The Sports Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog, comes as Chelsea head to Roots Hall, Southend, in a potential banana-skin FA Cup replay.
Football: Chelsea - Life After Jose
Its the third round FA Cup replay at Roots Hall. Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, has dropped Didier Drogba from the squad. This after a disappointing defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday.
With persistent rumours of dressing room unrest, things are clearly not well at Stamford Bridge. The problem for Scolari, as it was for Avram Grant before him, is the lingering influence of Jose Mourinho. Mourinho made an indelible impression on the football club. He showed players, how to become winners and champions.
When he left, and Avram Grant took over, Mourinho's influence lived on in the Chelsea players. They looked to maintain the standards set under Mourinho, through self-leadership. And it got them to the Champions League Final. However, the arrival of Scolari appears to have diluted Mourinho's work, to the extent, that Chelsea now look like just another Premiership team.
They no longer carry the authority of winners and champions. Mourinho's leaders, such as Terry, Lampard and Drogba, appear to be losing the will to carry the torch.
For Scolari to succeed at Chelsea, then the best thing he can do, is to try to create a team in his own image. It will mean dispensing with the players, who thrived under the Special One's tutelage. And it will take time.
For Chelsea, things may never be the same again. The day Jose Mourinho left Stamford Bridge, closed a significant chapter in the clubs history. One that can never be repeated.
