Jose's evolution still echoes his pragmatism

 Jose Mourinho took the extraordinary step to explain his controversial move of publicly declaring Oscar as the playmaker of his new Chelsea team on Saturday night.

 Mourinho was on SkySports’ post-match television interview where he gave candid view after his side bounced back to winning path with a 2-0 triumph over Fulham at Stamford Bridge following successive defeats to Everton and Basel.

 He said: “ I understand a lot of people like (Juan Mata) and believe he should play in that position but he has to adapt to the way we play because I’m not trying to change Oscar’s position. I think Oscar is a number 10, a player that gives us so much creativity but at the same time, when we want to press up (the pitch), he is a runner, a player capable of press(ing).”

 You can hardly fault that appraisal from the manager who went on to speak about Mata after being probed further on his expectations from the little Spaniard who who was not even considered for the substitutes bench for the Fulham clash.

UNCERTAINTY: Mata has struggled to fit into in Mourinho's plans

“Juan has to learn how to play the way I want to play. He has to be more consistent, more participative when the team lose the possession of the ball”, say the Blues manager who went on to make an incredible suggestion that Mata’s style had suited Chelsea’s ‘defensive style’ of play in the last few years.

 “I think it’s not his fault, it’s a consequence of the way he is playing in the last years. Since he arrived Chelsea was playing very defensive football with a low-block all the time.”

 No one is likely to win the tactical battle with the Portuguese considering his pedigree, and more importantly, his achievements in the game, neither would you be able to disregard his charm when he makes his points.

 But after watching the team against the Cottagers and as well as hearing Mourinho talk about the long term plan of evolution and style of his ‘ideal’ Chelsea, it is difficult to accept his arguments regarding non-suitability of Mata as the key playmaker.

 He said: “the ideal is to play high-block, to recover the ball very fast, to build well (from defence), to control the game, to be pro-active not reactive. The ideal is to have the ball possession and use it in a proper way and in my opinion we are not doing very well at the moment when the opponents close too much.”

 It is not difficult to figure out this is not a new philosophy, and Mourinho admitted it was not his style but one which was agreed upon with his employers. It’s a mission the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been pursuing since his appointment of Felipe Scolari, then aggressively attempted with of Andre Villas-Boas in charge. Mourinho admitted it was not his style but which was agreed upon with his employers.

 Villas-Boas revolutionised the high-block defending at Chelsea, a decision against which senior squad members revolted and eventually led to his dismissal after a poor run overthrown an interesting start to his tenure. Yet it is fair to say his successor Roberto Di Matteo exploited the defensive strategy claimed by Mourinho, as the Blues went on to win the UEFA Champions League.

 Roberto Di Matteo was forced to change his conservative style at start of last season after his interim deal lapsed, especially with the arrival of Eden Hazard and Oscar. Again it produced some of the club’s best attacking football with Mata, at times playing on the right in a 4-2-3-1 before another poor run led to the change of manager.

 But then Rafa Benitez took over and built from low-block to medium-line defending and Chelsea returned to decent performances winning the Europa League and finishing third in the league. It has to be said that the team played a defensive game in the final against Benfica.

 Interestingly, Mata’s best spells were actually when the side played attacking and high-pressing football, and was terrible in both their Champions League and Europa League final matches, contrary to Mourinho’s claims.

The Spaniard loves the quick, short-passing that Mourinho hinted his new team is aiming to play. Mourinho’s new Chelsea have hardly demonstrated any high-pressing game since he took over in July, rather they have opted for defensive approach Bayern Munich and Manchester United, the two biggest matches of his new regime.  Surprisingly Mourinho didn’t feature the man he claimed is best suited for the style.

So how many top games are Chelsea going to play with defensive style in an era of ‘high-pressing’ game? We will have to wait to find out.

Mata’s record as a No 10 stands at 32 goals and 49 assists in 117 Chelsea appearances at the end of last season and it appears worrying that he is the main victim of reign which promises a more aggressive attacking football. The Blues attempted a highline defensive approach briefly against Fulham but the Cottagers left both John Terry and Gary Cahill flat as Darren Bent scoffed his shot straight at Petr Cech.

Mourinho is demanding that Mata proves him wrong by adapting to play on the right, not in his favourite central role. He’s trying to build a new playmaker with huge defensive participation, even though he’s already regimenting his wingers to defend to the byline and cover for full-backs.

So with two ultra-defensive central midfielders, Chelsea must be aiming for one of the most conservative attacking football, aren’t they? So far, they look like an incoherent counter-attacking side, rather than ‘pro-active’ Mourinho claimed.

The manager lamented after the Fulham game that Branislav Ivanovic was still launching aimless crosses as f Didier Drogba was still at Chelsea, yet ignored Azpilicueta who is a more technical & quicker defender.

Mata and Mesut Ozil are two of the best players in Europe with close control and movement between the lines which drags defensive opponents out of position, as well as possessing the intelligence to find the killer passes in the final third. Oscar is talented why hoping a talent matures in a role when you’ve got a proven alternative who is not in decline?

Mourinho moaned about defensive teams preventing his side to create chances, so it looks weird he does not see the need for Mata as the recipe for breakthrough. Instead he sees a weakness in him.

Surely, it doesn’t actually add up. Does it?


Written shortly after the Fulham game, published late

No kidding Jose, Chelsea are painful to watch

 “May your road be rough. I am not cursing you; I am wishing you what I wish myself every year! If you are not so sure what you should say back, why not just say, ‘Same to you’? I ask for no more.”

 These were lines from the late legendary Nigerian writer and activist, Tai Solarin from an article he published on the New Year day of 1964. The above words should offer some consolation and optimism to Chelsea fans after watching, agonisingly, as their team fell to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat Wednesday night to FC Basel of Switzerland.

 The dark part of the dawn is still to fade away in the new season, so it is quite early to press the panic button. Yet it’s the worst start to a campaign by any Blues team in a decade, so the fans’ frustration cannot be overemphasised. Not even when a team like Basel outwitted your team at home on a Champions League night.

But Jose Mourinho is under no illusion that the inquest has begun, regardless of his continuous clever attempt to play down expectations from his side by claiming they are a very young group.  He is surely aware that the team finished third last season and he has spent about £60million to fortify the team. They are an experienced side with quality young talents who are no novice in the game

 Mourinho has taken his side through pre-season, with top friendlies against the likes of AC Milan, Roma and Real Madrid, so he has had some time to reflect on the personality of his team, and the personnel suitable for success. 

 The defeat to Basel actually blew the lid on Chelsea’s unimpressive start to the season. They have had only two good performances, both coming inside the opening 45minutes. They were impressive in the first half of their season opening day win against Hull City and played really well at Everton until they conceded on the stroke of half time.

 Their defeat against Bayern Munich in the Super Cup was tight in result (lost on penalties) but their overall approach were conservative to limit danger more than entertain, just like they did at Old Trafford against Manchester United last month.

 Mourinho must take responsibility for how he has managed his squad and must start doing things differently if he wants a change. He needs to analyse why Chelsea are looking too predictable and are struggling to create chances.

 How predictable?  Chelsea are allowing their creative armoury to be shut down by two key problems; lack of dynamism and fluidity from the midfield in transition, and poor quality of support from full backs for attacking midfielders.

 Tactical formation and information are important, but the ability of the players to implement those ideas with their collective skills and intelligence are crucial to winning matches. For instance, Eden Hazard is a sort of player whose ability should put any full back on his back foot, but he can easily be frustrated if he is left alone to outwit two or more players (a defender and a supporting player) every time.

 Both Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic, who have started all of the Blues’ games this season have failed to offer quality attacking width and reduce the burden of penetration on the shoulders of the playmakers behind the striker. What is happening to the duo of Juan Mata and Cesar Azpilicueta, two of the team’s top performers last season?

 Again in central midfield, Mourinho has struggled to find a solution to the problem of combining craft with defensive discipline. He has started box-to-box midfielders (Frank Lampard, Ramires and Marco Van Ginkel) in the holding role in all of his games except at Everton, where he opted for John Mikel Obi alongside Ramires. Michael Essien hasn’t featured for once, putting in doubts the decision to retain him for this season.

 It took David Luiz to find Hazard with a penetrative pass in the build-up to Chelsea's second goal in the Super Cup and the Brazilian was the lead creator again last night as he unlocked Basel for Oscar's strike, stepping into the middle to find Lampard who provided the assist.

While Luiz is primarily a centre back, it was no surprise that Rafa Benitez used him in the holding role, an indication there had been a problem with that position for a while.  Mourinho, though, signed Van Ginkel for that position, yet he only started his first game last night. So it doesn’t appear the Portuguese coach recognised the concern.

Van Ginkel and Lampard were both caught up inside the Basel’s territory during the counter attack leading to Muhammed Salah’s equaliser, with three players already engaging the Blues defenders. Both players still had another chance to intercept the cross leading to the goal but they were slow to react to the danger, perhaps a natural defensive midfielder could have done better.

The visitors’ winning goal was a devastator, as Marco Streller lost Gary Cahill to plant home a brilliant near-post header.

 “Our successes are conditioned by the amount of risk we are ready to take”, Solarin remarked in that famous article. Perhaps Mourinho will look to taking fresh risks to salvage the situation than relying on trusted lieutenants. As it stands, it’s not working.