It is fascinating to see how a string of one or two poor results can set alarm bells ringing and all of a sudden knees start jerking and someone gets fired. I’m not saying Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho will be getting fired anytime soon, but the way in which some fans are reacting to his team’s 2-1 loss in the Champions League on Wednesday you’d think that’s exactly what they want.
Let me give you three reasons why Mourinho is still the man for the job:
1. Come on, this is still Jose Mourinho after all.
Perspective is a wonderful thing that is often lost by those who love to get stuck in with the beloved football banter. The season is very young and there are lots of games to played yet so getting a little anxious over a few dodgy results is a slight over reaction.
And besides; this is still Jose Mourinho after all, isn’t it? The Special One? The Chosen One? The Exalted One? He has a very talented team at his disposal but there are quite a few new faces and it is Jose’s job to try and get everybody singing from the same hymn sheet. It might take a little time.
2. FC Basel are no push-overs
As Chelsea should have learned from their previous encounters with the Swiss team, Basel are not to be taken lightly at any point. They’re full of attacking potency and speed they can a handful for any team on the continent.
Mourniho questioned his players’ maturity following the loss and it is a fair point but you can rest assured that the meticulous Portuguese won’t allow such a thing to happen again, especially in what looks like quite a straightforward group.
3. Juan Mata is still not fully fit
Chelsea’s player of the season the last two campaigns has barely had a look in this season but that is because he is absolutely knackered, having played every game Chelsea and Spain have been involved in over the past seasons. That may not be exactly true, but he has certainly played a good amount of games and was heavily involved in Chelsea’s long and arduous European campaign last season (as well as the domestic one) and also for Spain in the Confederations Cup following the end of the season.
Once Mata is firing on all cylinders again he will undoubtedly make Chelsea a much for cohesive and fluent unit as he is one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe.