Jose the Underminer

[localny]

From what I heard, Jose was also unsettling players at Inter after he left.
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Villas-Boas still battling Mourinho legacy[/size]

Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa claims Jose Mourinho is making life hard for Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea by maintaining contact with his former players at Stamford Bridge.

Andre Villas-Boas worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Inter
GettyImagesAndre Villas-Boas worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Inter


Villas-Boas left Porto last summer after winning the league, cup and Europa League, but he has found life in charge of Chelsea distinctly more difficult, and currently has the worst record of any of the club's managers since the arrival of owner Roman Abramovich in 2003.

A number of Chelsea players have seemingly lost faith in Villas-Boas, with sources leaking stories to the press and Nicolas Anelka and Alex both exiled ahead of their departures in January, while it is reported that members of the squad spoke out against Villas-Boas when Abramovich held a meeting in the wake of the 2-0 defeat to Everton.

Pinto da Costa, who employed both Mourinho and Villas-Boas at the Estadio do Dragao, believes the latter will ultimately prove a success in West London but feels the former is still wielding too much influence over the squad.

Pinto da Costa told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "He will be successful with Chelsea because his contract isn't just for one year. He needs time to mould his own team and he can't do that as long as there are players, as I've heard, who exchange text messages with Mourinho - and Abramovich knows this."

Meanwhile, Guus Hiddink's agent has refused to be drawn on speculation he could return to Chelsea should Abramovich lose patience with Villas-Boas.

Cees van Nieuwenhuizen said: "I know they are not doing too well at the moment, but Guus never puts himself in a position that he says he is interested in whatever job if there is still coach who is doing the job. For him, that's not the way to treat your colleagues."

He added: "He has offers on the table, obviously, but he is not in a hurry and he is making up his mind."

 

[iseered]

He is "battling Mourinho legacy" because the Special One was the best manager Chelsea has ever had. I fail to see the relevance of text messages going back and forth.

 

[Judge Jules]

In most cases if not necessarily all, his players would walk through walls for him. It's not really surprising IMHO that he and they stay in contact after he moves on.

 

[iseered]

Wasn't EBJT supposed to be partly responsible for Mourinho leaving?

 

[Judge Jules]

So it's said, hence my reference to "not necessarily all", but even then the signals are mixed. I've also seen that denied.

 

[FoxForceFive]

[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=48686.msg1482744#msg1482744 date=1329249235]
In most cases if not necessarily all, his players would walk through walls for him. It's not really surprising IMHO that he and they stay in contact after he moves on.
[/quote]

Yep, it's fair to say his players usually fucking love him.

It's what makes him a great manager.

 

[localny]

Which makes it impossible to succeed at a club where he succeeded, for at least the time it takes for some of the old players to move on.

 

[Judge Jules]

Perhaps not impossible exactly, but certainly very difficult.

 

[FoxForceFive]

It would certainly make it more difficult than usual, certainly to gain their respect in a similar fashion.

 

[gkmacca]

I'm not convinced. It seems to me it's more down to the culture of Chelski than it is to do with Maureen. Half the players loved and half hated him during his last season, and there were definitely a number of pros (probably most of the same ones as now) who were leaking to the London hacks. It's a rotten place, full of incredibly spoilt egomaniacs. Sooner or later they'll turn against whoever is manager, unless the team is looking invulnerable. The same pattern will develop at Man City.