“Never go back” vs “Third time’s the charm”. Jose Mourinho at Chelsea has already tackled the first of those two sayings by returning to Chelsea once and barring the spectacular unravelling of his tenure, it actually went well as he led the club to another Premier League title.
Now, with the club crawling from one disastrous result to another, the spectre of “Mr Chelsea” in many ways is again looming large at Stamford Bridge. Mauricio Pochettino is quickly losing support, the team is looking aimless, and who better to jolt a lifeless bunch into action than the charismatic Portuguese.
However, Chelsea fans also know that Mourinho is a medicine best taken in small doses. Otherwise, everyone ends up being sick in the long run and tired. Therefore, a unique notion is doing the rounds now. What if Jose Mourinho came back to Chelsea but as an interim manager?
It’s undoubtedly an interesting notion, one that would bring drama if nothing else. However, it is more nuanced than it looks on the surface.
Here are the main pros and cons of such a move –
Pros
Adrenaline shot
Chelsea are in a remarkable position where they’ve spent more than a billion since Todd Boehly came in and arguably ended up with a worse squad. Still, one glance at the team makes it clear that this is not a group of players that should be languishing in the bottom half of the table. Therefore, this group is playing below its potential. Who better to give it an adrenaline shot than the person who commands the respect of the dressing room as soon as he enters it?
Granted, the lustre of Mourinho has worn off a bit, but the charm offensive, the cult of personality, and the ability to command a group of people remains as lively as ever. He had Roma fans shedding tears for him despite his underperformance on the pitch, speaking volumes about the bond he managed to cultivate there.
This group of Chelsea players are young and impressionable. Contrary to the widespread notion, Mourinho is actually a fairly successful coach with youngsters, as long as they take instructions well.
Chelsea youngsters right now look like they’re missing instructions, Mourinho likes to give them. They look like they’re missing motivation, Mourinho provides it in spades. It makes more sense than you think!
Serial trophy collector
Even during his “down” phase, Tottenham remains the only club he hasn’t won a trophy yet and that’s a team which sacked him right before a cup final. How about joining a team right before a cup final to mastermind a memorable victory?
Chelsea are in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool in which not even the most optimistic Blues will consider them favourites. However, in a one-off game against a rival, Mourinho still remains a managerial mastermind. A new manager bounce + a competitive rival + a cup final. That’s a Jose Mourinho success recipe if anybody has ever seen one.
Sometimes a cup win in such moments for a young squad can provide the launchpad for future success. Chelsea have the chance to make a proactive change to make it a reality, or maybe make that prospect a bit more realistic at least.
Cons
Nothing to lose
For most people, having nothing to lose would be a huge pro. It would mean they can take risks, go for the jugular and achieve massive success or fail as someone who tried the audacious.
In Mourinho’s case, having nothing to lose means he might go scorched earth from day one. The Portuguese has never been a “team builder” anyway but if he knows he’s only here for five months? Expect confrontations, challenges, and thinly-veiled slights thrown at the board daily for not giving him a new contract.
History is witness to the fact that Mourinho starts creating instability and fictional enemies to foster a siege mentality when things aren’t going his way, or he realises his time at a club is coming to an end.
The world might actually see a scorched-earth Mourinho if he’s given just a five-month interim contract.
Most fantasy than fact
It is mentioned literally in the headline of this piece, but it bears repeating- the chances of Mourinho accepting an interim deal at a club, especially one where his legacy is so huge, are slim at best.
Firstly, Jose Mourinho is a man extremely big on his personal brand. To accept the offer of an interim post would signal to the world that his time as an elite coach has come to an end. Being reduced to a firefighter, albeit for an elite club, is not something that would be on the mind of Mourinho.
The second and most important fact among it is that Todd Boehly has tried his hardest since coming to the club to take this club as far away from Roman Abramovich’s legacy as possible. While that has yielded disastrous results on the pitch, bringing “Roman’s man” Mourinho into the dugout would be an admission of defeat for his own project. The only thing stronger than Mourinho’s refusal to come would be Boehly’s ego preventing him from offering Mourinho a chance to return.
Combine those two factors, and it starts becoming clearer that Jose Mourinho as the Chelsea Interim Head Coach is the type of idea straight from a fantasy that might make more sense than one thinks at first glance, but that doesn’t make it more realistic.
