MAKING ABRAMOVICH SPEND £21M ON OLD BOY MATIC IS MOURINHOS - TopicsExpress

MAKING ABRAMOVICH SPEND £21M ON OLD BOY MATIC IS MOURINHOS BIGGEST GAMBLE YET... In the words of Corporal Perkins,head of the army firing squad in Blackadder Goes Forth: Well,captain,Ive got to admire your balls. There have been many acts of courage in Jose Mourinhos managerial career: major players he has fallen out with,unwinnable fights he has picked,bold pronouncements that he has been required to back up,but the re-signing of Nemanja Matic at Chelsea perhaps tops them all. To recap,Matic was bought by Chelsea for £1.5M from Slovakian club MFK Kosice on August 18,2009,during Carlo Ancelottis time as manager. He made 3 substitute appearances,when Chelsea were leading 4-0,4-0&6-0,&was loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem a year later. In January 2011,Matic became the makeweight in the deal that brought David Luiz from Benfica. His time at Stamford Bridge was soon forgotten. And then Mourinho returned. And,asked who he needed to strengthen the core of his midfield,he told Roman Abramovich he wanted the player Chelsea had on the books 3yrs ago,but ditched: a transfer that was going to make his boss look a bit of a doughnut. But,even better than that,Abramovich was now going to have to pay £21M to look a doughnut because,since signing for Benfica,Matic had grown to be recognised as 1 of the best CDM players in Europe. Abramovich,to his credit,agreed. He paid a self-castigating £21M. And then what did Mourinho do? He played Matic in the most vital role vs Man City where he was man of the match,proving his point. Ill do the football from here, Mourinhos action made clear. And all Abramovich can do is smile his approval. This is the most astonishing high-wire act. Had Matic flopped,had City won,Abramovich would not be human if he did not feel resentful,if he did not think of it as good money thrown after bad. Mourinho had it all to lose on Monday night,but he backed his judgment,&triumphed. Even so,it took balls. Imagine Brendan Rodgers walking in to John Henry at Liverpool. Ill tell you who we need,John. Stewart Downing. Ive talked to Sam Allardyce&he says we can have him for £32M. I reckon we should go for it. Like that. But braver,because 1 imagines Abramovich does not put up with too many days when the jokes on him.