Farewell (For Now) To The Special One - 23/09/2007

In all clubs managers come and managers go, in some clubs more often than others. Jose Mourinho was a manager at Chelsea for a much shorter period of time than Arsene Wenger at Arsenal or Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Nevertheless, his impact on the game was considerable. The chief executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore, said that the departing Chelsea manager had been a huge asset for English football who had heightened interest levels in the game. What of the impact on Chelsea? The football impact remains to be seen and cannot be generalised from one defeat at Old Trafford, although clearly even before then there were problems with Chelsea's play this season. For Roman Abramovich, it had lacked excitement and sparkle for some time, even if it had brought trophies. However, football obituaries are probably premature and so are financial ones. Scenarios that Abramovich would suddenly walk away from the club are not as likely as many assume, but even if he did, Chelsea has a strong enough support base to survive and prosper. Of course, the wealth he has brought to the club has enabled it to reach new heights. Those Chelsea fans who say they would be glad to see the back of him might find the adjustment to a less luxurious diet harder than they expect. Of course, there are issues here about the wider relationship between owners and football about which we will write more.