Having endured a tumultuous few years at Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea and declared himself the 'Happy One'. However, just a mere three months into his second tenure at Stamford Bridge all appears not to be well in:
Here are seven reasons why:
Transfer dealings:
Chelsea made some substantial signings this summer - £61million worth of substantial, in fact. In the furore surrounding Manchester United's apparent lack of cohesive transfer dealings, Chelsea's own transfer wranglings were glossed over. While they signed, they didn't sign well. They bolstered an attacking midfield that already had the potential to be the best in Europe. Maybe United's transfer dealings weren't so haphazard after all.
Lukaku does of course come under the banner of transfer dealing. However, such was the size of this blunder, it deserves a line in its own right. Put simply, Lukaku scored 17 goals in 35 Premier League games last season for West Bromwich Albion, which is more than Fernando Torres and Demba Ba have scored in over 100 games (Torres 15, Ba 1) for the Blues. Only time will tell whether he is the new 'Didier Drogba' but he certainly is better than what they currently have.
Apparent distrust of Juan Mata
By most people's reckoning, Juan Mata is an exceptional player. Mourinho doesn't go by reckonings though, he is a stats man. So here are the stats: since his arrival in the summer of 2011 the 25-year-old has scored 32 goals for the club and made an assist an astonishing 57 times in all competitions. The official line is Mata's lack of game time is down to injury but there have been question marks over his position ever since Manchester United revealed that the London club had bid £10million cash plus David Luiz or Mata for Wayne Rooney. Mata is Chelsea's double player of the year and only time will tell whether he features more but, if he doesn't, expect Chelsea to struggle.
Mourinho's demeanour
A 'Special One' has an aura, as seen during his first spell in charge. 'Happy Ones' struggle to cut it. During his first reign, Mourinho's persona was defined by a spikiness that sat well with a cynical British audience. This time he is talking about 'nurturing eggs' and being 'happy'. Can we have the real Jose back please? The one that called Arsene Wenger a 'voyeur'. Mourinho's teams are known for aggressively grinding teams down – 'nurtured eggs' don't grind things down, they get beat by Basel.
Never go back
Maybe Mourinho's change in demeanour is an attempt to see off, erm, "second stint" syndrome. A new Mourinho means a completely fresh start as footballing returns never really work. Ask Kenny Dalglish. In fact, his second stint actually started well enough but then went downhill. Mourinho's has started on a downward trajectory and he – and his army of Shed End backers - will hope that it can be turned around. Alas, history suggests this not to be the case.
Betrayed love
Once betrayed, it is difficult to ever love quite like it again. Maybe this is the case with Mourinho. Maybe his time in Madrid scarred him. Maybe he can't or won't fully invest himself in a project as he once did? Who knows but it has been a rather poor start from Mourinho.
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