It’s not getting any better for Jose Mourinho.
Under-pressure Chelsea FC boss Jose Mourinho has come in for much criticism as a result of his team’s poor start to the season. Now, a pair of footballing legends have rounded on the Portuguese as Johan Cruyff and Fabio Capello attack his managerial methods.
Chelsea are in dire straits at the moment with just eight points gained from eight games. With four Premier League losses already, the Blues are down in 16th place in the table and frankly look unlikely to move northwards any time soon.
POPULAR: Chelsea FC: Blues On International Duty, October 2015
Cruyff, a three-time Ballon d’Or winner, has criticised Mourinho’s show-stealing antics although he does admit that he fosters a good squad environment.
"What I like about him is he’s always capable of creating good ambience within the players and what I don’t like is that he always puts himself on the first row. He should be on the second row. It’s probably because of his background, where he’s never been cheered by 100,000 people, or whistled at by 100,000 people."
Mourinho has continued to be a centre of controversy as he fields increasingly difficult questions regarding both his team and his future. While Cruyff’s comments may be superficially reasonable, it must be noted that Mourinho has been in the ‘first row’ for the entirety of his career.
In fact, his insistence on staying in the limelight is often given as a reason for his success. It is said that the Blues boss creates controversy in an attempt to focus the media’s attention onto him, rather than onto his players.
Cruyff, though, is also concerned that his public profile could negatively influence the youngsters.
"I don’t think he is educating children to play football or educating for life. He should behave better."
Frankly, most Mourinho fans can agree with that. He is constantly moaning, blaming referees and being downright petulant. Having said that, it has helped him do his job effectively and from the perspective of earning a living, there’s little room for criticism.
Capello, meanwhile, has targeted the third-season syndrome that Mourinho has earlier ridiculed.
"Mourinho burns out his players after a year and a half, at most two years…His cycles tend to last around this period of time."
Mourinho has rarely stayed at a club beyond two seasons and there are many people who complain that for all his trophies, he is unable to cultivate sustained success.
More from Chelsea FC News
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
- Chelsea sporting directors finally reveal why they sign so many young players
- These 3 new signings may never get a game at Chelsea
However, the Portuguese has stated (and reiterated) that he intends to stay at Chelsea for many years so it will be interesting to see how this pans out.
Despite Chelsea’s current situation, it is hard to sustain success year after year thus the boss should be cut some slack. The Blues’ results are exceedingly terrible but everyone associated with the club should rally around to fend off criticism and support the manager and the players.
They certainly need it.
All quotes taken from The Telegraph.
Next: Thibaut Courtois Provides Update, Engulfed By Inflatable Object