When Liverpool Football Club sacked Brendan Rodgers a man lost his job. The response lacked sympathy and there was a mutual feeling among players that this was a fresh start and they were ready to bust a bollock for Jurgen Klopp.
That, in the real world, would be looked upon as a disgrace. But in football it has become the norm. Whoever the manager is, the players in question should put the same effort in. After all, the costly ticket prices paid by fans each week is what contributes to their considerable wage salaries.
Jose Mourinho, on the other hand, is filling headlines for multiple reasons; the infamous controversy that surrounded Eva Carneiro, the terrible run of form that immediately followed, and the dropping of Chelsea’s best player.
In what has been the most difficult time of the Portuguese’s managerial career, seven minute post-match rants and continuously badmouthing the FA won’t help his cause.
Still though, it’s not an easy task to name a better football manager than Mourinho right now. Of course, he’s having a bad season but considering the amount trophies on his CV – 16 in the last 10 years – he is surely entitled to a dry period or two.
I’ll take your counter argument that Pep Guardiola is potentially superior, but Mourinho won’t be fully appreciated until he hangs up the tactical notepad. Football clubs and supporters are both guilty of being impatient.
The club specific fan channels that have become increasingly popular on YouTube have all introduced fan cam features – a series of recordings took outside football grounds at full time. While few are humorous, many of these videos are seen as a platform for knee-jerk opinions that days – if not hours – later could without question be more balanced or digested.
This, so far, may be considered a supportive piece for Mourinho. It is but I’m not ignoring the fact he hasn’t helped himself or made some crucial mistakes. It’s a results business but losing the dressing room could prove more damaging that anything else. Whether or not that has happened, I don’t know, but the ‘special one’ deserves Roman Abramovich’s benefit of doubt.
For instance, who do Chelsea have in mind to succeed Mourinho if there are plans to sack him this season? The only possible recruitment I can imagine is Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, formerly of River Plate, who may have an incredibly impressive record at his current club but can he be considered an upgrade on the current Stamford Bridge boss? I’m not sure anyone with the exception of Guardiola can.
Backpagefootball
