Is Jose Mourinho’s Time Running Out At Chelsea?

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Sreya

Jose Mourinho and Chelsea FC appear to be embroiled in a deep crisis as the Blues fell to yet another loss against West Ham United in the local derby last night. West Ham United ran out 2-1 winners at Upton Park, but the result hardly reflected the dramatic scenes on pitch.

Nemanja Matic was sent off after he saw two yellow cards in quick succession towards the end of the first half. Chelsea were already a goal down when their midfield anchor had to leave the pitch. Things were not going really well for the defending champions at that point as they were already one goal down. Diego Costa and Eden Hazard were particularly underwhelming through out the game. With the exception of Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta, every other Chelsea outfield player has faced similar problems this season.

The matters took a turn for worse when Jose Mourinho himself was sent to the stands at half-time for a dispute with the referee. This disciplinary action has arrived days after Mourinho was charged by FA and already had a stadium ban (suspended for now) handed out to him.

The defeat yesterday was their fifth in the Premier League already this season and leaves Chelsea in 15th position on the league standings, having conceded 19 goals. In all competitions, Chelsea have just won once in the last six matches.

According to The ESPN, Chelsea will face two FA charges: One for amassing seven cautions at Upton Park and another for refusing to fulfil their media obligations after nobody – Mourinho or otherwise – from the club showed up for the post-game press conference.

Chelsea are in a dire crisis, a fact everyone from players to fans to the board will accept. However, the blame does not lie solely on Jose Mourinho’s shoulders as the board failed to achieve the necessary targets in summer. Roman Abramovich and Maria Granovskaia have also publicly backed Mourinho a few weeks ago and Chelsea’s on-pitch performance have considerably improved from that point, in spite of the results indicating otherwise.

The fact that Jose Mourinho signed a new four-year contract this summer worth up to £30m, a hefty sum considering the club’s inclination to cut down on unnecessary expenditure, has helped the Portuguese retain his job so far. Also, the unavailability of quality managers in the middle of the season, Mourinho’s track record and the club’s new philosophy of attaining stability would mean Jose Mourinho might be given a few more weeks to turn things around.