As at the 17th of December 2015, Chelsea FC was in 16th position in the league and 3 points adrift relegation places.
I guess it wasn't that surprising that Jose Mourinho, Chelsea manager at the time got the sack.
Also the fact that Chelsea comfortably won the 14/15 league season left so many football pundits /fans wondering 'how the mighty have fallen'.
The link below confirmed that Mourinho was sacked due to palpable discord with his players -
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/17/jose-mourinho-chelsea-michael-emenalo-palpable-tensions
But how did he loose it?
It started with the first game of the season against Swansea FC when he had a burst up with Eva Carneiro - Chelsea's club doctor .
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-boss-jose-mourinho-in-the-clear-over-bust-up-with-eva-carneiro-after-complaint-to-fa-a2950546.html
A lot happened afterwards like games lost , FA fines and Stadium bans which simply didn't help his situation. Another big issue for me is that his squad selection became questionable - against Southampton for example where Matic was subbed on and then off within a matter of minutes and a lot more.
So Mourinho gone and Hiddink appointed to take over till the end of the 2015/2016 season which has turned out to be a good move as Chelsea have been unbeaten in all competitions with 5 wins and 4 draws and this leads to the question ..What did Hiddink change ???
Haha..its not far fetched for me ..he didn't change much , he just included JOHN OBI MIKEL in his squad. its arguable i know because i have argued this point with so many football fans and also the fact that the media don't give the credit that he (Mikel) deserves doesn't help.
Mikel has won 11 Titles at Chelsea and has continued to show class and leadership with the team.
- Chelsea
What does he bring to the team ? Not goals without any doubt and i don't think he should be judged by that..i mean Chelsea has a lot of players that can score ... but he brought something as important and this is BALANCE in the midfield - and you wonder if Mourinho had no idea even when preferred Matic has shown a very bad form.
http://www.espnfc.co.uk/chelsea/story/2779497/guus-hiddink-jon-obi-mikel-brings-balance-to-chelsea
"Guus Hiddink insists that Jon Obi Mikel is the "ideal player" to bring balance to Chelsea's midfield after the Nigeria international shone in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace.""He played very well as he also did in the previous games," the Dutchman insisted of Mikel. "He's the ideal player in my option to bring balance to the team."If the team is not willing to defend well or have the right balance then you concede a lot of goals. I thought John Obi can be one of the key figures in getting the balance back. On top of that the talented players can then explore their qualities."He can recover the radar. He knows the game very well. He knows where the strength of the opponent is and he knows exactly how to cope with that. He has a very good eye, a very good nose, and a very good sense of where to recover."He doesn't do it in a very brutal way -- he's very, very elegant. What I like to see very much is not just a quality player but a player who can defend so smoothly. It's beautiful to see. He doesn't lose many balls, he's good in short passing. I don't expect and I don't ask him to make the decisive final pass. He can but no, we let the other players do that" ESPN UK 2016
Mikel - he is just a humble man who rather lets his game speak for him of course if he is given the chance - remember he was the runner up- player of the tournament
FIFA World Youth Championships 2005 ...Yes Mikel was that good ..i think he was better than Messi at the time ...his move to Chelsea and Premier League didn't improve his game as expected.
I cant wait to see him become Chelsea's new captain - he surely deserves it but will it happen , will he be undermined ???
We shall see ..and till then
Thank you for visiting ..RESPECT !!
