Why Jose Mourinho Should Be Second to Matthew Harding on Sunday

"I hope all the hype around the Matthew Harding tributes overshadows Jose Mourinho's return on Sunday," begins David Johnstone.

The cfcuk fanzine editor is eager to stress that his opinion is just his and doesn't represent all Chelsea supporters. But on the same weekend the Blues will mark the 20th anniversary of former vice-chairman Harding's death, he's equally eager not to see tributes for Mourinho hijack what's been planned ahead of kick-off.

There will be banners in the Matthew Harding Stand paying tribute to him, while a giant flag will also sail across the lower section of the stand in his honour.

"Chelsea did the right thing in replacing Jose Mourinho," Johnstone continues. "In my opinion, he kept going too far in some of the things he did. It was terrible what he said about Chelsea supporters [when Mourinho criticised the atmosphere after games against Queens Park Rangers and Liverpool].

"He wasn't the 'Happy One' in his second spell back at Chelsea; he was a totally different Jose Mourinho."

Mourinho's Chelsea career can be seen in two equal halves. First there was the three seasons in which he became fully endeared to the Stamford Bridge faithful, winning league titles and building a side that would serve the club for close to a decade.

When he was sacked in September 2007, the feeling was that it was all too premature. Chelsea supporters weren't ready to let go of the man who had been such a big part in changing their fortunes.

Where Roman Abramovich had supplied the resources, Mourinho added the sporting nous to make it all work. His team from 2004 to 2007 ranks among the best English football has ever seen. That pre-dates the Premier League, too; Mourinho's Chelsea were formidable.

Losing him when they did, supporters were upset. Some even protested outside Stamford Bridge in the hope they could influence the club to bring him back.

They would get their wish, but it took six years. Mourinho returned in 2013, yet the mood was slightly different. He wasn't the same manager as before; he'd lost some of that swagger. Mourinho was more serious in the way he conducted himself—dare we say it, more cynical.

When he was sacked for a second time last December, just six months after winning the Premier League for a third time, there was an air of regret on the terraces, but gradually, the feeling is that it closed the Mourinho chapter for good. There's no coming back; he's firmly in the past.

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"It's dangerous if fans want to live on what the club achieved with other managers. That's what Liverpool fans have done," says Johnstone. "Never mind what we have won in the past, we have to look to the future. Antonio Conte is our manager now and we need to show him equal respect to Jose Mourinho when we play Manchester United. And we need to respect Matthew Harding's memory."

For Chelsea fans of the 1990s, Matthew Harding was to the club what Roman Abramovich has been since 2003. Without Harding, there's every chance Chelsea wouldn't have got Abramovich.

By comparison to today's values, the £20-odd million that Harding invested in Chelsea in the mid-1990s seems like pennies, but it wasn't. That investment was significant and helped propel Chelsea forward to where we find them now.

Harding's money was a big part of Chelsea redeveloping Stamford Bridge, and with the increased matchday revenues that brought, it allowed Chelsea to be more ambitious with the players they signed. Ruud Gullit, Roberto Di Matteo, Gianfranco Zola, Gianluca Vialli and eventually Frank Lampard would all join Chelsea in the years after Harding put his own money into the club.

While we talk about Mourinho's success at Chelsea, Harding did more to give the club a strong position in the English game. It's why supporters such as Johnstone are eager to see him honoured properly on Sunday, marking 20 years since he tragically died in a helicopter crash on his way back to London having watched Chelsea in the League Cup against Bolton Wanderers.

Chelsea's official historian, Rick Glanvill, suggests Mourinho's return this Sunday is going to be as celebrated as much as when he came back to west London with Inter Milan in 2010 in the Champions League.

"I think it's straightforward really," Glanvill says. "There will be a massive respect for his track record at Chelsea, but there won't be the same frisson from the Inter game. That itch has been scratched with Jose and it's out of the system now. The affair is over.

"Chelsea supporters normally get these things right. When they have a chance to commemorate a legend from the club, they do it the right way. In some ways, Sunday is the chance to give Jose the goodbye that they never did last season. Chelsea fans don't forget those who have done great things for the club. That's where it ends."

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Feeding the ideal of the story being different between Chelsea and Mourinho now, this week has seen much debate about booing. Will Chelsea fans get on Mourinho's back? Will he be as celebrated as some others are suggesting?

"There will be a lot of thinking about the past because of Matthew Harding's memory," Glanvill continues. "It's a big anniversary and Chelsea are doing a lot of things in commemorating him. I just hope that if anyone is considering any oafish behaviour towards Jose before the match or after—during the match, all bets are off—they remember that he's Chelsea's most successful manager."

Johnstone agrees with Glanvill's sentiments. "I won't boo him, but I won't clap him, either," he says. "None of that is important to me. What is important is that we celebrate Matthew Harding's memory. He did more for Chelsea Football Club than Jose Mourinho ever has."

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes