#360debate: Is it time for Chelsea to sack Jose Mourinho?

Sport360 staff 10:40 05/10/2015
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  • Use #360debate across social media to have your say.

    After another dismal week for Jose Mourinho, is it time for the Chelsea boss to be given the boot by Russian money bags Roman Abramovich?

    Mourinho is under increasing pressure at Stamford Bridge and it may well be the case that his time is up, despite his claims that he is the best manager the club has ever had after the 3-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday.

    Do you think Mourinho should go or be given more time?

    Use #360debate across social media to have your say on the latest developments at Chelsea.

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    Matt Monaghan, Sport360 reporter – YES
    Jose Mourinho would be best advised not to tempt fate at present.

    His post-match bluster after Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Southampton saw him warn owner Roman Abramovich he would be “sacking the best manager this club ever had” if change occurred. But recent results have proven the 52-year-old is anything but infallible.

    The ‘Special One’ has been made to look distinctly ordinary by Chelsea’s worst top-flight start in 37 years, an appalling eight points being accrued in the opening eight matches. With the midweek Champions League defeat to Porto increasing the pressure, it’s difficult to see where he goes from here.

    For Mourinho, success is everything. It ensures his egregious behaviour towards officials, players, medical staff and opposition managers is tolerated.

    Once this aura is broken, what is left? The shell of the squad which were Premier League champions in May attests to this insidious effect.

    As is the template with the Portuguese, his intense methods only bring short-term success.

    A fearsome squad is developed in the first season, silverware then follows before the denouement arrives. This was the case when his opening stint ended in 2007 and at Real Madrid.

    Los Blancos had no qualms about letting him go by “mutual agreement” in May 2013, a year after a contract extension to 2016 had been signed. August’s four-year deal should not shield him from the sack now.

    With Mourinho, the approach is everything. He doesn’t create systems to suit his players, they fit into his mould or are cast aside.

    Such vision worked wonders with serial winners such as Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard first time around. The current batch are not on the same wavelength.

    Too much was asked of a select few last term. Drained both physically and mentally, the likes of Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas have crumbled in 2015/16.

    This means when things go wrong, the only solution is to look outside. Chelsea have bid farewell to Mourinho once before. They should not fear a repeat.

    Alex Rea, Sport360 reporter – NO
    Chelsea have to tread carefully. Getting rid of Jose Mourinho now would be rash and a snap decision which could be one owner Roman Abramovich will later regret.

    In wielding the axe, they are going down a different route as a club, one the Russian has sought to deviate from.

    There was a time when the bumpy landscape of Chelsea showed no signs of flattening out. Under Roberto Di Matteo and some three months after they had been ravaged by Radamel Falcao in the Super Cup, Abramovich was searching for his ninth Chelsea manager in as many years and prompted the usual conversation about the club’s endless instability.

    But all that was said to have changed with Mourinho’s second coming. It seemed that the oligarch had learned stability and cool heads can still win trophies.

    He ought to remember that when faced with a cacophony of background noise swirled up by social media. He ought to remember, too, that it’s been two months since Mourinho signed a new bumper four-year deal.

    What does it say about them as a club if they get rid of him now?

    The Portuguese has made it clear he wants to stick around at Stamford Bridge, and if that’s the case, navigating failure becomes part of the gig.

    Failure on the field comes foreverybody, and if he’s going to stay at Chelsea for a decade, he needs the opportunity to pick up the pieces – something well documented he’s yet to do at any club.

    To sack him now would be them recognising that they are going to need a new manager every time the road gets jerky.

    Of course, they must think about what it would say to the next man through the door, too. But that’s not even the main defence because quite simply Mourinho was right – there is no one better.

    There are many critiques of the ‘Special One’but one thing is for sure, he’s a serial winner. Any advantage, he’ll take and it’s that part of Mourinho which has brought him so much success, much like Sir Alex Ferguson.

    Part of Ferguson’s longevity, though, was his ability to alter his approach and that’s what Mourinho, for his part, must do now. The owner, though, just needs to avoid reaching for that axe.

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