Azonto Epistle 15: Jose Mourinho’s Arrival is Great For English Football but He Only Strikes Fear In His Opponents

Since Jose Mourinho parted company with Chelsea in 2007 and promised to come back, Chelsea fans have watched the clock keenly, counting down his second coming. Within this long period ( to Chelsea fans), a lot of water has passed under the bridge and so many changes have taken place in world football except that Arsenal continues to be trophyless. Manchester has been the biggest beneficiaries of the exit of Jose, whiles the Blue half of the  City, who not long ago were languishing in the Championship league have been able to establish themselves as an EPL force winning the title once thanks to the changes in their financial fortunes. The Red half of the City, in the absence of The Special One have managed to add 3 EPL titles to their cabinet. Nevertheless, with the core of Jose’s group we haven’t been pushovers and managed to add one League title, three FA Cups, a Europa and the biggest of them the Champions League not forgetting that of United. Since his shocking departure and his promise to come back, years have turned to months, months to weeks and now The Second Coming of the Special One is just a matter of days to happen and be confirmed. The excitement is all over in the air among Chelsea fans waiting for the hour to arrive. The neutrals and the objective who know how great it is for the EPL, the competitiveness, the thrills and excitement it will bring back have lauded the imminent come back. To be honest since the departure of Jose from EPL and his arrival in the La Liga, attention has shifted a bit to that League which once, people watched when there was an El Classico. However, to some, who, out of fear of  what Chelsea is capable of achieving or becoming under a Special manager like Jose have all of a sudden started running negative commentaries about him to the extent of doubting Jose’s capability. It is as crystal clear that to doubt the competence of Jose will be like doubting ice cream is cold.
When Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement, many media houses ran a poll for the United fans to choose the manager they will want to take over and in all these polls Jose was the runaway leader. Today, when it turned out that Jose is heading to Chelsea some of these fans who many find themselves in the media have began talking about the “combustible” nature of Jose and how he can bring instability to a club. Some have even said his Madrid stay was a failure someone whose wining percentage stands at 72% with 3 trophies in the wake of Barcelona’s hegemony. When a Manager leaves and it is the rival fans who celebrate most, then something certainly does not add up. If Barcelona fans have become the ones who are rejoicing most because of the exit of Jose, then Madrid are certainly at a loss. And no wonder opposition fans have started showing their fear with the news of the Second Coming of the King. It is also a ploy to shift attention from the appointment of David Moyes who clearly is no match for The Special One. Whether they like it or not, Jose is coming back to Chelsea and he is coming to establish a dominance in the EPL. It is unfortunate Sir Alex has retired and even with all his experience, he couldn’t defeat Jose’s Chelsea in any Premier League both home and away. The Red dynasty has ended and in comes the Blue Dynasty from SW6 led by the familiar face, Jose Mourinho Mario Dos Santos Felix ” The Special One”. Welcome home.
THANK YOU ROMAN:
A good leader is someone who listens to the voice of the people and see the merits in it. Roman Abramovic has once again proven to be the best owner in football. People made a huge meal out of the sacking/mutual termination of Jose Mourinho and his contract that Abramovic never goes back to his words and that his relationship with Mourinho has broken beyond repairs. There again, they have been proven wrong. I think Roman deserves better praise by all including Eglish Football. Roman has shown the world how to manage a club as an owner. He listens to the fans and he always takes the best decision in the interest of the club and its forward movement. No wonder every sacking of a manager is followed by a glory. Grant, Hiddink, Carlo, RDM & Just recently Benitez have justified his actions amid dissenting views.
JOB DONE RAFA, WE FORGIVE YOU, “GO AND SIN NO MORE”
The back-to-back European titles have risen the stock of the club which was nearly dented by our “poor” performance in the Champions League although not as poor and abysmal as the then EPL champions City who came last in their group and managed to amass the least ever points by an EPL club in the champions League even after Spurs have been a part before. It was clear from the beginning that this year was a transition period and the journey would be a roller coaster although our impressive start of the season gave us a huge expectation which was just a matter of time to be tested. The sacking of RDM was not something some fans could take lightly although there was a genuine reason to that which is not the subject of my article and will always be there for debate. However the appointment of Rafa Benitez came as a much bitter pill to take owing to his slating of the club and fans whiles he was the manger of Liverpool ( The Historians). Amid heated opposition by the fans which affected our performance at home whiles we won crucial matches at home, the tide had to be turned in order to save our season from crashing. And when opposition was calmed a bit after his famous rant after the Middlesbrough match, things began picking up. The Bridge which became an uncomfortable ground for the boys became the backbone to our success where score lines in the Europa and FA Cup were overturned. Our success in the Europa, making us the reigning champions of Europe as well as Europa champions concurrently for 10 solid days not “10 seconds” is great for our club and more so putting us in the company of only three other European clubs Ajax, Bayern and Juventus to have won all the European club titles. Not only that, but  also importantly, placing third in the League and avoiding any play-offs is something worth praising. So we will say, Thank you Rafa, we forgive you, Just that, we don’t need you.
THE FUTURE IS ALWAYS BRIGHT:
This Chelsea side holds so much prospect and there is talent brewing in the team. When Scholes was asked after his last match which players he enjoy watching in the League, he said Hazard and Mata. According to Rafa ” the three amigos” are bonding well and have great future ahead and it is there for all of us to see. Not only our first team, the players on loan have proven to be bargain and are living up to their hype. Thibaut Courtois, Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Thorgan Hazard, Piazon and Nathaniel Chalobah are making serious progress which make the future of the club so certain. One person who gets little mention for his great work he is doing for the club is our Technical Director Michael Emenalo. Since  he took over, players signed under him which include almost all of these players and the Amigos have proven to be such a great deal for the club and I hope Jose seeing what Emenalo has done will be comfortable to work with him since he has proven to be such a competent person with an eye for good potentials.
So the count down is on, Jose is coming and we await his first press conference, hopefully not too long from now. KTBFFH!
By Seth Adusei (twitter @sethaadusei)