Mourinho getting a lot of stick from the Chelsea fans now and they are comparing his record to Benitez. The one thing they seem to be ignoring is that Benitez is a great manager. Some Chelsea fans did not like him, because of his connections to Liverpool and his prior comments to Chelsea. It was nothing to do with his ability. At least the Chelsea fans I know regarded Rafa as one of the best managers in the world. His record speaks for itself: taking Liverpool to two champions league finals, winning two Europa Leagues, an FA cup and the league with Valencia. To think that Mourinho would do a lot better than Benitez is a bit deluded.
The second issue here seems to be the dropping of Mata. I rate Mata very highly and think at the moment he is still Chelsea's best player, but given the choice of Oscar or Mata, I would choose the former. Oscar is improving rapidly and already has more to his game. This time next year Oscar is likely to be the better player and Mourinho is building a team for the future. Both are best as 10s and wasted out wide. Once you decide to choose Oscar as the no10 then Mata is never going to fit in. It's a bit like Veron and Scholes. Once Fergie choose Scholes it meant Veron would have to leave.
Unlike many here I rate Luiz very highly, but it seems Mourinho does not. Terry and Cahill as off present are not good enough and expect Luiz to be sold and a centre back to be brought in either in the summer of January. The same goes for Mata, he will likely be sold and a midfielder will be brought in to partner Ramires. It seems too many fans want instant success these days.
