Tag Archives: Chelsea

Predicting Chelsea’s Starting 11 for Next Season (or, Trying to Read Mourinho’s Inscrutable Mind)

Like everyone else with a blue shirt, I’ve been thinking about what Jose Mourinho’s reappointment will mean for Chelsea next season. Players are always coming and going, and this is never more true than when a new manager comes in, especially when that manager has a very different philosophy than his predecessors. History doesn’t suggest that we should expect a fire sale – The Special One has a long track record of building intelligently around inherited talent – but it’s also true that the roster, as currently comprised, is lacking in certain areas that Jose 2.0 is going to want to address. Read more

What Makes a Player the Greatest?

We’re having a discussion on one of my sports lists about who’s the greatest this or that, etc. You know the debate – you’ve had it a million times yourself. Kobe’s name came up, as it tends to in these kinds of conversations. Here’s what I said:

One of my top criteria for “greatest” in any hoops discussion (and most team sports, for that matter) is this: did he make his teammates better?

The great ones warp the game, in that they command so much attention from the other team that it creates extra space and opportunity for teammates. Read more