First, there was Roy Keane and the Manchester United prawn sandwiches
Then there was Thierry Henry having a go at the Arsenal support for booing when things aren’t as rosey as they have become used to.
Now, Jose Mourinho has had a right go at the Chelsea home support for being too quiet, adding fuel to the arugment that rival supporters have long assumed is true – good teams attract terrible fans.
The Portugese boss said
“Let’s start with a song I heard from away fans in two consecutive matches at home: ‘Four-nil, and you still don’t sing!'”
“Why don’t they sing? They’re always quiet.”
“For a team with this record at home, I think the players deserve a little bit more support.”
“I’m not happy when 1,500 away fans, maximum 3,000, support more than our own people. So please, a bit more.”
“I think our friends are just behind the goal because they support all the time.”
“The other people must be enjoying the game. They have to participate more and be more enthusiastic about the game.”
“It’s getting cold now. It’s winter and to sing and to move is good to fight against the temperature.”
Chelsea weren’t often mentioned by COS readers when asked which club had the Best Atmosphere in the Premiership, with Portsmouth, Newcastle and Tottenham fans putting their own names forward the most. But it does seem that if supporters begin to expect, and get used to, the club winning every week then they seem less inclined to attempt to make their voices heard. Maybe it’s because they don’t feel the need to encourage players who are probably going to win anyway and would rather wait for the inevitable goal before cheering. Or maybe it’s the dreaded influx of plastics to any half decent club.
Either way, we’re guessing that having Mourinho come out with comments like these is only going to make the away end even noisier at Stamford Bridge.