Bring back the Special One
Posted Monday, March 05, 2012 by The Sun
FIST CHOICE ... ex-boss Jose Mourinho
ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS knew exactly what he faced at Chelsea.
Even before his first game in charge, he said: "I am certainly not the Special One. In fact, with poor players I could very well become the S*** One."
Well, the poor players turned out to be even worse than he could have imagined.
Round about the same time, I pointed out the many pitfalls that faced this young, inexperienced coach.
That he had to make instant decisions on Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
That they were surplus to requirements.
And that he had to solve the problem of Fernando Torres.
Anelka aside, he failed to get to grips with any of the real, on-field power-brokers and the result is he's gone and they're still there.
He probably shouldn't have been appointed in the first place.
But since he was, he should have been given the support all new managers need.
Roman Abramovich should have made it clear from the start that Villas-Boas was his man and he was giving him the time and money to rebuild the club.
This message never came across with the result that the senior players did what players always do - blamed everyone else except themselves.
And they made it abundantly clear they thought AVB was out of his depth.
How ironic that he should be replaced until the end of the season by Roberto Di Matteo, another coach the Chelsea players don't rate.
And then what?
One of Abramovich's main faults is he believes that money solves every problem.
Well, it may do in his business life. But, thankfully, this is not necessarily the case in football.
Yes, he may have wasted £50 million on the AVB experiment but that won't stop Abramovich shelling out another shed-load on the new man.
And who is it going to be?
The 6/4 favourite is Rafa Benitez but his record in his latter days at Anfield and his short tenure at Inter won't fill Chelsea fans with much enthusiasm.
Then there's Pep Guardiola. But why on earth should he want to swap Barcelona, a club he knows and loves and where he is hugely respected, for the madhouse of Stamford Bridge?
You also get the feeling Guardiola is preparing himself for his first real team rebuilding programme at the Nou Camp.
To show that what he did once, he can do again.
And then, of course, there's Fabio Capello. The Italian, though, is a very proud man.
After his recent experience with England, would he really want to return to a country where he felt he was so badly treated?
Surely, if he wants to continue in management, he will do so back home.
No, there is only one man who can turn Chelsea round.
Yes, Jose Mourinho.
Abramovich knows he made an enormous mistake in letting him go. That he listened to his players then and paid the price - as he has continued to do so.
He is the only man the Chelsea fans will trust to draw the line under the careers of those club legends who have clearly come to the end of their time at Stamford Bridge.
He is the only manager who is bigger than these players. Maybe, on the back of his success at Inter and Real Madrid, he is even bigger than Chelsea.
He is the only man the fans will listen to. And, with Guus Hiddink otherwise engaged at Russian club Anzhi, he is the only man Abramovich will listen to.
Mourinho has an almost unique ability among modern-day managers of being able to put a successful structure in place QUICKLY.
Of mixing and matching the old with the new.
Of detecting and attracting the right players for the job at hand.
And of making changes while maintaining and improving standards.
He also has enough madness of his own to feel quite at home in the cuckoo's nest of Fulham Broadway.
More than anyone, he knows exactly what he will be walking into.
Utd's Red alert is over...
Harry's is just starting!
IT wasn't all that long ago Manchester United were being spanked 3-0 at Newcastle.
And we were handing the Noisy Neighbours their first title for over 40 years.
Now look at it after a United run of 19 points from 21 including wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and now Spurs.
So April 30 goes in the diary — the day United face City at the Etihad.
United, now just two points behind Roberto Mancini's side, might even have overtaken City by then following games against WBA(h), Wolves(a), Fulham(h), Blackburn(a), QPR(h), Wigan(a), Villa(h) and Everton(h).
It's certainly an easier run-in than the one facing City, who have a belter of a match at Arsenal on April 8.
United didn't even have to be at their best to beat Tottenham 3-1 yesterday.
That and the fact United have been here so many times before will have City fans, who always expect the worst, on a knife edge.
Even better for United is the way Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs are shrugging aside the years.
It really is remarkable the manner in which this trio continue to perform.
Throw in the ever-potent threat of Wayne Rooney and the return of Ashley Young and you can't help but think "here we go again".
As for Spurs, an increasing number of Tottenham fans will be talking about how Harry Redknapp's mind is no longer on the job because of all the England business.
That he should have started with Jermain Defoe yesterday. That he doesn't know how to rotate his squad.
That this is why Spurs have dropped 13 points out of 21.
That if they don't watch it, Arsenal might even pip them for third place.
And that Redknapp should quit White Hart Lane now.
Others of us might suggest that it's all wonderful preparation for what he can expect with England!
Van polish shines through
WHAT a player, what a man.
In every passing game, Robin Van Persie grows in stature both on and off the pitch.
He is one of the very few players who tells it as it is.
Interviewed after scoring both goals in Arsenal's surprise 2-1 win at Anfield, Van Persie quickly pointed out how fortunate the Gunners had been.
Most players would have adopted the party line that you make your own luck.
He then presented his man of the match champagne to goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, the other hero of the day.
The Dutchman has turned into a real class act.
Tech a bow, FIFA
THE penny has finally dropped with FIFA and goal-line technology will be in place the season after next.
It's said there will be no interruption to the game and that a message will be sent immediately to the referee's watch.
And to think these are the very same people we have accused for so long of not knowing what time of day it is.
Pearce's curve ball
STUART Pearce says he would love to take England to Euro 2012.
But he keeps talking about his lack of management experience and how he needs to continue his "learning curve" as a coach.
Yet this is the same Pearce who will be FIFTY next month.
How long does he need to get the hang of it?
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