Chelsea FC Ladies Ex-Manager Speaks Out

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In amongst all the furore and speculation regarding Chelsea FC and will we keep or sack Jose Mourinho, a true giant of the women’s football game has voiced his opinion on the current situation.

Tony Farmer is the man who fought against the general misconceptions regarding women’s football that were rife at the time, and after several battles with Chelsea FC, established Chelsea Ladies FC.

Not only did he establish the ladies club but he also very successfully managed the team too from their inception in 1992 as Chelsea Women’s FC through to the end of the 1997 season.

During that time Tony was a visionary in women’s football because he believed in passing the ball instead of the traditional hoof and hope game. He also believed that women could be as physical and skilful as their male counterparts and his team played that way, racing through the lower leagues under his guidance.

The current Chelsea Ladies manager Emma Hayes paid tribute to the work Tony and his team did in the early days, when remembering them as the Ladies won their first top tier title this season. The club claimed the FAWSL1 crown 23 years to the day that Tony’s Ladies played their first competitive match.

Tony Farmer has always maintained close links with both Chelsea FC’s ladies’ and men’s teams, and coupling that with his years of experience as a manager he is uniquely placed to provide some valuable and thought provoking opinions on the current situation.

The following piece is reproduced with Tony’s permission and to me shows that he hasn’t lost his long established morals and values or his practical approach to the game as he provides a valuable insight from a manager’s perspective.

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“If and it is a big IF there is any truth in the reports that a Chelsea player said he would rather lose under Mourinho, then Roman Abramovich has got a massive decision to make. It is obvious there are things going on behind the scenes that are not right, whether it is a split in the dressing room who knows but it’s not just burn out that’s the problem. I don’t care who it is if it is true, [Eden] Hazard, Oscar, JT [John Terry], or any player, if it’s true they are a disgrace to themselves, their profession and Chelsea FC and need to be shown the door. It is the cardinal sin for any sportsman to want to lose or to not give 100%.

There is so much discussion on Mourinho, should he stay or go. What I would say is I would imagine working with him would be intense to say the least. He obviously demands 100% commitment to what he wants. Any less and it appears players very quickly become surplus to requirements and from comments from players who have left they are almost ignored and made outsiders.

I think he made a massive mistake in dropping JT like he did. With the experience and influence of [Didier] Drogba, [Frank] Lampard and [Petr] Cech gone in the last 16 months, JT was the senior player that other players look up to.

Don’t get me wrong JT has looked a shadow of the JT of last season but when the last experienced Mr Chelsea is hauled off at half-time and then dropped and blamed for the defensive problems it unsettles players who look up to him.

It should also be remembered that when Mourinho was sacked 1st time round there was an awful lot of stories coming out that JT and him had fallen out of love. Mourinho spent the whole summer in pursuit of John Stones, when in my opinion there are other areas of the pitch that needed new faces far more urgently.

That pursuit and the money bid meant that either [Gary] Cahill or Terry was going to miss out. It also meant [Kurt] Zouma would move down the pecking order. That would have unsettled those players knowing that Mourinho wanted to replace them.

At the very time that Chelsea needed that experience and leadership, Mourinho made an example of him to prove his point to those upstairs. That would definitely unsettle the changing room and effect team spirit. He did at Real Madrid and he’s doing it here.

I am no psychiatrist but at the moment Mourinho looks like a man who is close to a breakdown. His behaviour is becoming more and more erratic and irrational. That has lead to fines, sendings off and now a stadium ban. If reports are to be believed Stoke could be his last game if things don’t go right. The very match where he needs to be in the changing room and on the touchline he has got himself banned.

He demands 100% but I don’t think at the moment he is giving the same. My personal view is that he has become so obsessed with the imaginary campaign by the FA, referees and the media and his obsession with [Arsene] Wenger that it has detracted from actually running the team. We all know that we have had more than our fair share of bad decisions but watch MOTD and there are shocking decisions in virtually every game. You need to turn these negatives to positives but he is just highlighting every decision and making excuses.

I have said it before and will say it again, what we need at Chelsea right now is a calming influence. The Club needs it, the players need it and the supporters need it. Instead we are getting a manager who is in meltdown and a team who are a reflection of the manager.

Sir Alex [Ferguson] was a master of controlling situations. He knew the right buttons to push to get decisions go his way and he knew exactly how far he could push it to escape punishment. When Jose first came to Chelsea he could like Fergie, manipulate situations, wind up other managers and the media literally chew them up and spit them out but now he is like a victim of his own wind up.

So why then has Abramovich got a massive decision to make. Well he has got to make a choice between a manager who in his 5 full season’s has brought massive success to Chelsea or a player or players who are deliberately working against the club and manager if those reports are true.

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We all know managers come and go as do players. Players are assets and worth more financially than managers but you cannot let players run the club. It is a recipe for disaster. These are players who are one phone call away from having their heads turned by offers of a few more thousand to walk out in the next transfer window. If you let these player’s dictate who should be manager based on whether he picks them or not it won’t be long before they completely rule the roost when it comes to contract negotiations and forcing you to sell them by going on strike.

My view is unless there is some horrendous problem that hasn’t been made public then Abramovich needs to back the manager he gave a new 4 year contract to in the summer. That said he needs to reign him in a bit and remind of his responsibilities to the club and the behaviour that is expected of him. He then needs to name, shame and out any player who would rather lose than win and sue them for breach of contract.

We have had success under Abramovich that us older fans would never have dreamed of but that success has also been tarnished by accusations, lies, controversy and bans. As one of the few clubs in the world that could actually afford to sack a top player for breach of contract, then maybe it’s time Roman Abramovich made a stand and made Chelsea FC a club that leads the way, sets standards for others to follow and make Chelsea Football Club a club we can be proud of on and off the pitch.”

On behalf of The Pride Of London I wish to thank Tony Farmer for providing such an insightful and thought-provoking piece; it’s rare in this day and age for a respected manager to be able to speak his mind honestly and openly. His wise words should be heeded by all sides in the current situation.

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As Tony summarised Chelsea FC should be a club that leads the way, and a club that makes all of us as fans proud of it, both on AND off the pitch.

KTBFFH

Lee Fraser.

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