For some time now José Mourinho has been making statements akin to the village idiot. So his latest course of action, demoting club doctor Eva Carneiro, could be seen as a further example of his diminishing IQ. However, it’d be foolish to think behind seemingly acts of madness there isn’t a greater plan at work.

First off, he probably was genuinely enraged that his team were down to nine men because Eva Carneiro opted to take to the field and treat Eden Hazard. This period of anger may have only lasted minutes. Maybe an hour at most, taking into account he’s a bit mardy at times. After this period he’d have seen sense (one would hope).

The facts all stack up in the doctor’s favour. She was called onto the pitch by the referee. Now I’m not saying a physio has to respond to this call, after all the player himself can wave off the help, but without such a response from the presumed injured party she was left with little choice.

Also – and most importantly now – a doctor has a duty of care that to the patient that exceeds all other issues. Whether it’s the height of competition or a traffic accident, a doctor has to put the person first. Chelsea FC as employers have to abide by this. They too can be held accountable for inaction or poor treatment. Eva Carneiro has an ethical duty to fulfil.

Moaninho (see what I did there) knows this as well as you or I. Misreading the game or not seeing the big picture is one thing, and he’s right to suggest all staff should understand every aspect of the game and how decisions impact it, but he also knows ethical responsibilities can never be overlooked.

Why has he taken such drastic action then? You may ask that whilst concluding he certainly is mad, come on, what boss would forgo his duty of care to players and what man would choose to not sit near Ms Carneiro every week. A crazy one, seems a fair answer. Or one that is using the furore to mask his team’s less than impressive start to the season.

The press love going wax lyrical for José’s Chelsea. They won the league last year in November and this season was gifted it, via their column inches, before a pre-season ball had been kicked. Not taking anything away from the achievement, after thirty-eight games the league never lies, they were the best the Premier League had to offer last season, but to make them appear invincible is pushing it a little.

Last season there were vulnerabilities there, it just so happened they were spared a decent sparring partner. This season they have started cold. Attempting to retain the title always brings extra pressures and perhaps it is this that can used to explain the Community Shield match and the performance against Swansea. That’s not taking anything away from the Welsh side, they more than deserved a point, but the Press’ Super Team shouldn’t be looking so inferior when playing at home to such opposition.

José’s obvious port of call was to dispute the red card. Only the bias Sky Sports team could even suggest there might be a case for a yellow. It was a red. Clear and simple. The Chelsea boss also knows this. The Eva Carneiro case has just padded out a week where he’d need to use a red card debate as deflection for the team’s performance.

There’s no doubt Chelsea will bounce back, they are a good side. But there’s also no doubt Mourinho is just using his favoured old tactic. The more the press and the clickbait sheep talk about him, the less they think about how his team are playing. Hopefully this time ethics, and the reputation of a well-respected doctor, will put the Portuguese manager to shame.

We all want to win, but decent people don’t want to do it regardless of the cost.