There are some in the Football Transfer Tavern who reckon Jose Mourinho has finally run out of excuses.
The self-proclaimed special one has always been the master of diverting attention away from a poor performance, with just about anyone and anything being brought up as an excuse.
But following the reigning champions 3-0 defeat to Manchester City last weekend, Jose seems to have run out – judging by the way he publicly criticised his players at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“I’m not happy with anyone,” Mourinho, who also criticised himself, said.
“I’m not happy with Branislav Ivanovic’s form, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic.”
Mourinho added: “I’m not happy with my form because I used to get better results than I’m getting now.”
With Chelsea having made their worst start to a season in 17 years, Mourinho finds himself under perhaps the most pressure of his Blues career.
Here we take a look back at five of his best ever excuses as Chelsea boss – some of which he may need to bring back over the coming weeks.
[ffc-gallery]
Click on Jose to reveal his five best excuses as Chelsea manager
[/ffc-gallery]
Floodlights
It’s not just other people at fault if Chelsea struggle – floodlights have also come under fire from Jose in the past.
During a testing win over QPR during November 2014, Mourinho reckons those responsible for switching the floodlights on at Stamford Bridge were the reason his side took a while to break the deadlock.
Jose also managed a sly dig at his own supporters when he said after the 2-1 win: “I think the man responsible for the lights was in the same mood as the crowd, because everybody was sleeping. He took 20 minutes to understand that it was dark.”
The Chelsea board
Jose has had financial backing that other managers could only dream of during his career – particularly with Chelsea.
Yet Roman Abramovich’s billions haven’t always been enough for the special one.
Despite winning the title with one of the most expensively assembled squads in English football history in 2005, Mourinho used a bizarre egg analogy to have a dig at his employers.
“It depends on the quality of the eggs,” he said when discussing the players at his disposal and transfer targets.
“In the supermarket you have class one, two or class three eggs and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem.”
Parked buses
It was Jose who first introduced us to the phrase ‘parking the bus,’ something he and his Chelsea side have done perhaps more than any other side down the years.
Yet when smaller Premier League teams decide to show up at Stamford Bridge and refuse to roll over, the Chelsea boss doesn’t react well.
London rivals Tottenham and most recently West Ham are the most famous occasions a side has come under fire from Mourinho for what he perceives as negative tactics.
After a 0-0 draw with the Hammers in 2013, Mourinho said: “This is not Premier League, this is not the best league in the world. The only thing I could bring was a Black and Decker to destroy the wall. A football match is about two teams playing and this match was only one team playing and another team not playing.”
The Media
Jose’s press conferences and television interviews are like gold dust for those working in the media. Yet the Chelsea boss doesn’t seem to care one bit who he offends.
Last season he made a surprise appearance on Sky Sports ‘Goals on Sunday’ and proceeded to rip into the channel that was broadcasting him for their supposed misleading reports on Diego Costa’s stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can.
Costa was given a three game ban after video evidence was reviewed, and Mourinho was adamant it was down to Sky describing his actions as ‘crimes’ during a report on Sky Sports News.
Mourinho also demanded an apology from the broadcasting giants – which never came.
Referees – of course
Has there ever been a manager who has been so vocal in his criticism of referees? Sir Alex Ferguson would no doubt give Jose a run for his money, but the Chelsea boss went as far to claim there was a ‘campaign’ against his side during their latest title winning season.
“I can only remember one decision all season which went in our favour. Now I am risking my dugout in the (Capital One Cup) final because I am having this conversation,” he said during that appearance on Goals on Sunday.
“I speak about these incidents week after week, because they happen week after week. My players are not getting the respect they deserve and it is too much.”
You will find more often than not that the referees are the first to be given the role of scapegoat by Jose after a poor performance.