Power Struggle

In the red corner, Roman Abramovic. Russian business man. One of the word’s richest men. Football fanatic. Owner of Chelsea Football Club. Shuns the limelight.

In the blue corner, Jose Mourinho. Portuguese national and former interpreter. Self-styled Special One and world’s greatest manager (in his opinion). Champions League winner with Porto. Winner of Premiership and assorted cups with Chelsea. Disciple of ruthless, mind numbing, pragmatic football. Arrogant and egotistical. Luxuriates in the spotlight.

According to reports, A and B are no longer on speaking terms. A is aggrieved because despite all the hundreds of millions he has poured into the club, Chelsea do not play entertaining ‘sexy’ football like Arsenal and Manchester United. B, who insists that he is interested in winning but feels no obligation to entertain (beyond his own press conferences) is incensed by A’s refusal to stump up more millions during the transfer window to finance purchases which most astute observers feel were made necessary by B’s failure to plan ahead properly.

There have been rumours that A might lose patience and take his money elsewhere – in which case it would be interesting to see how Chelsea cope with the rigours of belt tightening and the need to adjust to a more level playing field. Some have even talked, unconvincingly, of a possible reconciliation. But the most probable outcome is the dismissal of B, complete with massive pay-off, so that Chelsea can attract a manager who advocates a style of football which is designed to entertain as well as win trophies, and B can impose his claustrophobic and mechanical interpretation of the game elsewhere.

If that happens, stand by for an outpouring from some intellectually challenged journalists who would have us believe that English football has lost a breath of fresh air. And a collected sigh of relief from those of us who feel that we have endured just about as much of Mourinho’s air as any reasonable person could be expected to withstand.