Mourinho is back.
The 'Special One' finally has returned to the country that turned him from coaching prodigy into bona fide celebrity, confirming one of the worst kept secrets in the history of sport. However, far from the glittering reunion that most English pundits had in mind when the Portugese coach first expressed his wish to come back to the rainy island, a more accurate description would be 'exile from Madrid'. Due to the manner of his Spanish tenure Mourinho has lost some of the spark, some of the mystique that made him such an attractive option for Florentino Perez and his Champions League craving cohort. The chaos that the press-happy coach brought with him from club to club was acceptable as long as the players were happy and the trophies kept coming but when one - or as the case was in Madrid - both dry up, the futility of the inherent tension the former Inter tactician creates becomes more apparent.
However, he should have no problem at Chelsea. A club that in recent history has had more bitter spats and shady politics than several episodes of Game Of Thrones, Mou should quickly find his feet again in a country that not only accepts off-the field madness, but encourages them. Add in the fact he has bunch of players that are used to more staff inconsistencies than most others, and it's a match made in tabloid heaven.
That said, there are a few issues that Jose' is going to have to address if he is to turn the Stamford Bridge outfit into the stingy, relentless, winning machines that they were when he left in 2007.
1) Sort out the defence
Far from the backline that leaked just 15 goals on it's way to a Premier League title - the Londoners shipped 39 in domestic competition thanks to a rolling back line that was often fraught with errors. David Luiz, while fantastic with the ball at his feet tends to have the positional sense of a a drunken moth, and the John Terry/Gary Cahill/Bratislav Ivanovic combination doesn't quite have the same bulletproof sheen that 2004 era Terry-Carvalho had. Jose' knows more than most that a winning team is built from the back, and he'd do well to address that immediately upon his arrival in London.
2) Finally (for real this time) phase out the veterans
If Jose' Mourinho is going to have the "happy and successful time" at Chelsea he must do what no manager has done yet; finally move on from the old heads. John Terry, Frank Lampard and to a lesser extent, Ashley Cole - are almost part of the furniture at Stamford Bridge and between them have conspired to make several manager's lives difficult in attempting to rebuild and move on from them. Mourinho must summon all of his personal skills to slowly edge away from the players he once used as a title winning foundation nearly ten years go. If he can't - Chelsea will continue to suffer from a stagnant flux that comes with relying on players whose legs can't do what their egos demand of them. If anyone can do it, it's Mourinho.
3) Fernando Torres
Hanging over Chelsea like a cloud - Fernando Torres is the Spanish Elephant in the room at Stamford Bridge. The £50m man was heralded as the replacement for Didier Drogba - but form, confidence and pressure have combined to ensure that the latter half of Il Nino's Premier League career will be remembered as a montage of frustrating nearly moments. There have been times when Torres has been "back" but in truth, the 'real' Torres is confined to Youtube. Chelsea, it seems, are deciding to bring another striker as their #1 guy and Torres will once again play second fiddle unless Mourinho decides otherwise. Jose' will have to make a decision whether to gamble on the confidence of the once dominating Spaniard or place his trust elsewhere.
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