You can't win this,
Jose
Roman Abramovich heard the song, belted out with feeling, and
looked on as Chelsea supporters stood up for the Special One. Deep
down he was no doubt wondering precisely who was responsible for
the clubs rise to power. Who, in fact, would be most sorely missed
were they both to leave tomorrow? Jose Mourinho or
Abramovich?
Fans may love the passion and charisma of Mourinho, the manager who
delivered their first championship in 50 years and another the
following season, but the correct answer is, of course, Abramovich.
The man with the £10.8billion fortune. You can replace one
world-class manager with another, especially when you pay them
salaries of £5m, but wealthy benefactors happy to pour millions
into a black hole in pursuit of shiny silver pots are few and far
between.
Mourinho cannot win this power struggle, regardless of what the
fans sing or what John Terry and his team-mates say about their
beloved boss. Peter Kenyon may be trying desperately to maintain
some sort of uneasy peace inside Stamford Bridge but the managers
days appear numbered.
By keeping him in place for the rest of the season, Abramovich can
only strengthen Mourinhos hand. Imagine the uproar if Chelsea won
the Champions League for the first time in their history and the
boss was forced out days later. This is why whispers are starting
to circulate that Abramovich may be ready to prove who is the boss
at the club by sacking Mourinho before the end of the season.
The Russian no longer takes his football advice from the manager
and has become convinced that his dream of copying Barcelonas
recipe for coupling success with popular appeal cannot be achieved
with Mourinho at the helm. His football does not satisfy the
purists and his volatile nature and unpredictability make long-term
planning impossible. He has talked about almost quitting three
times in less than three years.
There is evidence that Mourinhos agent, Jorge Mendes, is aware of
shifting opinion inside Chelseas corridors of power and has
started groundwork in Madrid. Chelsea will sanction a move for a
defender this month but it looks increasingly likely to be a
stop-gap signing like Jorge Andrade, on loan until the end of the
season, or Boltons Tal Ben Haim.
The reluctance to allow Mourinho to spend millions only adds to the
inkling that the board want his successor to spend any cash
earmarked for transfers. Plans to move for Manchester Citys Micah
Richards and Valencias David Villa have been shelved.
Abramovich is braced for a fans backlash if he fires Mourinho and
must plan his replacement carefully. Guus Hiddink seems the obvious
choice but Abramovich will not want to upset his fellow Russians by
poaching the national teams coach midway through Euro 2008
qualifying.
One partnership to placate fans would be Italys World Cup-winning
coach Marcelo Lippi with popular former Blues boss Gianluca Vialli,
who recently bought a £4m house near Stamford Bridge, as his No 2.
While Lippi is not keen to work in England, Abramovich has a very
persuasive chequebook.
