Loved or hated but never simply ignored, TSO has come out of his self imposed exile with a subtle reminder of why, in terms of column inches at least, he could give Princess Diana a run for her money. Although that’s where the comparison ends, with her creeping onto the scenes an apparent shrinking violet whilst his arrival at SB was signalled with the announcement ‘I am not from a bottle I am a special one’. And special he certainly was. Never an empty seat in a Mourinho press conference, the media hanging on his every word as he promised to take the PL by storm. And for three years he did just that, delivering back to back titles, domestic cups and keeping the opposition managers well and truly on their toes. And then it was over. A very dramatic exit, leaving a trail of broken Chelsea hearts in its wake. Did he walk or was he pushed? An irrelevance now, although we’re assured there wasn’t a laundry basket in sight this time.

We were told at the time the PL would be a poorer place without him, Wenger and Fergie amongst those expressing regret at his departure. So, with his imminent reintroduction on the European footballing scene preceded by such literary gems as “you’ll never be as special as me”, their hearts must surely be touched? Seven months after his departure, in a book titled “Jose Mourinho – Born Winner”, TSO says “The English like statistics a lot, numbers. Do they know the percentage of wins by Wenger in the English league is 50 per cent? And that Ferguson, in the same number of games, barely managed to achieve three points in half of them? And my Chelsea beat those numbers completely, reaching well over 70 league wins, winning two championships in a row without blinking. Does that make me a better manager than Wenger or Ferguson? No. But I also don’t think it makes me a worse manager than them.” He goes on to point out he was also ”the first manager to become a champion in his first season”, although I’m sure Monsieur Wenger would counter that he in fact won the Double in his first full season.

His old and much maligned sparring partner doesn’t escape unchallenged either. In an effort to defend the countless millions bestowed on him as mere pocket money by Chelsea’s Russian sugar daddy, Mourinho argues “What do those people think when it’s announced Liverpool and Rafa Benitez have got £70 million to spend on signings for the season? They don’t think about it because Liverpool haven’t been champions for over 10 years”. “How many championships has Benitez won since he joined Liverpool? None. And how many names were suggested by the press to replace him? None.” Fair point, although I’m sure tubby would like to remind him he has focused, even successfully on one occasion, on the CL which although secured at Porto, remained elusive to Mourinho during his Chelsea reign.

Now, whilst I was certainly one of Jose’s disciples at Chelsea, always prepared to defend the indefendable, his departure has allowed me to return to my former objective, if not sometimes slightly cynical self. And whilst I wholeheartedly agree that no Chelsea manager can boast the same level of success he achieved in his three years with us, the suggestion that none of the opposition managers came close to matching his achievements could be perceived as mildly exaggerated. Fergie is about to secure his 10^th Premier League title; Benitez, unless Grant pulls off nothing short of a minor miracle could very well reach his third CL final in four years; and Wenger, as we all know can get his team to play some rather pretty football.

A point I do agree with him on though is that his victories in championships and cups may have come too early, rendering him a victim of his own success. Also, that his treatment at the hands of the media was seemingly less favourable than his adversaries. Although the two could be said to go hand in hand, facilitated by his own brand of self assuredness. And yet, the same press who salivated over his departure in the summer now delight in using him as a yardstick to heap the pressure on Grant. With each failure comes a fresh batch of comparisons to remind Grant what he’s up against. And never more so than now with Liverpool on the horizon. However, league meetings aside, Jose could never come out of these games looking quite so special and this, together with an excess of publicity and a failing relationship with his paymaster, decided his fate.

So, with his declaration still raising the odd smile, if not eyebrow, it begs the question ‘what will Mourinho come out with if his successor does the unimaginable and takes us to the CL final?’

Filed under: Rants