Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock has revealed his admiration for Chelsea manager José Mourinho before the two come head to head at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Mourinho is the Best Around
Few Premier League managers have been round the block more times than Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock. Having started his managerial career in non-league football back in the early 1980s, Warnock became the first manager to win automatic promotion to the Football League with Scarborough in 1987 and has gone on to win promotion a further six times, including twice to the Premier League.
Having been a manager for over 30 years, Warnock has seen all that there is to see in the game, and has come across some of the truly great names in football in his time, but he reportedly rates José Mourinho as the best around at the moment. Mourinho is indeed a great tactician who knows how to shuffle his team around to strike the right blows at each opponent – his technique is not so far from that of a poker player. It might have inspired some Chelsea fans who like to take the thrill of the ball game into online gaming, especially at Gambling Kingz where only UK licensed online casinos can take players now. They have to make the right decisions and study their opponents’ betting patterns, just like Mourinho constantly adapts and shapes his team to be on the winning side.
Chelsea Unstoppable
Seven games into the season – with Chelsea on top of the league by five points from Manchester City and boasting the only remaining unbeaten record – it is difficult to argue with Warnock’s assessment of Mourinho. Having returned to Stamford Bridge from Real Madrid at the beginning of last season, Mourinho has transformed what was already a very good side into one which could even match the feat of Arsène Wenger’s ‘invincibles’ of 2003-04. It may still be early in the season but the Chelsea team does not look like it will be losing a game.
The Magic of Mourinho
- Stabilised the dressing room by releasing some of the clubs old guard, e.g. Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole
- Maintained faith with John Terry and built his defence around him
- Released David Luiz, making a huge profit and stabilising the defence in the process
- Signed Cesc Fàbregas and Diego Costa – the two have gone on to form a hugely successful partnership with Fàbregas creating chances and Costa taking them
- Motivated Oscar and Eden Hazard to produce some of their best football for the Blues
Warnock Mind Games
Knowing his side host was Chelsea at the weekend, Warnock may have sought to lull the Blues into a false sense of security with his admiring remarks about Mourinho, but he will do well to trick the Portuguese manager. Palace may be down in 15th place in the table but Selhurst Park is never an easy place to go and Mourinho will be only too aware of the fact that his side lost 1-0 there last March. Last season, however, Chelsea were a different side and they lacked the killer instinct of Mourinho’s 2014-15 outfit. Having been a ‘little horse’ in last year’s title race, the Blues are deserved favourites this time round and Mourinho could prove Warnock right by leading his side to their first Premier League title since 2009-10.