Chelsea Buildup: Mourinho isn’t Bothered, Fabregas Prefers the Top and Matic Will Enjoy This
Chelsea may have already wrapped up the Premier League title with time to spare, but when Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge this weekend, they’ll be doing so with the ever so faint chance of securing Champions League football for next season still alive.
While the Blues will have nothing to prove, there’s absolutely no chance that they’re going to hit the snooze button on Sunday. Over hyped matches between the big boys of the Premier League often fails to live up to expectations, but this particular fixture has often been the exception to the rule with the return fixture at Anfield and they’re two-legged League Cup semi-final meetings earlier in the campaign enough proof of that. Despite tensions simmering both on and off the pitch between these two clubs, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that his side will form the obligatory guard of honour for the Champions this weekend — even if his counterpart in Jose Mourinho isn’t that bothered with observing tradition.
“I don’t like it. I think, in Spain, they did it for us at Real Madrid,” said the Portuguese tactician. “If it’s tradition, that’s no problem for me. But you can show respect for the winner in many different ways. If some of them don’t want to be there and they are there just because somebody tells them to be there, maybe it’s a bit artificial.”
He’s not wrong; having barely missed out on claiming their first title of the Premier League era last season, there’ll be more than one player in the squad that will no doubt be harbouring some bitter feelings at having to clap the Blues onto the pitch. Despite being branded “boring” on more than one occasion, the London club looked like winning it from the word go — something that summer recruit Cesc Fabregas attributes to the influence of Mourinho.
“Every single day he makes you be at the top of your game. He knows how to get the best out of you and that’s what you want as a manager. A manager that can motivate a player every three days in a season when you play 60 games a season is not easy, trust me,” explained the midfield man. “He loves winning. He has some edge that goes above anyone I have been with, a mentality he shows in every single training session and in every game. I now can understand why he has won what he has won in his career.”
A near bottomless wallet has certainly helped secure a trophy or two during Mourinho’s spells in the Chelsea hot-seat, but that’s neither here nor there — for the time being, all of us have to put up with them being Champions again. With the job now well and truly done, the Blues have nothing left to play for this season, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to switch over to auto-pilot; quite the contrary, according to midfielder Nemanja Matic.
“We will be prepared for those games. Of course we don’t have the pressure of needing to win the league anymore, we are first whatever, but we will play seriously and try to enjoy the games we have left,” mused the 26-year old when asked how the club would like to finish the season off. “We have done a great job this season and we want to carry on like that until the end.”
–Steven
A near bottomless wallet? That’s odd, coming from Liverpool. Chelsea’s entire first-choice back four is one of the very cheapest in all top flight football. Many lower league clubs have spent more. Cahill was a mere 7m. Azpilicueta also 7m. Terry 0m. Ivanovich 9m. That’s a paltry 23m for the title-winning back four. Now tell us what Liverpool spent on Lovren alone! It’s very easy for other clubs to blame their own deficiencies on another club’s so-called superior spending power, but maybe they should better focus on their own spending ineptitude and their managers’ inability to meld those they buy into anything other than also-rans.
Yh when some desperate Arabs throw 50 million at u for one of the worst defenders in the world. Of course that leaves u in the black.
Chelsea has spent more than most in the league. Close to 1.5 billion on players since roman came in. Liverpool can only wish for that.
Still trolling on LFC sites eh Cecil.
You forgot to mention that your current squad cost £341.8m.
Liverpool’s cost £245m
All you’ve shown is that you’ve spent nearly £100m more to assemble a squad mainly on midfielders and forwards
Try doing a comparison of those.
Chelsea total NET spend since Premier League began: £639.6m
Liverpool net spend: £326.2m
PRETTY MUCH DOUBLE.
Please come again and I’ll tear you a new one next time too
Even the most slow-witted would know that money spent in the past on players who have long-since departed has no bearing on the current season. Are you saying that Michael Essien, or Shevchenko or Makelele or Veron or Robben has given Chelsea an advantage over Liverpool this season? I know Liverpool likes to live in the past and talks about past glories rather than present failures, so perhaps that is why they feel Damien Duff or William Gallas still plays a part in their lives. Chelsea made a transfer profit for the season they won the title. Liverpool made a transfer loss to achieve nothing. That’s what matters, not what Claudio Ranieri (!) spent at Chelsea a dozen years ago. Hilarious. “Net spend since the Premier League began”? You need to go that far back to make some kind of point? Here’s a similar one then… since the beginning of time, there have been more dinosaurs than lions. So dinosaurs clearly have an unfair advantage over lions today. Don’t you agree?
Chelsea plays by FFP rules. Your excuses for failure ten years ago no longer apply. The only regular first-team player at Chelsea from the big spending early days of Abramovich is John Terry, and he cost nothing. Zero. Zilch. Chelsea’s spending has nothing to do with Liverpool’s current failure to compete. Wasting their own money has everything to do with it.
The comment — a rather innocuous one at that — refereed to the Jose’s years in charge of Chelsea and not just this season. You’re right in saying that the back four was rather cheaply assembled, but that’s obviously a very narrow example that hardly covers the range and depth of their expenditure both under Mourinho and during his time away from the club.
Consider that both Salah and Cuadrado were signed by him for a combined fee of £34.3mil and that argument looks a bit silly. Throw your comment about him “melding” players into the mix and it’s downright laughable.
Chelsea abides by the same Financial Fair Play rules as Liverpool.
Again, the comment encompassed more than this season — there was no Financial Fair Play rules back when. Chelsea has had a significant amount of money to spend and that has been a driving factor in their success this season as much as it has in the past. I don’t think that’s disputable.
I understand that Ivanovich — who was another cracking buy by the way — took some time to find his way into the team, but correct me if I’m wrong, the Russian season doesn’t exactly mesh with the EPL and he was out of sorts when he arrived. Besides that, he was signed by Grant, but played his first full season under Scolari.
My example of Salah and Cuadrado is a bit more apt since they were both signed by the same manager who has subsequently ignored them or sent them out on loan.
If I recall correctly, In the 70s Liverpool used to pride itself on new signings having to play in the reserves for a season (or more) before they were accepted into the first team.
Back for more ? It’s said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Still, your choice.
It was YOU that established the period we were referring to, going on about making a profit over 10 years. The starting point from which Chelsea have spent over the past few seasons has a vast bearing on what they need to do to be competitive. But let’s ignore that and look at recent times….
Despite spending money on players like a teenage Californian princess with her Daddy’s credit card for many years previously, Chelsea continue to dominate the spending charts ,
£118m this season. £106m the year before that. £92m the year before, £88m , then £94m The past 5 years totalling half a BILLION pounds
We came close this last year due to Suarez’ sale|: £117m. But before that we are looking at £ 49m , £39m. £56m £69m .
£170m more. No, no advantage there then
These are STILL the big spending days, despite him blowing his wad for years.
FFP rules have moderated the spending, and not a SINGLE player has come through Chelsea’s ranks to the first team since Terry despite having upwards of 35 players out on loan just this season as you attempt to buy any young talent out there (since they are excluded from FFP)
So your proud boast about Terry amounts to very little. As does much of what you say.
And means even less.
The definition you mention at the start of your speech would be applied better to your own “over-and-over-and-over” hopes of a Liverpool PL title win… and expecting a different result.
So I’ll leave you to it. Good luck on Sunday. Keep hoping.
Even with all your advantages, you still finished below us just last year. So enjoy being champions, you deserved it this year.
Just don’t try to make disingenuous points about relative spend which are demonstrably misleading at best and downright bullsh!t at worst
I wonder how through-the-ranks Bertrand picked up his Champions League winners medal then? I could have sworn he was the fellow who started and helped win the CL Final.
Cheerio.
And he’s where again?
Funny, I didn’t see him on the roster. He’ll be picking up his PL medal soon then?
Any others? Well, two IS rather a lot even if you ignore the fact that he isn’t in your team now…
I dare say he’s far more likely to be picking up a PL medal in his career than Mr. Gerrard.
I dare say he’ll NEVER be nominated for the Ballon D’Or either
Any current Chelsea players ever been? No?
What about UEFA Club Footballer of the Year ?
No PL medal? He’ll live. I seem to remember him turning you lot down. Doubt he’ll envy Bertrand
Which means of course, he’s sure to end up with the exact same number of Ballon D’Ors as Mr. Gerrard.
No players to mention? No?
By the way, Gerrard HAS a Ballon D’Or Bronze medal.
So no, not the same number at all.
Oh, I’m sorry, you thought there was just the one?
Djimi Traore has the same number of CL medals as John Terry. So what?
You said it. So what?
I really have to go now. I hope the opponent is better equipped on Sunday. I’d like it to be a contest at least.
Goodnight.
I see you’ve updated your post after the event.
Petr Cech has been UEFA Goalkeeper of the year three times.
John Terry has been UEFA Defender of the Year three times.
Frank Lampard has been UEFA Best Midfielder one time.
Not bad.
What update? You mean changing 35 players to 30? Point still stands, and at least I make an attempt to ensure my figures are accurate. Unlike your assertion about making a profit
None of the players you mentioned have ever been overall UEFA Club player of the year. That’s the team of the year awards you’ve quoted. So Close.
Contest? Every one of your original assertions has been systematically dismantled with the honourable exception of the cost of your back four which is indeed impressive.
When Terry and Ivanovic leave, I’m sure you’ll have youth team players to replicate that, not blow £25-40m on someone else’s best defender. We’ll see shall we?
Get some sleep. You sound like you need it.
I’m not sure what’s been “lamented” here; the fact that I correctly pointed out that Chelsea has spent quite a princely sum of money during Mourinho’s spells in charge? Are you trying to defend a period of unchecked spending by using Chelsea’s profit in the transfer window and their strength of their current youth set-up as some measure of success?
I understand Chelsea fell within FFP guidelines; congratulations, so did Liverpool. If you want to use that as a stick to beat an opponent with, go find a Manchester City website.
Solanke does look like a bit of a talent, but to say that your focus on youth will save you money in the next ten years is like saying water will continue to make the sky be blue — FFP means everyone is going to have a renewed focus on bringing players through their academies. It’s not like this was routinely done by Chelsea over the last couple of years and now they’re reaping the rewards. Before you say “blah, blah, blah, Liverpool” I’m not saying we’re any better, but acting like this will be some revolutionary new way of saving money is laughable.