I don't like Jose Mourinho any more

When Roman Abramovitch paid £140 million for Chelsea in 2003, probably out of petty cash, it was natural he would want one of the world's hottest coaches to guide his side to victory after victory. It was, therefore, a wise move when he appointed Jose Mourinho to the job. He had just come out of the dramatic success of leading Porto, an hitherto unregarded Portuguese side to the summit of European football. After all, he had probably bet one his Russian billionaire buddies a million bucks (or even 1 dollar; it doesn't really matter) he could be the first among his cohort to own a club that won the Champions League.

When Jose arrived on the scene he made an immediate impact. Describing himself as "The Special One" ruffled a few feathers, but I was happy to give it to him on the grounds he was probably being ironic. And as everyone loves a winner, Chelsea's winning of several Premier League titles and FA Cups hardly detracted from his claim as indeed being rather special. Sure, the most glittering prize eluded him for many years, and after what must have been a titanic clash of egos, he left Chelsea in 2008 to join Inter Milan, where he won that very title in 2010. The same year FIFA (remember them?) awarded him their coveted Ballon D'Or as best manager in Europe. Kind of special, huh?

He then went to Real and didn't do so badly there either, and finally in 2013, tempted by a pay packet doubtless in 8 figures, returned to Chelsea. But Roman had already won his bet the previous year under the leadership of Di Matteo, so it was hard to see what more Jose could do for them other than keep on bringing home the silverware, which, to be fair, he did.

But this season has seen a marked decline in the fortunes of Chelsea and the man who leads them. Languishing at a most unfamiliar 16th in the league, Jose won few friends when he attempted to countermand the wishes of his own team doctor and indeed the rules of the game itself, leading to Eva Carneiro's departure for an undisclosed sum (I do hope it was a very large sum) combined with a confidentiality clause. Let's make this clear: he thought winning was more important than the health of one of his players. That's disgraceful. And just yesterday he must have been so rude to the referee that he was exiled to the stands for the 2nd half of the match against West Ham United.

Thing is, Mourinho can now be seen as being guilty of believing his own hype. He clearly thinks he is so powerful that even Abramovitch, who can afford to lure pretty much any manager in the world to work for him, will not dare lose him. But football is all about winning, and if he doesn't start winning soon, he will be fired. Roman, the 137th richest man in the world with a  mere $9.1 billion in assets, won't even raise an eyebrow when he gives him another 8 figure severance fee and gets shot of him. Perhaps then we'll hear a little bit less about how special he is, and realize that'she's just another talented football coach who lost his way. Boo hoo.