Jose loses “special” touch and reverts to tinkering
Why Shaun Wright-Phillips or two centre forwards could have saved Chelsea from elimination in the Champions League
Jose Mourinho has been much lauded for his ability to administer tactical switches to ensure his Chelsea side prevail at all costs. But on Tuesday night ‘The Special One’ got it horribly wrong as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League in the Nou Camp, without so much as an attacking whimper.
It was in this competition two years ago that Claudio Ranieri’s tinkering was brought to the fore and with it departed Chelsea’s Champions League campaign, in a tie against Monaco, which they were widely expected to reign victorious.
This time, the context of the clash may have been different, with Chelsea very much the underdog, but the consequences remained alarmingly similar. Tactical frailties have cost Mourinho another foray towards the Champions League title, a quest that looks to be beyond the current crop of players at Stamford Bridge.
From the outset, it was clear that Chelsea would have to arrive at Camp Nou in attacking mood. In search of a two goal winning margin to progress to the last eight, it might not have been a surprise for Mourinho to abandon his one up-front philosophy and find a space for both Drogba and Crespo in his first eleven. Whatever the Portuguese manager plumped for, it was clear that the attacking threat from his side would have to be of far greater substance than was apparent in the first leg.
Two weeks ago Mourinho’s game plan was undoubtedly altered by the premature departure of Asier Del Horno, for his reckless challenge on the superb Lionel Messi, but Barca’s impressive style of pressing should have been resonant in Chelsea minds right up until kick-off on Tuesday.
At Stamford Bridge, Barca were predictably fluent on the ball, but it was without it that they proved most intelligent. The Catalans applied unremitting pressure on Chelsea players with the ball, squeezing The Blues deep into their own half and suffocating the midfield of Lampard, Makelele and Gudjohnsen. The midfield trio who have offered so much in the Premiership this season, performed creditably, but without the dynamism with which we have come to expect. In attacking Chelsea even without possession of the ball, Barcelona enjoyed a high line of defence with plenty of room in behind. Last season in the second leg of this tie, Chelsea exploited that high line explosively with three goals in 20 minutes at The Bridge. Perhaps Mourinho should have paid more attention to the events of that game in preparation for Tueday night.
With goals needed and a high line to attack against Chelsea had the perfect opportunity to introduce a relative outcast of their season. Rarely could the attributes of Shaun Wright-Phillips have been so suited to European football than against the Spanish champions, but Mourinho spurned the opportunity. It’s true that SWP has appeared less coherent with his current teammates as was the case at Manchester City last season and, his inclusion in the starting eleven would have been an unquestionable gamble. But the diminutive winger has shown sparkles of his precocious talent lately and if heading to Camp Nou 2-1 down is not time to have a speculative flutter then Chelsea fans must be wondering when would be more appropriate.
Instead Mourinho opted for the consistent blandness of another £20m plus signing, Didier Drogba. This plan had worked well against Bayern Munich last year but with none of the three supporting members of Mourinho’s attacking cast getting close enough to the Ivorian centre forward, the ploy was doomed from kick off. Cole and Robben offered diligent touches and flashes of potential cutting edge but neither possess the raw pace that might catch out such a defence. Damien Duff on the other hand has seemed out of sorts for some time and his contribution was so peripheral, he might well be the first of the new Chelsea era to be ushered out stage left come the end of the season.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, Mourinho still had more tactical aberrations up his well-tailored sleeve. When the time came to make his trademark double substitution, Mourinho once again refused to inject some pace to the proceedings, preferring Eidur Gudjohnsen to SWP in replacement for Duff, but also relinquished the physical strength of Drogba with which he has put his trust in so regularly.
At such a delicate stage of the evening, one striker for another was perhaps acceptable, however what followed next was ludicrous. As he has done before in similar circumstances, Mourinho hoisted the German defender Robert Huth up the pitch, as a makeshift centre forward. Perhaps Huth is a regular victor in ‘Wembley Doubles’ in training, for one can find no other reason for the Chelsea staff’s continued belief that he will one day score the goal that rescues a game for Chelsea.
Entering the final minutes of a game Chelsea could still have won, Huth partnered Crespo up-front. No room for Shaun Wright-Phillips and no room for Gudjohnsen as a striker. And, if Mourinho does insist on plugging the gap in his front line with a centre-half, surely there is another, more suitable candidate for the role. John Terry is a constant menace in the opposition penalty area, with the ability to score or create. It was he who fashioned Chelsea’s undeserved equaliser last night, with typical stoicism that Huth would do well to emulate.
Of course, even if Chelsea had used SWP, opted for two strikers or sent their most attack-minded centre back forward, they might still have been thwarted by the best Barcelona side to turn out for over a decade. But maybe Roman Abramovich will study the patchwork forward line with which Chelsea ended the game and come to the same conclusion as many others – Jose Mourinho is no longer ‘The Special One’.
- Posted at 12:09 PM · Permalink · Print · 2493 views · Last indexed by Google on the 13th May 2008
- Tags: Champions League, Ed Bearryman, Players
Dear me, Mourinho draws a game away to the best club side in the world and he’s getting stick for it. We could have put out any line up you like and still lost, but if Crespo or Joe Cole had been a little more cold blooded in front of goal and we’d scored first… I think the hindsight game is too easy to play.
The margins are very fine at this level, one mistake, one moment of composure, one debatable decision. If Crouch keeps his cool and scores first against Benfica, if the referee decided Gilberto had fouled Ronaldo in the box, if Juninho of Lyon had been sent off for his two footed tackle instead of booked, if John Terry’s header at SB had flicked over the bar instead of into our own net. Doesn’t take much to change the impetus of a tie.
We cannot win every game, fans who demand and expect victory against Barcelona in the Nou Camp are being very unrealistic. We hadn’t won a title for 50 years, now we are questioning the methods of the man who is seemingly about to deliver two championships in two years?
I don’t think anyone should be above criticism but to turn on a manager for not delivering one miracle result, well.
Astonishing.
Ed, nice article. I’ve not seen your stuff before, is this the first?
Anyway, I have to wonder what people think is meant by “Special One” - are they literally translating it as JM meaning he is the son of God. Because that’s not what he meant even if he ever did use the exact phrase “Special One” (my recollection is that he said he was “special” and a “top manager” un-suffixed by anything). In comparison to just about any other coach in Europe his record was outstanding even before he came to us. Since being with us we have won 2 trophies, are likely to win at least one more with the option of perhaps 2 if the FA Cup goes our way. Potentially 4 trophies in 2 seasons is still a good haul, especially when you consider it took Ferguson and Wenger longer to achive a title at their respective clubs. You seem to imply that the only true test is the CL - which I fundamentally disagree with, the domestic trophy should always be the top priority.
5 years ago we’d have settled for being the top 10 in Europe, now we’re top 2. 5 years ago we’d have seen 2nd or 3rd place as success (in fact that’s exactly what we did). 5 years ago we’d have been grateful for the League Cup. So, things have progressed (see Kenn’s article) and will continue to progress. Rome wasn’t built in a day is always a useful maxim to work to. Sustainability is the key, and if you read and listen to the hierarchy at the club (Buck, Kenyon et al) you’ll see that’s exactly what they want. They want continued success, they want the peaks without the associated troughs as experienced by Airline, Liverpoo, and to a lesser degree Manure. JM has been a phenomenal success in his short career, and has bought unparallelled success to us. He is a very astute man and will learn from his tactical errors, from his misplaced purchases, just as we all learn every day from things that don’t quite work out. The only way to learn a real lesson is to taste the bitterness of failure. You have to know the bad to enjoy and savour the good. I think a meeting will be held before Spuds come to SW6, and a rational, professional discussion will take place (a “drains up meeting” as we call them) to determine what went wrong and what is required to rectify the situation.
I agree we need to buy if we want to improve and the men seemingly likely to go may well be Duff and Drogba, both of whom have yet to have a “big game” this season. Robben and Cole need to remember the team ethic, but on occasions should be set free like the hungry young tigers they are, to express themselves. I think JM is starting to see this view. I believe Cole truly could be as good and influential as Zola, as he has the full armoury of skills and tricks, along with the newly applied application. Robben is as good as Messi, and will be a footballing force, especially when he curbs his tackiling and diving instinct, something which will surely come with age. However, sometimes selfishness is a good trait in football, and the last thing we need is to turn into Airline and continually try to score the perfect goal, or pass it into the net. Just occasionally JM should appreciate that someone needs to take the chance.
Those two players aside it’s hard to see who might depart. I might have said Huth, but he is turning into the sort of dependable servant the club needs and his perfomances alongside JT recently have been immense and a sure sign of growing maturity and ability. Ferreira was the best right back last season in the PL, and by his standards hasn’t been there this year, but that may be because of injury. No, in my view we need a striker to threaten Drogba’s place, and I still go with Shevchenko, or Mickey Owen (if we can drag him from Newcastle - after all he may signed for Souness who has now gone), and possibly a winger to replace Duff (unless he improves) or a playmaker in midfield. I would also start a few games with Carlo, because frankly Cech, despite his brilliance last season has been decidedly average this year. He’s a goalkeeping version of Crouch, in that he doesn’t appear to be any good at jumping. He is also susceptible to certain shots, and I am convinced he could have got to Ron’s goal the other night were he more flexible. Lastly Cech, great shot stopper that he is, still insists on the favoured method of hoofing the ball up the field instead of starting play through his backs. It has improved a bit recently, but far too many times against Barca he hoofed the ball upfield to an inefective Drogba and possession was handed back to the team who are probably the best possession team in the world. Play to their weaknesses, not their strengths and I can scarcely believe JM has sanctioned this approach from Cech.
In summary, we’re like Liverpoo, a Work in Progress project, but much further down the line, with the best project manager in the world. We’re good, bloody good, but not the best, but that honour is surely not far away.
KTBFFH, GJ
I agree with Blingo on this one. I find the level of criticism of Jose quite ridiculous. What planet were these fans living on prior to Jose’s arrival? The man has just delivered 2 back-to-back Premiership titles! Those who say that Ranieri would have won the Premier League if given another season in charge are living in a fantasy land.
Saying that, I agree with a number of points in the above article. Duff was so out of sorts on Tuesday and I would have loved to have seen SWP get a run out. And playing Huth up front does smack of desperation - but I suppose we were somewhat desperate at that point. I do not agree that Gudjohnsen should have been played as a striker in place of Huth; the Icelander is a much better player playing off the front two, in an advanced midfield position. His halcyon days up front are behind him; I don’t believe he’ll recapture the striking form of his days with Hasselbaink. His creativity is much better used in midfield.
Besides that, the article is pretty objective - just quit the unnecessary criticism!
Blingo,
Hindsight is the easy game to play, I quite agree and it was stressed that even with these changes Chelsea still might not have won, merely given themselves more of a chance.
I thought before the game SWP should have been in the starting line-up or at least an early candidate as a substitute - his pace really could have made a difference.
It’s clear that Mourinho has done fantastically well in the Premiership since his arrival in England, but the Champions League is an altogether different affair.
Drogba is clearly not good enough to make an impact on his own up front in this competition, and Robert Huth does certainly not display the credentials of an emergency centre forward.
I was far from demanding, or expectant in my desire for Chelsea to win at the Nou Camp, merely disappointed with the way Mourinho went about the task. However, Barca are a fantastic side and perhaps there was nothing he could do.
I think you’d agree one or two reinforcements will be needed to succeed next year?
Jack,
This is my first article on here, thanks for the praise - I wasn’t expecting too many happy responses I must admit!
In the main I agree with you on the work in progress theory and I certainly don’t think Mourinho is now a bad manager.
I was approaching the article with a view only to the game at the Nou Camp where in my opinion Mourinho got it wrong. You’re right that everyone makes mistakes and his are extremely rare but I think in a week where Wenger’s tactics were spot on home and away, Mourinho’s were surprisingly laclustre. That Arsenal went through is not my point, they could easily have lost last night, but if they had they would have been extremely unlucky.
I don’t think anyone connected with Chelsea can say deep down that The Blues were unlucky in this tie, Barca were by far the better team, but I think they could have done more. They rarely threatened at the Nou Camp which was why I was so disappointed not to see a more inventive attacking line up towards the end.
Cheers
I have my views on Mourinho’s style, of course. But if you look at the two teams on Tuesday Barca actually had the more defensive line up. They had two defensive midfielders in their midfield trio; Edmilson and the loathsome Motta. We had just the one, Makelele. The first leg result meant Barcelona could sit and kill the tempo of the game. Our goose was pretty much cooked in the first leg I’m afraid. We couldn’t risk going further behind, yet we had to score twice. A footballing Catch 22 if ever there was one.
People forget that this is only Mourinho’s sixth full season in management and his second in England. If I could change one aspect of his style it would be his cautious approach, I don’t think that’s an especially unique or controversial view. But to imply he has failed and lost credibility because of the result in Barcelona, I just cannot agree with that.
As for the much maligned Drogba, he is frustrating, that is undeniable. However none of the obvious mega star strikers were for sale at the time we bought him. Drogba had scored at will in the French League and terrorised a number of European teams in the UEFA cup, including Liverpool and Newcastle. I don’t think he was that bad a pick, but he’s no Ronaldinho.
You cannot build an all conquering team overnight, however much money you throw at it. Patience is required, the right players have to be available, the right system has to be developed. Maybe we are too defensive right now, maybe that will change. Be optimistic, I cannot see we have much to complain about.
Well, there were some voices that we have had to change formation and play may be two strikers up ront. I think people forget who were our opponents. You can not experiment in such game. you have to do what you do best. We actually never played two up front, so do you think we should experiment in such important game?
I do agree with Mourinho damage has been done in the first leg. In some sence even deperture of injured Messi helped Barca. they were attacking less and more concentrating on defense. They were not better than us this is what really upset me, but luck and referee were on their side.
Your point that Mourinho brought us trophies, our first in 50 years, and hence he’s an amazing manager is valid yet it lacks a bit of reality.
I, don’t know the author, am not dissappointed that we lost, but I am frustrated at the way we have been playing recently. As I’ve constantly said, having such a squad, surely we could have played a little better in all matches (bar the brilliant Liverpool ones).
To me Mourinho is like a genious gone mad. Like that chess player who can’t make simple moves anymore, he only looks for ingenious ones. Rijkaard is so much worse tactically, yet he’s won tactically both matches. Simply because he wasn’t inventing anything special, he just let his team play and defend.
Mourinho at Porto - young genious.
First season as Chelsea - mature genious.
Now - “mad” genious. He’s is unable to see simple stuff anymore. I swear, if he’d just said, “Fuck it. Let’s just play attacking and crush them”, we would have scored 2 or even 3. Yet he still tried some fancy shit and you all saw what we got.
Same in the EPL. Except, probably, for Liverpool and West Brom (1st one) matches, we’ve yet to really *WIN*, to *KILL* the opponent completely.
We are winning only because of our class and superior training and mentality. Tactical-wise Mourinho has yet to really beat anyone this season (again, bar the magnificent Liverpool matches).
You can’t deny that. We *are* winning, we *are* earning trophies, but we’re like Spartak or other similar clubs who have earned 9 titles in a row simply because no other opponent could match the class.
We couldn’t and never would have beaten Barca this season, it was obvious. We can’t even beat a lousy League 2 team, and don’t tell me it was our “reserve” squad.
All I want is to see Chelsea really being better. That’s all. Mourinho can’t do that now because he’s too f*cking “intelligent”, in a bad way. Why can’t he just let all our class players play one match, I am sure it’ll be some 4:0. Right now we simply dwell on the inferiority of our opponents (Manure, Airline and Liverpool). Once they start playing well, we’re doomed unless Jose realized that.
Now, still, I do think Jose is the best in the world, seriously, but I simply can’t understand the way his team is playing right now. F*ck Barca, but all the other matches are just the same. His first season was amazing, and simply got unlucky in Liverpool. Jose was amazing. Now, as I said, he’s too intelligent for Chelsea or any other club.
As to the many references herein to getting rid of Duff, I Manchester United would probably welcome that. They would love him. They always wanted him and they wouldn’t ruin his talent the way Jose has. Under Jose he is allowed to get the ball halfway up the pitch - take 2 steps forward - show no willingness to take on his man - then passe the ball (as part of Jose’s golden triangle) back to one of the other midfielders or a rushing left back. Shameless waste of his talent. Christ he was man of the match last week for Ireland againt Sweden. How do you figure he has become so meek in the Chelsea blue. You fellas don’t realize what you have there - and what you have ruined - thanks to your coach. I suggest all Jose wants out of Duff is a triangular backpass or the odd raping cross which Duff does better than anybody, save Bridge (the loaning out - another mistake of Jose’s).
By the way, Duff’s dreadful first half against Barca on Tuesday wasn’t helped by that ball hog Robben who refused to give Damien the ball on several ocassions. While Robben is allowed to do anything he wants, Duff has been shackled by your coach. Wasn’t it Robben who got you into all this mess at the Bridge in the first place with his selfish backpeddling defensive blunder when under pressure from Messi. In fact I think Robben should be more of the goat that del Horno for as stupid as del Horno was to bowl Messi over - the real idiot was Robben when he could have simply hoofed the ball into the crowd.
Sure - give him (Duff) up - he wanted originally to play for Man U anyway - and Fergie would never neuter him the way Jose has. Everybody in Ireland sees the ruination of Duff’s game at the hands of Morinho. Why can’t you Chelsea people see that?
One more thing. Hate me for that, but I wish we lose to Spurs this weekend. I really do. Barca has cause a great deal of damage, but if we lose to Spurs, Mourinho and the players are sure to change.
And that’s what we need. We can’t dwell on one successfull season and the other where there simply wasn’t another team playing football. We need to look at the reality, and the reality is harsh. We are not playing as well as we should, be it against Barca, Spurs, MU, West Brom, Huddells-whatever or Burton. I want Mourinho to have this cold shower thing. I want him to realise his approach is shit. I want him to f*cking understand that there can be more than 2 game plans. He’s not using Chelsea’s full potential, can’t you is? Wenger, f*ck me for it, would have made an exceptional player out of Drogba. He has everything a target man needs: strenght, heading and much more, like teachnique and pace. He would have made SWP blossom, and Duff be as good as he used to. He would have taught Chelsea to play at the top of their capabilities, not at 10%, because when we finally needed it, we couldn’t get those other 90% to work.
I don’t want Wenger as a coach right nor, nor I want anyone else. What I want is Mourinho to open his eyes and see something he refuses to see.
People hate us for our power, we might as well just start to actually use it. Right now we aren’t, and whereas it still works this somewhat dull season in the EPL, we all saw what teams do to us in Europe. Apart from 4-1 at Betis (who are, after all, sh*t), we’ve never had a decent match.
People should stop glorifying Mourinho for the first trophy in 50 years. I’ve been a fan of Chelsea since 1997-1998 more or less, and might not appreciate it as much as you do, but admit it: Jose wasn’t THE ONLY man who could have won the title under thos circumstances, and while few could have, we wasn’t the only one.
Thanks ‘blaise Fini’, I am so desperate for people that see like you. I don’t care what team you support mate. Unlike you, I am a Chelsea fan who is not only dissappointed with the monster Jose Mourinho has turned to, but I am also becoming an invalid as a result. Jose Mourinho is a football’s version of a terrorist, but with a nuke. This idiot is killing football, its not only Duff he’s destroyed. I am in so much grief because of JM. Imagine what Barca or football in general would be like if Ronaldinho and Messi were turned into their own version of SWP-Duff-Robben-Crespo.
So sad.
Your first name isn’t Thierry by any chance?
No mate, but I think we need to contact them and ask them how much they need for Thiery after adding JM’s name to the Chelsea history books.
I think Henry works for Uefa.
I just wanted to write and say thank you. I am (as the name suggests) an American, who loves football. After searching the web for a current and evolving fan’s perspective on the EPL I stumbled onto this site. I’ve been reading your well-written and informative posts for almost a month now.
Thanks for taking the time to express your views on football and your love for Chelsea. Sorry about the King and good luck against the Hotspurts.
-AL
I do not accept this point of view, he was not the one, or he was the one who could win. The fact is the he has won!!! The other fact is that the guy has credentials and very serious credentials. He wins something every year!!! Now to all you comments about him damaging the game it is simply ridiculous!!! He can not ruin the game by having different point of view on the game!!! He enriches the game by bringing his point of view!!!! It will take some time when other will start to read our game and start to win us, so it is definitely different insight on the game!!!!!!
Two weeks ago he was great and now after loss to Barca he is bad. Come on guys…. We have started to win after JM’s arrival, we started to win big teams in EPL; Man UTD, Airline, Liverpool. Remember Barca has not won us with 10 man on the pitch!!!!!
firtly i want to comment on didier drogba. i dont think he is the best target man. for me he doesn’t score a much as he should. he misses too many clear cut chances. even his heading is not of the best quality. he just flicks the ball anywhere he doesnt show any intention or accuracy when he flicks the ball. quiet simply he is not as good in the air as people think he is. granted he got the height but the height is useless if you don’t have the proper tecnique in terms of dealing with arial balls. its a very a complicated process it also has a lot to do with the strength of neck an back muscles.
i think the one piece missing in mourinho’s puzzle is a goalscorer. someone who will bang in at least 20 to 25 goals a season quiet franckly drogba just can’t seem to do that. in relation to crespo, he has massive goalscoring potential but i don’t he is a good ball fetcher and carrier. if partnered with drogba it is inevitable that he will have to do the job of going into midfield to collect the ball. on the other side crespo himself is not as good in the air as a ruud van nistelrooy or a david trezeguet. so he himself ca’t play the role of target man. he teds to more effective when running of the ball and having the ball played at his feet. therefore the perfect strike partner for crespo would be someone in the mould of schevshenko or adriano someone who has the ability to go in to midfield and collect to ball, someone who is good at running at and beating defenders for example wyne rooney.
another thing i think should be worked on is the delivery of the widemen especially arjen robben, shaun wtight-phillips and to a certain extent joe cole. these players are fantastic at beating defenders but their crosses or final balls into the box tend to let them down. this is not only something that happens to these three palyer but it seems to something that is happening to all the yooungeters playing in wide positions. what they tend to do is focus so much on their ability to beat defenders that they don’t work on their final balls. it happens to players like christiano ronaldo and robinho. both of them are very good at beating defenders or the opposition but their final ball is terrible. unlike someone like david beckham who is not so good at get past defenders but his crosses are exellent.
another worry i have about the chelsea team is that most of them seem to have reached a very high level of performance in a relatively short space of time. it is well known that not everyone or every team can play at the same level for ever. therefore i wonder how much longer the likes of frank lampard, cluade makalele& john terry can dish out these amazing performances becuase for me these palyers individually cannot play any better than they have been doing for the last 20 months or so. i therefore predict a drop in chelsea’s performances probably next season or the season after that. this drop will not be a major drop to the extent that they won’t be able to challenge for the title but it will be a drop in that they won’t be as dominating of their opponents.
the reason for this drop may also have something to do with the fact that there is a possibility that if chelsea keep on playing the way they do, they might end up becoming predictiable. but not predictible in the sense that they will be beaten more often or easier but predictable to the extent that they will find it harder to overcome or dominate the other premiership teams.
another reason for a decine in performance might be the fact that players will as mourinho homself has mentioned lack motivation. when the players get handed their medals this season it also ultimately mean that there is one less thing they have to work towards experiencing in terms of domestic competition. there would also be less motivation to perform if they had one the champions l;eague this season. this thing amount of success could be viewed as being detrimental to a certain extent to the careers of young players such as arjen robben. what would motivate him should he win every domestic medal and a champions league medal before he reaches the age of 28. what would he play for after wining everything. so in my view being knocked out of the champions league was a bit of a good thing. it means the players have something to work towards next season.