Mourinho Boo-Boo Number Two!

Two blogs in one day you lucky lot...I couldn't help myslelf...you'll understand.

So, it turns out the best team in West London is...Fulham! And you won't believe it, it happened again...Mourinho messed up!

Despite having constructed the finest squad the Premiership has ever seen (I won't mention how much it cost, that would be boring) Mourinho's style is mainly about, well, style. The Special One does a lot of things for the sake of image, essentially this is what he is about. He jaunts around, the personification of arrogance, and this rubs off on his team- often seemingly invinveable: they have walked the Premiership. He runs out first at Barcelona to take the flack for his team- not before telling the world he was going to do so. An sometimes, when he's feeling most rebellious, he makes a double substitution after 23 minutes. What a renegade, he just doesn't give a shit. But let me be the first to say 'José fucked up, na na na na na' (in a very annoying voice)

Unfortunately Jose my friend, image can be very important in football, but it will not tanslate in raw tactics. A double substitution after 23 minutes has to be the most egotistical substitutions of them all. The headlines write themselves, 'Mourinho master-stroke changes game!'...'Double-switch saves the day!' and so on. Essentially, like changing the lineup against Barcelona...the change is mainly about image. By doing so Mourinho wanted the turnaround to be because of something he did.

Tactically both decisions were questionable. I have discussed at lenght the defficiencies of his lineup at the Camp Nou. Yesterday's decicion showed similar impatience. Shaun Wright-Phillips was having a poor game, and hadn'r beaten their left-back once. But SWP is one of those players who gets tackled 5 times in a row, before skinning his man at the 6th attempt and setting up a goal. He was having a stinker when he came on for England against Uruaguay, and then he set up the goal...for Joe Cole. Joe Cole is on the form of his life, but was another victim of the Mourinho ego-tactic.

Mourinho tried to make a tactical masterstroke, but forgot the tactical bit, battering the confidence of Cole and SWP in the process (the looks on their face when they trotted off said it all). The variation of 4-3-3 that Mourinho- to his credit- has mastered at Chelsea is the key to their success: two defensive midfielders behind Lampard, two attacking wingers behind Crspo/Drogba. BUT, twice in a row when he has found himself in trouble he has deviated from this formula, this time changing to an akward 4-4-2, rather than having faith in his players, and a bit of patience- but in both cases moving the onus to him.

When this works, he looks like a genius. When it doesn't (Camp Nou, Craven Cottage) he deservadly looks like a twat.