Jose's Bridge too far?

Jose's Real time represented his first career crisis

The old football maxim, Never Go Back springs to mind. Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool? Kevin Keegan at Newcastle, Pamela Anderson at Baywatch. Careers go south quickly, you know!

On the face of it, Jose's second coming looks to be a great return. He was the man who made Fergie buckle at Manchester United with two successive Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups.

But I say, Jose II of Chelsea has found "any port in a storm".

Overlooked for the jobs at Old Trafford, Manchester City, Bayern Munich – and firmly shown the "mutual consent door" at the Bernabeu, Mourinho's cultivated a reputation for itinerance in an era of continuity.

It's only Chelsea that suited Mourinho. A marriage of convenience in a less than ideal world, some say. There was no other elite club for him. 

Respected for his track record? undoubtedly. But gazed on lovingly from the lofty heights of the boardroom? Not so much.

Young Jose could do no wrong

The Special One's glister is tarnished. Without a trophy in his last season at Madrid and having fallen out with senior players and media too, this isn’t the Mourinho who stormed into the Bridge nine years ago having won the Champions League with Porto.

And one of the biggest names in football agrees.

“Mourinho will never win a prize again,” Johann Cruyff told the Sun. “I think that because of the way he acted in Madrid. He blamed everyone and everybody when something went wrong in Madrid.

“And he is playing games with people who are working there. Mourinho himself played an unbelievably negative part in his Madrid years. First he moved out general manager Jorge Valdano and later he did the same with director of football Zinedine Zidane.

“And in the end he dropped Iker Casillas, the captain of the Spanish national team.

“This behaviour does not work in football, it only works in paralysing the dressing room. That’s why it didn’t work out in the end in Madrid and that’s why I think Mourinho will not succeed any more.”

Jose was famed for his thorough tactics at Chelsea and Inter and instilled a belief in his players that it was impossible to concede goals.

But he let Robert Lewandowski score four against his Real defence in the Champions League semi this season. Young Jose wouldn’t have let that happen.

Young Jose was fired up to prove everyone wrong. But midlife Jose is coasting now and his arrival at the Bridge is a massive payday based on his decade of decoration - not his masterplan for the years ahead.

But the 50-year-old believes he has plenty of gas in the tank, "I feel the people at Chelsea love me and in life you have to look for that".

The meaningful love he needs is from Roman Abramovich. Five-and-a-half years ago, Roman lavished millions on Jose to get him out of the door. Now, after a parade of the world's greatest managers in the Stamford Bridge dugout, Jose suddenly fits the bill again.

And if he can engender a togetherness absent in Madrid, Jose may prove his detractors wrong with a very good squad that he's inherited.

Have a free £25 bet with William Hill (T&C's apply)

Mourinho Premier League return would break the Golden Rule

One finger for Chelsea, the other for Barca!

As Jose Mourinho outfoxes Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Louis van Gaal to record a stunning Champions League victory, rumours of a Premier League return intensify. Luckily for the Portugeezer, the clamour from Real Madrid is louder. But Soccermongery warns against him coming back to England. 

We still hear a lot about The Special One over here. Our obsession never cooled despite a raft of new heroes and headlines created since.

Despite leaving England two-and-a-half years ago, Mourinho's life at Inter is well chronicled by our media.

His rows with Italian officialdom and managerial peers, his dissatisfaction with Serie A and his rumoured desire to return here one day. His raffish Portuguese style galvanised Chelsea to previously unchartered waters of success. But now the Inter project is complete with a stunning treble, it's widely rumoured he'll be managing at the Bernabeu, the scene of arguably his greatest triumph as a coach so far. 

Kenneth Williams

But English clubs big enough to support both The Special One's salary and his ego would probably shuffle their incumbent manager out the door just to secure him.

You could well imagine United, City - or even Liverpool with new ownership encouraging Jose back "home".

But what a mistake that would be! "Never Go Back", screams the old adage.

Mourinho's remembering his time at Chelsea through rose-tinted spectacles. He arrived at Stamford Bridge, all posturing and bravado crowned as European Champion with Porto.

The hottest property in the world game, he gave Roman Abramovich's billion pound project real focus. Six trophies in three astounding seasons followed.

But that was then. This is now.

English football, built on huge debt or the billions of a benefactor totally dominated the European game. But the tide is turning. Not only is UEFA kicking the English game when it's down - but Britain's desperate Labour government were killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

English clubs pay more tax than their Spanish counterparts - the players too are feeling the tax pinch. Already the trickle of foreign stars coming to England is diminishing. Spain and Germany are more favoured destinations. It costs more for an English club to sign and pay for an international star.

Cristiano Ronaldo's defection from Manchester United to Real Madrid may prove symbolic - unless the Premier League can really focus on exploiting emerging new markets such as the Far East and India.

Mourinho would return to a less mighty English game. That's why talk of taking over at Real would be a better port of call for him. But could the sheer force of his personality or Manchester City's millions buck the trend?

Click here for Avram Grant, football's most celebrated loser and The full-length Nike World Cup advert in HD.

Soccermongery's all about your feedback, so write away, right away!

Jose Mourinho: Motorway Man of football

Also on Soccermongery: Follow Jonny Gould on Twitter and Jonny's Facebook page

FREE NO LOSE £20 BET WITH 888SPORT!

As Jose Mourinho is Motorway Man: a materialistic, car-dependent middle manager at the centre of the cross-party tussle for votes in a tightly fought General Election.

The parties were looking at new housing estates near motorways – home to salesmen and other white-collar workers, who spent long hours on the road.

These we're told, were crucial to get David Cameron into office, and switch the electoral map back from red to blue.

Except in this case, Mourinho could be switched from blue to red!

The Portugeezer, who last week proclaimed Italian football didn't like him, and he didn't like it, covets a return to the Premier League (er, he meant Primera Liga!).

He's materialistic alright, loves his motor and wears a white collar! Even after leaving Chelsea, Roman Abramovich splashed out £2 million on a limited edition Ferrari 612 Scaglietti for his former team boss.

And weighing in on £8.3million a year at the Giuseppe Meazza, he can be classed as someone focused on remuneration.

Yes, the Reds of Trafford, the Blues of Manchester and the Yellows of Liverpool (away 2008/9) were all on a watching brief to bring Mourinho back to power in England! In the end, Jose waved the White Flag and surrendered to Madrid's overtures.

Jose Mourinho: football's Motorway Man.

Click here for the current Top Story

Do you like Jonny's football jokes? follow him on Twitter!

The different worlds of Fergie and The Special One

Internazionale and Manchester United's Champions League first-leg tie may not have been high on excitement - but no one can deny the quality on display.

One things for sure: the second leg in Manchester will be a more dramatic affair with the clock-ticking down and United's attacking urges to satisfy at Old Trafford. Inter will have to come out and play to quell the onslaught.

It's as much a clash on the field between these two clubs as it is in the manager's offices.

Mourinho: the suave Portuguese itinerant: Fergie: the grizzly Scottish empire builder.

And it made me think: bearing in mind the mentalities of the two, if you were a fan of a big club, would you rather have a Mourinho or a Fergie in charge?

There's no doubt that Mourinho's management style would offer few chances for United regulars such as John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher, but they are essential components of the Red Devil's incessant charge through trophy bid after trophy bid.

Even flair players like Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs take on a workmanlike demeanour under Fergie.

Of course, there's a work ethic and commitment to gameplan in every Mourinho side; sometimes at the expense of entertainment - but the players that arrive at the Giuseppe Meazza are usually players who've made their names elsewhere.
There'll always be clubs like Inter and for that matter, Real Madrid and Chelsea who are showbiz entities - ready to unveil the multi-million pound signing and replace the manager just for coming second, sometimes twice a season.

But on the other hand, there's United, AC Milan and Arsenal, who have a five-year plan and remain unwavering in the darkest periods of the barren trophy cabinet.

And I prefer these clubs: I think it's those who'll prosper in the unsure economic times ahead, starting with Fergie to advance at the expense of The Special One in this season's Champions League.

Soccermongery's all about your feedback, so write away, right away!