Thegoalmac has learned that according to former Blues star Graeme
Le Saux, Jose Mourinho must let his Chelsea players
off the leash if they are to successfully establish themselves as the
entertainers of English football.
Hehe, I think Jose doesn't have such mentality, he only wants the best for the team, which is to him to always win matches. Playing in a very expansive way isn't his thing, this season they have done better than a normal Mourinho's team, but I'm very curious to see how they will play when they meet the likes of Real Madrid, Barca and Bayern, if he will play so attacking or revert to typical Mourinho's stlye, time will tell. Read what Le Saux said and tell us what you think?
Chelsea have scored more goals (36) than any other team in
the top flight, with Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Cesc Fabregas
accounting for 22 between them and combining to produce some of the most
flowing and creative football of the Roman Abramovich era.
In
typical Mourinho fashion Chelsea have also been supreme front-runners –
winning nine and drawing two of the 11 Premier League matches that they
have led at half-time this season and tasting defeat just once in 24
games in all competitions. No-one has conceded fewer than their 13
goals.
But while he believes that their approach could well yield
trophies, Le Saux – who played alongside Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di
Matteo and Gus Poyet in a team regarded by many as the most thrilling in
Chelsea's history – believes that Mourinho might have to shed his
pragmatic instincts if his team are to follow suit and capture the
hearts and minds of neutrals.
"They've certainly got a huge
amount of creativity and, if you look at the freedom the creative
players have - whether it's Hazard, Willian, Costa is a fantastic player
as well and there are countless others you can name - they are a hugely
entertaining team to watch," Le Saux told reporters.
"I
watch a lot of football because I work for NBC and, being objective, I
enjoy watching Chelsea play because they offer a huge amount of flair.
"If
there's any criticism of the team and the way they perform, it's that
point in a game where Jose decides he's going to close the game up and
they're very good at doing that as well.
"As someone watching
it, you think 'you're 2-0 up, go on and get another couple' but he's
very good at closing a game up as well.
"Our team were very
exciting because you never quite knew what you were going to get! We
could be 2-0 up in a game and lose 3-2 like we did against Arsenal and
be quite frustrating because we were always trying to score another
goal.
"We took teams apart when we played well and scored a lot
of goals. We weren't as consistent as Mourinho's teams and weren't able
to win the league but we had a phenomenal ability to play good, open and
entertaining football."
Chelsea take on Derby County in the
League Cup quarter-finals at the iPro Stadium on Tuesday and Mourinho
appears set to name a strong team as he aims to win the competition that
provided his first piece of English silverware in February 2005.
The
Portuguese credited that triumph with giving his first great Blues side
the belief to go on and end the club's 50-year wait for a league title
and Le Saux agrees that League Cup success could achieve a similar
purpose with the current burgeoning crop at Stamford Bridge.
"Creating
that winning mentality is vital for a coach and momentum through the
season is crucial when you're a team like Chelsea," he added.
"Whichever
teams get through to the semis will feel they're on the verge of
creating a huge amount of positive energy for their players and Chelsea
aren't any different.
"Getting a trophy under your belt in March is something I think can spur a team on through Easter and to the end of the season."
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