You do hear a lot about 'player power,' but I'm one of those who believes the manager is there to take control, to be in charge.
Thinking back to how it fell apart for Mourinho at Chelsea, I do have some sympathy for him. At most clubs it is the manager who determines the long-term stability of the players but at Chelsea it seems very much the other way round.
I think the core of fans' relationship is one that vacillates schizophrenically and mercurially from reverence to resentment. Fans fetishize the players' athletic genius and both deify it and demonize it; witness the way awe turns into anger whenever a player holds out or flips off the offensive coordinator.
I always said to the directors that the minute a player becomes more powerful than the manager of Manchester United, it's not Manchester United. You have lost control of the whole club. So I always made sure that I was in control. They always knew who the manager was.
The big players historically hold a lot of influence at Chelsea and while I would never doubt their attempts to win matches for the club, their levels undoubtedly change depending on how they feel about a manager at the time. They're either having him or they're not, and once they're not it spells borrowed time for the guy in charge.
Everyone knows how much I love it at Dortmund but I also want to make sure I'm part of a strong team with powerful players.
My future doesn't lie in the hands of Neil Warnock, it's in the hands of Robert Snodgrass.
The players fire the coach, and as long as I'm on the same wavelength with them, I can coach as long as I want to.
I always like to remember the year 2008, when we had an amazing offer from Chelsea for Franck Ribery. From that day on, the whole world of football knew nobody can buy a Bayern Munich player against the will of Bayern Munich.
As players, we always have a way to get back at you.
I think some of the English players at Chelsea run the club, pretty much.
When you have your star players that decide to use their platform, one, their platforms are bigger than everyone else's, and two, they're a force to be reckoned with because teams don't want to lose that talent. They're a force to be heard.
The dollar that's being paid the players has hurt the game. The players take advantage of coaches. The players' attitude is, "I make more than you, so don't tell me what to do."
Players can't really control where they go, can't control what a coach thinks of them or if a club wants to sell them.
As a player, if a club is desperate to sign you, then you can benefit from that. Desperate clubs are prepared to pay more money; they are prepared to act decisively and play you.
I love the fact that players have control of where they want to play.
