Jose Mourinho’s mind gives Chelsea title edge

There was a point early last season when Thibaut Courtois felt a little put out. Although the goalkeeper had returned from Atletico Madrid with the assurance he would be Chelsea’s starting number-one, he suddenly found Jose Mourinho was saying different things in public, and dropping the Belgian for some unexpected matches.

This wasn’t what Courtois had signed up for. The reason behind it, however, was Mourinho wanted to properly find out what he had signed up for with the goalkeeper.

Those at Stamford Bridge say it is a common strategy with the Portuguese when it comes to new players. Since he doesn’t deeply know them, Mourinho initially pushes their buttons to see how they react, and whether they have the mental resilience he thinks is essential to repeatedly win trophies.

If they respond in the tough manner that impresses him, they’re kept and trusted. If they don’t, they’re sold. There’s no patience for those that don’t have the necessary abrasiveness. That approach has allowed Mourinho to gradually condition a baseline of extreme competitiveness in his squad, and helps explain the forensic turnover of players in the last two years.

It may well be the decisive factor in this season’s title race, too, because it is the principal barrier to anyone else winning the league. The wonder is not quite whether any of the title challengers can match Chelsea on the pitch, but whether their managers can match Mourinho in the mind.

That competitive intensity, after all, has been the core factor in so much of the Portuguese’s success. He derives a deeper and more consistent level of application from players than most coaches, and it generally overcomes any other problems his teams may suffer from, right down to the occasional lack of imagination in Mourinho attacks.

Alex Ferguson operated along almost identical principles when it came to the mentality of his teams. It is one reason why the Chelsea manager is the only coach other than the Scot to retain the English title in the last 30 years, and why Mourinho has effectively succeeded the former Manchester United boss as the closest thing to a guarantee of success in the League.

The simple facts of their CVs show no other manager in the division offers such guarantees, perhaps partially because they aren’t as ruthless or as demanding. Mourinho’s great rival Arsene Wenger certainly isn’t. He is the polar opposite of the Portuguese in many ways, but primarily in terms of his indulgence of players.

For Wenger’s part, that is central to how he manages, and has been the source of his own greatest successes. Many who have worked at Arsenal state the thrust of Wenger’s approach is gradually allowing a team to build extreme confidence in their play, to the point that brilliantly swift football becomes instinctive. The hallmarks of this were all over the unbeaten 2003-04 title winners, and it still means that his Arsenal sides can be as good as anyone when at their best.

The problem, however, is the inevitable periods when they’re off their best. Devoid of that resilience Mourinho and Ferguson have imbued their teams with, Wenger’s sides have always struggled with drops in performance. They have often lost sequences of games, and some at the club have conceded it is a reason why Wenger has never retained the title. That confidence takes a while to rebuild once disrupted.

That can also lead to other issues. Long-term trust in players is integral to Wenger’s approach, but it has meant he can stubbornly persist with players who should have been discarded. That can, in turn, condition something of a softness in the side, because players subconsciously know the penalties aren’t so severe. This is what he must change this season.

City have had much the same problems, right down to the laxness they’ve shown when defending the title. For all of Manuel Pellegrini’s qualities as a coach, he, like Wenger, seems chiefly concerned with style of play over the mentality required to properly fire it. It means City are devastating when on form but have no failsafe when they aren’t. The relatively low turnover of players also fosters a sense that City’s is a lower-pressure environment than other champions.

The question, then, is whether they can go the distance in a title race with a team specifically trained to deal with that higher pressure. This is their great challenge this season.

None of this applies to Louis van Gaal, but it is possible he is too far to the other extreme. The Manchester United manager undoubtedly possesses the combativeness for a fight with Mourinho, and the word among the Old Trafford players is that he reminds them of Ferguson in the way he keeps them on their toes. There is no softness or indulgence there. You only have to look at the way he discarded Robin van Persie, or how he has immediately dropped those who have not followed team instructions.

It is precisely his own adherence to those instructions, though, that may pose the problem. Van Gaal has spent much of the last few months arguing United’s 1-0 defeat at Chelsea - and the season itself - could have been very different if they had taken their chances. The reality, however, was that Chelsea were content to allow United chances at Stamford Bridge. The game was hugely reminiscent of Inter’s 2010 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich, in the manner the Mourinho team allowed Van Gaal’s have all the possession before picking off their mistakes. The Van Gaal template was too clear and the Dutchman didn’t have the presence of mind or detachment to apply the necessary pragmatism and change up. He was too intensely involved in his long-term ideal. The common strand is Chelsea have had a durable adaptability so far absent in their main rivals.

That said, Wenger has shown a pleasing new ruthlessness by discarding Wojciech Szczesny for a serial winner like Petr Cech, while City may have bought just enough vibrant young talent to re-energise their old guard. United have added options, all while Chelsea have stayed unusually still in the market when on top. Mourinho explained last week he felt a “loyalty” to those who won the title, but such loyalty would almost appear to go against the very mindset that forged that side.

That easing of the reins may yet be enough to let the rest in, but it remains to be seen how ready they are to match Mourinho in the head games.