Chelsea v Man United: Blues expert previews Mourinho return

Man United manager Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge on Sunday for the first time since he was sacked as Chelsea boss last season.

The Portuguese, who took over at Old Trafford in the summer, won three Premier League titles, three League Cups and an FA Cup as Blues boss but was dismissed amidst a storm of controversy after one of the worst title defences the Premier League has ever seen.

The Red Devils haven’t had the start to the season that the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid boss would have wanted and therefore he won’t be paying much interest to the emotional side of things for too long, but what are the fans expecting?

Shoot! spoke to Chelsea FanCast presenter, Stamford Chidge, to find out exactly what the Bridge faithful are expecting from the ‘Special One’s’ return…

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

What sort of reception will Jose get this weekend?

Very difficult to say – every fan will have their opinion on what happened with Jose when he left and what we should or should not do.

For what it’s worth my own opinion is that he should get a warm reception and be afforded the respect due to arguably the greatest and most successful manager in our history, before kick-off.

But once the game kicks off, he will be in the opposition dugout as manager of Man Utd who are a big rival of ours. Once the whistle goes he will be the enemy!

What’s the consensus amongst the fans, do you still wish he was there?

Consensus amongst football fans??? You rarely get it! But I think most would acknowledge with hindsight that the situation had become irreparable and something had to change. The supporters on the whole backed Jose to the hilt and many at the time may have preferred him to stay to see if he could have turned the situation around.

It wasn’t to be and what’s done is done so very few I suspect would wish he was still here – you have to move on.

I suspect that the split this time was perhaps easier to bear than the first time he left in 2007. Let’s face it we did ok after he left the first time and no one person – manager or player – is bigger than the club.

How, in your eyes, do he and Conte differ?

The one thing I have noticed about Conte is the measured, thoughtful and quiet way he has brought in his methods. There is a sense that it is not all about him.

He didn’t come in and dogmatically force his methods on to the players. At first he pretty much kept the team as it was last year in terms of players and formation but after a while he has adopted his preferred formation and started to play players who may not have been given much of a chance in recent years.

But he has done this without any drama. It also seems encouraging that he appears to be prepared to give some of our youth players a chance with 3 coming on last weekend and four on the bench. The fact that he has been there and done it as a very successful player may well be helping with his relationship with the players.

How will he setup his side to counter Conte’s Chelsea?

Given that this will be a big match for Jose he will certainly not want to lose it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ‘parks the bus’ much as he did against Liverpool last week. Also we are fifth and United are seventh, with 16 and 14 points respectively, so he’ll not want that gap to widen.

Having said that all Chelsea fans have witnessed Jose grab vital wins against rivals when the team most needs it so we should be very very wary. Last time Jose turned up in the opposition dug out with Inter Milan he got the result he wanted. This time I hope he leaves disappointed.

What can Conte do to break down United?

Hopefully he’ll stick to the same side and formation that beat Leicester last week as I believe it gives us better balance and width and allows Hazard more freedom to attack and link up with Costa.

For me how Hazard and Costa play will be the key to success on Sunday. Hazard looks like he is coming back to his best and Costa is back to the goal scoring machine he was in his first season for us. If they both turn up then I’m more than hopeful we’ll get the result we want.

Mourinho or Conte, who would you rather have in charge?

Right now I’d rather have Conte as he is the manager now. But really that’s almost an impossible question to answer. It’s hard not to want the best manager you have ever had in charge isn’t it, but, looking at it objectively – with Mourinho we have already been down that road and Jose is now the past and Conte is the future.

So basically I’m not answering it!

How far can he take United this season?

Hopefully all the way to relegation. But given that the bigger clubs have all strengthened this season it’s going to be a real fight at the top of the table with arguably eight clubs battling for the top four.

It wouldn’t surprise me if United scraped into the top four, but I don’t see them winning the league this year – like us they are in a period of transition.

Finally, score prediction?

I hope and think Chelsea will nick it by the odd goal but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a low scoring draw. Neither side will want to lose and I can see Jose parking the bus.

If you want more from the guys at Chelsea FanCast, click HERE to listen to their Preview show featuring Chelsea Legend Kerry Dixon’s preview of the Chelsea v Man United match and his thoughts on the return of Jose Mourinho.