Mourinho: The Master of Media Diversion

With an average age of 27, Jose Mourinho's current Chelsea team is a far cry from the one he had in 2004. Different teams require different methods, but the outcome remains the same.

Mourinho is a media dream. It is hard to recall a manager so comfortable in maintaining such a position, especially in the top tiers of European football. His abrasive yet infectious charisma in his first stay in the Premier League endeared him to journalists - if for nothing else than the fact he gave some of the most memorable headlines in the last decade.

Mourinho's approach now is different. He is older, wiser and - as he stressed at the start of the season - calmer. Nevertheless, as we enter the results-end of the season, now seems as good a time as any to reflect what can only be described as a genius tactic - media diversion.

The first taste of this came after the defeat of Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich. For those who have managed to erase the painful memory from their mind, our Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku missed the penalty which handed Bayern the Super Cup. Shortly after he was shipped off on loan to Everton, after Ramires was sent off for two yellow cards. Mourinho's comments straight after the game were incredibly important.

‘I’m disappointed because the best team lost. The team that most deserved to win, lost. But that happens in football. People who earn their living in football always feel there’s a very important rule: the passion for football. If you are in love with football, you don’t kill a final with a second yellow like this'.

Mourinho's post match words were certainly provocative. More than stating the loss was undeserved, he questions the referee and, through the broadness of his claims, draws the wider footballing community into the equation.

The following day the back pages of the majority of newspapers had the face of Mourinho, not Lukaku.

Mourinho knew his striker needed some degree of protection after such a heartbreaking loss - and that's exactly what he got. He diverted the focus of the loss away from his young, developing players and took the brunt himself. 

With this in mind, let's look at Mourinho's most recent quotes, taken from the triumph against Manchester City. When asked about the title race, his response was:

"Two horses and a little horse. A little horse who needs milk and to learn how to jump"

Chelsea, of course, are the little horse in this analogy. But after beating Manchester City home and away, and keeping a clean sheet against what he described as "the best team in the league, for sure", why isn't Mourinho staking his claim for the Premier League title? He is, after all, a self-proclaimed winner.

The answer, in line with the title, is his tactic of diversion. He is moving the focus away from the players and in this case indirectly to himself once again. As has been pointed out on many occasions, our team is young. Two of our most integral players - Oscar and Hazard - aren't even in their mid-twenties, whilst the number of first-team players 25 or under swelled with the arrival of Matic. Like the horse in Mourinho's analogy, young players need nurturing. They might be able to 'jump' on their own eventually, but far better they learn in a season where the focus - for the time being, at least - isn't on them.

Mourinho is training his troops for next year, but don't be surprised  if Chelsea are right at the very top come May. It's embedded in their DNA but more than that, they are fully capable of doing so.

Another positive effect of remaining coy on Chelsea's chance of the title is that it piles the pressure on City and Arsenal. You wouldn't expect a little horse to beat Kauto Star in a race, would you? Yet here we are: Chelsea level on points with City and two behind Arsenal. The Pensioners can work their way up quietly, leaving it to City and Arsenal to take the brunt of the pressure and either rise to it or suffer from it.

Mourinho certainly has toned down over the past few years. Nevertheless, he still remains something of a media darling; whether they realise he is working them like putty between his fingers is another matter entirely.

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Goodbye Mata - did it make sense?

Manchester United announced last night that Juan Mata had completed a record £37.1 million move.

It is a disappointing end to his Chelsea career, and many fans will feel bitter despite his heartfelt open letter on his blog One Hour Behind. Not for leaving Chelsea - rather leaving to perhaps our most significant rivals through the last decade.

In terms of finance, the deal is successful. We make nearly £15 million profit on a player who played a bit-part role this season, and struggled to make an impact. This also represents our biggest ever fee for an outgoing transfer. Mourinho himself talked about the need for financial prudence in an age of Financial Fair Play, declaring that "We now sell at £20 million and buy at £5 million".

Having announced losses of £45 million in the last season, this comes as a welcome push back onto the right track.

Despite the loss of our two-time Player of the Year, Mourinho's vision for the team has not changed, and is arguably clearer than ever. When it comes down to it, the early press claims that "Mata is not a Mourinho player" were - somewhat regrettably - correct; he isn't direct, powerful and the gritty defensive work doesn't come naturally to him. Using Mourinho's jigsaw image, it was like trying to squeeze a corner piece into the middle of the picture.

It could even be considered a positive that we are one step closer to completing a squad of players that fit with how Mourinho wants us to play. It worked out alright last time.

However, this was a transfer that was more than simple numbers and names on a team sheet. Mata had endeared himself to the Chelsea crowd from his debut goal against Norwich. His personality was Zola-esque: you would be hard-pressed to find an opposition fan who disliked our former number 10.

It is somewhat of a strange move as far as United are concerned however, as on paper Mata doesn't fit into their team. He and Rooney both operate in the same position, which could even help Chelsea if a bid for the United star is renewed in the summer. Considerations must also be given with regard to Mourinho's strategy. Whilst we have strengthened a rival (albeit not a rival this campaign) Man United's remaining fixture list for the season do not see them come up against us again (unless we are fatefully drawn against each other in Champion's League, in which case Mata is cup-tied). They do however play our title contenders, and if Mata helps United take points of the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City we have something else to thank him for.

Have an opinion? Leave a comment or tweet me @crunchingcelery

Matic in, De Bruyne out (but don't shake it all about)

We're halfway into the January transfer window, and it would seem the majority of Chelsea's business has already been conducted.

Chelsea have had two main dealings in this window so far - Nemanja Matic returning from Benfica and Kevin De Bruyne leaving to join Wolfsburg. It would appear that these are the two main dealings of this transfer season, and it makes a nice change to have wrapped up our dealings nice and early.

As mentioned, incoming is Matic. "Matic? We had one of them before" I hear you say. That would be correct; Matic is returning for his second stint at the club, having left to join Benfica during Carlo Ancelotti's time in charge. His transfer has cost the club £21 million - significantly more than when he left as a makeweight in the deal that saw David Luiz move to the club -  Matic being previously valued at just £3 million. Cost aside, Matic could be a very important player for the Blues, perhaps even a piece of the 'jigsaw' that Mourinho is currently building.

On paper Matic is a 'Mourinho-style' player. Tall, strong, athletic with good technique. As a central midfielder, he shores up a position in which Chelsea look somewhat stretched for depth, with Marco Van Ginkel out for the season through injury, Essien looking a bit lost in the Premier League and Lampard not capable of 60 games a season.

But Matic is more than a simple squad player, and has a lot more to his game than steadfast defensive work. Primarily operating in the pivot, Matic not only break play up and protect his back four but also has the vision going forward to get attacks going - qualities of an 'enganche' player for the more traditional tacticians among us. More than this however, Matic has the physique to drive forward in a Yaya Toure-esque model, and while his goals-to-game ratio isn't something to rave about, he is capable of being a threat. At 25 years old, Matic is here to stay for the long haul, joining a host of Chelsea players all south of their 'peak' years. Having made a brief cameo in the win against Manchester United, we will see a lot more of the serbian in the next few weeks - not in the Champions League however, having already appeared in the competition this year.

Most fans have the same qualm with this transfer, and it is very valid: £21 million is a lot for a player who just 2 and a half years ago left for a seventh of that. The bottom line is simple however: ignoring that fact (and the assumption that had he stayed, he would not have developed to the same extent) it is a fair price for the 2013 portuguese league Player of the Season, particularly when considering that the man he essentially replaced - Axel Witsel - joined Zenit for £32 million.

It should also be considered that this cost is partially offset by the departure of Kevin De Bruyne for £17 million. It was expected; De Bruyne had a handful of appearances, the most impressive of which came in the first half of the first game of the season. It is a shame regardless, as De Bruyne is a very talented player with great potential, but £10 million profit for a player with so few appearances is testament to the newfound financial prudence that the hierarchy at Chelsea have been eager to achieve.

Other dealings this window have seen Ryan Bertrand move to Aston Villa on loan, which should see him gain regular minutes in preparation for next season. It's worth keeping an eye on Aitor Karanka's Middlesborough too, who have taken Nathaniel Chalobah and Kenneth Omerou on loan as they push for promotion in the Championship. Our FA Cup 3rd Round opponents Derby also signed Patrick Bamford, in a move which sees him tested at a higher level having left MK Dons with 17 goals.

The message for the moment is clear - one in, one out with no need for a major shake up as Chelsea find their consistency heading into the results-end of the season.

Follow @crunchingcelery for match updates, reports and opinion pieces.

Why Rooney Might Just Make Sense

Why Rooney Might Just Make Sense

Happy Transfer Season! Emerging once more are rumours of a Chelsea bid for Wayne Rooney. If a deal for the English attacker went through, would it work out?

Reports surfaced this week of Chelsea considering a bid for Wayne Rooney once more (get up to date here if you missed it). We know Mourinho likes him, but why might he be 'the final piece of the jigsaw'?

Quite simply, his style of play matches our current set up. Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti was quoted (by somewhat of a dubious source, but the point remains) that Chelsea are in essence playing a 'false nine' system. I'll demonstrate what he means below.

On the right is our standard formation: 4-2-3-1. Several Premier League teams use this system - Liverpool and Manchester United are the most prominent examples. So why are their strikers so much more prolific?

One reason lies in our attacking trio, in this case: Willian, Oscar and Hazard. Each one always wants to be brought into play, linking and interchanging with fluidity whilst pushing towards the opposition goal. The double pivot (Ramires & Lampard) are given the duty of feeding them the ball, but where does the striker come into play?

Long story short, he doesn't - at least not in the traditional sense. Chelsea at the moment are not a team who constantly look to release a striker making runs behind the defence or who whip in crosses to a target man. What we are seeing is a Chelsea striker who is required to drop back and almost become another attacking midfielder. Interestingly, as evidence of this claim, there are some statistics we can use to compare the output of our attacking trio and our striker. (You can skip the next paragraph if you are not statistically inclined)

On average in the Premier League, Torres takes 1.2 shots a game (measured over his 15 appearances). Hazard and Oscar both come in higher, at 1.3 and more significantly 1.6 respectively. Lampard, despite being in the double pivot, takes an average of 1.8 shots a game. No coincidence then, that Hazard, Oscar and Lampard have scored more than Torres - they've taken more shots, so naturally they are more likely to have scored more. But this also suggests that the three aforementioned midfielders are getting into better shooting positions - somewhat worrying considering the main job of a striker is to shoot.

This is where Rooney comes into it. Rooney is not an out-and-out striker. He doesn't have the pace to run in behind, nor the physical presence to knock in headers and be an aerial threat. What Rooney relies on is dropping back into the midfield, linking play and interchanging with his midfielders - much like Suarez at Liverpool. He uses he technical ability on the ball and his vision to create - and finish - chances.

Our current set up won't leave us with a striker who scores every week. What it will leave us with is a front 4 who will share the goals, the beginning of which we have seen this season.

What do you think? Would Rooney work? Leave a comment below or follow me.