In a World of José

For weeks it's been a case of will he or won't he... Yesterday the news broke that The Special One was once again booted out the door @ Stamford Bridge and from a neutral point of view i'm gutted. Mourinho is the modern day icon. He is what the Premier League is about - The arrogance, flair, genius, outrageous, box office. Unfortunately for both him and the league he's management skills for now have come to an end. Depending what is written in his severance package it could be a hell of a long time until we see him managing back in the English top flight.

With so many clubs struggling to find their form this season it's outrageous that Chelsea felt they needed to sack arguably the greatest manager of the modern footballing era.

Ok a few results have gone a bit wrong and the league position isn't the greatest but they easily qualified for the knock out stages of the Champions League and face a winnable tie against PSG.

Have the board forgotten that winning the Champions League means your back in it the following season... It wasn't long ago Chelsea had a similar situation when they finished 6th yet won the CL.....

Now there is a slight ( i repeat slight) possibility that the board deep down were worried that Chelsea could end up getting relegated but in all fairness there is another transfer window about to open and on current form there are around 6/7 teams playing worse than Chelsea! But who's to say the new manager will turn the fortunes around this season???

Will big name players be up for a relegation scrap? Will their top transfer targets come or will the likes of Kane, Stones and co rather see out another few months at their current employers and see what unfolds in the summer?

Everyone has gone on record to say what a great leader John Terry is.. Well now the chips are down this is where the veteran defender will need to earn his keep!

We've got an interesting few months ahead of us.

Who will Chelsea have as their next manager???

Where will they finish come May???

What next for The Special One???

That was the week that was.......

Yesterday saw Stoke City go through to their first FA Cup Semi Final since 1972, the win was set up by a goal from one of the last great old fashioned surname's in football Higginbottom, I think we need more of these surnames in the Premiership, perhaps with them we'll see a return to the glory days of football? More Higginbottoms and less Da Silva's that's what I say!

Speaking of the FA Cup, the team that Stoke will face are of course Bolton Wanderers, again a great old skool name this time for a football club! You can have your fill of United's & City's but we like team's with names that finish with a Wanderers, a Rovers, a North End or even a Hotspur. Wanderers give us this romantic image of a nomadic football team arriving into town like a bunch of desperadoes looking to play and defeat the evil multi-millionaire group of mercenaries that have made life a misery for the god fearing townsfolk....or this that just me?
And a bit of FA Cup trivia? Which team has won the FA Cup fives times (more than West Ham & Manchester City) including three times secession and  now no longer exists?*

 You were of course the outstanding candidate.....CLICK HERE

The above link will take you to a letter that's been doing the rounds this past week. We've all thought of doing it, a few seasons on Championship Manager, taking our local team to the top of the Premiership, winning back to back Champions League, not seeing daylight for weeks on end! And then, a club in the real world is looking for a new manager - "I'm gonna apply that's what I'll do", well that's exactly what one bloke did when Middlesborough needed a replacement for England bound Wally with the Brolly Steve McClaren.
It's all there, the application letter plus a very sporting reply from chairman Steve Gibson. I think more of us should try this!




Recognise this ball? One used in an historic victory over England's old enemy, no not 1966 and all that, but 1915. The First World War, during their time in the trenches and to raise spirits during the final push, English soldiers came up with the bizarre idea of dribbling footballs whilst going over the top at the Battle of Loos in France. A Commander rumbled their plot and shot five balls to stop them from being used but this one survived, the soldiers dribbled and passed it as bullets and shells exploded around them. 50,000 British lives were lost during the battle, but this ball serves as a reminder of those people who gave their all during the conflict and is on display at The London Irish Rifles regimental museum in Camberwell, South London.

And Finally.........

We've heard yet again that Jose Mourinho is ready to quit Spain and head "home" to England and the Premiership. Personally I like the bloke, he's been compared to Cloughie and while that's not a fair comment he certainly was a breath of fresh air upon his arrival at Chelsea and he had no problems going toe to toe with Alex Ferguson! But could he replace him? I'm thinking that like Cloughie & England Mourinho & Man Utd wouldn't quite work together. So maybe back to his first love Chelsea or possibly with Harry Redknapp again last week advertising his availability to The FA via his newspaper column (not a Spurs supporters favourite read) how about The Special One to White Hart Lane??

Don't forget to tune in everyday on our Facebook & Twitter page for all the latest updates, news and views in the world of football!