SBNation.com User Blog: Daniele Di Ross

Has Jose Mourinho's star fallen?

Daniele Di Ross — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:36:23 -0000

Yesterday's loss a the Bernabeu summed up with a frustrating season for "The Special One". Injuries left Real Madrid short at the back , with a makeshift defense. This was not helped by Pepe's fued with Mourinho , that made sure Pepe did not even make the bench. Real Madrid conceded an easily preventable goal from a setpiece and their poor finishing let them down in the final third. These problems basically sum up the problems that plagued Mourinho this season and he failed to rectify. Mourinho's outburst saw him sent to the stands.

This is the same Mourinho who built the leanest defense in the Premier league at Chelsea.The same one who constructed the best counter-attacking side in Europe at Inter.The same guy who produced a tactical masterclass to outwit the best side in Europe in the semifinal. The same person who last season led an invinscible-looking Real Madrid to a record league points haul , only losing 2 games all season and leapfrogging an amazing Barca side to the title. Had it not been for some bad luck in a penalty shootout, they would have been Champions League finalists.

This season sent Real Madrid falling down like a jenga tower.Defensive frailty and injuries at the back, inability to defend setpieces, poor form of the strikers all contributed to a poor start. Mourinho started fueding with influential members of Real Madrid.

We've all seen good Mourinho , but this is bad Mourinho. Bad Mourinho who fueds with players and owners and match officials and pokes the assistant coach in the eye. Bad Mourinho who sent an unfamiliar midfield out to get scalped by Dortmund and Atletico.

Where did it go wrong for Mourinho this season? Mourinho has been too consistently excellent as a manager to write off this season as anything but a blip. After all , when people remember Alex Ferguson, people don't recall the time last season where he failed to get out of the CL group stages , got scalped by Athletic Bilbao and Wigan and squandered an 8 point lead to Man City to hand them the title.

I'm sure Mourinho will be a excellent manager for us. But will we see Bad Mourinho anytime soon?

Comment.

Why do you think Mourinho didn't take at Real Madrid? Are these failures his fault?

I'm sure Mourinho will be a excellent manager for us. But will we see Bad Mourinho anytime soon?

Comment.

Why do you think Mourinho didn't take at Real Madrid? Are these failures his fault?

One Direction vs. Spurs

Daniele Di Ross — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:31:05 -0000

One Direction vs. Spurs

Chelsea have no style

Daniele Di Ross — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:00:20 -0000

via blog.footballrascal.com

The always knowledgeable and insightful Michael Cox comments on the indecision that resulted in Chelsea dropping 2 points at the Bridge yesterday and how it ties in to their lack of identity.

Key quotes:

Tactical uncertainty

"Chelsea didn't have a clear strategy. They half-heartedly counter-attacked, with Ramires wasting their main opportunity on the break when he slipped over after great work from Juan Mata. They didn't defend with any certainty, particularly down the flanks. And they didn't keep the ball, killing the game, as a good possession-based side would. They did nothing. Villas-Boas had a point - what is Chelsea's style? "

On General lack of identity

" Chelsea aren't an unattractive team this season - how can they be, with the most creative player in the league, Mata, plus the silky wing play of Oscar and Hazard? Nevertheless, there's something completely lifeless, uninspiring and characterless about them - they're an expensive collection of players thrown together in the expected formation by a hastily appointed manager who has no incentive to build something for the long run. If you tried to explain Chelsea's style to a football fan recently returned from a nine-month trip to outer space, you'd struggle to explain what they actually do.

...It's not entirely Benitez's fault, but it's astonishing how the current Chelsea side can have so many individual talents yet be so utterly bland."

""You ain't got no history" is a common chant from opposition fans at Stamford Bridge. It's untrue - Chelsea have a perfectly fascinating history. They just don't have an identity. "

The solution

The sacking of Di Matteo was a new low for Chelsea - and it's inevitable that the popular choice for Chelsea's next manager is Mourinho, another club legend. ..Chelsea fans simply want someone who feels as if he belongs at Chelsea, and helpfully Mourinho, rather lamely for a once fearsome manager, wants to be 'somewhere where he's loved'.

The last line struck a chord with me. Its probably why Chelsea fans will still have a bad taste of Benitez in their mouth, even if we ignore his tactical "Ra-fails". I want someone in the dugout who loves the club and loves being here. Rafa is a mercenary looking to pad his resume with a trophy before he moves on. It isn't his faulr that he at the helm though. It's the actions of a disconnected owner.

I can't wait for Mourinho to return and give this team the identity it needs. The tactical identity , the stylistic identity and the team spirit that we've lacked since Di Matteo left.

Up the Blues!

via blog.footballrascal.com

The always knowledgeable and insightful Michael Cox comments on the indecision that resulted in Chelsea dropping 2 points at the Bridge yesterday and how it ties in to their lack of identity.

Key quotes:

Tactical uncertainty

"Chelsea didn't have a clear strategy. They half-heartedly counter-attacked, with Ramires wasting their main opportunity on the break when he slipped over after great work from Juan Mata. They didn't defend with any certainty, particularly down the flanks. And they didn't keep the ball, killing the game, as a good possession-based side would. They did nothing. Villas-Boas had a point - what is Chelsea's style? "

On General lack of identity

" Chelsea aren't an unattractive team this season - how can they be, with the most creative player in the league, Mata, plus the silky wing play of Oscar and Hazard? Nevertheless, there's something completely lifeless, uninspiring and characterless about them - they're an expensive collection of players thrown together in the expected formation by a hastily appointed manager who has no incentive to build something for the long run. If you tried to explain Chelsea's style to a football fan recently returned from a nine-month trip to outer space, you'd struggle to explain what they actually do.

...It's not entirely Benitez's fault, but it's astonishing how the current Chelsea side can have so many individual talents yet be so utterly bland."

""You ain't got no history" is a common chant from opposition fans at Stamford Bridge. It's untrue - Chelsea have a perfectly fascinating history. They just don't have an identity. "

The solution

The sacking of Di Matteo was a new low for Chelsea - and it's inevitable that the popular choice for Chelsea's next manager is Mourinho, another club legend. ..Chelsea fans simply want someone who feels as if he belongs at Chelsea, and helpfully Mourinho, rather lamely for a once fearsome manager, wants to be 'somewhere where he's loved'.

I can't wait for Mourinho to return and give this team the identity it needs. The tactical identity , the stylistic identity and the team spirit that we've lacked since Di Matteo left.

Up the Blues!

Chelsea Pinball (Torres nails the finish!)

Daniele Di Ross — Thu, 02 May 2013 02:54:26 -0000

A new samsung advert.

Branislav Ivanovic Photoshops

Daniele Di Ross — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:04:49 -0000

Branislav Ivanovic Photoshops

In the Guardian's weekly gallery contest , users submit humourous photoshops of footballers with captions. This one deals with that time he was bitten by Suarez.
Which is your favourite?

Brow-singwa strikes again!

Daniele Di Ross — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:09:26 -0000

Brow-singwa strikes again!

A QPR fan upset at going down takes a look at the disappointments of the past season. Jose Bosingwa earns an entire paragraph of criticism in his review

Home field advantage and refereeing bias

Daniele Di Ross — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:11:09 -0000

Home field advantage and refereeing bias

The guardian studies the effects of home field advantage on refereeing decisions.

Chelsea game featured in Iron Man 3!

Daniele Di Ross — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:22:58 -0000

Unfortunately they chose our hilarious capitulation in the 4-1 loss to Liverpool.

#unlikelyfootballbooks Lets have some fun

Daniele Di Ross — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:40:44 -0000

This is a thing on twitter

Search the tag

#unlikelyfootballbooks

Hat tip to cartilagefreecaptain

http://www.cartilagefreecaptain.com/2013/4/17/4235614/wednesday-football-open-thread#

My favorites :

"Bros before hoes: The Ryan Giggs ethos"

and

"The Beautiful Game" by Tony Pulis

"Other Footballers: I don't really have an opinion" by Pele

“Stopping the Revolving Door: Retaining Your Employees and Building Trust the Roman Abramovic Way”

"Once A Gunner, Always A Gunner"

Fabregas, C., Van Persie, R., Nasri, S., Henry, T., Song, A. (2013) Emirates Publishing Ltd.

Some original ones from me

"On the Road to Success: The Peter Odemwegie Journey"

"The Mediterranean diet"- by Rafa Benitez

"How to win friends and galvanize your fan support"- by Rafa Benitez

This is a thing on twitter

Search the tag

#unlikelyfootballbooks

Hat tip to cartilagefreecaptain

http://www.cartilagefreecaptain.com/2013/4/17/4235614/wednesday-football-open-thread#

My favorites :

"Bros before hoes: The Ryan Giggs ethos"

and

"The Beautiful Game" by Tony Pulis

"Other Footballers: I don't really have an opinion" by Pele

“Stopping the Revolving Door: Retaining Your Employees and Building Trust the Roman Abramovic Way”

"Once A Gunner, Always A Gunner"

Fabregas, C., Van Persie, R., Nasri, S., Henry, T., Song, A. (2013) Emirates Publishing Ltd.

Some original ones from me

"On the Road to Success: The Peter Odemwegie Journey"

"The Mediterranean diet"- by Rafa Benitez

"How to win friends and galvanize your fan support"- by Rafa Benitez

David Luiz , Future Chelsea Captain

Daniele Di Ross — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:34:04 -0000

David Luiz , Future Chelsea Captain

John Terry extols the leadership ability and talent of David Luiz

Didier Drogba: Leading from the front

Daniele Di Ross — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:34:18 -0000

Didier Drogba: Leading from the front

A description of what we're missing since the main man , Didier Drogba left.
(Also a glimpse back into the days when Florent Malouda was good and not in exile.)

Rafa Benitez's instructions on defending corners

Daniele Di Ross — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 05:53:29 -0000

Rafa Benitez's instructions on defending corners

FSW's instructions on how to defend corners in the CWC final have leaked

Who needs Messi? We have Kalou!

Daniele Di Ross — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:14:57 -0000

Who needs Messi? We have Kalou!

Mikel better than Romeu?

Daniele Di Ross — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:36:30 -0000

Mikel better than Romeu?

An article comparing Mikel and Romeu's stats and their value to the team

Makalele was Mikel'd

Daniele Di Ross — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:39:07 -0000

I'm sure everyone remembered how a promising Nigerian CAM named Mikel was converted to a CDM in a very puzzling
move by Mourinho, and has played there ever since. But listen to the story of Makalele , the greatest ever CDM.

however at Celta Vigo (before he went to Real) Makalele was used as an attacking midfielder, or sometimes as a left winger. I remember him having reasonable dribbling ability and good vision for picking through balls and crosses. I fully expected him to play left wing for Real when he signed, but with Zidane nominally occupying that role in the galactico era, he became the deep lying midfielder, where his reading of the game that had previously been used to slide passes in between defenders was now utilised to cut out opposition moves.

http://defensiveminded.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/makelele-no-longer-playing-the-%E2%80%9Cmakelele-role%E2%80%9D/

from the comments.

however at Celta Vigo (before he went to Real) Makalele was used as an attacking midfielder, or sometimes as a left winger. I remember him having reasonable dribbling ability and good vision for picking through balls and crosses. I fully expected him to play left wing for Real when he signed, but with Zidane nominally occupying that role in the galactico era, he became the deep lying midfielder, where his reading of the game that had previously been used to slide passes in between defenders was now utilised to cut out opposition moves.

http://defensiveminded.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/makelele-no-longer-playing-the-%E2%80%9Cmakelele-role%E2%80%9D/

from the comments.

Eden Hazard song from Busta (in French)

Daniele Di Ross — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 05:01:53 -0000

Eden Hazard song from Busta (in French)

The most obvious predictions for next season

Daniele Di Ross — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 18:17:51 -0000

Someone else has started a thread for highly speculative predictions for Chelsea next season. I'm now going to start a post for the most obvious predictions for next season.

0)The Juan Mata-Torres bromance continues

1) Hazard and Marin do lots of dribbles

2)Hazard nutmegs many defenders (he has said the nutmeg is his favorite move)

3)Malouda misses his Ivorian friends (Malouda has said he considers the Ivory Coast his second country and all his best friends in France and England were all Ivorian). The only francophone players left are Kakuta and Hazard if Lukaku is loaned out.

4)More Brazilian bromances form

http://fuckyeahchelseafootballclub.tumblr.com/post/21848924608/lucas-piazon-david-luiz-ramires

5) hazard his difficulty adjusting from the french league but still puts up decent numbers. ( Has any forward from the French League ever made the transition to the EPL smoothly? Drogba/Malouda all took a season to adapt to the EPL. Gervinho, Lille's right winger who outscored Hazard in Ligue 1 and who Hazard has said he learned much from struggled quite a bit.)

Outside Chelsea

1)Messi learns to take penalties.

Messi steps up his game every year. Last year he added set-pieces to his repertoire. He won't be missing any more penalties.

2)Messi and Ronaldo score lots of goals.Pepe fouls lots of guys.

Someone else has started a thread for highly speculative predictions for Chelsea next season. I'm now going to start a post for the most obvious predictions for next season.

0)The Juan Mata-Torres bromance continues

1) Hazard and Marin do lots of dribbles

2)Hazard nutmegs many defenders (he has said the nutmeg is his favorite move)

4)More Brazilian bromances form

http://fuckyeahchelseafootballclub.tumblr.com/post/21848924608/lucas-piazon-david-luiz-ramires

Outside Chelsea

1)Messi learns to take penalties.

Messi steps up his game every year. Last year he added set-pieces to his repertoire. He won't be missing any more penalties.

2)Messi and Ronaldo score lots of goals.Pepe fouls lots of guys.

Could we win the Champions league again with our current crop of players?

Daniele Di Ross — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:11:24 -0000

We've lost a lot and I feel we have not improved. Drogba , Kalou and Malouda are probably our biggest losses.

Think about our ties against Barcelona and Bayern.

Drogba was essential in the Barcelona game and did create space for the wingers against Bayern where he took up the attention of their CB's (Kalou actually had a shot on target that Neuer saved). For all their faults, Kalou and Malouda we defensively responsible wingers who would track back to deal with attacks on the flank , something which none of our current wingers (Mata, Marin, Hazard) but Ramires have. They were essential in taking care of Bayern at the flanks.

We will probably have to face one of Barcelona , Real Madrid or Bayern again very soon.

When we faced Barcelona injuries to their back line (Pique, Puyol just recovering from injury, Abidal) and their front (David Villa, who would have provided some kind of width to Barca's attack and finished off the chances that Barca squandered and Pique, who can act as a sort of target man when teams park the bus) weakened them greatly. Could Chelsea beat a full strength Barca? What could we do without our Target man Drogba up front? How do we park the bus with wingers that can't defend?

We've lost a lot and I feel we have not improved. Drogba , Kalou and Malouda are probably our biggest losses.

Think about our ties against Barcelona and Bayern.

We will probably have to face one of Barcelona , Real Madrid or Bayern again very soon.

The race for Gylfi Sigurdsson, the poor man's Eden Hazard

Daniele Di Ross — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:28:01 -0000

Liverpool ,Swansea and Tottenham are in the race for Icelandic Gylfi Sigurdsson.The chase is highly reminiscent of the Eden Hazard chase even though his transfer fee is only 8m. He plays as a number 10 and is ready to leave the Bundesliga for the EPL.Liverpool is claiming his wage demands are too high. Gylfi has said that he has made his decision and is teasing everyone on twitter. Will he sign for the Carling cup Champions of 2008 or 2012?