Why Mourinho Is and Isn’t Chelsea’s Solution

The shambolic results of this 2015/16 season has people harking back to Jose Mourinho’s third season at Real Madrid, with parallels being made to the team that ceded La Liga to Barcelona before Christmas. This is a bit unfair because all in all, the results of that third season weren’t that bad. It was just uncharacteristic.

That year Madrid only lost five times and drew seven in the league. This year Chelsea has already lost four and drawn two.

The biggest issue that has been passed over, presumed to be more irrelevant as the season carries on, is the pre-season performance.

The “horrid” 2012/13 season at Madrid saw a stellar preseason of six wins and one loss. Our preseason was shorter, but of the four games played, two were losses and two were draws.

The layman’s reasoning for the drastic difference is to say that Real Madrid’s squad is just much better than Chelsea’s. A team with Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, and Sergio Ramos will always be a team not to be trifled with. If managed properly and providing good luck with injuries, that team could win almost all 38 games of the season with ease and relish.

The 2011/12 Madrid season saw them batter goals past opponents. In 18 games of the 38 that season, Madrid scored four or more goals. This sort of statistic should make the impudent football fans who bandy the “parked bus” joke take their loathsome fingers away from the comment box on football blogs.

So as good as Madrid was, is, and always has been, it’s an assured assumption that Chelsea is not, has not been, or likely will not be anytime soon as impressive. That doesn’t mean that individual players cannot compete and compare with the Galacticos.

In the analogy game, a Madridista will say Ronaldo, and we say Hazard. They say Kroos, we say Fabregas. They say Casillas…er well… Keylor Navas/David de Gea (in August 2016), and we say Courtois.

One of two things come to mind to explain this season’s malaise. The first is that the level of the Premier League has increased. Economic theory has an adage from the 1960′s: “A rising tide lifts all boats.” The “big four” have gone through upheavals of many sorts, and the other sixteen clubs are gunning for them. The magic of the Premier League is what makes it the best in the world, and it’s the “upsets” that throw twists into the tale that we all live for nine months out of the year.

The second theory for this torturous season is the manager.

This “third season” curse is nonsense. Mourinho has always been a member of the top tier of football managers, and that doesn’t change without something drastic like a lobotomy.

A large portion of the reasoning behind a manager’s sacking is the hope that a new man will come in and tidy up the mess. That this new manager will see the club and its issues with fresh eyes. Mourinho has a vote of confidence by all parties that are concerned with his future with the club. The players are rallying around Mourinho, as are the board, but Jose is just too close to the issue to have the ability to see clearly.

He is also stubborn as an ox, which is one of the reasons I admire him. He has said in interviews that he puts himself “in a box.” That no outside forces can influence his thinking. He is the epitome of confidence, and that has been detrimental this year.

As we get older, our ability to change our way of thinking becomes more difficult. We are all doomed to settle into a set routine and personality, defining us. Mourinho needs a shock to the system if he is to be the man to get Chelsea out of the rut.

I am not sure how much Jose’s tactics and instructions account for the performances in the games, and how much is left to the players’ devices, but there is no cohesion with the team. No clear plan, and no adaptation.

We know the talent is there to be tapped. It just needs to be approached from a different angle.