Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson was once the Premier League's undisputed master of the dark arts behind the beautiful game - the ability to propagandise in press conferences, put pressure on referees and relieve it from his players, simply through the power of spoken verse. But that title is now being slowly pulled from under his feet, inches at a time, by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

The Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton on Sunday and the St. Mary's clash finished with one major talking point - that foul on Cesc Fabregas by Saints youngster Matt Targett, inside the penalty box, that was somehow judged as a dive by referee Anthony Taylor, resulting in a yellow card for the Chelsea playmaker.

Thus, Mourinho's ensuing post-match press conference contained an accusative response of passionate angst, with the Portuguese declaring a 'campaign' had been forged by 'the media, commentators [and] other managers' to paint the Blues as prolific divers.

One could argue he has a point; Neil Warnock, Sam Allardyce, and Steve Bruce have all criticised the performances of referees after defeats to Chelsea this season, the latter two particularly arguing a tendency to go to ground which should be punished more frequently. Then again, one could argue they have all have a point too. The Blues have been rather theatrical with certain instances this season and have received the most bookings for simulation of any Premier League side, four.

But in truth, none of that really matters, because the positive effects of Mourinho's condemning words are already three-fold.

Firstly, Chelsea's rather lukewarm performance against Southampton has already become yesterday's news, with debates over diving and the quality of refereeing providing the perfect smokescreen.

There's no shame in being held at bay by the Saints; they're realistic top four contenders on merit and currently boast the second-best goals conceded column, 15, and the most clean sheets, eight, in the Premier League. Drawing at St. Mary's is a much better result than Manchester City's 2-2 at the Etihad against Burnley, for example, or Manchester United's stalemate with Tottenham.

Yet, there were plenty of negatives to be drawn from the 90 minutes. Chelsea scored with their only shot on target and eventually finished up with two less attempts at goal than the home side, despite them being without key defenders Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Betrand. They controlled the match and created decent chances, but ultimately lacked the clinical ruthlessness you'd expect from Premier League champions in waiting.

That's the kind of thing you'd expect pundits to build an in-depth analysis around. Instead, the vast majority of post-match discussion was shifted to the notion of conspiracies against Chelsea and the tone of Mourinho's condemning words. Rather than criticising Eden Hazard, Diego Costa or Cesc Fabregas, we're now questioning Anthony Taylor's ability to make impartial decisions.

Secondly, as argued by Gary Neville, the Chelsea manager has now 'planted a seed' for the rest of the season. Mourinho's rant will amplify the intensity surrounding any stumble in the box enormously and between now and the end of May, that will inevitably affect decisions from referees. Some may feel compelled respond in spite of it, but others will undoubtedly be pressurised into leaning towards the Blues for such instances - especially at home. Following the Stamford Bridge gaffer's declaration, it would be beyond surprising if Chelsea went to pick up another four bookings for diving in the second half of the campaign.

Some may view that as unsporting behaviour from Mourinho, a manager already famed for his rather spiteful attitude on certain occasions. But this is nothing new in the Premier League;  Sir Alex Ferguson undertook the same ploy relentlessly as he masterminded United's way to 13 titles. The legendary Scot would blame a ball-boy, a linesman, a fourth official, even a stadium announcer, if he thought it would give him any slight advantage in a title race.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly considering Chelsea are now on the home stretch of their bid for the English crown, Mourinho's creating a siege mentality around his club; a message to the fans and the players that there will be no fortuitous decisions or beneficial acts of god en route to the 2014/15 title. If the west Londoners are to usurp Manchester City from their incumbency, it will have to be through their own hard work and, allegedly, in spite of the rest of the Premier League conspiring against them. A subliminal and simple yet powerful rallying cry of 'fight for your lives, we're being attacked from all sides'.

Jose Mourinho's worked with some of the biggest names in world football, but never Sir Alex Ferguson. Yet, by the game, or more specifically, by the press conference, the similarities between him and the United legend - their shared ability pressure referees and set the agenda for debate - is becoming increasingly evident.

With the Red Devils deposed, there's room for a new dominant force in the Premier League. Whether that's possible in the post-Ferguson era remains to be seen, but trapping referees under a spell of wrath, in carbon copy of the hair-drying Scot, give's Mourinho's Chelsea an enormous advantage in achieving that aim.

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