Mourinho - For and Against

The Christmas edition of Jimmy Hill’s Sunday Supplement produced an interesting discussion as debate inevitably focused upon Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who was portrayed by Paul McCarthy as having “revolutionised” Premiership football.

Fortunately, an effective antidote was provided by Steve Curry, who spoke for the majority when he declared in his characteristically blunt way: “I detest the arrogance” which he described as “symptomatic of Chelsea as a club”.

Turning his attention to Chelsea’s performances on the field, Steve insisted that they were pragmatic, ruthless and boring – largely because, as he put it so succinctly: “They have flair players, but they don’t play with flair”.

And that is Mourinho’s doing. Hardly the work of a man who has “revolutionised” the Premiership.

The truth is that what Paul McCarthy rather obsequiously describes as “that will to be the very, very best” is a nonsense, because Chelsea aren’t – in spite of all their money.