Following Chelsea’s inevitably dull title triumph back in May, the ‘chosen one’ didn’t seem particularly enthralled. Launching his Premiership medal into the stands, he made his way down the tunnel where he vented his discontent. Clearly not satisfied with winning the league in such a fashion, it’s evident that he simply hasn’t accomplished all that he wants to. On the flipside, Arsene Wenger has.

After Wenger miraculously achieved a total of 49 league games without a single defeat, the gauntlet was laid down. Arsene himself questioned whether or not the team would be mentally prepared to motivate themselves in the aftermath, as there’s little left to prove after such a mean feat. Some may have felt that they could then attempt to win every single game in the campaign, but not even ‘Comical Wenger’ was willing to claim that this was as on objective. And whilst Mourinho never actively did, you can be sure that it wasn’t the furthest thing from his mind.

Spending the 2004-05 season grinding out 1-0 victories in a manner that even George Graham would’ve been ashamed of, little was made of the fact that the Blues lost just one single game. Thinking back to Arsenal’s identical accomplishment in the 1990-91 season, and the reverence it drew from the plaudits, Mourinho must‘ve wondered why nobody cared. The statistic really is very impressive in its own right - but after the media frenzy surrounding the 49ers, it was hardly surprising when nobody batted an eyelid.

Mourinho probably understood that the only way to get the recognition he feels his team deserves is to match Arsenal’s run of 49 games - or at least prioritise achieving an unbeaten season in the first instance. So when their hopes of claiming this came to a rather abrupt halt at Old Trafford last November, you couldn’t really help but laugh. To make matters worse, Middlesbrough and Fulham joined the party before the title was clinched, and Mourinho’s 40ers fell rather short. To make matters worse, Jose’s boys couldn’t even match up to their previous years’ escapades - a trend that followed suit in the Champions League.

It’s not something I like to admit, but when Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004, it definitely felt as though Chelsea had become the kid with the new toy - and that ours, whilst still functioning perfectly, just wasn‘t quite as exciting. Several days into the new season, and I suddenly realised that this clearly wasn’t the case - Chelsea’s toys turned out to be as exciting as a digital calculator. Everything was adding up, but it was painstakingly dull to witness.

If you asked him, Mourinho would undoubtedly deny all charges, and point his finger to the newly-implemented trophy cabinet. But anyone who knows anything about this individual is aware of his desire to be the best - and until he equals Wenger’s magical achievement, he’s never going to feel satisfied. Fortunately for us, he’s going to be feeling that way for a very long time indeed.