Mourinho’s shock
Fair play to Jose Mourinho. It turns out he does a decent line in climb downs after all.
The Portuguese coach was not without justification when he said a couple of weeks ago that the atmosphere at Chelsea is not what it used to be.
Neither are the prices they charge, either.
Somebody must have reminded him that he and his players are kept in the manner to which they have become accustomed partly because of the hefty fees they charge at the gate.
That should afford the paying punter the right to express their views as they see fit.
“I don’t want to speak again about it, for good and for bad, because they pay me to coach,” Mourinho said of the noise or otherwise at Stamford Bridge in the 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
"They pay me to win matches, they don't pay me to be critical of the crowd so I feel sorry for my comments a couple of weeks ago. But the reality is there today, the difference was amazing."
Predictable tunes
The default setting of managers under pressure in the Premier League seems to be to deny they are arrogant. Forget the shocking results – I am not a bad person, they plead.
When Alan Pardew saved his job as Newcastle United manager last month, he protested that lots of people say he is arrogant, but really he is just proud to be in charge of such an esteemed club. Now Brendan Rodgers is in similar straits with Liverpool, he is humming the same tune.
"I'm not arrogant enough to think I am safe from anything," he said after his men were humbled at Crystal Palace.
Meanwhile, his counterpart on Sunday suggested his effervescent side, who enjoyed one of their finest days, “played like a Neil Warnock side” for once. Which presumably means brilliant.
So the evidence suggests that on a good day, it is all me, me, me with them. But when it goes wrong, they are not arrogant, OK.
10-men, 1-2 Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur have had their problems this season, but they have one distinct feature going for them. They must be the best team in the country at playing away from home against 10 men.
Which is not much to dine out on, granted. Or base a season on. But at least it has served them well in an otherwise torrid recent past.
Much like at Villa Park, when they bridged a one-goal deficit late in the game after Christian Benteke was sent off, this one was meek.
Gaston Ramirez’s dismissal was of the “maybe, yes by the letter of the law, but still” variety. Again, his departure predicated a gradual collapse by Hull City against a Spurs side who are grateful for all the help they can get.
pradley@thenational.ae
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