Youth Policy

You can always tell when Mourinho is rattled, because that is when the little interpreter tries to discredit his principal rival, and there is no doubt that the self-styled ‘Special One’ believes that his principal rival is Arsene Wenger. This is not surprising, because Arsenal’s manager is clearly more intelligent, more articulate and infinitely more talented. Over a period of more than a decade, he has consistently created teams that play football of a level which is far beyond the reach of any of his rivals and he has done so without the benefit of around £500 million from an owner with almost limitless financial resources. And nowhere will this disparity be more apparent than in the Carling Cup final, when Chelsea will be obliged to field their strongest available line-up for the simple reason that they have nothing to compare with Arsenal’s youngsters.

Even then, it may not be enough and Mourinho knows this, so he aims to get his retaliation in first. Thus, on the eve of Chelsea’s important Champions League game against Porto, having asserted boldly that “We are mature, we are not stupid, we are intelligent”, he proceeds to point out that Arsene Wenger, whom he describes as “a very big manager in the world of football” has, unlike him, never won the big prize in Europe. That is true. Last season, in Paris, Arsenal were 10 minutes from winning it, having been deprived of the services of their first choice goalkeeper and forced to confront Barcelona with ten men for almost the entire game.

According to Mourinho’s unique, and thoroughly flawed, brand of logic, this demonstrates that he is a better manager than Arsene Wenger, whom he once, in a fit of immaturity, branded a “voyeur”. If that is what he truly believes, let him prove it beyond doubt by fielding a team of Chelsea youngsters to contest the Carling Cup final.

If he can find one.