KUNLE SOBODE
I was never fooled for once that Jose Mourinho actually believed Arsene Wenger is a specialist in failure. The self-acclaimed Special One is a master of mind games and is a specialist in going over the top to destabilise his opponents.
Wenger’s response too was apt, and Jose then did not favour a further uncouth response from the “Okro-mouthed One” having seen his team easily dumped out of the FA cup by Manchester City last weekend.
However, when I saw a reply of an Arsenal fan, Moh, on YouTube , I was tempted to share it online. Moh was of the opinion that Jose should get his facts straight before attacking other managers.
By Mourinho’s logic, going eight years without a trophy makes Wenger a specialist in failure. Moh extended the logic to cover David Calderhead and Billy Birrell, both former Chelsea managers who went 26 and 13 years respectively without winning any trophy for the club. He said if Arsene Wenger is a specialist in failure, these two Chelsea greats would be godparents of failure. He also pointed out Chelsea’s long trophy drought.
“Get your facts right!” Moh literally put it to Jose, telling him always to look at his club’s history before attacking. Club history? As if Mourinho cared!
I captioned my post, “If you are a Mourinho fan please do not watch.” However they didn’t listen and one of them replied “getting points straight… it’s a comparison between Wenger and Mou and not Wenger and Chelsea…”
There and then, I felt a need to educate football fans on where their allegiance should rest, especially the Chelsea fans on why they need to be careful with Mourinho. No doubt, only a club like Chelsea could stand the ego of the Special One probably because he seemed more successful than the club had been in the past.
It is not unusual to hear Chelsea fans flaunting the achievements of Jose Mourinho as if it completely translates to success for the club. They appropriate Mourinho’s achievements as theirs. In truth, some of his achievements were for the club, or at least that is what Chelsea fans believe but to a keen observer it is quite apparent that Mourinho works for himself and not for any club.
Great managers build legacies for their clubs. Sir Alex Ferguson took United beyond the shadows of Liverpool, Wenger transformed Arsenal’s style of play and managed the squad prudently to allow for the construction of a new stadium. When Sir Alex Ferguson won trophies, it was Glory Glory Man United! But in Jose’s case it had to be about him. After his Champion’s League success, he declared, “I’m European champion and I think I am a special one.” No other person had ever said anything like that in football history; no one ever took sole credit for winning a trophy, not even any of the players that sweated on the pitch.
Honestly, Jose Mourinho is special. How could he not be, with the facts staring at us? Seven domestic League titles in just 10 years of management, two UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA Cup are facts that speak for themselves. I will refrain from comparing Wenger and Mourinho based on achievements (that is of course assuming trophies alone constitute an achievement as opposed to managing to build a gold-standard stadium for instance or going a season unbeaten) because the winner is obvious. However, when a football club’s major achievement is “Mourinho coached us twice” that speaks volumes about the class of the club or lack of it.
Big clubs like Madrid and Inter used Mourinho because of his obvious talents and would never allow him to undermine the club’s reputation to satisfy his ego. Real Madrid had underperformed before Mourinho’s arrival, plus they needed someone to tame the growing influence and invincibility of Barcelona. Mourinho was their man. He delivered at Real Madrid, just as he delivered the coveted Champions league trophy for Inter Milan. That was it, Real Madrid turned him into “the sacked one,” they could not allow him to turn himself into the club.
I believe I am doing Chelsea fans a huge service by pointing out that while other managers build legacies for their clubs, Jose Mourinho builds his own reputation and ego. In Mourinho’s case, the focus has to be on him. The night Inter Milan won the champions league for the first time in their history, Mourinho successfully made the story about his imminent departure to Real Madrid. After celebrating , he stalked the inter end a lone figure, waving deadpanned towards the Nerazzuri faithful. The way he removed his medal and refused to celebrate with the team also made him a centre of attraction when Porto won the same trophy years earlier.
I leave the diagnosis of his bloated ego to the psychologists or psychiatrists as the case may be, whether it had anything to do with his failings as a professional footballer.
The point I am trying to make is that Chelsea FC has been too much of a ready agent for Mourinho to feed his ego and his rabid drive for relevance. By the time he left Chelsea in 2007 “by mutual consent”, he was the most successful manager in the club’s history having won 6 trophies for the club in 3 years but by that time it was too late, the parasite had found its home. Surprisingly, without him Chelsea felt like nothing, like underachievers and that is despite winning the League, FA cups, UEFA Europa cup and Champions League without him, they still felt a need to bring him back. They had to appropriate his success to theirs. Without him, Chelsea was not fulfilled. After him, they used seven different managers in six years.
The relationship between the pair has become anomalous. It is not as if Jose had any love for Chelsea initially. Before joining the club in 2003, he talked up the possibility of joining Liverpool, “Liverpool are a team that interests everyone and Chelsea does not interest me so much because it is a new project…”
Perhaps Chelsea’s desperation for success after decades of “failure” was the reason for bringing in Mourinho especially when the sugar daddy could afford it. However, they have taken it too far. He is now the trophy they want. Mourinho is a great manager who will go down history as one of the best but Chelsea will be in his shadows. There is a reason the big clubs discarded him and why he only feels most comfortable at Stamford bridge. He is like a brilliant student who will go to a poor school so that he can always take first position.
The way these lovebirds are going, in few decades time, when history is being assessed, we shall hear more about the Special One but nothing about the club.
‘Kunle Sobode is a football enthusiast. He wrote in from Nigeria.
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Well said, especially by a fellow Nigerian who knows how chelsea fans potray Mourinho and their club. Very spot on.
I was about to write an article on this same issue when i came across this one. Will really need to share to my followers.
COYG
Legacies…. 20th title was so important, he chose it over the clubs future.
We have a man at the helm who chose ARSENAL and its future over his personal glory. People choose to agree and disagree over Mr Wengers contribution to the club, but in a few decades we will recognize it. The father of modern ARESENAL.
No doubt you’ll get a load of Chelsea bods from across the internet giving you dogs abuse over this but it’s a very fair and well considered bit of football writing. Thanks.
Thank you Kunle for this distinction between Chelsea and Mourinho. Honestly, I never looked at it that way, but now you have pointed it out, it all looks so bright as day.
It’s all about ‘me’ (Mourinho) and not Chelsea, is there any doubt now that he replied to an observation that did not mention his name? ‘The Sacked One’ ? It fits like a glove.
What does lazy mean anyway?
Brilliant article, mourinho is a despicable human being. Everywhere he has gone he has managed to divide opinion and his dressing room. The guy lacks class; his barbs at Wenger, eye-gouging the Barcelona assistant manager, conspiring with players to pick cards or take opposing players out with nasty tackles, or jumping into the crowd to celebrate(which I felt Pellegrini rightly snubbed him for). He fails to get along with the best players at the clubs he coaches too, showing what a big ego he has. I’ve no doubt in my mind Inter or Madrid would never reconsider him again. As far as I know he’s the only one from managers or players to have been branded an enemy of football by UEFA. Only a club like chelsea could re-hire him. They need each other.
Truth be told Kunle, you could have written mourning-ho’s biography as well. Thanks for the article.
I am not sure many chelsea fans (especially in Nigeria) would take this article seriously though. Like ‘moorinooo’, they are too arrogant for logic. They started following football about the same time ‘the packed bus driver’ won his first silverware for chelski.
If he was an actor, ‘the classless one’ could easily have been my favourite comedian after Rowan Atkinson.
Well said.. The fact is, Jose considers himself a failure as he could not land the Utd job, and he knows Chelsea really wanted his arch enemy, Guardiola. Jose will soon be gone anyway as RA bores of his football.
Kunle,
Great article omoo’ya!
I have nothing to add but kudos for an excellent piece.
I have an idea why you wrote this though: it’s those SUPER annoying Naija Chelsea fans isn’t it? 🙂
I know because I couldn’t stand those guys back home. To non-Nigerians on Untold, please think of the most annoying Chelsea fan that you know, triple their annoyance and they still trail those in Nigeria.
I got nothing better on Mourhino. You’ve said it best.
Article was spot on. The little weasel doesn’t have the intelligence or the fucking balls to accomplice what Wenger has done. I am astonished that much ego fits into that slimy little body of his. Its all about him, Every word coming out his twisted mouth is Me Me Me and more Me. The self-proclaimed special one, The stupid British media sucks up his bullshit as if it were titty milk. He certainly is the definition of megalomaniac. The little motherfucker really thinks he is the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel. Underneath all that false bravado lurks a seriously insecure little maggot. Only the stupid ones are fooled by him, And I must say there are a lot of them out there. Our boss built a new stadium for our future. He knew there were gonna be years without a large transfer budget and he stayed the course. He kept us in the Champions League each and every season he has been in charge. No mean feat, Look at Man. U. this season. Not even European powerhouses such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and both Milan clubs can say that. But the cowardly British media poo poos this accomplishment. Do you think that that Portuguese snotball would have done this, No fucking way. no large war chest and he would have bolted faster than Linford Christie. That little cretin thinks it was all him. Without unlimited funds the little airbag couldn’t manage his way out of a paperbag. Here in the states we had a baseball manager named Casey Stengel, He won seven World Series in ten years. He said that he couldn’t of done it without the players, That the players made him look like a genius. He said its hard to make chicken salad out of chicken shit. You gotta have great players to win it all. Little slime-bag won his trophies all by himself.
“Okro-mouthed One”
“… mourinho is a despicable human being”
“The little weasel doesn’t have the intelligence or the fucking balls …”
Oh my quite an outpouring of negativity towards Jose Mourihno! Did you all know him personally? Did he harm you personally in any way to feel so strongly about him?
Andrei,
Who made you the class monitor?
Andrei
That’s the truth. Go to Italy or Spain and you’ll find they call him worse there, including fans of clubs he managed.
Andrei, For umpteen many years little slime-ball Mourinho has launched numerous unjustified verbal attacks against our manager Arsene Wenger. He does this because the British media loves it. It makes headlines and that sells newspapers. Wenger has the class and stature most of the time not to respond. I for one don’t give a fucking rat’s ass about verbally attacking that little piece of shit. I only wish I could meet him as I would relish the chance to say the very same things to his little rat face. I call ’em as i see ’em and from what I’ve seen the little snot-ball ain’t much. He is an odious little maggot and that is the motherfucking truth. I don’t know why you think you have to defend him, that’s your prerogative. Everyone has an opinion and opinions are like assholes. everybody has one. Bootoomee and Al many thanks for looking out. Warms the very cockles of my heart.
Go Bill!!
The article is spot on.
Abramovich after spending tons of cash yes they won trophies but the boring one nil win and park the bus style definitely put a dent on this disgraceful coach.
Wasn’t welcome at all in Italy specially by the media.He went to Madrid an it was a matter of time that was going to be booted.His boring tactics didn’t bode well with the fans and the club.Same as Italy the Spanish media too were no go to him.
Since his return to England he is not short of praising the English style on every occasion and he is bluffing.
As the article described eloquently the attitude of the man in question.
I have nothing against Chelsea as a club but when they win I feel disgusted because he is there and me think he won.I feel so happy when Chelsea loose not for the club but him.
I hate this guy.
I don’t believe that I claimed to be ‘the class monitor’ or defended Mourihno in any way in my post. I merely asked if there was any personal reason for such strong borderline irrational negativity towards Mourinho. Based on some responses looks like things that he said about Wenger affected some on this board on very deep personal level.
As for media and fans in Italy and Spain calling Mourihno bad names well media and fans in England call Wenger all sorts of name too. And yes I’m fully aware they are either ignorant or agenda driven.
years from now the name of arsene wenger will be associated with class, quality and prudence. jose will be remembered as a mercenary with no home. where does he go from here? germany? he is fast running out of countries and i don’t believe the staid germans would accept the noise that travels with him. a sad little man. let’s not waste our time talking about him.
@mike in atlanta “jose will be remembered as a mercenary with no home”
That is very interesting statement. There have been other managers that changed many clubs and countries. Cappello, Hiddink, Robson, Benitez, Ancelotti, Pelligirini, Scolari, Ranieri to name a few. Will all of them be remembered as “mercenaries with no home”?
Andrei none of those managers are remotely like ‘the attention seeking one’. His disrespect of Arsene Wenger is typical of this sad little man… cheap and nasty just like British media who lap it up.
Excellent read Kunle; he really does labour to give the impression it’s only about him and only him.
Andrei, All those managers have one thing in common. They showed respect to their opponents and their fellow managers and the officials. They show respect for the game. They are not two-faced little pieces of shit like the self-proclaimed special one. Show me where one of those other guys eye-gouged a fellow manager. Case in point, The little fucker ranted on and on about players diving against his team this year. Afterwards Oscar, Ramierez, and Hazzard did some major flopping of their own, One of them won a penalty deep into stoppage-time and the other two got booked. The two-faced little rat immediately changed his tune about diving. He defended his player’s actions. You can’t have it both ways, Only the little piece of shit thinks he can. I really am starting to wonder how you can compare little rat face with those others you mentioned. The difference is so vast. You gotta be delusional to compare class and sportsmanship to the little motherfucker’s boorish and two-faced lying behavior. Take your fucking mouth off the little piece of shit’s tiny cock and grow a pair of balls.
@GooneressNo1 So it is not that JM is much traveled manager or is it? So far the only consistent thing is that Mourihno is blamed for daring to say some disrespectful (or nasty) words about Wenger. And it appears to touch the nerve for some. As a result he is declared despicable man, little weasel, sad little man, mercenary with no home and other pleasantries like that. I’m starting to wonder if he is also guilty of worshiping Nazis, sexually abusing minors, drug trafficking and eating babies in his spare time. That would have been just like him indeed.
By no means I’m trying to defend Mourihno not that he requires any of my defense. I’m just puzzled by the phenomenon. In a way this coordinated outpouring of hatred towards the man feels a lot like the sentiment expressed by certain parts of media and fans towards Wenger.
@Bill “All those managers have one thing in common. They showed respect to their opponents and their fellow managers and the officials”
Are you sure about that? Benitez traded some heated barbs with Ferguson, Wenger and Mourinho. Capello was engaged in some nasty politics in Real Madrid. Is JM the only hypocritical manger who defends his players and blames the opposition and the officials. Was Wenger particularly graceful towards Italian referee and Robben in his interview after Bayern game?
@Andrei
I don’t know any of the managers personally, Wenger, Mourinho or the others. I do know how Mourinho makes me feel. Mourinho’s comments make me cringe because they seem to be clearly and egregiously personal attacks on other managers. They do not seem refined – intelligent, articulate – sure, but not gentlemanly. When Watergate was dissected years after the fact and the US Republicans started floating ideas about Nixon making a comeback the thing that always stood in his way (in the eyes of the American public)was the foul language he used in the White House tapes. It was unseemly…unpresidential. It is this that I don’t like about Jose Mourinho. What he says and how he says it belittles people and that is unnecessary and I feel, loathsome.
Andrei ‘daring to say some disrespectful (or nasty) words about Wenger – that is the measure of the man. What need is there for it? What purpose does it serve? Other than to make Mourinho look like a nasty, back stabbing coward.
Andrei,
Yes, Wenger wasn’t exactly graceful, but the subject of the matter is the lack of spine Mou displayed when confronted with his players’ diving, vs the ref having a direct unprovoked impact on the match balance. There is no comparison between these two. And there is no need to bring in what the other managers threw at each other during their tenure in PL. I think we’re getting astray. It’s true that we’re seeing heavy words, some maybe a bit overboard, but the fact of the matter is, Mou’s ego displays have reached all-time highs, and the reaction was bound to come.
@GoingGoingGooner I can understand your sentiment. However you are simply projecting your reaction on JM public persona (based on media interpretation of what he says) and building a perception that may have nothing to do with real JM. I’m not saying that he is any better (or worse!) in private life it is just we don’t know. As we don’t know if Arsene Wenger is as refined as his public persona in private life or when he is dealing with ‘people dynamics’ at Arsenal.
@Florian Just out of curiosity how do you measure Mourihno’s ego? In decibels, megawatts, or nautical miles?
@GooneressNo1 You are absolutely right Mourihno is a nasty backstabbing coward! How on Earth could I have missed that 🙂
Well, Andrei, if the ego were measured in megawatts, it would probably be the biggest source of energy in the world:) Nautical miles? Nope, assumes that we’re all sailors. Decibels? Doesn’t beat a jet plane. But, on the other hand, you can see how much energy we spend debating some useless comment, over many tens of thousands of miles across the Globe, with the ears still burned by sound of his voice:) Does that qualify for a measure of Mou’s ego?
@ Andrei, i can’t see how you can compare a certified attention seeker to some giants of the game like scolari and hiddink. you are reaching sir. no one questions mourinho’s ability, just his crassness.
First and foremost to Kunle Sobode ,thank you for this.You have written that which many believe in our hearts – that Moanin’inaho is a crass and classless twit ,and only the media love and lap it up as it sells their papers !
He’s a real piece of shit and not wasting time with.Just like the “unpleasant” man in the following story ,which I ‘m sure you’ve received before in different forms .
I’m sure most of us would have acted in the same manner (and with unbridle joyous rapture )as this
SMART FLIGHT ATTENDANT
A 50-something year- old unpleasant man arrived at his seat on a crowded flight and immediately didn’t want the seat. The seat was next to an elderly woman reading her holy book .
Disgusted, the unpleasant man immediately summoned the flight attendant and demanded a new seat. The man said “I cannot sit here next to this infidel.”
The flight attendant said “Let me see if I can find another seat.”
After checking, the flight attendant returned and stated “There are no more seats in economy, but I will check with the captain and see if there is something in first class.”
About 10 minutes went by and the flight attendant returned and stated “The captain has confirmed that there are no more seats in economy, but there is one in first class. It is our company policy to never move a person from economy to first class, but being that it would be some sort of scandal to force a
person to sit next to an UNPLEASANT person, the captain agreed to make the switch to first class.”
Before the irate unpleasant man could say anything, the attendant gestured to the elderly woman and said, “Therefore, ma’am, if you would so kindly retrieve your personal items, we would like to move you to the comfort of first class as the captain doesn’t want you to sit next to an unpleasant person.”
Passengers in the seats nearby began to applaud while some gave a standing ovation.
“A SMILE FOR YOU!”
Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu, When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too. I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin, When he smiled I realized I’d passed it on to him. I thought about that smile then I realized it’s worth, A single smile, just like mine could travel round the earth. So, if you feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected. Let’s start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!!
KEEP THE SMILES GOING.
START HERE –
http://www.ba-bamail.com/Content.aspx?emailid=8562&memberid=763708#.UwgiPKKBpLM
Your Smile
When the day has been long
and the troubles last into the night
All you’ve gotta do is smile
and everything is suddenly alright
When I feel the weight of the world
upon my shoulders
and let things get under my skin
All you’ve gotta do is smile
and I’m ready try once again
When words or actions of another bring me down
Or if I’m feeling pretty low
All you’ve gotta do is smile
and I know I’m not alone
When I’m hard on myself
and find it difficult to believe in me
All you’ve gotta do is smile
and I know I can accomplish anything
Your smile does so many things
it brightens up my day
Your smile is like a promise
that things will be okay
Your smile is all I really need
to ease fear, disappointment or doubt
Your smile lightens my heart
and it’s something I never want to be without
Well written Kunle, never knew you write. Well, really don’t have much to say than to commend a well written piece.
@ andrei
“So far the only consistent thing is that Mourihno is blamed for daring to say some disrespectful (or nasty) words about Wenger.”
Really? You mean you are going to address Bill’s query below?
“Show me where one of those other guys eye-gouged a fellow manager.”
We’ll wait…
In the same vein –
http://eng-jokes.com/funny-despicable-me-cartoon-comic
What a pile of poop!
Ok I get it many on here don’t like him but some of the conclusions are so jaundiced as to be a joke. The vast majority are basing their views on press comments and one incident. You neither know him or how he works. The trouble is he is asked a question and gives an answer whereas many mangers are so well schooled in how not to answer a question people put them up there on that pedestal
It seems strange that AW is in effect allowed to say what he wants, call managers, refs and their assistants cheats, square up to opposing managers and do so without negative comment, which I get because he is your manager but, if any of you think he is a paragon of virtue you really need to take off those rose tinted glasses
Harry spoke this week about the players that have worked with him about how well they all, bar a very few, cant speak highly enough of him and as for it all being about him that is the biggest load of tosh for if that were the case the players quite simply wouldn’t perform for him. History shows us that as evidenced yet again this season at Sunderland
As for legacy again a nonsense. Its fantasy to suggest that managers footprints to many are anything other than the trophy cabinet.
Mike,
Welcome back. I’m serious, you’re probably the closest we got that can shed some light. For one thing, this article doesn’t question Jose’s methods and working style with his players. It’s what he displays to the outside world, in such a consistent manner that people have no choice but conclude that this is how he is. I myself would be very surprised to find out that he is the most humble man in the world. Please explain. Really.
Mike T and andrei
Mourinho carries two heavy loads on his back. One is the eye gouging and the other his leading part in the Anders Frisk debacle. He is guilty on both counts and as far as I know has never apologized or shown any remorse for either. These two things are what sets him apart from most other managers in my eyes and make it impossible to have any respect for the man as far as I am concerned. It is amazing how Chelsea supporters manage to ignore and forgive these two incidents or pretend they didn’t happen.
You can always count on Andrei to come up against anything said by anyone, even if it is to defend Jose.
Unfortunately, Jose is an egocentric egomaniac. His ego is larger than Chelsea and his second spell at Stamford bridge will be shorter than his first.
Thanks for the compliments. I don’t question Mourinho’s abilities but he needs to work on his ego. I am more appalled with the way Chelsea felt like failure without him. In fact, I’m of the view they achieved more after him than with him even with the coaching instability.
Andrei
You say you’re not defending moureenwhore but that’s exactly what you’re doing. Just go back and read your posts again.
Mike T
“It seems strange that AW is in effect allowed to say what he wants, call managers, refs and their assistants cheats, square up to opposing managers and do so without negative comment,”
Examples please of Wenger squaring up to opposing managers, calling them cheats, etc. Or getting allowed to say what he likes with no negative comments. The last time I checked Wenger was the manager that gets ridiculed most by the spineless English media. He’s called all sorts. If he complains about the state of the pitch he’s called a whinger, another manager complains of the same and it’s called mind games, trying to deflect attention away from their team.
How anyone can try and defend moureenwhore is beyond me. The guy has got no class, period. We have seen him do stuff no other manager ever did, and that’s enough for us to judge him as a clown. The facts are there for those who want to see them.
Mourinio is bigger than Chelsea, he sells his “Brand” well? He’s a clever manupilator, personally I’d shoot him.
And anyway, what type of person calls themselves special when their team wins. Many times we see players refusing to take credit by themselves after a brilliant performance or amazing goal. When asked by a reporter how special or important the goal or performance was, any level headed player usually responds by saying they are just glad to have helped the team win another 3 points or such. It’s and should always be about the team. The only player who I can think of that has a similar ego to this guy is Ronaldo. They both aren’t humble, and I don’t know if it’s because they come from the same place or what. But it’s no surprise they couldn’t work together.
Jose is just a wind up merchant, and he believes it gives him a tiny edge, it’s the only reason he does it. The whole ego special one thing is designed to put fear into the minds of opponents before they’ve stepped on the pitch, and to get in the minds of managers.
If he was really such a total weasel then the later great Bobby Robson would not have been his friend.
As for all the hypocrisy over the negative football, come on, we still celebrated George Graham’s boring, boring, Arsenal victories.
Yes I much prefer Wenger’s style of play, and can’t stand watching Chelsea play, but don’t kid yourselves into thinking that these are empty victories for Chelsea fans.
Please remember he also accused the Medics(Ambulance) staff after the Reading match when Czech got injured.He said they took 30minutes to arrive.Total rubbish!they were there in minutes.He shows no class and a total lack of respect to others.Also one chapter in Graham Polls book tells you what a nasty person he is.As for our Media, enough said.Only Patrick Collins tells you how it is.
I applaud you guys for your patience in feeding Andrei’s sanctimonious longings. The guy is not Untold Arsenal’s barometer of morality or decency, so he has no obligation to be calling people out for every word and term he disagrees with. Some of us are foul mouthed and enjoy using expletives. It’s allowed because Untold is a forum for mature and real people; not phonies and prudes. I prefer to focus on what people are REALLY saying rather than on the way they are expressing themselves.
If Andrei thinks that Mourhino does not deserve to be called everything that he has been called on this thread, all he had to do is say so and defend the manager. But no, he didn’t do any of those. He posted a self righteous and arrogant “oh you guys are so childish with your name calling” comment that has become his trademark.
I recall mocking Spurs for having to travel to Tbilisi in one of their Europa games and Andrei came at me like I was mocking the city itself. I didn’t know his modus operandi then so I apologised to him (as he is from Eastern Europe). Had I known what I know about him now then, I would have told him to go fuck himself.
Robl,
Now, that is how you disagree with popular sentiments in a thread. Kudos man!
Andrei can learn a lot from you. Let’s hope he does.
@Andrei
@GoingGoingGooner I can understand your sentiment. However you are simply projecting your reaction on JM public persona (based on media interpretation of what he says) and building a perception that may have nothing to do with real JM. I’m not saying that he is any better (or worse!) in private life it is just we don’t know. As we don’t know if Arsene Wenger is as refined as his public persona in private life or when he is dealing with ‘people dynamics’ at Arsenal.
Read what I have written. I said that I do not know any of the managers. I stated how he makes ME feel based on what HE says. I said that his comments seem to do nothing save belittle others. At what stage does a person have to take responsibiity for what his public persona does or says? When are words actions in and of themselves? Your reducto ad absurdum would seem to give a free pass to everyone based on the premise that we really don’t know anybody’s heart of hearts. I reject this.
@ Bootoomee, thank you they are kind words, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve learnt a thing or two from Andrei over the years.
Isn’t it strange that when you mention eye gouging and Anders Frisk the pro Mourinho contingent suddenly lose their voices.
Robl,
You are right about learning from Andrei. He is a knowledgeable fellow and I’d be lying if I say I didn’t learn anything from him too. But we all learn from each other one way or another in our interactions. It is Andrei’s flair for chastising other people’s language and tone that I object to. If you disagree with someone, tell them why but don’t pick on how they are expressing their opinions.
Just seen ramires dive (again) at the edge of the box to win a free kick, which chelsea scored from with 3 minutes remaining. Some things never change.
Chelsea = bunch of diving cheats. A reflection of their manager.
Rather, it was into the 2nd minute of 5 added in injury time. Everton had played very well, if it wasn’t for a blatant dive this would and should have bee n a draw. Again, we will hear of that being the mark of champions, but should we win by a similar scoreline later you will see headlines along the lines of ‘Arsenal struggle to break down a resilient Sunderland’, ‘Misfiring Arsenal squeeze past Sunderland’ or such.
Back to the subject of discussion, as far as I know mourinho is the only manager to be labelled the scourge of football. And that isn’t easy to call the manager of a club as big as Madrid that. Yeah, his defenders go quiet when the gouging incident gets mentioned. Had he done that facing his adversary they could at least try and argue it was done in the heat of the moment. But he was hiding behind someone, showing what a coward he is.
@Florian “But, on the other hand, you can see how much energy we spend debating some useless comment, over many tens of thousands of miles across the Globe, with the ears still burned by sound of his voice:) Does that qualify for a measure of Mou’s ego?”
This is more of a measurement of our obsession with the man not the man himself don’t you think? Perhaps you give him too much credit.
@Mick I don’t think I belong to pro-Mourinhno brigade. At least it is not my intent. If my posts come across as defending JM it is perhaps due to my poor command of English language – I’m not a native speaker after all. Or just poor writing skills.
As for incidents you mention I’m very familiar with them tbh. I don’t follow what Mourihno does or says that much and in the parts of the world I spend most of my time they don’t cover it in detail. Anyway it is still between him and people involved. Who am I to judge or demand apology?
@Andrei
If you are very familiar with them I presume you have an opinion of them. What do think of the eye gouging, what do you think of the Mourinho lies that caused Frisk to retire because of death threats to his family. If you are not pro Mourinho why not come out and condemn him for at least these two disgraces.
@Mike There was a mistype in my post. I’m not familiar with the incidents. Even if I did it wouldn’t matter. I generally refrain from judging or condeming people.
Oh come on Andrei, you know the difference between right or wrong don’t you. You know it’s wrong to assault someone right? And so is gouging someone’s eye out? What you’re trying to do is like saying someone is caught on camera sexually assaulting someone, and you refuse to condemn it because you don’t want to judge people.
@AL I’m not sure if you don’t believe me or trying to convert. Sexually assaulting someone is more about justice not judgement.
Andrei
Why don’t you walk up to the next you meet on the street and try to gouge their eye out. Would be interesting to see what your victim, passers by, and the law will say about that. They’ll probably all say who are we to judge him, and let you carry on your way. As for trying to convert you, don’t know what you mean, thought you were an Arsenal fan already?
Next person** you meet….
@AL My sense of what is right or wrong is a moral framework intended to guide me personally not to judge others. Based on my set values I’m not likely one hopes to be engaged in trying to gouge somebody’s eye out. Or to participate in acts of public condemnation.
@Andrei
You can watch the eye gouging on YouTube and then you can make a judgement. You can google Mourinho/Anders Frisk and read all about that incident and make a judgement on that as well. When you have done that and educated yourself as to what a despicable slimy coward he is you may not be so keen to defend him.
Listen guys & gals, you are wasting your time with Andrei, he is enjoying twisting and turning to evade the thrust of each comment. A clever tactic, but like Mourinho – boring.
This extreme relativism works until someone stabs you and you realise that you could have identified the person as asocial at best and antisocial at worst but you didn’t believe that there were any identifiable norms of conduct in human society and that you didn’t have the right to expect others to act accordingly. Unfortunately the rest of us do interract with others and do act according to a set of conventions which places the relativist in the happy position of being able to reap the benefits of the system while condemning those that keep the conventions working.
bjtgooner I know you speak sense and we should ignore the trolls but it is easier said than done. What’s a troll like in real life, are they as irritating and argumentative as they are on here? Or are they silent cowards when face to face. Probably the latter I guess.
@Al
The trouble is that we are so tribal we tend to forget incidents. As for squaring up to a manager Arsene Wenger has been fined and warned about his future conduct by the Football Association following his touchline spat with Alan Pardew. The Gunners manager pushed the former West Ham boss at the end of the November 2006 Premiership match which the Hammers won 1-0 with a late goal.
Frenchman Wenger, who admitted the charge of improper conduct, was fined £10,000 for his aggressive behaviour
Examples as to AW incidents calling officals etc cheat how about this lot:
Wenger has directed his anger towards referees when decisions have not gone his team’s way. In August 2000, he was charged with “alleged threatening behaviour and physical intimidation” towards fourth official Paul Taylor, after Arsenal’s 1–0 defeat at Sunderland on the opening day of the 2000–01 season.[182] A FA disciplinary commission found Wenger guilty; he received a 12-match touchline ban and a fine of four weeks’ salary. He successfully appealed the ban, but was reprimanded and fined £10,000 for his actions Following the 2007 Football League Cup Final, he called a linesman a liar, for stating Emmanuel Adebayor aimed a punch at Chelsea’s Frank Lampard. This led to an investigation by The FA, a fine of £2,500 and a warning.
In March 2011, Wenger was charged with improper conduct by UEFA, over comments made to referee Massimo Busacca, after his team’s defeat to Barcelona. He was fined €10,000 and suspended for one UEFA club competition match – the ban was later extended to a further two games, after Wenger was found guilty of communicating with Arsenal’s bench, while serving a touchline ban against Udinese. A year later, Wenger was charged for post-match comments made about referee Damir Skomina, in Arsenal’s defeat to Milan in the Champions League. He was fined £33,000 and handed a three-match touchline ban in the competition
@Mick
I know just how irritating the trolls can be! In real life they are usually cowards – silent if they cannot think of a way to win – if they can think of how to win it will usually be a behind backs move. They usually fear facts and the probability of being caught out.
@ Florian
The funny part about all of this mind games thing is to take pressure from the players. The crazy bit is managers like AW get drawn into it.
As I demonstrated in my earlier post AW has quite a track record of indiscretions but the reality is I don’t care and many on here either didn’t know about or had forgot about them.
As Andrei and indeed I have tried to point out none on here know either manager they are basing their opinions primarily based on their allegiance to Arsenal which I guess
Mike T
With all due respect, what you’re saying here is nonsense. Is this what you could come up with?
Pardew went into Wenger’s technical area to goad him, his face was a few inches from Wenger’s face. He was in Wenger’s personal space. Wenger just shoved him away, and if he was penalised for that then it was the FA being pricks again.
The adebayor story we all know, probably you’re the exception, that the ref sent the wrong man off. Eboue shoved bridge to the ground, and the ref thought it was adebayor. The story changed from he punched Lampard, to he used threatening behaviour. Wenger challenged Lampard to come out as a professional and say if he’d been punched. He didn’t. Wenger concluded someone was lying. The FA, again being the pricks they’re, fined him. The second yellow for van persie in the nou camp is probably one of the worst and outrageous sending off I have seen. Wenger said the ref had got it wrong, and he got banned by uefa. Almost any manager you can think of has had a ban at one time or another after expressing their unhappiness over the way the ref was in the match.
Finally you mention Wenger communicating with the bench while he was serving a suspension. Uefa were to blame then as they didn’t spell the rules out then. If I remember well they had to make up a rule, or define a rule in a new way, in order to fine Wenger.
What did Mourinho do to talk to his team while he was serving a ban. He sneaked into the dressing room in a laundry basket. In your response I don’t think you identified a single incident where Wenger used the word cheat. Don’t make things up just to win an argument.
@Mike T
I know you are a Chelsea fan and can understand you supporting all things Chelsea.
But, AW despite the incidents you noted above is a perfect gentleman compared to the two faced little twerp you presently have as a manager. Your man is a crafty manager, but as a human being is a total disgrace.
@ Mike T
“Frenchman” Wenger could repeat all the above “offences” a million times, while kicking 3000 water bottles down the touch line, but he’s never gone down to mourinho’s classless level.
Mike T
Like I said, all managers get banned when they berate refs, this is nothing new, and nothing wrong with that. It’s only the governing bodies who want to make refs unaccountable who think managers should question referees, even in the face of some very obvious incorrect and questionable decisions. What we are talking about, eye gouging, hiding in laundry baskets, etc, is unbecoming behaviour for a person managing a club as big as Madrid, Arsenal or Chelsea. I wouldn’t even expect that kind of behaviour from a man on the street. It’s yobbish behaviour.
Who think managers shouldn’t** question referees…
“The funny part about all of this mind games thing is to take pressure from the players. The crazy bit is managers like AW get drawn into it.”
Another general misconception. When Mourinho says something it’s viewed as mind games. When Wenger responds he loves moaning, he’s a whinger, loves complaining. There’s nothing called mind games, it’s a figment of the British media’s imagination. People like Mourinho and Ferguson used it to abuse or attack other managers.
Al
The problem is no matter what is put forward it will a” yea but”. Its a bit like all those in prison claim they are innocent. As I said I don’t have a problem with any of it.
btjgooner
Football is tribal its about opinions but I am quite neutral about Jose but do acknowledge he pushes matters somewhat and based on the responses he gets it seems he is achieving just what he set out to achieve. The best way to come out on top is just ignore him, but when the opposition supporters are booing him or chanting things about him he has in one shifted the focus and again has achieved what he hoped for
AL,
Talking about “mind games”, I recall an interviewer asking Arsene about Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle losing the title to Man United because of Keegan’s rant. AW just smiled that famous smile of his and responded: “Newcastle lost the title because of their defence”.
The British football press have got to be the shallowest in the world. What the hell does “mind game” even mean? Rather than analyse why a team is under-performing, which is not so easy but enlightening; they go with the entertaining but moronic line about “mind games”.
Fucking shallow idiots.
I know, Bootoomee. And they try to make us believe it’s also what cost Benitez the title, when we know that bent officiating IS what really cost Liverpool the title. Morons.
AL,
Thanks for reminding me of that one. But you need to understand that if we are to be gracious and say that the media are not really active enablers of bad officiating, we can safely conclude that they fail woefully at their jobs. The kind of mindset that gave us “mind games” that also gave us “it all evens out in the end”.
The same idiots who would not touch poor officiating in England with a mile long pole (because they are too lazy to do the real work of collecting data like Walter & co), would also not bother to enlighten their readers on why teams sometimes suffer dips in form (e.g. injuries, suspended players, scheduling etc) but rather go with what a rival manager said about them or their manager’s response to it.
A group of heavily paid professionals under-perform. What could be the cause?
Answer from sane and serious people: A lot, but it requires some analysis.
Answer from the British press: Mind games!
The journalists need to come up with stories fast, and draw audience. I remember reading a few British tabloids years ago (the only time in my life I did this, and only because my friend had received them and showed them to me – I was still in Romania and was purely curious). It took me no more than 10 minutes to figure out that they have no clue what they’re talking about – they were quoting Gerard Houiller, Liverpool manager at that time, to be the next manager of England. Anyway, this comes some way towards explaining how on Earth they come up with all this bull. The other reason is probably their neurons – or lack thereof.
I’m not sure where the term “mind games” made its way from in the newspapers landscape. It’s true that it draws a lot of attention to one person, but I find it difficult to believe it can shield the team from the media. How many articles are the direct result of player interviews? I would guess… not a lot. So again, made up stories that anyone can come up with. But since the editorial space is limited (alas), the amount of articles about that “special” one person and their qualitative contents tend to outgrow the ones about other players. The only conclusion I can draw is that Mou’s ego makes every other one pale by comparison.
Well said chaps. I think the term mind games was just conjured by the media to hide Ferguson’s bully-boy tactics. Should Chelsea win the league I’ve no doubt all the journos will be lining up to churn article after article about how Mourinho used mind games to get one over his rivals. Not once will they mention how his team profited from dubious refereeing decisions, which at one time even had the head of the pgmol calling the manager of a team that had been on the receiving end of one such dreadful decision to apologise. Or how bad officiating cost other clubs (Arsenal, Liverpool) crucial points against the same Chelsea. In their minds, they’ll have presented to the world the primary and valid reason why Mourinho’s team won. By so doing they avert attention from, intentionally or not, the role poor officiating may have played in deciding the championship. All we will hear afterwards is what a genius so and so is.
I think with Ferguson gone, the media are desperate to hang on to their mind games fallacy, and with Mourinho back on the scene they’ll happily let him get away with murder, to keep the stupid thing going. They like it because to them it offers a one size fit all kind of solution. It’s very easy to just say Wenger lost to Mourinho in the mind games stakes, and lost the title. No further questions asked. No further probing if there might have been other causes. Like the keegan/fergie episode, up until this evening I always heard that the held view of Ferguson winning the mind games war was what won united the title. Of course I don’t believe in the mind games bullshit, but there was no pressing need for me to try and find out if there had been more to it than just mind games. I wasn’t aware there was the angle of a poor defence. And I certainly don’t think I’m the only one.
For the mou defenders, found this quote below from the archives;
“”I am no longer Chelsea coach and I do not have to defend them any more,” he told feelfootball.com. “I think it is correct if I say Drogba is a diver.”
The Internazionale manager also criticises Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Robin van Persie for the same offence. “Drogba, Ronaldo, Torres and Van Persie are the divers. Who dives more? Who has won more penalties in recent years? But English football is the one that criticises the divers the most.”
Mourinho claims he is against diving but encourages his players to go to ground if they are fouled. “I hate diving but I’m not happy if a player is kicked in the box and he tries to remain standing,” he said. “It’s very, very rare a referee gives a decision if the player doesn’t go down so I tell players not to be naive but to be fair.””
There, this article is spot on.
Al
As opposed to AW whose most famous quote was always along the lines of I didn’t see it!
Mike T
AW not going to entertain the media circus by elaborating and so brings the topic to a close?
Not sure a half decent managers going to chastise his own players in public and heap even more pressure on them?
“I didn’t see it” is the perfect way to exit an argument?
Wenger will often use that phrase on infringements from opposing players as well. He will use it for a variety of reasons, including genuinely not seeing something at times
I added a picture to this post as another example of the scandalous behaviour of Mourinho. You can even see him trying to interfere with play when Everton tried to attack late on in the game
Mike T,
“I didn’t see it” is not very different from “I don’t know” which is one of the best answers to the questions we get asked in our lives because even the geniuses amongst us still have bigger knowledge deficits. Saying “I don’t know” may make you look ignorant or evasive but giving the wrong answers could make you look (from) dishonest to moronic.
Saying “I didn’t see it” is quite reasonable as an answer for events that take place at high speed and for which, unlike the journalists asking the question and viewers at home, you have no benefit of replays and slow motion. The media (again) made that line about Arsene Wenger even though every manager uses that line from time to time, including your beloved and immaculate Jose Mourhino.
On the other hand, you might as well concede the argument if the best you could come up with to compare Arsene Wenger with your ‘god-like’ manager, in light of all that have been said about him on this thread, is that Wenger often say “I didn’t see it”. That is just lame on many levels.
Walter,
What’s the source of that picture? It looks fake. The angle of JM’s shadow is VERY different from the other 2 players in the sun and the angle of the right leg of the Everton player behind him. That picture is a definite fake.
Mourhino has enough legitimate bad behaviours but I object to any one being manufactured to make him look bad. Shame on whoever photoshopped and put that picture on the Internet.
Bootoomee,
I got it from facebook but didn’t study it like that to be honest. My eyes still not completely open I think…
After opening my eyes I deleted the picture. It would undermine the article. Ignore, just ignore these last comments….
Walter,
Thanks for deleting it. I don’t want Mike T and other Mourhino defenders to accuse us of foul play 🙂
Too late Bootoome I’ve seen it? Ha! Ha!
Mind you Mourinho’s head would have blocked out the sun? Total Eclipse?
Total eclipse lol. It just might, given what a big he has 🙂 Too bad I missed the pic,would have been a good laugh. But as you rightly point out, don’t want to give them something to clutch onto in their vain attempts to defend the indefensible.
As I said earlier no matter what I say its going to be” yea but”. The fact that so many want to interpret AWs inability to see incidents as something other than how the vast majority of the football community’s take on it sums it up in one. Or to justify incidents where AW has been ruled by the authorities as being in the wrong as the authority being wrong is tribal and as I say I get that
@Mike T
You lost this one a long time ago; full marks for trying but you cannot successfully defend Mourinho by trying to blacken AW – it’s not going to work.
I couldn’t resist posting this quote from Wenger as to why he uses the phrase
Wenger’s Arsenal sides are criticised for their indiscipline; between September 1996 and October 2010, the team received 80 red cards He has often tried to defend his players, involved in controversial incidents on the field, by saying that he has not seen the incident; this is an option Wenger says he resorts to when there is no “rational explanation” to defend him
bjtgooner
Pretty obvious I wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind although I do wonder what would be peoples views on him if he were at some point in the future he were to be appointed manager of Arsenal?
Wont happen I hear you say but if the Russian were to take control then I wouldn’t be so sure and stranger appointments have been made such as Rafa at ours
“Wenger’s Arsenal sides are criticised for their indiscipline;”
By which authority? 🙂
Still no comment on the eye gouging or Frisk lies from Mike T unless I have missed it.
@Tony
not worthy of Untold.
Another quote from the odd one, in today’s interview;
“I have a team but no striker,” said Mourinho in an interview on the French television programme Canal Football Club. “A player like him can’t play in front of 3,000 people. Monaco is a club to end [your career with].”
Just wondering what Eto, Torres, Ba and Lukaku would have made of the comment ‘team with no striker’. Harsh. I said it before, and will say it again; this article is spot on. This is one guy who thinks of himself only.
Sorry guys,but I just can’t stop laughing, reading Mourinho’s interview;
“”The problem with Chelsea is we lack a scorer. I have one [Eto’o] but he’s 32. Maybe 35, who knows?”
Lol!
AL,
So basically, he just called Eto’o an age cheat? The guy is an idiot. Just imagine his outrage if another manager had said that about his players.
@Al
I can’t quite remember the Eto fee approx – £25m? Torres was £50m & yet Mourinho whinges he has no striker.
Imagine the outrage if AW spent £75m on strikers and then claimed he did not have a goal scorer. The media and AAA would be in orgasmic overdrive.
Mancini used to say something similar, namely he doesn’t have enough players to cover for all the matches, and the media was all up in arms. Mou is getting away no matter what he says. Shameful.
Bootoomee
Yes, he just called Eto an age cheat. Also dissed Monaco big time, I guess PSG can be his only destination now when he leaves chelski. And he talks of a player contracted to another club like that! This guy is just unbelievable.
Bjtgooner
Yes, Wenger would be crucified if he ever said anything like that. His four strikers are worth around £100m, yet he complains he has no striker.
Go on then I will bite
First the eye gouging of course there is no way anything like that should happen and of course he was way out of line and rightly fined and banned
Next the Frisk thing.
The claim by JM was that Frank Rijkaard had a conversation in the dressing room area at half time with Frisk. It is against UEFA rules for a manager to have any conversation with the ref at all.
Initially it was denied that any conversation took place yet later it was confirmed by the UEFA delegate that Rijkarrd had indeed had a conversation although the conversation was in the corridor that joins the home team dressing room with the officials dressing room.
Chelsea were fined £33k by UEFA bear in mind a chunk of this fine was in respect of the club failing to allow any players or officials to be interviewed after the game and something that UEFA fine clubs heavily for . The irony is that this was the same amount as AW was fined following his adverse comments about a referee for which he was also given a three match ban.
For his part in the whole debacle JM was fined £8900 and given a two match ban
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/4420769.stm
As for the enemy of football comment UEFA distanced themselves from the comment which was made by one of their officials.
Having said all that the threats to Frisk that followed were disgusting
Al
JM didn’t give an interview the comments were made during a private conversation with a sponsor but Canal were recording, without permission, the conversation. Canal have now removed the recording from their website and although no one is denying the comments it is said they were made during a light hearted exchange.
Just to correct things Torres cost £50 million, Ba £7 million Eto un disclosed although the fee was rumoured to be about £4 million. Lukaka has cost to date about £15 million although WBA & Everton have paid about £5 million of this.
MikeT: I have read many of your comments and find them rational and respectful. Of course we disagree since you are a Chelsea fan, but it is refreshing to see a fan of another club come on here and talk intelligently. Thank You for your contributions. Now as for JM..you don’t want to hear what I think of him : )
Mike T
I don’t think uefa or fifa fines should be used as the measure of the offence. Football associations have been fined less than the 33k you mention, for worse things such as racism. The likes of Bendtner have been fined 3 times as much for showing the logo on his underwear. So I wouldn’t read much into if so and so got a fine this big then their offence must have been bigger than so and so’s who got a smaller fine…..
Regarding that interview, I just find it ludicrous he can claim he wasn’t aware this was being recorded. He gave it to people doing a promotion for a brand of watches, so he should have expected cameras to be rolling. It’s not like it was an undercover sting in a restaurant or something. TV stations were on standby to conduct further interviews with the man, if he honestly believed what he was saying then would not be captured on camera then he must be very naive. Anyway, it’s not the first time he has bemoaned the lack of strikers at Chelsea or attacked his strikers;(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2523180/Chelsea-boss-Jose-Mourinho-takes-swipe-misfiring-strikers.html).
Not surprised with that heat of the moment angle, just trying to put some positive spin on it. What I found rather surprising is the lack of an outcry in the media about this, with some even crediting it to him as a tactic to rile his underperfoming strikers up. Really? This ain’t no way to joke? I wonder if the people at Monaco and Eto are seeing the funny side after being labelled a small club with crowds of 3000, and the other being called an age cheat. Also, am interested to know why this isn’t being viewed as tapping Falcao up. Instead the media are quick to credit it as mind games on his part. They are so in love with this man that anything he does, no matter how outrageous, will always be seen in a positive light by those in the media.
@ Avrind
Thanks for your comments.
My view on football is that all the passion all the rivalry etc ends at the final whistle-well perhaps after you calm down. While the games being played I want to come out on top but after the final whistle its time to celebrate or mourn to reflect and give credit and not to blame everyone or every thing.
People use the word hate in relation to a football club or a player or even worse brand all supporters of a club in the same light that is really sad and some need to look at themselves in the mirror.
I know a few, and just a few people in football, one is a media darling but the truth is he is a liar and a fraudster but his image is so well managed so he is viewed as a model citizen.
In a way its a bit like Saville in that only now he is well gone has the saint image been proven to be an absolute media fabrication
I tend to believe little or nothing I read in relation to what a player or manager has said or done most of the reports are nothing more than a fabrication. The sad part is the power the press has in terms of shaping peoples opinion of a celebrity and indeed just how many believe all rash they are fed.
I will give you an example John Terry. Put to one side the Ferdinand comments, which are a whole different issue, but lets look at allegation that he had an affair with a team mates wife.
Firstly she was never married, next her and Bridge weren’t a couple at the time of the alleged affair, they had split up some while before, but here’s the real interesting bit that the two papers that made the allegations admit the story was false and have published apologies
http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2010/oct/07/newsoftheworld-john-terry
Yet people still refer back to the original story as being gospel many aren’t even aware of the apologies
@Al
I don’t disagree with your comment about UEFA and that warped tariff in relation to the offence. As to Jose and his comments I am not sure one way or the other but my understanding is that prior to the sort of interview Canal were undertaking cameras have to be set up, tested etc and I think the interviewee is told that a camera is “Hot” when in effect their comments can be reported. That’s why there is so little outcry in the media as they know that if they break the ground rules their access to managers will become even more staged managed and sterile . Having said that some as media savvy as him may knows how to play the press.
The Eto age is he or isn’t he is a long standing thing in that if his age now is indeed 32 it will have meant he was a full international at 15 and playing senior football in Spain at 16 which of course is possible.
Mike T
I would not have expected you to come out blasting your manager, and I quite like the way you have defended him in a civilized way. Some of our own fans could learn a thing or two from you 🙂
Al
Again thanks for that. I love a juicy debate and as my wife will say sometimes I will argue blue is black , I think we all do however, I hate ignorant or naïve comments such as players not trying or making mistakes deliberately.
I will get one thing off my chest however and that is when I go to football I do not, nor have I ever chanted , sing songs or boo I love to watch and take in all that is happening on the pitch. I believe I am a loyal, long term and committed supporter who spends thousand each year following Chelsea home and away so when the opposition supporters chant about my support being f***ing shit because I don’t make a lot of noise or when a club takes say only a few hundred and the home crowd chants along the lines of is that all you take away I consider it cringe worthy just as I find some of the comments that are made by match day announcers (ours is Neil Barnett and he isn’t exempt from my annoyance ) that are so aimed as to be disrespectful to either the away team or its supporters.
I also watch non league and if only the same sort of respect and friendship found at that level could be replicated in the higher leagues, football would be a far better place
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/jose-mourinho-walked-onto-pitch-during-chelsea-win-over-everton-picture-video/
“This is quite amazing even from someone as brazen as Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
In the final 10 minutes of Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Everton, with the Blues still locked at 0-0 with the Toffees, Mourinho got so carried away with giving instructions that he walked on to the pitch, very close to where the ball was.
Not only that, Mourinho also came close to impeding Everton winger Aiden McGeady as the Scot ran up the wing!
Crazy stuff. And pretty surprising that there has been remarkably few press reports in this in the hours after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory.”
Can any mourinho defender explain this?