Has Jose Mourinho been a flop so far in his return to the Bridge?

Jose Mourinho reacts after the loss against Stoke City

They say you should never go back.

But that mattered little to Chelsea fans last summer when it revealed that Jose Mourinho was returning to his football home. The newly proclaimed “Happy One” was back in the settings where he firmly established his fearsome reputation as a coach that delivers results.

The fans were happy, Mourinho was happy, the players were happy and even the owner Roman Abramovich was happy. Everyone was happy. Mourinho was gone from Chelsea and the Premier League for six years. He was missed although given that he managed two of the biggest clubs in Europe, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, he was not out of sight.

So six months in, how has the Portuguese tactician fared?

C+ would appear to be the best answer. On paper we have not done too bad – currently third in the Premier League, just five points off top spot and are through to the knock out stages of the Champions League. League wise, very little has changed. The club are one point better off than they were 12 months ago with a game less played although significantly the difference between third and first in December 2012 was 10 points.

That’s more a measure of the competitiveness that exists in the Premier League this season rather than the progress Chelsea have made and still Premier League betting odds are not so promising. In fact with not a whole lot has changed at Stamford Bridge. So far this season Chelsea have scored 30 and conceded 17 which is pretty comparable to the 28 for and 17 against at the same stage.

Under Mourinho, it is fair to say that Chelsea have not yet found their rhythm.

There has been some strong performances, Manchester City at home and the draws away to Tottenham and Manchester United.

However there has been slip ups, defeats away to Everton, Newcastle and Stoke not to mention dropped points at home to West Bromwich Albion.

The major difference from the Chelsea Mourinho inherited in 2013 and the one that he took over in 2004 is time. When Mourinho arrived in London on the back of his success with Porto, Chelsea were on an upward curve. They had money and they had a core of young players.

In Mourinho’s first game in charge of Chelsea in 2004, he oversaw a 1-0 win over Manchester United. The team that day featured a then 24-year-old John Terry, a 26-year-old Frank Lampard and a 22-year-old Petr Cech.

Fast forward nine years and the three are still key parts of the first team, the problem is they have aged and the support players have yet to live up to the hype.

John Obi Mikel is no Claude Makelele, Samuel Eto’o and Fernando Torres are proving they will not make the same impact at Stamford Bridge that Didier Drogba did.

William Gallas in those days was a better defender that Gary Cahill is now while even Eidur Gudjohnson was an established star that would give Chelsea’s vast array of attacking midfielders a run for their money.

Eden Hazard, Oscar, Andre Schurrle, Juan Mata, Kevin de Bruyne and Willian are the big name attacking midfielder that appear to have little fear factor about them at the moment.

They have their moments and they are chipping in with goals. 18 between them which is 8 more than what Torres, Eto’o and Demba Ba have managed. But at the same time teams are not afraid of them and is being proven, most recently by Stoke.

Another contrast between the Chelsea and Mourinho of past and present is that when Mourinho arrived in England the first time he was coming as a winner.

He has just won the European Cup with Porto and was a man in demand. The Mourinho of 2013 arrived trophy-less to a team that did not have the same spark about it as it did that faithful day in June. Back then, both coach and club were an unknown quantity embarking on an exciting adventure.

Now they are old hands. It was always going to be different. The good news is that despite not yet hitting top speed, Chelsea are in contention and could still bring home the title. Much will depend on how Mourinho handles the January transfer window. A striker would appear the priority.

The misfiring trio of Eto’o, Torres and Ba have been a source of ire for Mourinho and it is very likely that a new striker will make his way to Stamford Bridge next month.

One potential solution, Romelu Lukaku, was shipped off to Everton and given his performances to date Mourinho would not doubt love to have the Belgian in his squad. Next season would appear his time to shine in the blue of Chelsea.

A defender would also appear to be a priority with Cahill and Terry despite some strong individual performances not consistent as a pairing. Mourinho does have the option to move Branislav Ivanovic into the middle and play Cesar Azpilicueta at right back but it is one that is being ignored for now.

Everything else is likely to stay the same, until next summer and that’s when Mourinho’s job really starts.