnt a place in the first team.
Still, Cole is apparently looking forward to getting one over on challenging the Chelsea captain today, stating “JT is a big, big player for Chelsea but I always look forward to playing up against the best defenders because it gives me the chance to show what I can do.If the truth be known, I’m still coming back from almost two months out injured and I know I’m not as bright yet as I should be but hopefully this game will put me another rung up the ladder towards full fitness and confidence.Playing against the top defenders and doing well against them only helps your confidence and that’s how I see this game.”
