Insolent Mourinho fails to see bigger picture in slamming Chelsea fans

Posted Tuesday, November 04, 2014 by ESPN

Despite the 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho explained he wanted more out of his players and the fans at Stamford Bridge.

Match-going Chelsea supporters would ordinarily have been chatting excitedly about the forthcoming Champions League game in Slovenia with NK Maribor.

Jose Mourinho had other ideas.

Speaking after the hard-fought 2-1 win over QPR at the weekend, the Blues' boss singled out the home crowd for criticism, inferring they were in part responsible for his team failing to raise their game. He may regret making derisory comments about supporters who welcomed him back to Stamford Bridge like the returning Messiah last year and chanted his name during the QPR win.

The self-anointed Special One went on to suggest the new Stamford Bridge floodlights should have been switched on earlier as the stadium was dark. "I think the man responsible for the lights was in the same mood as the crowd, because everybody was sleeping," he said.

Mourinho may have been looking for excuses to deflect attention away from an average performance -- after all, he's a master at that. Last season the Portuguese lamented Chelsea's lack of firepower and owner Roman Abramovich opened his cheque book to address the problem. This season, who can he blame for perceived mediocrity? The Stamford Bridge crowd? He hasn't tried that one before, so why not?

Mourinho stirred up a hornet's nest of emotions about what has long been a topic of debate among those who pay good money week in, week out to watch the team. From my vantage point in the Gate 17 wraparound section between the Matthew Harding Stand and the East Stand on Saturday, I'd have to say Mourinho is wrong and the fans were certainly not deserving of a tongue-lashing.

Were the home crowd guilty of not getting into the spirit of things? I don't buy that, either. For a league fixture of this type, it was no better or worse than it usually is. Supporters have little time for QPR and made their feelings known from the start. Mourinho's comments might have been more valid following the recent midweek games against Bolton Wanderers and Maribor.

The chant: "You're supposed to be at home," by the travelling support to their hosts has been around for decades. In recent seasons, the amusing ditties "Is this a library?" and "Your ground's too big for you," can be heard bubbling up from the visitors' area of stadia up and down the land.

Irrespective of league, status or heritage, the sentiment is always the same and the bigger the stadium, the more exaggerated the sound of silence from the home crowd can be. Last weekend, when Chelsea were dominating at Old Trafford against Manchester United, the home crowd were silent for large periods of the game. Many had left by the time Robin van Persie equalised deep into injury time. Did United manager Louis van Gaal make any comment about the fans' dereliction of duty? No.

I caught the midweek League Cup game between Manchester City and Newcastle United at the Etihad -- same problem. The home side underperformed and supporters' vocal cords were anaesthetised. City boss Manuel Pellegrini made no mention of this in his post-match interview.

I've seen Chelsea ruin Arsenal at the Emirates enough times to know the north London club have the same problem. But there has been no comment from manager Arsene Wenger about the issue.

Chelsea's next league game is against Liverpool at Anfield. The Blues silenced the Kop last season and with Brendan Rodgers' men in a poor run of form, Chelsea could do the same on Saturday. Will Rodgers question this if it happens? Unlikely.

Paying supporters who earn a fraction of the salary earned by people who own, manage or play for the teams they follow do not like being told how to support their club -- especially when the club continually disregard advice on how to improve the atmosphere inside the stadium.

Jose Mourinho's comments on the Stamford Bridge crowd has upset some Chelsea supporters.

During the 1990s, previous owner Ken Bates embarked on a redevelopment of Stamford Bridge which resulted in the Chelsea Village complex. The concept was reviled by the majority of season-ticket holders and ridiculed by visiting fans. Bates may have saved Chelsea from going to the wall, but he was single-minded and autocratic. Supporters started feeling commoditised. Mr. Abramovich stepped in and saved the Blues from Bates and impending bankruptcy but the commoditisation has continued at pace.

Rising ticket prices and the desire to build a global brand have alienated many longstanding supporters. Match this with steadfast ignorance of repeated requests to address the cost of admission -- particularly the fact that 16 to 24-year-olds do not have concessions and pay up to 50 pounds -- and what you have at Stamford Bridge on any given match day is an imbalanced demographic of young and old season-ticket holders, club members and tourists (this isn't uncommon, admittedly -- the prawn sandwich eaters at United a case in point). Mix into this an unconvincing team performance and it's easy to see how the atmosphere can appear vacuous.

Up and down the land, why do away supporters make so much noise? They stand throughout the game, despite being told by stewards not to. Home supporters are ejected for persistent standing.

Recently, Chelsea played Crystal Palace at 26,000-seater Selhurst Park. The ground is a cramped anachronism but with drum-beating supporters close to the pitch and black-shirted "ultras" allowed to stand, wave banners, jostle and have fun, they do a decent job of making noise.

Palace have a huge potential area in south London and beyond where they could potentially attract fans. Someway down the line, the plan will be to exploit this by either increasing capacity, or moving to a new purpose-built stadium. What then? A dilution of the atmosphere, in all probability.

Many fans are travelling out to Maribor at some considerable cost to cheer on Chelsea. They'll sing their favourite songs, though I'm not sure if "Stand up for the Special One" will be among them. Mourinho could redeem himself by meeting representatives of supporters' groups at a forum and sharing opinions and ideas. Fans forums are nothing new at the Bridge but the presence of the manager instead of the usual club suits would be refreshing.

Reports indicate that a redevelopment of Stamford Bridge may be on the horizon but without careful planning and consideration, a further increase in capacity could exacerbate the lack of atmosphere at certain games. If Mourinho is in it for the long haul at Chelsea as he has often stated, now is the time to prove he really is special and listen to the voices of the people who help pay his wages.