The End of Arrogance?

Filed in archive Premiership 2006/7 on September 21, 2007

With Mourinho's departure, the Premiership is now missing a little arrogance. And that's a bad thing. Though he crossed the line more than once, Mourinho has consistently provided us with something to talk about. When he barely celebrated his Champions League win with Porto, his mind seemingly already at Stamford Bridge, we knew he was going to bring something different. Then to turn up and not only proclaim himself "a special one," but to back it up by winning the league... The comparisons to Brian Clough weren't a million miles off.

Even his less savoury moments gave us something to talk about. The unfounded accusation that Anders Frisk spent half time talking with Barca coach Frank Rijkaard was inexcusable, and when Frisk was forced to retire from refereeing after receiving death threats even Mourinho must have known he'd gone too far. But even that little spell gave us Chelsea vs Barcelona games that were unmissable. Big personalities create big drama, and there'll be a little less of that from now on.