DID YOU THIS MAN Allow me to give you a little article on him, he is billy mcCulloch.. Of course, that isnt the true story. It was all part of the mind-game war. But Billy McCulloch is one of the few Chelsea personalities who has outlived all the managerial changes of the Roman Abramovich era. And as a series of other faces have come and gone, McCullochs role within the dressing room set-up has become increasingly pivotal. Nominally, he is only a masseur, a one-time kit- man with a close personal bond with John Terry in particular. Terry has previously described McCulloch - Bill Blood as he is sometimes called - as the funniest man in the world. To be honest, McCulloch is more of a Norman Wisdom figure than anything else. A slapstick clown. But when Blues managers need someone to change the atmosphere, relax the players, get them laughing with each other, McCulloch is the go-to man. Explain the joke, boss! McCullochs humour doesnt always translate well. JOSE MOURINHO ON MCCULLOCH Its fair to say McCullochs brand of humour doesnt always work. One suspects that some of the foreign players, who cant understand his 100mph English, delivered in a Cockney accent, are bemused more than anything else. Indeed, as he explained McCullochs pre-game role at The Etithad, Mourinho himself admitted: He was screaming so much in Scottish I didnt understand it. Im serious. Rrrrr! Rrrrr! Rrrrr! I didnt understand. But the players looked like they understood. It was fantastic. MCCULLOCH WITH ENGLANG COACHING CREW. When Steve McClaren was England boss he was persuaded by Terry and the Chelsea contingent to bring McCulloch onto the Three Lions staff for the same reason. Though McCulloch was described as Scottish by McClaren and others, his accent is pure London and home counties and it is suggested he was actually born in Swindon and raised in Surrey. It did not work quite so well, despite Frank Lampard insisting McCullochs work on the treatment table was a significant element in his record-breaking run of consecutive outfield appearances. Some players didnt get the jokes and thought it was becoming a little too cliquey, a Chelsea love-in. When McClaren quit after the Euro 2008 debacle and was replaced by Fabio Capello, McCulloch was deemed decidedly surplus to requirements. After all, the Italian believed in a rather more austere regime. But Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole love having him around, a part of the furniture. Carlo Ancelotti, too, recognised players need to have times when they can switch off and just have a bit of fun. Round of applause: Frank Lampard and John Terry are big fans of the masseur. MCCULLOCH BEFORE & AFTER MAN CITY MATCH Mourinho, more than anyone, wants that diversion. To have sessions which are full-on, intensive, genuine hard work. But also moments when the tension is taken off. That was his intention on Monday night. The players had been drilled, hard, for three days. Prepared for the test. He felt they were mentally, tactically, ready, even before discovering City were missing the key presence of Fernandinho. But he also saw tension. Noticed his players were on edge, perhaps a little too on edge. Sending in the clown changed everything. The body language and manic attitude meant even those players who didnt get what McCulloch was saying couldnt help themselves from following the guffaws from Terry and co. Suddenly, for a few key moments, thoughts of City were banished from their minds. The suggestion is that he is a shouter, bawling Come on! and You can beat this lot! in the dressing room most of the time. On this occasion Mourinho just let him rant on. It sounds like he was egged on by Terry and co,screaming nonsense, but getting everybody laughing and forgetting about the game. No great plan, at all. It just happened Mourinho knew his work started again at kick-off, but his players went onto the pitch mentally refreshed by the comic turn, ready to listen to the Masters voice. After the match, Mourinho was able to use McCulloch as a weapon in his personal battle with Pellegrini, a man he appears to hold in managerial disdain. The message was clear: We both know Ive got your number. But even my masseur has got your number. LITTLE COMPLIMENT FROM ME Its a bit surprising having some one like billy in a team, the junior and senior play trusted him so much. Hope we could have more of that billy. Mourinho still have a compliment word for him at todays match conference on monday I decidedit would be billy who the player like very much, I said everything I needed to already One word for billy mcCulloch...
Posted on: Fri, 07 Feb 2014 16:38:39 +0000
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