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Jose Mourinho sacked in 10 minute meeting 'just hours after Chelsea Christmas lunch'

Mourinho said to be in sombre mood at Cobham training ground

Tom Sheen
Friday 18 December 2015 08:24 GMT
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Jose Mourinho is incensed on the sidelines as Chelsea lose again
Jose Mourinho is incensed on the sidelines as Chelsea lose again

Jose Mourinho is said to have been given news of his sacking just hours after Chelsea held their annual Christmas lunch at Cobham.

The Portuguese had earlier been in charge of a downbeat training session that left the players sensing something may be up at the club.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Mourinho was informed he was no longer wanted at the club in a meeting with chairman Bruce Buck and director Eugene Tenenbaum that lasted just 10 minutes.

By the time the news was known, the majority of the squad had already gone home for the day. No official announcement was made to members of the first-team, with word spreading via phone, text message and WhatsApp.

Mourinho stayed for two more hours at the training ground to clear his desk.

Technical director Michael Emenalo later spoke to Chelsea TV to explain the club's decision.

"Whilst there is huge sentiment for the individual who has done so much for the club, the fact of the matter remains that Chelsea Football Club is in trouble," he said. "There obviously seems to be palpable discord between manager and players, and we feel it was time to act.

"The owner is forced to make what was a very tough decision for the good of the club. Anyone who loves the club, who has any kind of affiliation to the club, can understand that this club is in trouble, and something needed to be done."

Mourinho accused his Chelsea players of 'betraying' his work after the defeat to Leicester City on Monday night, a game that left the Blues just a point above the relegation zone. He is said to have become obsessed by the notion that a member of his playing squad was leaking tactics and team selection to opponents, after an old Porto colleague informed him that his former club new of his plans to drop Cesc Fabregas for the Champions League clash.

Mourinho's bad mood this season started with the post-match season tour of Thailand and Australia, where players, including Ruben Loftus-Cheek who earned a scolding from the Portuguese, displayed a lackadaisical attitude, turning up late for team meetings and missing bus journeys.

That attitude continued on the pre-season trip to America, while it was also obvious that Diego Costa had spent the summer partying - the striker returned well over-weight.

Extra time off was given to the Chelsea players but they returned for the start of the season still feeling over-worked, while the sale of Petr Cech to Arsenal, something Mourinho was desperate to avoid, and the failure to bring in suitable reinforcements for the start of the season, such as John Stones, didn't help Mourinho's sour mood.

The lid came off in the opening day draw with Swansea City, where the Portuguese criticised club doctor Eva Carniero and physio Jon Fearn, refusing to back down and eventually getting rid of them altogether - a move that is said to have shocked and angered players and members of the board.

5 games that cost Mourinho his job

As results went from bad to worse, and the former manager continued to lash out at referees and opponents, Mourinho was unable to coax a positive reaction from his players, despite trying various methods.

Players were dropped and humiliated publicly, tactics were tweaked and private chats were had, but still the Blues continued to drop points.

The Chelsea board were also concerned with the way players sold by Chelsea were performing at other clubs. Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne have been two of the stars of the Premier League this season, while Juan Cuadrado and Mohamed Salah are both impressing in Serie A - none of those players were ever really given a chance by Mourinho, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek wasn't properly made welcome in the first-team and was said to be considering leaving the club at the end of his contract.

At the start of October Chelsea publicly backed Mourinho with the caveat that results had to improve. The Blues were 16th at the time, a position they remain in today.

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