Jose Mourinho: It's never the same when you go back

Never go back, it will simply not be the same.

This is a line which finds resonance in various moments in life, the bar that was awesome 3 years ago, the city you loved as a child and more pertinently to a football manager who once made you the toast of the world.

Kenny Dalglish found it out the hard way as did Kevin Keegan and unless something drastic happens it could well be the turn of Jose Mourinho to suffer a similar fate.

The timing of this rant could be debated, yes Chelsea have just suffered a loss which at the start of a tough Premier League season could be just a small hiccup, but it’s the questions that it has thrown up which are interesting to note.

The happy one; an anomaly of a title if there ever was one. Jose is one for conspiracy theories right, so here’s mine. When was the last time Jose Mourinho actually happy? Through his time in England, Italy and Spain, he has often cut a frustrated figure a man whose off field antics have been in the news as much as his on field prowess.

So how was this second coming going to pan out. The early indications seemed a little too good to be true. A quieter, more humble Jose, a man looking to build a team rather than buy one. In fact, the best part of his opening salvo with the press was when he likened himself to Sir Alex, even going on to say that he was looking to become the senior statesman now that Ferguson is gone (a little dig at Arsene maybe).

Leopards don’t change spots however and as the summer has evolved, the true Mourinho has shown up. Let’s start with his alienation of Juan Mata. A banana skin if ever there was one, it’s pretty evident that Jose doesn’t fancy him, but how does one get rid of the club’s best player over the last two years. You start by giving his preferred position to the younger Oscar. Now I do love Oscar and think that the number 10 position is where he is at his best, but just the theory of deposing Mata seems ludicrous at the moment.

Oscar tends to drift in and out of games while Mata has been a picture of consistency throughout his two seasons at the club. Essentially someone who has been such a vital cog to our team deserves more respect than he is being shown right now.

Moving on. How will Jose play with this young, dynamic and technically gifted team as opposed to his older teams which were built on ruthless efficiency and power? The answer – he won’t, he will replicate the exact same model of play he has employed everywhere he has coached. Fast paced, counter-attacking football is fine, no issues with defensive discipline as well augurs well for a team. The issue is what’s the best form of football with the likes of Mata, Oscar , Hazard, De Bruyne and Schurrle in the team, surely you would be better passing the ball around, use possession and look to attack rather than curtail their natural instincts and always try and hit teams on the counter.

Do it against Bayern but surely not against Everton and Aston Villa. He can blame the team all he wants about the aura that they lack from the 2004 team, but he needs to understand that the league has also changed from back then as now 6-7 teams are genuine contenders for the title and mid table teams have gotten wiser, sharper and ballsier. Swansea City will come at you if they are 1-0 down, Stoke will do the same and Everton can take you to the cleaners on their day. Auras are a thing of the past. Just ask Liverpool and Arsenal, you can’t live on the weight of history any more.

One just gets the feeling that Jose needs to learn a newer way of playing because I shudder to think what the aforementioned teams could do to Chelsea when we play against them.

Vanity is likely to hit us in the back side a sixth 35 million attacking midfielder in a team which has five was not needed, Lukaku over Eto’o any day and maybe if you really mean to play Van Ginkel then give him his chance now.

Cynical I may be, but this is weeks of built up frustration on reflection that maybe we let the right coach go away to Naples.