There is irony and profound disappointment for Chelsea fans that currently get more enjoyment watching other clubs and former players doing well whilst the current team falls short on the pitch.
Just because it's been far from fun to watch the Blues for a while now doesn't take away the passion, but seeing Jose Mourinho manage Tammy Abraham feels like a multiverse of it's own. Now add in Nemanja Matic to the squad and it's irony central.
Chelsea couldn't make it work for long enough with Mourinho or Abraham and now they're bonding, gelling and working brilliantly in Italy, it's tough to watch but nice at the same time. Like someone peeking nervously through the blinds to see how their friends are playing outside.
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Although there is a lesson to learn with both players, not so much Matic - who left at a good time for the club and the player - but even with the Serbian that fact he was the last true defensive midfield success at the club demonstrates a struggle that has plagued teams for five years at Stamford Bridge now.
Matic allowed Cesc Fabregas to run games alongside him in midfield, he allowed Eden Hazard to have a free role further up the pitch without as much defensive requirement. Matic was a silent-lynchpin to Chelsea's last two title wins and there isn't much surprise they haven't won one without him.
Having fallen out of favour at Manchester United Matic admits that the Portuguese is up there with the best managers, and that comes from someone who has played under Antonio Conte and Carlo Ancelotti too. Speaking in an interview with The Times, Matic said: "Everyone is agreed that he is one of the best managers in the history of football.
"My personal relationship with him is great but, if you ask me why, I don’t know. I never ask for anything special from him and he can be a very hard guy to work with if you don’t have good results because he always wants to win. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, the players and the staff. If you don’t win, you’re in big trouble.
“I wanted to play more [at Manchester United], so once I had the call from José, I was quite sure I made the right decision.”
Mourinho continues to impress on and off the field in a role that has brought life to one of the game's best characters. He was recently involved in a music video for world famous rapper Stormzy, seen shushing the camera and having his post-match 'I prefer not to speak, if I speak I am in big trouble' reply played at the start of the song. It's a comedic side to Mourinho that Chelsea fans will enjoy seeing after a stressful period of management in England between United, Chelsea and Tottenham.
Matic has also seen the league he just left improve, saying: “When I first came to Chelsea in 2009, there were four or five teams who didn’t have the quality to compete. Now, every team has a top manager and top players. It doesn’t matter what badge you are wearing, if you don’t play well, if you’re not well organised on the pitch, you get punished straight away.”
Chelsea will be hoping to be one of these teams but could have to fight with United for a top four spot this season. The Red Devils have turned around their early season blip under Erik ten Hag that drew a lot of criticism, especially from Roy Keane.
Matic doesn't agree with his style of analysis though. “I have respect for what he has done but he needs to understand that football has changed,” Matic says of the Sky Sports pundit. “If I played for Chelsea, I cannot say I hate them. I cannot be angry when I’m talking to the press after the game.
“The way he behaved on pitch, 70 per cent of it is a red card today. You cannot throw a punch when all the cameras in the world are there. The real hero is when you go out on the street and say something, but he was always very nice with me, so what he says in public, to be honest, I don’t really care. I know what I’ve done in my career and I’m very happy.”
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