Jose - Chelsea not fit for reds

[Montse]

Jose: We won't be fit for Reds

By James Pearson - Created on 18 Jul 2006

 

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has conceded the Premiership champions are likely to be below strength for the opening stages of the new season.

 

With a number of The Blues' stars going all the way to the latter stages in the World Cup this summer they will not be fit and ready for the Community Shield after taking a break from the game.

 

William Gallas and Claude Makelele both played in France's World Cup final loss to Italy while Ricardo Carvalho and Paolo Ferreira helped Portugal to the semi-finals.

 

Mourinho saw Manchester United field a near full-strength side in their 4-0 win over Orlando Pirates, with only the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo absent.

 

Chelsea kick-off their season against Liverpool in the Community Shield on August 13 and Mourinho will not have a full strength squad for the game, nor their Premiership opener against Manchester City a week later.

 

"Manchester United played in South Africa with a first eleven, we cannot do this," Mourinho told Chelsea TV.

 

"I believe our first part of the season will be quite difficult. For example, when we play the Community, Liverpool have already played Champions League matches and have been training for a month.

 

"When we play Manchester City in the first game it'll be a very similar situation so I think we won't start in the full position.

 

"We have a lot of quality and I believe everyone will be back fit with a lot of enthusiasm, but the reality is we have to play with half the team for the first game in the States.

 

"Some of them will not be ready to play in the Community. It's a competition and it's a cup we enjoyed winning last season and of course we want to win this time around as well, but I'll look at it in a different way."

 

Sly sports

 

I think its fair to say neither team will be firing on all cylinders but if he wants to be the so called underdog, so be it, doubt Rafa and the boys will believe a word of it!

[Guest Jack Bauer]

Getting his excuses in.

[ManOfSteel]

He's scared.

[Extraordinary Swindle]

Sign more Johnny Foreigners!

[kacangpool]

He's scared.

 

A dossier on us is out already ... and in the pre-season.

[Guest Sabre]

Mind games

[Stevie H]

bless 'im.

[jimmylibel]

Don't know how he coped all summer, not having the oxygen of publicity, must be dying to say something controversial and get his mug back in the papers.

[Cooldude]

He now has an excuse if he loses and can brag how he beat us with his reserve team if he wins

[Swipe]

Don't know how he coped all summer, not having the oxygen of publicity, must be dying to say something controversial and get his mug back in the papers.

 

Seems to be in a lot of them today - cos he's got a new haircut.

 

Top drawer news.

[Guest Les Howard]

Quite frankly, I couldn't give a flying one what Mourinho says.

 

He knows we're probably the only team that doesn't fear them.

[Gilps]

Funny thing was in the press conference yesterday, no one had mentioned his hair (well ahy would you?) until he said near the end "Are you not going to ask me about my haircut?" He wanted the opportunity to say its short because he's "going to war" apparently. Not at all vain or self obsessed.

[ManOfSteel]

We should play our kids.

 

Yeah okay, maybe it's throwing them into the deep end too soon and could be harmful to their confidence. However the damage done to Mourinho's ego will be huge. Good practice too.

[Swipe]

Funny thing was in the press conference yesterday, no one had mentioned his hair (well ahy would you?) until he said near the end "Are you not going to ask me about my haircut?" He wanted the opportunity to say its short because he's "going to war" apparently. Not at all vain or self obsessed.

 

One paper - not sure what it was, and i apologisie if it's THAT rag - was shown on breakfast today and not only was it replete with pics of his new ultra radical haircut, but it also - quite brilliantly - had mock ups of what Ferguson, Benitez and Wenger would look like, if they too sported a shaved head.

 

Journalism at it's best.

[Montse]

 

[The Hitman]

MIIIIIIIIND GAMES

[cymrococh]

Funny thing was in the press conference yesterday, no one had mentioned his hair (well ahy would you?) until he said near the end "Are you not going to ask me about my haircut?" He wanted the opportunity to say its short because he's "going to war" apparently. Not at all vain or self obsessed.

Send him to Fallujah then.

[fyds]

Send him to Fallujah then.

Bootle would be sufficient.

[Bald Devil]

Funny thing was in the press conference yesterday, no one had mentioned his hair (well ahy would you?) until he said near the end "Are you not going to ask me about my haircut?" He wanted the opportunity to say its short because he's "going to war" apparently. Not at all vain or self obsessed.

 

God I've missed you Jose. Welcome back and keep it up.

[smithdown]

He looks like a bag'ed that sits in the park on Shaw St all day.

 

"Eyy laaaad. Gorra ciggy there laaaad?"

[Armin_Tamzarian]

Funny thing was in the press conference yesterday, no one had mentioned his hair (well ahy would you?) until he said near the end "Are you not going to ask me about my haircut?"

 

In a perfect world every journalist en masse would've replied, 'Of course not Jose, it's got feck all to do with football' and left him to it. By ignoring him he could be forced into more and more ludicrous behaviour:

 

'Are you not going to ask me about my clown nose? It is because we laugh at our rivals attempts to say we bought success'

 

'Are you not going to ask me about the bondage gear? The G14 are trying to tie us up to prevent us winning the CL this is why we failed'

 

'Are you not going to ask me about the penguin costume? It is because we are ice cool under pressure' etc...

[Guest Jack Bauer]

He looks like a bag'ed that sits in the park on Shaw St all day.

 

"Eyy laaaad. Gorra ciggy there laaaad?"

 

lol

[Ginu]

Rafa's response: "A table leg may break and need repair, but you have more possibilities when you have 4 ready made replacements"

[Case]

It was the Mirror. It accompanied a crap article with Fergie saying that Van Nosebagelroy and Shevchenko are the same age therefore VN is worth £35m quid.

 

In other news ... Ferguson and my Uncle Dan are the same age. Does that make Danny a Brandy swigging, bitter, twisted, cross-eyed Gorbal smelling Gobschoute with a phglem swallowing problem?

 

If so, fair play.

[Guest Anders Honoré]

Funny thing was in the press conference yesterday, no one had mentioned his hair (well ahy would you?) until he said near the end "Are you not going to ask me about my haircut?" He wanted the opportunity to say its short because he's "going to war" apparently. Not at all vain or self obsessed.

 

pathetic.