8 Reasons Why Jose Mourinho Will Struggle If He Returns to Chelsea and the EPL

After a tumultuous season at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fans are hoping for a little bit of certainty to return to their club this summer.

Their hope is that the man who led them through the beginning of the most trophy-laden spell in the club's history will make his way back into the manager's office at Cobham training ground to inspire the club once again and turn them back into genuine Premier League contenders.

While the current Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is the unanimous choice among Chelsea fans, would a return to the club with whom he won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two Football League Cup's be the best idea for the self-proclaimed 'Special One'?

Here's a look at reasons why the Portuguese serial winner may just be better off staying away from the Premier League this summer.

Chelsea's Lack of Identity

Since Carlo Ancelotti was unceremoniously sacked as Chelsea manager two years ago on the final day of the season at Goodison Park following defeat to Everton, the Blues have undergone something of an identity crisis.

Andre Villas-Boas was hired for his forward-thinking ideas, with the remit of freshening up the squad with a more youthful feel and moving on some of the old guard.

However, a difficult few months amid dissension among the playing squad culminated in a dreadful night in Naples followed by a woeful defeat at West Brom just days later.

Following his departure came stylistic changes on the field and a return to the first XI for many of the Blues' most experienced performers, sidelined by Villas-Boas, as Roberto Di Matteo sought to win the 2011-12 Champions League playing defensive, reactive football.

This season, with the club now champions of Europe, Di Matteo looked to incorporate a more expansive style before he was sacked after a 3-0 loss to Juventus.

Current incumbent Rafa Benitez has since returned the side to more functional methods, but in the face of open hostility from supporters toward the Spaniard, the side has been very much been set up for the here and now rather than with any eye on the future.

When Mourinho succeeded Claudio Ranieri in 2004, he did so with the club in a position of power, having finished second in the Premier League as well as reaching a Champions League semi-final.

This season, the Blues crashed out of the Champions League before Christmas and are currently some 19 points from the Premier League summit.

Their lack of identity over the past two years has seen them struggle on a regular basis in the Premier League and it is certainly not something that a returning Mourinho would be able to fix overnight.

The Blues Can't Dominate the Transfer Market Like Before

When Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in 2004, he joined a club that was in the middle of making its mark on European football with some big-money purchases on major talent.

Roman Abramovich sanctioned deals that simply blew other clubs out of the water and the likes of Arjen Robben, Hernan Crespo, Adrian Mutu, Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba, Adrian Mutu, Paulo Ferreira and Michael Essien all arrived at Stamford Bridge as Abramovich set about turning the Blues into one of European football's major players.

However, the Blues are no longer able to dominate the transfer market in such a manner due to the continued growth of rivals such as Barcelona, Manchester United and Bayern Munich, as well as new financial powers like Manchester City.

Throw in UEFA's financial fair play regulations which aim to regulate clubs spending beyond their means, and Mourinho wouldn't have the financial freedom he was afforded during his first spell.

The Ageing Backbone

Upon arriving from Porto just days after securing his first Champions League title, Mourinho inherited a strong, yet youthful backbone—the likes of Cech, Terry, Lampard—who he could mold to his will with his cult of personality (as mentioned in football quarterly, The Blizzard by Roy Henderson).

Although the club currently has amongst its roster the youthful attacking trio of Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, not to mention the likes of Ramires, Cesar Azpilicueta and David Luiz.

Unfortunately, they aren't players with the same mentality and desire shown by the aforementioned trio, shown in Hazard's case by his making up his mind over his transfer last summer.

The playing squad is in need of an overhaul as is the arrival of more dominant figures, such has become the comfort zone some players are currently playing in at Stamford Bridge.

Also, with Lampard's contract set to expire this summer and Terry and Cole's respective injury struggles, would it not be difficult for Mourinho to effectively cut ties with guys who he is known to be friendly and still in touch with?

The Fernando Torres Conundrum

Despite 19 goals in all competitions for his club this season, Roman Abramovich's £50 million vanity project continues to disappoint at Stamford Bridge, even two years down the line.

The old sharpness and fearlessness of his early years at Atletico Madrid and Liverpool appear as far removed as ever, if not entirely gone for good.

It was another similar outlay from Abramovich in 2006—£30 million on Andriy Shevchenko—that was effectively the beginning of the end for Mourinho, the Ukrainian struggling to form a cohesive partnership with Didier Drogba, despite Mourinho's best efforts to incorporate him in his line-up, often at the expense of his (then) preferred 4-3-3 formation.

Alas, with the Spanish international on the books, the World Cup coming up in 2014 and Torres needing regular football if he's to stand any chance of a place in Spain's 23-man squad, does Mourinho really need to go through his own version of Groundhog Day?

The Manchester United 2013 Vintage

As Chelsea were ascending to power in the mid-noughties, it was Arsenal who were, at least initially, their biggest challengers, the Gunners having gone through the 2003-04 Premier League season unbeaten.

On the other hand, Manchester United were at the time undergoing something of a transition in 2004.

A 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo was the head of a group of young players who were struggling under the weight of expectations, which weren't helped by the Roy Keane/MUTV debacle, an episode that put an end to the Irishman's Old Trafford career.

Fast-forward to the present day, and United are back at the pinnacle of the English game, Sir Alex Ferguson having mixed a number of experienced heads, such as Robin van Persie, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand, with a group of tremendous young players who are maturing nicely together: David De Gea, Chris Smalling, Rafael, Phil Jones, Danny Welbeck, Shinji Kagawa, Javier Hernandez and Tom Cleverley, to name a few.

Therefore, the Red Devils are in far greater shape than back in 2004, and Sir Alex Ferguson's desire for them to dominate the English game has been somewhat sharpened by the emergence of local rivals Manchester City in recent years—something which wouldn't bode well for a returning Mourinho.

Does He Really Want a Stamford Bridge Return Under Roman Abramovich?

The old saying reckons that you should never go back.

And whilst Mourinho is the bookmakers favourite to take over this summer from interim-manager Rafa Benitez, does he really want to go through the rigours of a second spell working for Roman Abramovich?

After all, it ended on such a sour note with his sacking after a Champions League group stage match with Rosenborg, and as Jason Burt noted in the Independent at the time, relations between Mourinho and the Chelsea owner had become ridiculously petty.

Additionally, in his past two posts at Inter and Real Madrid, Mourinho has craved being a dictator, doing things his own way; Would he really want to have to explain every decision to the Russian oligarch?

Throw in the feelings of some that what Mourinho has always wanted ever since his departure from Stamford Bridge in 2007 was to return to the Premier League as manager of Manchester United, according to The Mirror, and you find yourself questioning whether his heart is even on a second-coming.

No More Love from the Media

When Mourinho first walked into the Premier League, he was the star attraction.

His early press conferences are the stuff of legend and the English media absolutely loved him. As such he was often given a pretty easy ride by the tabloid press during his three year spell at Stamford Bridge.

However, over the past six years, with the ascent of social media, Mourinho's more recent tales have become darker and his politicking has become more widely reported, particularly at Real Madrid, where he all but oversaw the departure of the club's former General Manager Jorge Valdano (MSN) and also been in trouble over threatening journalists.

As Gerard Pique told AS, "he got away with murder"(Goal).

If Mourinho does indeed make a return to the Premier League, he is certain to come under much closer scrutiny, and some of his recent tricks, such as skipping pre-match press conferences, may not be viewed upon favourably as the press have become more and more aware of his mischievous, and often tactical, grandstanding.

No Other English Side Is a Logical Solution Right Now

Whilst a Premier League return for Mourinho always sees Chelsea spoken of as his prime destination, a relative question is could he not make a move to another English club?

But the honest answer is that right now, no other English side seems like a viable option for the Portuguese.

Ferguson seems happy to carry on for another one or two seasons at least at Manchester United; Manchester City's executive team of Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain have history with Mourinho having selected Pep Guardiola over him for the Barcelona job in 2008; Arsene Wenger shows no sign of leaving Arsenal; And Mourinho's former opposition scout Andre Villas-Boas has had an encouraging debut season at Tottenham Hotspur.

Away from that quadruplet, perhaps only Liverpool have the allure for Mourinho given their history and the potential to finance a title challenge.

However, given Brendan Rodgers position at Anfield, that job doesn't seem as though it'll be available any time soon, whilst Mourinho has never been flavour of the month with the red side of Merseyside.

Alas, it would certainly appear that if Mourinho does indeed want a Premier League return this summer, then it really is a case of Chelsea or bust for the Real Madrid boss.