We all know how vital a part managing the media plays in modern football: one telling comment, one snappy put-down or biting rejoinder in a manager's press conference on Friday can shape how a whole footballing weekend, if not a whole season plays out. Yes, training and tactical preparation are certainly important parts of the modern manager's role, only a fool would claim otherwise, but it's a well-known fact that psychology is
everything in football. So whoever masters the so-called "managerial mind games" clearly puts his club at a huge advantage. The incredible success enjoyed by Sir Alex Ferguson, the man generally acknowledged to be the greatest living practitioner of the so-called "dark arts", is evidence enough of this.
The
following article from the Sunday, August 25th edition of the
Daily Express will, then, be a worrying one for Manchester United fans. The writer of the article, one Colin ('Big Col') Mafham, makes clear that it's Jose Mourinho, the new Chelsea manager, who is winning the all-important psychological battle. Indeed, Mafham suggests that it is Mourinho who has, in fact, assumed Ferguson's mantle as the so-called "master of mind games" - something that must surely be of great concern to all Manchester United fans, who might well have expected that it would be Ferguson's hand-picked successor at Manchester United, his fellow Scot, the canny David Moyes, who would take up the role.
Quote:
The fans love him, housewives fancy him, the media like him and players have a healthy respect for him.
But don’t be surprised if some of his fellow managers don’t go a bundle on him. Take David Moyes and Andre Villas-Boas, for instance. Both have good reason to be wary of Chelsea’s self-styled “Happy One”.
When Moyes and Mourinho meet at Old Trafford tomorrow they will be all smiles and handshakes ahead of a game that is assuming monumental proportions, even at this early stage of the season. But behind the bonhomie is some serious, mind-boggling business.
It’s not easy for Moyes, given the friendly relationship his predecessor enjoyed with Mourinho. And the former Real Madrid boss is not going out of his way to be pally, with pre-match patter not designed to help United’s new man feel at ease. Moyes is already on the back foot as his Chelsea visitor prepares to make another attempt to lure Wayne Rooney away from Old Trafford.
Talk of the former “Special One’s” pleasure at playing Manchester United only turns up the heat.
Take a listen as Mourinho says: “I knocked them out of the Champions League and maybe I have won more than I have lost against them, maybe. But playing against Manchester United always gives me pleasure. I like it.
“Last year everybody in Madrid had some tension when we had to play Manchester United in the Champions League, but I was happy.
“I like the stadium, I like the opponent, I like the difficulty of the game, I like it very, very much.”
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Whether Moyes can overcome his early disadvantage in the so-called "mind games" and bring the stratospheric Mourinho, the self-styled "Special One", crashing back to Earth remains to be seen. Whatever happens, it's safe to say that Big Col, and the world, will be watching.