Bitter bosses renew battle

THE FRAGILE peace between the biggest managerial protagonists in the Premiership will be tested to the limit tomorrow as the focus switches to a relationship which has dominated the spotlight already this season.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho and Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger have managed to insult, annoy and anger each other on a scale rarely witnessed in England before the arrival of the "Special One" at Stamford Bridge.

Just what it is that irks the Portuguese coach so much that he brands his French counterpart at Highbury "a voyeur" and refers continually to a 120-page dossier on Wenger's apparent obsession with Chelsea is, unclear.

Thankfully, though, as their two teams prepare to do battle at Highbury, the truce brought upon the pair by discussions at the highest level within both clubs continues to hold.

Since taking over at Chelsea, Mourinho has spoken out about a whole host of people, clubs and footballing authorities, but the combined subjects of Wenger and Arsenal somehow manage to conjure his wrath most.

Much of their current icy relationship can be traced back to Mourinho's involvement in the tapping-up scandal involving Ashley Cole.

Wenger, never one to duck an issue, accused Chelsea of having little regard for the rules when they met his England left-back for transfer talks in a London hotel earlier this year.

But even though Chelsea won their first title for 50 years last season, Mourinho spent the summer clearly festering over the affair with an attack on their London rivals before the new campaign got under way.

Wenger, Arsenal and their vice-chairman David Dein were again the targets, with Mourinho pointing out that one man should not simultaneously hold the positions of vice-chairman at a club and the FA.

Then came his "devils and angels" speech sparked by suggestions that Wenger had spoken to Seville forward Julio Baptista behind Seville's back prompting the club to consider complaining to FIFA.

Mourinho said: "What concerns me is the way you approach similar situations in a very different way. Because some are treated as devils and some are treated as angels. And I don't think that we are so ugly to be treated like devils and I don't think Mr Wenger and Mr David Dein are so beautiful to be treated like angels.

"I went to Brazil on holiday; I didn't go to Brazil to chase players and speak with them behind the clubs."

Mourinho also targeted the FA's fixture computer, suggesting that Arsenal may have received preferential treatment in the allocation of home games after Champions League matches.

The first five of Arsenal's six matches, immediately after they had played in a group game of the Champions League, were at Highbury while Chelsea had five away games.

Mourinho insisted he found it very strange and suggested that Dein should relinquish his dual role. A person who works in the club should not work in the FA, Mourinho said.

But the biggest spat was yet to come and eventually resulted in Wenger considering legal action against his outspoken neighbour.

In a highly public exchange, Wenger was outraged when Mourinho labelled him a "voyeur" for his apparent obsession with Chelsea.

Wenger responded by claiming that Mourinho's comments were "out of order and disconnected from reality".

The Frenchman defended his right to speak out amid calls from the League Managers' Association and the FA to end the public slanging match.

"I will still give my opinion about Chelsea if I want to," maintained Wenger. "Nothing will stop me doing that. We are not in a dictatorship."

Mourinho eventually offered Wenger an olive branch by saying he was ready to stop if Wenger was, but not before revealing the club had compiled a 120-page dossier itemising comments made about Chelsea by the Arsenal manager.

Finally, Wenger opted to forget about taking his Chelsea counterpart to court, a decision labelled "sensible and intelligent" by Mourinho, and since then the pair have kept a lid on their thoughts and views.

But while they prepare for a confrontation of a different kind at Highbury tomorrow, Mourinho's observation about Arsenal in his Portuguese newspaper column is perhaps the most damning, and accurate, of them all.

"Arsene has shown difficulty understanding his life has changed," he wrote. "He is trying to deflect the truth about the rise of Chelsea.

"Wenger is a great coach and an intelligent person but he is having difficulty continuing the success which made him, with all merit, a top manager. I admit it can't be easy, but then he gets to have a go at us. I'm the one who is famous for being a disturber but I stick to doing my work."