Saturday 24 November 2007

The Hunt Is On: Something Special...

Now that the international week, and England's hopes, are well and truly over, you may wonder why I will continue to talk about it. Domestic football is back and I make no bones about the fact I much prefer it to the international game. However, the England manager's job is vacant and the hot talking point right now is who should replace Sorry Steve.

Quite a few names have been mentioned and it seems the favourite amongst the fans is one Mr. Jose Mourinho. One look at his CV and there would appear to be no doubt as to credentials for the job. His achievements with Porto and CSKA Fulham are certainly not to be frowned on.

However, we must remember that Mourinho was, for a long time, backed with an open Cheque book at CSKA and wasn't as if he took over a struggling side. He didn't excel in his role - his failure to win the Champions league is prime example of this - domestic dominance should have been the bare minimum expected considering Abramovich's billions.

What can he really do with England? He cant go out and buy replacements for the injured Rooney and Owen nor can he just spend on a keepe to come in for an out of form Paul Robinson. I think it has been fair to say that once Abramovich started to tighten the purse-strings, Mourinho was starting to get a little found out. Look at last year when he was refused money to buy a defender.

Also, anyone who has had the displeasure of watching CSKA under The Special One will know about the turgid, dull tediousness of their performances. If you thought Sven's unadventurousness was boring, imagine grinding out a last minute 1-0 win over San Marino having sat back and invited pressure for 89 minutes.

Besides that he is an insufferable individual. There was a fine line between what was his percieved charisma and his unrivalled ability to annoy the majority of people he encountered. Some people called it 'a breath of fresh air', others equate listening to Jose to sticking razor blades in thier ears. There were far too many nonsensical rants, false accusations, acts of hypocracy (compare exhibit A and B), petty undermining of rivals and overall lack of respect for the game in general. Managers have always moaned/complained etc but this guy really takes the buscuit. Once labbled the enemy of football, would you really be happy to have an admitedly decent manager who unfortunately spends most of his time acting like a spoilt brat in charge of YOUR country?


EDIT: I dont have a problem with women watching football but when there are those who know nothing about the game spouting rubbish like "He's fit. He'd be a great manager" You really do your gender a spectacular diservice.

2 comments:

Amy Downes said...

I can't agree with you more about the diving Ibs but I firmly believe mourinho is our best bet. He is passionate, the first mopst important thing after grumpy steve and indifferent sven. He has worked with the best england players- Terry, (eh-em)Ashley Cole, Joe cole, Lampard, Wright-phillips and turned them into world class players. Who better to work with these slacking boys. He would be amusing to talk to after games, he would not pick a player just because they are wellknown - and equllay he would not drop the most influential player just to grab the headlines. Long live King Jose.

Ibrahim Mustapha said...

Spectacularly misinformed rant.

Mourinho would have done NOTHING at Chelsea without Abramovich's backing. As I said, domestic dominance with the most expensive squad ever asembled in world football is the bare minimum he should have achieved. I'd like to see how good 'King Jose' would have done with Aston Villa or Middlesbro.

You failed to address this point, his negative approach, as well as the fact his continued petulance, lying and other bullshit is a cancer on the game. I respect your opinion on the game generally so I'd like to think you wouldn't be pleased to see a succesful England side who dive, cheat and bore their way to success - because THATS exactly what we would be under Jose, the messiah of anti-football.

Love FOOTBALL, HATE Mourinho!

Also, none of the players you mentioned are 'World Class'.