My name is Jose Mourinho, and I'm not Special (at the moment)

.....The words that Jose Mourinho needs to utter to himself, the reality he has to face in order to change himself and the fortunes of his team. Such a recalibration of self-image won't be easy for a man who frequently embroiders his press conferences with 'I' and 'My' and references to his past achievements. He is a winner, not a loser and as such won't take easily to his new role, one that has to feature a cold-eyed acceptance that his magic, such as it is, has been diluted. 

Mourinho is an egomaniac - not unlike many successful people - but he has an edge of narcissism that makes it difficult for him to see the success of his teams through any prism but his own greatness. When his club wins, "I" win. So when things are not as they should be, Jose takes it personally, as an affront to him, an insult, he is embarrassed. He'll take it out on players, make grand gestures by dropping his best, and he'll search for outside influences - excuses - for his difficulties. He spent much of last season blaming the fans, too. I have never really bought into this idea that Jose is playing mind games with his antics, protecting his players and taking pressure off them. I just think he means all of it: the persecution complex, the battles with the media. 

I don't know what Jose says to the players on a daily basis and whether he is encouraging, critical, dismissive, helpful. As a Chelsea fan, it has been difficult to watch the catastrophic decline of a team who won the Premiership relatively easily just a few months ago, but it has been more bewildering to watch the public disintegration of Mourinho as he throws punches in his defence against real or imagined foes. The old theory that his methods diminish rapidly after two or three seasons is an easy one to fall back on but is nevertheless hard to dismiss entirely. My own impression is that his team have seen him crumble a little and that glimpse of weakness, tinged as it undoubtedly will be with vituperative recrimination internally, is not attracting sympathy from his players, or a sense that they want to help him. Chelsea fans have been quick to point out in recent matches that the team appear to be playing for Mourinho, but are not getting the breaks; I think they are playing for themselves, pulling together as best they can for their own sakes, yet endeavour alone is about as useful as a chocolate teapot right now.

Which suggests that if Mourinho is to revive his aura, he will either need a new set of players upon whom he can work his magic, or a new club. Unless, that is, he admits to himself that whatever it was that worked for him as he breezed triumphantly into various cities, hoovering up medals and then departing, will need tweaking if he is to build longer lasting dynasties. Part of that process is to admit he has got some things wrong, that despite some justifiable grievances with the FA and referees, nobody else is going to do it for him; there is no power above who will deliver justice. Jose Mourinho is down among the also-rans and past glories don't change that reality, which means humility, creativity, bravery to change things and, above all, acquiescence to the uncomfortable concept that his players are actually people he needs, rather than the other way around. 

Chelsea fans, who are among the quickest to want a manager dismissed and who can usually find any number of reasons why an unpopular manager is failing are supporting Mourinho, convinced, as the man himself is, that the problems don't begin with him, but are in fact the failures of the players. When Avram Grant took Chelsea to the Champions League final, it was all down to the efforts of the players, when AVB struggled, it was because he was incompetent; football fans can have it as many ways as it suits them. Mourinho's history at Chelsea buys him grace, but it may be fruitless because whilst it remains true that the club has little option right now, and must hope Jose can effect a reversal of fortunes, I just don't think he looks capable of it. We all hope that I am wrong, and, unlike Jose hitherto, I will be happy to admit it.