Chelsea: Is "The Happy One" bringing happy times to Stamford Bridge?

When Mourinho came back to manage Chelsea this season, it was considered the best signing that Chelsea could have made this season and it was not even for a player! We know Chelsea have not been shy to open the purse to get top talent into the club and similarly Mourinho, wherever he has coached has not been shy in spending money either.

Mourinho has hinted that he is in for the long haul this time and frankly, an ambitious club like Chelsea are better off with a success hungry coach like Mourinho. And if he is in for a few seasons, it makes sense that he is going to do some serious shopping. But, no one can question the resources that Chelsea has its disposal this season. Agreed that the forward line is disappointing by Chelsea standards, but we have seen lesser known managers do better with even meagre resources.

After the manager troubles that Chelsea have had, it is almost considered blasphemy to say anything that isn’t in praise of the “Special One”. It is true that Mourinho has managed to keep Chelsea within range of Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League and did OK in the Champions League.

That is nothing short of a miracle considering how they have played this season and there definitely is something about how Mourinho reads teams and their strengths and weaknesses. But that being said, he has, in my opinion, got the team selection very wrong for several games now and stubbornly continues to stick with it. Mourinho is a guy with strong opinions and I get that, but here is how I read it.

Defence

Cahill is a hard worker, but isn’t world class. Luiz is world class (in my opinion), but continues to lack concentration and discipline. Terry, the crowd favourite, is getting a lot of games this season, but he has made quite a few mistakes this season. That being said, these 3 are more than enough to do the job and lets not forget Ivanovic is a centre back and a really good one at that.

As full backs go, who is the best left back Chelsea has? It’s Ashely Cole! Play him! Who is the best right back Chelsea has? It’s Azpilicueta! Play him there! Mourinho almost obstinately wants to play Azpilicueta at left back.

Since Azpilicueta cannot kill a fly with his left leg let alone kick a football, there is absolutely no width going forward on the left flank. And with Hazard already a right footed player playing on the left and cutting in, Azpilicueta is basically only a defender and adds nothing on the attacking front. And even defensively, he isn’t brilliant at that position. He is as good or as bad as Ashley Cole could be.

Now lets go to the other flank shall we, the right full back position. Ivanovic is a fighter and gives his best, no doubt. That being said, he is not the smartest or the quickest of footballers out there and doesn’t necessarily mix attack and defence too well.

Since the left flank is all but dead, most wide balls come in from the right and Ivanovic gets up front many times but his crosses are horrendous. As a comparison, take a look at the crosses that Sagna puts in and you will know the difference in quality. I have seen Azpilicueta put in a lot better crosses last season and he would continue to do so, if only Mourinho played him there!