Spending silly money is in the past,
says Mourinho
The prospect of a position vacant at the Premiership's most
affluent club must excite Europe's top managers no end. But Jose
Mourinho gave pause for thought yesterday about the Chelsea his
successor would inherit. In the Portuguese's first year as Chelsea
manager, he presided over a club that was to record a £140m trading
loss. But, Mourinho cautioned, the days of such extreme
extravagance are over.
When Mourinho was asked about the chances of Valencia's £25m demand
for the impressive Spain international David Villa being met," the
Portuguese manager said. "We have two excellent forwards as things
stand. And from what I hear about the price, [Valencia] are asking
silly money for him. And I can tell you here at Chelsea, it's all
over, spending silly money."
It was easy to scoff whenever the club's chief executive, Peter
Kenyon, announced his intention to break even by 2009; at least
until the inactive winter transfer window last January suddenly
rendered those statements credible.
This year's transfer-market inertia has not, however, harmed the
Premiership champions too much. "When I read some coaches, some
interviews, some articles, I laugh," said Mourinho, perhaps
referring to Claudio Ranieri's remarks yesterday that the manager
has found it difficult to accommodate last summer's
additions.
"When people say this Chelsea is not so good or not playing so well
as in previous seasons - either people are stupid or pretending to
be stupid because it's obvious. In the same day John Terry was back
we lost Michael Essien. "When Joe Cole is coming, we lose Robben.
This is the history of our season.
His employers continue to cast around for potential replacements
but the Portuguese hit back yesterday. "I think we can win more
things until the end of the season," he said. "The problem is when
people think 'I could do more' or 'I didn't give maximum'.
When asked if everybody at the club, including Abramovich, shared
that view of fulfilment Mourinho demurred, saying that anybody
wanting to know should consult everybody at the club. One way of
restoring the smile to the Russian oligarch's face would be to
dispatch Valencia tonight, though Mourinho does not consider that
easy and warned of their wiles.
"I just told my players the same thing I say every Uefa competition
when we play against Latins," said Mourinho. "Their mentality is
different. The pure English mentality we have in the Premiership is
where nobody cheats - well, almost nobody - where people try to be
correct and respect opponents. You go to Uefa competitions and
sometimes it's a bit different."
