It is a very rare occasion when Chelsea back underperforming managers, especially when said manager fails to produce decent positive results and the same one has the club sitting 16th in the league table after eight games.
Roman Abramovich is not the most patient owner in English football and most the time he has got it right when he’s sacked his managers, well for many, except for teh decision to get rid of Carlo Ancelotti and his final call on Jose Mourinho’s first stint at the club.
The Portuguese coach was sacked in his third season with Chelsea in 2007 after an indifferent start to the 2007/08 and the script looked to be rewritten this season after the West London club raised eyebrows for the wrong reasons, however in one of the strangest and most unexpected approaches to situations like this at Stamford Bridge, the club backed their manager “fully”.
Whether Jose walked or was sacked back then, the club moved in a positive trajectory amid doubts that Chelsea will not be a European force without the self proclaimed ‘Special One’. The rest is history as the Blues won several trophies under different managers, including the ‘Holy Grail’ of the Champions League under Roberto Di Matteo in 2012.
Fast forward one season and the return of the Special One was to be witnessed at Stamford Bridge. Jose won two trophies in the second season of his second stint after a trophy less campaign in his first season, however his third has been most disastrous.
Southampton were the latest team to drag Chelsea through the mud at Stamford Bridge after Jose Mourinho racked up an astonishing record in front of his home fans which sees him lose three times in over 100 games at the Bridge.
Jose admitted ahead of his 100th game at Stamford Bridge as he prepared to face Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace earlier in the season saying, “I know it’s not normal. 99 matches in the Premier League is not 99 matches in a small league. It’s the most competitive league. I’m proud of the record, but I don’t think it has an influence in the future,” Mourinho said.
Mourinho confessed that at a club as huge as Chelsea is, the pressure is palpable and the best for any manager is to keep winning. The most important analysis to make now is to weigh the statement made by the club and see where it points Chelsea in the next few years.
In his first stint, there was an impasse between Mourinho and owner Abramovich but it looks quite unlikely there will be any of such things this time around. There are clear signs of forward thinking by the club’s hierarchy.
The club has plans of expanding their stadium and shelving out millions as compensation will not be welcome at Chelsea now and the owners backing proves just that.
The effects of a public endorsement of their manager, that read,“The club wants to make it clear that Jose continues to have our full support”, also goes a long way to tell their players that ‘Jose is still the man for the job’; if there were any concerns or doubts.
Belief in the squad and manager could do the club a lot of good as the players have to produce good performances as a response to the backing and also mentally boost them to give their best for a manager who will remain with them for the foreseeable future.