Saturday 7 December 2013

Mourinho's man-management key for Chelsea's success:

Jose Mourinho. Arguably one of the finest managers ever to grace the beautiful game that we call football. Made a name for himself at Porto and Chelsea, before going to Inter Milan and Real Madrid. 


Chelsea faithful: The fans had been singing Mourinho's name for the last year before he returned.
Hard not to see why: Mourinho was very successful when he first managed Chelsea.
Pressure to succeed: Even though Chelsea have won trophies since he left, the way they play has changed significantly. The fans will be hoping Mourinho can integrate a new style to the way they play football. 

Now he's back at The Blues for his second spell in charge of the Londoners, and this time he wants to reassert his dominance in the EPL in a more competitive and open league than ever before. 


Back in business: Mourinho is desperate for another successful spell in charge of Chelsea.

This time, it will be harder to get every one of his players on side, agreeing with his style of play and custom tactics, because less of the players he had when he began his first spell at the club are still here (the likes of Lampard, Terry and Essien) 

There is increasing pressure in English football for clubs to grow and nurture their young talent, especially homegrown players who have a chance to play for England in the future. Chelsea have some players in their under-21 squad who could become world-class in the future, along with some players currently on-loan at other clubs across Europe. 

One of those players is Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku. He signed for Chelsea from Belgian club Anderlecht in 2011 for a reported transfer fee of around £19million pounds, surprising for an 18-year-old teenager (at the time) who was tipped to be the "next Drogba" in 5 years time, but had not been proven at a competitive level like the Premier League where his mental toughness and strength would be tested to the limit. 

He was immediately sent off on a season-long loan deal (not exactly surprising) to West Brom, who were currently struggling at the time to stay mid-table without a clinical striker. Lukaku turned out to be a sensational loan coo, scoring 17 goals in all competitions and ending the season well with a hat-trick against Manchester United.


Consistent: Lukaku fired West Brom into a comfortable position in the TOP half of the table last season.

Inspired form: Lukaku was blossoming at West Brom, while Chelsea were inconsistent with Di Matteo in charge

And then at the end of last season, he returned to Chelsea where he did pre-season training with the rest of his team-mates before playing in a few friendlies across the world. A few weeks later, former Inter Milan and Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o joins Chelsea on an undisclosed fee, and Lukaku is unveiled at Everton on a season-long loan. So what happened? Was he not doing well? 

The answer is yes. But Mourinho returned, and decided to loan him out again because he felt he still "was not ready to play for Chelsea."

Lukaku (you cannot blame him) admitted that he would rather leave the club on another loan deal than stay on the bench for the majority of Chelsea's matches, and Everton were first to approach The Blues over a possibility of a loan deal. 

And now? Well Lukaku has scored 8 goals in all competitions so far, which is more than all of Chelsea's strikers COMBINED. How is that Mourinho? 


You watching Mourinho? Lukaku has started this season in great form, just like last year.

Only Suarez, Sturridge and Aguero have scored more goals than Lukaku in the EPL this season

Unstoppable: Mourinho should be kicking himself for letting Lukaku go back on-loan.

Ironically, Mourinho and Lukaku have been in the newspapers the past week after an apparent row over playing for Chelsea and decisions being made over Lukaku's future. 

Mourinho has made some sarcastic remarks about Lukaku in the press, saying "maybe there is a rule change where.. every player is free to decide his future," which is a direct response to Lukaku not explaining the full reason why he left the club on another loan spell.

The Belgian did have this to say though:
"Imagine I was playing for Chelsea now, I would play maybe five games... (instead) now everyone in England is talking about me."

That suggests that he did not feel he would get his chance at Chelsea this season, which is true as both Torres and Eto'o were preferred to him in the striking role. 

You have to feel that he needs to play for a bigger club after he leaves Everton next summer, otherwise he will not be able to develop while playing with the best players in the world. 

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