Roman Abramovich may be falling out of love with Jose Mourinho again... The Chelsea owner will not be happy with his dull football and outbursts
Such is the level of security around Roman Abramovich, his whereabouts are often a mystery to staff at Chelsea.
But he was expected to be at last weekend’s encounter with Norwich, if only to acknowledge the support of the fans at the last home game of a dramatic, if ultimately disappointing, season.
His regular guests were there; an eclectic mix of high-powered individuals who usually include Russian businessmen, as well as former Chelsea manager Bobby Campbell.
VIDEO: Scroll down for Mourinho: Don't know if Terry, Lampard, Cole have finished
Frustrated figure: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly unhappy with Jose Mourinho's brand of football
Empty-handed: Chelsea will finish the season without silverware after a disappointing campaign
Difficult start: Jose Mourinho has failed to win a trophy on his return to Stamford Bridge
Such is the level of security around Roman Abramovich, his whereabouts are often a mystery to staff at Chelsea.
But he was expected to be at last weekend’s encounter with Norwich, if only to acknowledge the support of the fans at the last home game of a dramatic, if ultimately disappointing, season.
His regular guests were there; an eclectic mix of high-powered individuals who usually include Russian businessmen, as well as former Chelsea manager Bobby Campbell.
VIDEO: Scroll down for Mourinho: Don't know if Terry, Lampard, Cole have finished
Frustrated figure: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly unhappy with Jose Mourinho's brand of football
Empty-handed: Chelsea will finish the season without silverware after a disappointing campaign
Difficult start: Jose Mourinho has failed to win a trophy on his return to Stamford Bridge
More...
Campbell and other guests often make gestures of disapproval towards their host when a pass is misplaced. Abramovich usually says very little in response, offering only rare flashes of emotion on the back of three rows of seats adorned with cashmere blankets.
The box, in the middle tier of the West Stand, is a £1million-a-season suite that one top ranking manager, who can appreciate the difference between Nobu and Nando’s, would argue serves ‘the best food in the world’.
But such culinary excellence was not enough to lure back Abramovich last Sunday, and his absence is being interpreted by some as yet another expression of his disapproval with what has been going on at Chelsea.
When the relationship between the owner and Mourinho began to disintegrate during the self-anointed Special One’s first term in charge, Abramovich simply stopped going to matches. When he knew he wanted to sack Carlo Ancelotti, he stopped going again.
True, Abramovich’s attendance has been erratic for much of this campaign. He has been to few, if any, away games, mainly because of the sheer amount of security involved.
The special relationship: Mourinho and Abramovich just the Portuguese's first appointment in 2004
Campbell and other guests often make gestures of disapproval towards their host when a pass is misplaced. Abramovich usually says very little in response, offering only rare flashes of emotion on the back of three rows of seats adorned with cashmere blankets.
The box, in the middle tier of the West Stand, is a £1million-a-season suite that one top ranking manager, who can appreciate the difference between Nobu and Nando’s, would argue serves ‘the best food in the world’.
But such culinary excellence was not enough to lure back Abramovich last Sunday, and his absence is being interpreted by some as yet another expression of his disapproval with what has been going on at Chelsea.
When the relationship between the owner and Mourinho began to disintegrate during the self-anointed Special One’s first term in charge, Abramovich simply stopped going to matches. When he knew he wanted to sack Carlo Ancelotti, he stopped going again.
True, Abramovich’s attendance has been erratic for much of this campaign. He has been to few, if any, away games, mainly because of the sheer amount of security involved.
The special relationship: Mourinho and Abramovich just the Portuguese's first appointment in 2004
ABRAMOVICH'S MANAGERS
- Claudio Ranieri: 2004
- Jose Mourinho: 2004 - 2007
- Avram Grant: 2007 - 08
- Luiz Felipe Scolari: 2008 - 09
- Guus Hiddink: 2009
- Carlo Ancelotti: 2009 - 2011
- Andre Villas-Boas: 2011 - 12
- Roberto di Matteo: 2012
- Rafa Benitez: 2012 - 13
- Jose Mourinho: 2013 - present
Strangely, he has been seen shopping alone in Whole Foods Superstore in West London but will demand that his security team inspect a stadium prior to his arrival.
Even then he sometimes finds interaction with the hosts uncomfortable. He never eats the food on offer and when Dave Whelan once encouraged him to try one of his Wigan pies, the Russian visibly squirmed. ‘Funny bugger,’ Whelan noted.
However, Abramovich, say insiders, is frustrated not just by his team’s failure to win a trophy for the first time in four seasons but by Mourinho’s more negative tactics and the fact that he is fighting with just about everyone, from the football authorities to rival managers — even his own players.
A few weeks ago, with Chelsea in a Champions League semi-final and still chasing the title, Abramovich seemed to be more accepting of Mourinho’s volatility. But with defeats by Atletico Madrid and Sunderland at home, the mood has darkened.
Mourinho has shown flashes of his genius this season, outwitting his rivals in clashes against Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, even if things came unstuck in the second leg against Atletico. With the talent he has at his disposal this season, and in the absence of the top-class striker he hopes to recruit in the form of Diego Costa, he has done a decent job.
But Abramovich could be forgiven for taking a different view given the policy he employed in Mourinho’s absence, the recruitment of players who can play the brand of football he wants to see at Stamford Bridge.
Hogger: The Portuguese manager masterminded the 2-0 victory away at Anfield that may have cost Liverpool
Overcome: Thibaut Courtois saving a John Terry header, as Atletico knock Chelsea out of the Champions League
Needed: Chelsea target Diego Costa celebrates scoring Atletico's second at Stamford Bridge with team-mate Koke
‘He’s gone for a certain type,’ said another observer with close links to the club. ‘Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Willian, Schurrle. Even Luiz and Azpilicueta. These are players who want to play.
‘But Jose has sold Mata and Luiz might not be there much longer either. It’s almost as if he is fighting against the philosophy Roman has tried to instil.’
There has been a change in emphasis since Christmas, when Mourinho first expressed his frustration with the lack of quality in his attack. There is no doubt he reverted to a more defensive approach, one that secured results but was not nearly so easy on the eye.
Much like before, Mourinho seems to be stumbling from one argument to another. He has not yet been branded an ‘enemy of football’ but his attack on Arsene Wenger — when he called Arsenal’s manager ‘a specialist in failure’ — was embarrassing and his clashes with the football authorities have also been a source of concern at the club.
Downbeat: Mourinho has been quick to play down his team's chance throughout the season
Abramovich did not appreciate the image Mourinho created for Chelsea during his first term and he is unlikely to enjoy seeing his manager fined last week for what was a childish attack on England’s referees after Sunderland had ended his run of 77 home matches at Stamford Bridge without defeat.
Even on Friday he was spoiling for a fight. ‘What happened against Sunderland and against Aston Villa is not English football,’ he said with much the same sarcasm that got him in trouble in the first place.
As the manager, he is entitled to clash with his players. But that with Eden Hazard – after he had criticised Mourinho’s counter-attacking tactics on French TV – was seen as too public, as was the criticism of Oscar, a personal Abramovich favourite.
Gone: Mourinho was happy to let Chelsea favourite Juan Mata move to rivals Manchester United in January
Critical: Abramovich was reportedly unhappy with Mourinho's recent castigation of Oscar and Eden Hazard
The Russian would probably prefer Mourinho to save such verdicts for the season-end report he says he will file to his employers tomorrow.
Mourinho still has plenty of allies, and if he encourages the club to retain the services of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole in his report they will continue to be influential allies in the dressing room.
Mourinho will want those same senior players around next season too, not least because of the fact that they completely buy into his methods and because they know, from first-hand experience, that those methods bring success.
Maybe next year: Chelsea will end the season empty-handed despite having Mourinho at the helm
Right now, he probably still has an ally in Abramovich, although his bizarre remarks after the first leg against Atletico — when he seemed to suggest he might need the approval of his employers before resting players against Liverpool — also came across as too confrontational, and again, too public.
In fact, some of the Russian’s closest advisers were baffled by his decision to recruit Mourinho for a second time given the sense of betrayal he had felt seven years earlier.
Mourinho had a supporter in Marina Granovskaia – Abramovich’s chief adviser – but not many others when the oligarch first floated the idea of bringing him back.
Old favourites: Veterans John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have been there since Mourinho's first stint
History has proved that Abramovich does not shy away from difficult decisions, his dismissal of Ancelotti for finishing second in the Premier League only a season after winning the domestic double proof of that. Winning the European Cup didn’t give Roberto di Matteo too long either.
Right now, sources insist Abramovich is not about to pull the trigger on Mourinho. Even if the sudden availability of Pep Guardiola, currently enduring a few issues at Bayern Munich, could change that.
But Mourinho will be under pressure to produce a more dynamic brand of football next season, and at the same time make an effort to avoid the kind of confrontation that harms the image of the football club.
Do that and Abramovich might start enjoying himself at Stamford Bridge again. Fail and it could get as ugly as some of Chelsea’s football.
- Claudio Ranieri: 2004
- Jose Mourinho: 2004 - 2007
- Avram Grant: 2007 - 08
- Luiz Felipe Scolari: 2008 - 09
- Guus Hiddink: 2009
- Carlo Ancelotti: 2009 - 2011
- Andre Villas-Boas: 2011 - 12
- Roberto di Matteo: 2012
- Rafa Benitez: 2012 - 13
- Jose Mourinho: 2013 - present
Strangely, he has been seen shopping alone in Whole Foods Superstore in West London but will demand that his security team inspect a stadium prior to his arrival.
Even then he sometimes finds interaction with the hosts uncomfortable. He never eats the food on offer and when Dave Whelan once encouraged him to try one of his Wigan pies, the Russian visibly squirmed. ‘Funny bugger,’ Whelan noted.
However, Abramovich, say insiders, is frustrated not just by his team’s failure to win a trophy for the first time in four seasons but by Mourinho’s more negative tactics and the fact that he is fighting with just about everyone, from the football authorities to rival managers — even his own players.
A few weeks ago, with Chelsea in a Champions League semi-final and still chasing the title, Abramovich seemed to be more accepting of Mourinho’s volatility. But with defeats by Atletico Madrid and Sunderland at home, the mood has darkened.
Mourinho has shown flashes of his genius this season, outwitting his rivals in clashes against Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, even if things came unstuck in the second leg against Atletico. With the talent he has at his disposal this season, and in the absence of the top-class striker he hopes to recruit in the form of Diego Costa, he has done a decent job.
But Abramovich could be forgiven for taking a different view given the policy he employed in Mourinho’s absence, the recruitment of players who can play the brand of football he wants to see at Stamford Bridge.
Hogger: The Portuguese manager masterminded the 2-0 victory away at Anfield that may have cost Liverpool
Overcome: Thibaut Courtois saving a John Terry header, as Atletico knock Chelsea out of the Champions League
Needed: Chelsea target Diego Costa celebrates scoring Atletico's second at Stamford Bridge with team-mate Koke
‘He’s gone for a certain type,’ said another observer with close links to the club. ‘Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Willian, Schurrle. Even Luiz and Azpilicueta. These are players who want to play.
‘But Jose has sold Mata and Luiz might not be there much longer either. It’s almost as if he is fighting against the philosophy Roman has tried to instil.’
There has been a change in emphasis since Christmas, when Mourinho first expressed his frustration with the lack of quality in his attack. There is no doubt he reverted to a more defensive approach, one that secured results but was not nearly so easy on the eye.
Much like before, Mourinho seems to be stumbling from one argument to another. He has not yet been branded an ‘enemy of football’ but his attack on Arsene Wenger — when he called Arsenal’s manager ‘a specialist in failure’ — was embarrassing and his clashes with the football authorities have also been a source of concern at the club.
Downbeat: Mourinho has been quick to play down his team's chance throughout the season
Abramovich did not appreciate the image Mourinho created for Chelsea during his first term and he is unlikely to enjoy seeing his manager fined last week for what was a childish attack on England’s referees after Sunderland had ended his run of 77 home matches at Stamford Bridge without defeat.
Even on Friday he was spoiling for a fight. ‘What happened against Sunderland and against Aston Villa is not English football,’ he said with much the same sarcasm that got him in trouble in the first place.
As the manager, he is entitled to clash with his players. But that with Eden Hazard – after he had criticised Mourinho’s counter-attacking tactics on French TV – was seen as too public, as was the criticism of Oscar, a personal Abramovich favourite.
Gone: Mourinho was happy to let Chelsea favourite Juan Mata move to rivals Manchester United in January
Critical: Abramovich was reportedly unhappy with Mourinho's recent castigation of Oscar and Eden Hazard
The Russian would probably prefer Mourinho to save such verdicts for the season-end report he says he will file to his employers tomorrow.
Mourinho still has plenty of allies, and if he encourages the club to retain the services of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole in his report they will continue to be influential allies in the dressing room.
Mourinho will want those same senior players around next season too, not least because of the fact that they completely buy into his methods and because they know, from first-hand experience, that those methods bring success.
Maybe next year: Chelsea will end the season empty-handed despite having Mourinho at the helm
Right now, he probably still has an ally in Abramovich, although his bizarre remarks after the first leg against Atletico — when he seemed to suggest he might need the approval of his employers before resting players against Liverpool — also came across as too confrontational, and again, too public.
In fact, some of the Russian’s closest advisers were baffled by his decision to recruit Mourinho for a second time given the sense of betrayal he had felt seven years earlier.
Mourinho had a supporter in Marina Granovskaia – Abramovich’s chief adviser – but not many others when the oligarch first floated the idea of bringing him back.
Old favourites: Veterans John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have been there since Mourinho's first stint
History has proved that Abramovich does not shy away from difficult decisions, his dismissal of Ancelotti for finishing second in the Premier League only a season after winning the domestic double proof of that. Winning the European Cup didn’t give Roberto di Matteo too long either.
Right now, sources insist Abramovich is not about to pull the trigger on Mourinho. Even if the sudden availability of Pep Guardiola, currently enduring a few issues at Bayern Munich, could change that.
But Mourinho will be under pressure to produce a more dynamic brand of football next season, and at the same time make an effort to avoid the kind of confrontation that harms the image of the football club.
Do that and Abramovich might start enjoying himself at Stamford Bridge again. Fail and it could get as ugly as some of Chelsea’s football.
More...
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Promociona tu sitio web google.es/adwordsLlega a más clientes con AdWords Solicita ya tu cupón promocional.
I'll never Speak Spanish shortcuttospanish.comThat's what I used to think. Until I discovered this.
Car Insurance in Spain www.libertyexpatriates.esGet the best car insurance coverage Exclusive Agents for Expatriates!
Online MBA School studyinteractive.org/MBA-OnlineStudy MBA Online With London School Of Business & Finance. Learn More!
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