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Friday 1 May 2015

Jose Mourinho 'The Extra- Special One'







Many people grumble about how his team have ground out results to go 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League and set up a title party at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
But even his harshest critics must see the 52-year-old Portuguese coach is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to the art, science and psychology of football management.
In his second spell with the Blues - and don't forget those who say "never go back" - he has re-established absolute authority at the club and got the team playing totally to his command.
It may not be always be pretty but, boy, is it effective.
You have to admire how he provoked such a positive reaction from his players after their shock 5-3 defeat by Tottenham on New Year's Day which sparked an unbeaten league run of 14 games.
Jose MourinhoEXTRA-SPECIAL: Mourinho has proved he is a magnificent manager [GETTY]
The Capital One Cup was bagged on the way and perhaps, to a certain degree, the FA Cup and Champions League sacrificed.
That is not to say Chelsea went out on purpose - although, in retrospect, nobody seemed too bothered about the FA Cup loss to Bradford.
But, at some unconscious level, it appears Mourinho and his men knew they did not have the resources to compete on all four fronts.
That is where he deserves huge credit.
Mourinho has done it by balancing the books, in fact making a profit, to fall in line with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.
While his rivals, Manchester United in particular, have spent big, Mourinho has sold first before he bought.




Is there a single Blues fan out there who now doubts why he sold their beloved Juan Mata to Old Trafford?
Heaven knows how he has restored skipper John Terry to the player he was a decade ago.
And the way he Mourinho has made Eden Hazard work like a dog and Brazilian Oscar tackle like a lion almost defies belief.
Don’t forget, too, that for the last four games the only fit striker he has had has been Didier Drogba who is 37.
Plenty do not approve, but he has also got under the skin of Manchester City’s Manuel Pellegrini and, in particular, Arsene Wenger of Arsenal with his digs.
And behind all the whinging about a lack of penalties and unfair suspensions he does have a point - particular with the first point, as Sunday’s unpunished assault in the box by Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina on Oscar proved.




Of course, Mourinho has his faults and it will be interesting to see how long owner Roman Abramovich will accept dour football. But, right now, he is simply the best.
In contrast, what a shabby season it has been for Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. The Irishman looked potentially a serious rival to Mourinho after last season’s second place.
But he seems to have got ahead of himself too quickly and become obsessed with tactical changes and fancy formations.
Chelsea have been mainly 4-2-3-1 while you sense Liverpool’s players, at times, have been baffled by theirs.
Also, can you imagine Mourinho putting up with some of the antics of Anfield players like Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli this season?
With the pitiful workload the latter has been producing, he would not have got near a Mourinho team.
Sadly for Anfield fans, Rodgers is starting to look like he might be ‘The Average One'

By David Woods, Chief Football Writer  
      Daily Star

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