You would think that anything resembling club philosophy was more odiously ruined by the sacking of a club legend as both player and manager who had just won the Champions League and replacing him with a dour man the vast majority of the fans hated.

In the aftermath of our latest defeat, I've posted in other threads against Jose but as reason makes its way back to my head, I'd give at least this season to Jose to turn things around. He's more than earned it. We only have to look at City. They were terrible last season and everyone expected Pellegrini to get the sack at the end of the season. City backed him, however, and now we're seeing a new face of City, mostly on the back of spectacular turn-arounds from the players who were absolutely dire.

Bang on Rahul

City were poor at times last season, but I wouldn't go as far as to describe them as terrible. In the league the lowest position they ever dipped to was sixth (which was after five games, three of which were against us, Arsenal, and Liverpool), and after the league table settled they lowest they ever sank was fourth. In addition they went just as far in the Champions League as we did, and were only knocked out by the best side in Europe (although admittedly Pellegrini was guilty of tactical naïveté during that tie).

 

While they didn't really provide a serious challenge to us for the title at any point (apart from a brief blip in January), they were never remotely close to the appalling state in which we find ourselves now. I'm not necessarily saying I think José deserves the boot immediately, but there is certainly a limit to the depth to which we can allow ourselves to sink; regardless of his past achievements and personal attachment to the club, if he can't improve the side, José can't be allowed absolute free reign.

It's no good!  I've resisted temptation as long as I could.  Sorry, Dorset!

 

Edited October 7, 201510 yr by moi

I could be wrong here but I think moyes had a better win ratio than lvg until recently and lvg has spent loads more money. Moyes was on a hiding to nothing after fergie. Whoever went there after him was gonna find it tough. I agree fergie was always successful but who's to say Jose won't get 3rd and win the fa cup this year. Would that be a bad season from where we are now? Nothing good can come of sacking Jose right now. We have to trust him to get us out of this mess and move on. We can't demand a change of manager every time we lose a few games and play bad!

Fergie wasn't always successful. The football United played in the late eighties was putrid to say the least only achieving mid table. He got lucky in winning the FA Cup in 1990 but for that he would have been sacked that year.

It's no good!  I've resisted temptation as long as I could.  Sorry, Dorset!

 

 

Not a favourite of mine, moi, but your mention of Billy Bragg did strike one chord with me - did you know that he's got something in common with Matthew Syed? No, it's not playing ping-pong... it's a passion for politics and the Labour Party... and I think I'd better stop there before I get too 'P'd off with both of them. 

I'm on whichever side Matthew syed isn't. That's in general. Not just this. The talentless little scrote.

 

“Mourinho is a cultural terrorist. He sucks whatever vitality there is in a culture into the black hole of his ego. He is an impressive tactician, to be sure, but when it comes to sustainability, he is all at sea. He is too immature, emotionally and philosophically, to create dynastic success, at a football club or anywhere else. What success he achieves comes by napalming the native culture, and then moving on.

 

Even the most one-eyed Chelsea fans are beginning to recognise that the notion of this man spending ten years at one club is inconceivable. They have realised that any club that hosted him for so long would become philosophically derelict. Chelsea will doubtless rebound in the coming months: with the players and money at the club’s disposal, you would expect that. But there can be little doubt that, when you look at his career, Mourinho has scant comprehension of the motivation written into men’s hearts, and which can sustain itself over the long haul. He understands only the most dehumanising type of culture: the kind that emerges from maligning others while constantly trumpeting oneself — and which typically, with tired inevitability, implodes.”

 

Matthew Syed (The Times, 5th October, 2015)

 

“Ignore, on this occasion, the predictable paranoia over referees. Disregard, too, the glee of those sat waiting for this day, who say this was Jose Mourinho's Kevin Keegan moment, a very public meltdown from a man no longer able to control his circumstances. For at the heart of his impromptu seven-minute address to the nation, to his employers and to the forces he imagines are in league against him, was a statement of truth. Not just that Chelsea would be mad to sack him, which they would. It was Mourinho's observation about the culture at Chelsea that carried greatest resonance.

 

Like Klopp [at Dortmund], Mourinho has earned the right to turn his season around. He says he is convinced Chelsea will finish in the top four. No club with eight points from eight games has managed that in the Premier League era. So either Chelsea's domestic season is already beyond repair or Mourinho has to be the best manager over 30 games that this competition has seen. As would any interim or successor. So it may be too late for Chelsea already but it is not too late to send a message about the changing culture of the club. It is no longer only the fault of the manager. Others must share responsibility, including the players, too. There will be no easy rides. That, deep down, was Mourinho's point. For a man supposedly in meltdown, he made quite a lot of sense.”

 

Martin Samuel (Daily Mail, 5th October, 2015)

 

Differing opinions on Jose from two entirely different journalists, but in essence these selected paragraphs, taken from Syed and Samuel articles in this morning’s papers, reflect perfectly the division that now exists within our fan base. Strange as it may seem (for Syed supports Arsenal and Samuel is a Hammers fan) they have both hit nails on heads and struck chords with many on either side of a growing divide amongst us. Many of you will not be surprised to learn that I have a stronger affinity with the Samuel perspective as expressed here, although I confess that this has a lot to do with my respect for him as a writer on a whole host of subjects, not just on football matters. My judgement is also coloured by the contra view I hold with regard to Syed’s literary skills, primarily when it comes to his coverage of the game in general and his discriminatory approach towards Chelsea in particular. 

 

In short, Martin Samuel’s writing on Chelsea matters is always reasoned and objective, whereas Matthew Syed’s is riddled with obsession, dislike of our club always overruling any desire he may [or may not] have to be fair-minded where we are concerned. However, he has on this occasion, perhaps inadvertently, stumbled on a possible truth hidden amongst all his Mourinho abhorrence - Jose’s missing linkage apropos the creation of a dynasty. Interestingly, Syed immediately lapses back into fixation mode after making this observation, ruling the possibility of dynastic success out completely, because of traits that, quite frankly, apply more to him than they do to our manager. Contrast this with Martin Samuel’s far more sensible assessment, embodied in the words ‘… it is not too late to send a message about the changing culture of the club.’

 

And this, for me, is the crux of the matter - fans either believe in Jose or they don’t. It would appear that he has been granted a stay of execution but, as is always the case with the Roman empire, none of us know what strings are attached. We can only hope that one of them is connected to a crucial plank in those Abramovich plans for the future - development through the Academy into the first team - and this is hauled into place sooner rather than later. A failure to do so would only serve to vindicate Syed and his myopic mania (and he has the nerve to call us one-eyed!) whereas an acceptance of the need for change might just open the floodgates of creativity and dynasty. With this in mind, I’ll leave the last words to Martin Samuel and let them ring loud in everyone’s ears…

 

“It was Mourinho's observation about the culture at Chelsea that carried greatest resonance.”

 

How can that Syed get away with this?. It's character assassination simple as that. Think of writing something about someone you hate be it ex wife or husband, school bully etc and you couldn't make it more hateful then Syed has. Just a one eyed diatribe by someone who if i remember rightly lost his bollocks at the Sydney Olympics.

Media wants Jose fail but I feel it will only motivate him even more to get Chelsea back together.

I want him to stay 100%!!!

I think some players need to be sold in January and replaced with new talents.