Upheaval at Chelsea

The press is really focusing hard on Jose Mourinho's recent departure (firing, quitting, fallout, etc.) from Stamford Bridge. One of the things that is going missing in this analysis is the unexpected success he had while there. Consider the situation he came in to. Chelsea had spent ALOT of money on some really big name players. Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo and the like had failed to perform. He came in and stoked a number of underachievers and rejects to two consecutive titles in a league that hadn't had a new winner for quite awhile (Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal have dominated for some time). Let's look at the players that were key to his success:

John Terry: An up and comer but not an England first choice until Mourinho got there. Now he's widely regarded as the best defender in the world.
Frank Lampard: Showed some promise at West Ham but was a "solid role player" and nothing more... Suddenly he became the leading goal scorer in the premier league from midfield. Pretty impressive.
Carvalho and Ferreira: Two players from Porto that he brought over. A Porto team that is one of only two non "big 4" teams to win the Champions League.
Didier Drogba: Totally unproven at that level.
Claude Makele: Discarded by Real Madrid
Joe Cole: One of many "Next Paul Gascoigne"s for England. Had never really made an impression until Chelsea

The team that he had at Chelsea, and especially his first choice 11, is not at all what you would have picked for a first team prior to his arrival. And yet, by the end of the season, they were suddenly "the best team in the league". Abramovich's money was seen as the key to victory and there were accusations of "buying" a championship. I would suggest that the key lies in how Jose used that money. He bought key players that were guaranteed to fit in and work for the team.

The system all started to fall apart when they no longer followed this plan and just went for expensive players. Ballack and Shevchenko combined weren't as good as the less heralded (and cheaper) Solomon Kalou. In fact, the British press takes great pride in pointing out that Shevchenko scored fewer goals then American defender Carlos Bocanegra.

Contrary to popular accounts. Mourinho is an example of why you can't buy a championship. Chemistry is just so much more important than raw talent that it takes a well-trained eye to note these things. Good luck wherever you go Jose. I know the players wish you well and so do I.