7 Truths: Jose Mourinho not the main problem at Chelsea; Real Madrid don't have one at all

Have you ever heard the cliché, ‘once the players step over that white line...’? Well you probably have, because Steve McManaman said it at least four times during BT Sport’s post-match analysis of Chelsea’s humbling defeat at home to Liverpool. But the fact is that the Chelsea players are letting the club down in a big way at the moment and Mourinho is shouldering the blame. Regardless of whose fault it is, much of the spine of Chelsea’s team are now past their prime: John Terry, Cesc Fabregas (yes, we know he’s not that old, but...), Branislav Ivanovic, Radamel Falcao, etc. Mourinho is not the problem right now; Chelsea’s squad feels worrying stale and his players are letting themselves down in a big, big way. Only they can turn this around - well, until the club have the opportunity to give the squad some much needed impetus in the January transfer window, that is. Mourinho must be backed to transform this group and quickly, or the club will have much bigger problems.

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For new Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, it’s no good trying to find a middle ground when it comes to the development of young players. After 20-year-old striker Divock Origi struggled with the responsibility of leading the club’s line with both Christian Benteke and Daniel Sturridge not fit, it emerged that the German dropped him altogether. It sounds harsh, but as Liverpool Echo reporter James Pearce explained, he felt it would be more beneficial for the young forward to train rather than simply watch idly in a tracksuit from the sidelines. It may be tough love, but surely that’s exactly what was required: no player wants to get their ears flicked by team-mates sat in the dugout when they can be working on improving their game.

Do fans really care about what their manager says after a match? Are they really bothered whether their manager is irritable and annoyed or positive and effusive? Mourinho was perfectly entitled to offer very little to an intrepid journalist minutes after a shattering defeat, just as Klopp was entitled to have a broad grin and say that everything was wonderful. Managers should be permitted freedom to express their genuine feelings after a match that probably either left them furious or overjoyed. Mourinho was upset and not particularly talkative, yes; but it really doesn’t matter at all. As much as press conferences provide talking points in the press, they are pretty irrelevant.

We are told most weeks that Rafael Benitez is under pressure for his job at Real Madrid and having a difficult relationship with some of his players. While it is obvious that any Real Madrid boss will inevitably have their role scrutinised at all times, Benitez has done nothing but steady the Spanish giants since arriving at the Bernabeu. It's becoming more and more difficult to believe that Benitez is struggling to hold on to his job in Madrid when in actual fact he and his team are thriving. Without a Liga defeat so far this season and with only four goals having been conceded, Real Madrid are doing pretty well under Benitez.

Okay, so it’s patently obvious that Van Gaal will not care one bit about the chants from the Manchester United fans backing Paul Scholes after his comments regarding the club’s style of play under the Dutchman, or their pleads of “Attack! Attack! Attack!”. But while caring about the fans’ wishes may not be high on Van Gaal’s list, he must begin to accept that his side will need to play with more freedom and guile if they are to seriously challenge for the Premier League title. The paucity of creative flair was again horribly apparent for United against Crystal Palace and the fans will not be able to look forward to a title again until their manager embraces a more fluid and attacking style of play at times. They had to make their voices heard.

Aside from the fact that West Ham keep having players sent off (four red cards already in the league this season), Slaven Bilic's men simply have to perform as well against the smaller clubs as they do against the big ones if they are to have a campaign to remember. The Hammers have threatened to do something very special this season with their stunning wins against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, but they have also failed to beat Leicester, Bournemouth, Norwich, Sunderland and now Crystal Palace.

For a long time Arsene Wenger has been criticised for not buying another striker or two. Happily, though, the forwards in his current squad have really stepped up so far this season with Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott both having contributed to giving Arsenal a real cutting edge in the final third, along with the class of Alexis Sanchez and assist-specialist Mesut Ozil. With Joel Campbell on the scoresheet and putting in an impressive showing against Swansea on his first league start, the 23-year-old appears finally ready to further add to Wenger's attacking options. It really does seem as though Arsenal have the firepower to compete for the title, particularly when Walcott returns from his latest injury.