Don and jose
IAN TOWNSEND looks at how Chelsea’s Portuguese boss appears to be becoming more like the old Leeds manager...
Is Mourinho the new Revie?
embarked on a quest for victimhood.
In 1969, renowned sports journalist Brian Glanville earned Revie’s permanent ire by stating:“One has to admire them (Leeds) but it’s hard to like them. If they’re not as ruthless as they were, they make up for that in cynical histrionics.”
Desmond Hackett of the Daily Express added:“Leeds certainly merit the Championship awards but they do not rate any Oscars.”
Of course, Mourinho already has his own Oscar, and he tends to combine flair and histrionics in equal measure, but when you look at the statistics, charges of cynicism and gamesmanship tend to fit his team rather well.
Three players – Fabregas, Matic and Costa – sit in the top 20 of those most booked.
Total up bookings and red cards, and Chelsea are again firmly ensconced at the wrong end of the table.
Mourinho also points to the lack of penalties awarded to his side as further evidence of conspiracy, and he has a point, but in that case someone in authority must really have it in for Newcastle,West Ham, Hull and Aston Villa, yet we don’t see their managers throwing toys.
Most recently, Mourinho complained about the apparent lack of fuss made after Manchester United’s Ander Herrera apparently dived against his side, stating:“If it was a Chelsea player, in this moment on Sky it would be somebody’s crimes, cheating, the champions of the team without fair play.”
He must have been looking the other way earlier this season when Adnan Januzaj was being vilified.
Fifty years after it was first coined, the “Dirty Leeds” tag is far more quickly recalled than the brilliance of the team to which it was applied. The image of Revie, in his shabby, lucky suit and sheep-