6 Reasons why Chelsea's Special One might have gone from mad genius to Madman and still win the league.
1. Refusing The Title Race
Mourinho has repeatedly written Chelsea out of the title race, constantly stating that they are a team in transition and therefore not in the race. This ploy might have seemed like a good way to take pressure off his players early on in the season but any team sitting on top of the league and only 11 games left to play is in the title race, regardless of what their manager covers his eyes with. The whole world can see the league table but meanwhile Mourinho is seeing something else as the veil of his mind games becomes so thin it may only be fooling himself. Will he still deny they are in the title race if Chelsea actually win the league?
2. The Spat with Wenger
When Wenger validly pointed out that the reason why Mourinho and many other managers were stating they were not in the title race (despite the blindingly obvious and contradictory statement made by the humble league table), was that if you never admit to being in the race you'll never have to admit to having lost it. Mourinho spat the dummy out with his response calling his counterpart a "specialist in failure". The unbiased observer can only conclude that Mourinho lost his cool with this remark, and also lost the spat with Wenger 1-0.
3. Exiling Mata to Man United
Eyebrows were raised when twice winner of the player of the year award at Chelsea was off loaded to potential (but maybe distant) future title rivals Manchester United. Whilst we can see why Mourinho couldn't fit Mata in to his new plans for his wide midfielders, it seems crazy to sell such a deadly weapon to someone who will use it against you.
4. Letting Lukaku Go
Chelsea are the lowest scorers in the top 4 and at the current rate they stand to finish their season on 69 Premier League goals. Whilst that wouldn't be a historical low for the Blues, with a little more fire power they might be running away with the league right now. Which makes the loan departure of Lukaku, who bagged 17 goals and 7 assists last season, even more confusing.
5. Outcasting Ashley Cole
Before Mourinho arrived, Cole was, and probably still is, regarded as one of the best left backs in the world. With Chelsea keeping 3 clean sheets in their first 5 games Cole suddenly lost favour. Azpilicueta has played well in his place but there is something very confusing about ditching one of your best assets in order to shove a natural right-back in to his position. Obviously Jose knows something we don't but as far as the stats are concerned Chelsea have kept 6 clean sheets in the 12 games which Cole has appeared in and 8 clean sheets in the 15 games Azpilicueta has played a major role in. Nothing gained, but something valuable potentially lost.
6. The Increasingly Unhappy One
Most recently Mourinho accused the press of being a disgrace for recording a conversation he had, in which he lampooned his current crop of strikers and suggested Eto'o might be 300 years old. He suddenly appears to become unaware of the fact that this is what the press do for a living, and he is not exempt from the game because he is the Special One. Instead of holding his hands up and tightening his lips, he went on the offensive against a rattle snake that he'd do well not to step on.