When Chelsea reappointed Jose Mourinho back in May, there was a healthy amount of skepticism about the new arrangement. Mourinho had signed a four-year contract, and with the Blues sacking their manager approximately once every forty-five seconds over the past decade and the Special One's nomadic tendencies, it's not difficult to see why many were asserting that four years was about three too many.

But Mourinho is claiming that he, at least, is a changed man:

Chelsea need some stability. In this moment, the club is ready for that and I am ready for that. When I came the first time, I still had the passion of going around and trying to win other championships and trying to make myself better by going to other football countries. But now, I don’t see myself in Spain coaching another club and I don’t see myself coaching another club in Italy other than Inter. I don’t see myself in other Leagues because I have a connection with Chelsea. I have quite a long contract here and I hope at the end of it we both want to keep together. -Source: Sunday Mirror.

Of course Mourinho would say that. He's hardly going to tell us that he's using Chelsea as a stepping-stone to somewhere else, even if that was his intent. But cynicism aside, it's difficult to see what would be better for Mourinho long-term than building a dynasty with the club. It's one of Europe's most powerful, Pep Guardiola holds Germany, Italy is an irrelevance and he's burned his bridges with both major Spanish clubs. On top of that, it's a young team that can be forged into a superb side. Taking Chelsea to the next level, like he did the first time, would be an incredible achievement.

I've long been a skeptic of the idea of stability for stability's sake. It doesn't help a club to ignore poor leadership just because they don't want to shake things up. But keeping a competent manager around is another thing entirely. Manchester United haven't been a top side for two decades just because they were stable, they were great because they had one of the most brilliant managers ever leading the club that whole time. Mourinho's abilities are on that same level, and if he's planning on sticking around long-term, I only hope that Roman Abramovich is a little less fiesty than he was last time around.