Around two hundred press men, I canny call them 'journalists,' from all the papers, cameramen, TV and radio folks, and a handful of other hangers on, gathered today for the first media conference of Jose Mourihno on his return to Chelsea football club.
The media have been going nuts since it became clear Jose was returning to Chelsea. They love him, not because of his football success, but because he flatters them. This expert in mind games gives the hacks what they want - attention! He is always available for them, always has a story, always a 'special' word. Therefore they are always at his beck and call, always ready to support his every thought, always on his side.
However football wise is he any good? Jose has won things in England, Italy and Spain, but always leaves me thinking he would rather beat the other manager than win a football game. His mind games during press conferences, his teams constant gamesmanship, and his friends in the media leave me feeling he cares more for the surroundings rather than the game itself.
Now Alex Ferguson was good at these mind games but he clearly wanted to win football games. He was a football man through and through, I remain doubtful of Jose, have I mentioned this?
Jose has money, players and talent enough to win the English Premiership. His team contain enough experienced players to cope with any opposition in any competition. Opposing managers will not throw them off their aim. Can they play the game without resorting to the old tactics of pressurising referees, falling down at every tackle, or diving in the box like Colin Stein? We must wait and see. I remain unexcited by this mans arrival, but there again I am not writing about his arrival, am I?
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This picture does not do justice to this view, but whenever I cycle past this I am tempted to attempt to picture these trees. Had I been wealthy and owned one of those big wooden glass plate cameras Victorian photographers used then I might do this little view justice. There is just something about this small plantation of very tall trees that grab the attention. Today I attempted a picture, specifically of this broken tree. Either a storm, the hurricane of 87 perhaps or an extremely strong squirrel has broken it about sixty feet up! It lends a little something to the scene. The light falls between the trees giving it a specific ambiance which does not appear elsewhere around here, at least not where I have rambled.You see, I am back to being amiable. Possibly because I have been so busy doing lots of those things that have lain on the 'To Do' list for so long! I am just too knackered to grumble. I should of course point out that I am by nature not one to grumble generally, as I am sure most folk will have realised by now. It may be true that when there is a situation that demands a comment, judiciously indicated, I may well be the one on whom the duty of indicating the point at issue, but I always do so reluctantly! The Royal Mail manager who repeatedly, and needlessly in my view, referred to me as 'Alex Ferguson,' was just being sarcastic.Tomorrow I expect to pay for my exertions today. The hard work, (Oh yes it was!) the cycling up the old railway, the long walk, head down, through the busy streets looking for dropped coins, and the decision to eat less in an effort to halt the weight once again reaching fifteen and a half stones will catch up with me tomorrow. I expect weariness, stiffness, and possibly even a small girning as my legs give way when I fall down the stairs looking for the mail!
What is it about Jose Mourinho that fascinates Sky Sports News so much? At each and every opportunity they will present him to us as if he is a celebrity worth knowing about. We are told he wants the England job, the Manchester United job, any job as long as it is in England! That is where the money is and that is where he can make a name for himself. Jose has always known how to please the media and has them hanging on his eyelash at all times. They laugh at his jokes, love his answers to meaningless questions and fill countless hours of TV and radio and print millions of words about the man that treats them as if they were important themselves. Ah, maybe we have found out why he is once again on our screens. But in my view he is not a 'football man!' To me Jose likes to beat the other man rather than win a football match, victory is all but the 'game' is nothing! His idea of football is to use gamesmanship at all times, play for dreary one nil wins, and spend far too long selling himself on the telly. His Porto side won the 'Uefa Cup' by falling down and playing dead, stifling the game and general time wasting tactics and unsporting behaviour. All teams can use these tactics, but he appears to know no other.
( However, the sixty five million Celtic fans who were at the game did, according to the Celtic myth, behave very well and were loved by one and all!)
The Ashes.
Who cares?
