Football is reeling from the news at Tottenham where Jose Mourinho has taken over from Mauricio Pochettino… but what do the fans who idolised Mourinho the most make of the deal?
Chelsea fan RORY JENNINGS has his say on the Portuguese moving to the Blues' most-hated rivals.
There is something very telling about my reaction to the news that Chelsea's greatest ever manager has signed for our most bitter and despised rival… I don't really care.
The man who captured my heart in 2004 was handsome, daring, innovative and brilliant, and remastered the art of management.
But that man died years ago. Perhaps in Madrid, perhaps in London – no-one is quite sure where the fatality occurred but there is no debate that it happened.
The man who lives on is a shell of his former self. A dour, old cynic who has become a joke. Even the fact that he has taken the Tottenham job shows how far he has fallen.
Combine that with the fact that Tottenham fans are telling me on Wednesday morning they didn't want him and that 'it feels like a backwards step' shows how low Mourinho's stock has plummeted.
Is Pochettino a better manager than Jose Mourinho? I believe the answer is 'yes' and I therefore fully endorse this 'backwards step' by Tottenham Hotspur.
The argument that 'Mourinho wins trophies', feels like a facade, a former truth.
In his last four jobs – Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea (again) and Manchester United - the success has decreased each time, with the shambles he's left behind has only greatened. Fingers crossed he carries on in the same vein.
His legacy at Chelsea has been crumbling since his second spell here. Three league titles will never be forgotten but he started criticising the fans, goaded us while in charge of Manchester United and put his foot in it with catty comments on Sky Sports this season.
He can expect a cauldron of hate from the away end on December 22. How sweet it would be to see Frank Lampard celebrating in front of Mourinho in our first visit to Tottenham's new stadium.
We have come to learn over the years Mourinho is a man out for himself. He has no loyalty or principle. This is, of course, fine - but just don't pretend that you are something else.
Don't say 'you would never manage Tottenham because of your love for Chelsea.' Say the truth, which is: 'I would manage anyone who paid me enough money, because I am an amoral charlatan, who should change his surname to Iscariot.'
The polar opposite of Frank Lampard.
Perhaps that is the main reason why it's quite easy to adopt a laissez faire attitude to the histrionics of Mourinho. We have the greatest man in the world in charge of Chelsea and alongside him we have a man who grew up on North End Road. They are Chelsea.
This is the greatest period as a Chelsea fan we have ever had in my lifetime. In an era when the chasm between fan and footballer has never felt bigger, at Chelsea it's never felt smaller. Jody Morris is me, Callum Hudson-Odoi is me. They're just both (a bit) better at football than I am but the club means as much to them as it does to me and that feeling is priceless.
Tottenham have sacked a man who loved the club, for a man who certainly does not. If he wins a trophy or two, Tottenham fans will make their peace with that fact but even in that circumstance it still doesn't feel like a natural fit.
There is something beautifully ironic about Mourinho going there. My Tottenham mates would always try and seize the moral high ground when it came to our approach as a club.
They would dismiss our trophy count because they were supposedly part of something more grand, pure and almost more intellectual.
Not anymore! I guess it's a case 'if you can't beat them… hand over 30 pieces of silver and hope for the best.'
Lintbag4007
266
Its written all over the loser who wrote this shit, that he's scared of Jose. The word hustle comes in different way bro, you sacked him how the hell is he supposed to put food on his family table? He (mourinho) ain't a lazy dude, you could tell from his time in sky sports he was never satisfied analyzing shit with pundits who doesn't know a thing about management. Lastly Posh is a great coach but comparing him with Jose is biggest joke ever. You know how to read and write and yet you can't pass exam; means you're dull. Posh plays the game but doesn't win 🏆. Mourinho is by a million miles better and greater than Posh. Its good to have you Back JOse Mourinho. More drama to come.
pokaknoryz
250
Whoever wrote this crap must be beaten with a Baseball bat. Lampard is yet to win 10 games and you’re praising him like he’s God? The madness that runs in your lineage is innate.