Goodbye Jose

I've been avoiding writing anything since the fall of "The Special One", Jose Mourinho. I had a few different ideas for what I wanted to write about concerning the genius former manager of Chelsea. First, I wanted to write about his career over the last few years and what he's done. Then, I wanted to write about the ridiculousness of the situation. I finally decided to write about my complete outrage at Chelsea FC. If anyone ever wanted a lesson on exactly what not to do with a winning franchise this is it. Jose Mourinho has taken this club to back-to-back Premiership championships; two Carling Cup victories; two apperances in the Semifinals of The Champions League; and an FA Cup victory. I understand that upper-management had its differences with Jose, over team selection and style of play, but this was just a foolish move. The back-stabbing and lying that has come out through the media since the termination of Jose has been downright horrifying for me and any Chelsea fan to endure. According to several reports in the media, John Terry seems to have led the final charge at Jose's job, and I can't tell you how betrayed I feel. It's now become clear that my 'captain' only has himself on the mind. Apparently, at halftime of the Chelsea-Rosenborg Champions League draw, Jose called Terry out for not playing as himself all season. This is the right of any manager, as it is his job to push his players. Instead, Terry continued to play lousy and then stabbed Jose in the back by going to Peter Kenyon and Abromovich and saying that Mourinho's antics were dividing the locker room. There was no division in the locker room, just Terry being unable to handle criticism. The locker room that was so 'divided' was in tears the following day upon learning of Jose being pushed out the door. The chemistry of the team is now in shambles, nobody trusts anybody else, and Abromovich has installed one of his lackey's to take charge of the team. I would be SHOCKED, to see Chelsea qualify for Champions League next year, at the rate they are working, they will struggle to finish on the top half of the table. Roman Abromovich has absolutely nobody to blame but himself for this problem. Team owners belong at the desk signing checks, not meddling in team affairs. Now we are stuck with Avram Grant in charge of a team of superstars. Avram Grant, who's biggest footballing achievement has been winning the Israeli Cup. That is roughly the equivalent of winning a local High School soccer tournament. Abromovich fired Mourinho because he wasn't playing appealing football, well now Chelsea have scored 1 goal from open play in their last 7 league matches. A team that came into the season looking to push for Champions League glory, and for the Premiership, will now struggle to qualify for Europe next season, and will certainly be knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages.

Theoretically, the players on this team should be good enough to pull through and play competitively. However, the chemistry on the team is at a shockingly low level. Lampard, Essien, Cole, Carvalho, Ferreira, Drogba, Malouda and Bridge have all asked to be sold off to other teams as soon as possible. Shevchenko is now looked at as nothing more than a whiny, grunty spy for Abromovich. John Terry has the label of backstabbing baby, instead of leader and captain. I will always be a fan of Chelsea, but I must say these are dark days, and they are embarassing days. The concept of Chelsea Pride is dead, and Jose Mourinho will always have a place in my heart. I look forward to following him for the rest of his career for all the joy he has given me, and there is a part of me that hopes one day he does have his revenge on Abromovich in the Champions League.