Btw, little reminder in case anyone has forgotten....Duncan Castles stated that the signings being limited to four last summer was down to Mourinho thinking any more than that was too many in one window. Now we're being told it was actually because Ed couldn't sell players. Which is it, chaps?
Duncan Castles : Jose Mourinho on collision course with Ed Woodward over Manchester United transfers
- Thread starter Maradona10
- Start date
all these "leaks" will do is drive up the already inflated prices we will have to pay even higher. This notion that all Jose has to do is give Woodward a list and bingo job's done. Doesn't happen like that. Players want to have to come here in the first place, and as great a club as we are, we aren't for everyone. I think Jose is being naive here thinking once we come knocking you just up and leave and join us. Either that or he has overestimated the pull factor our club has
There is something to it at least, just look at his U-turn on all things United since Mourinho has joined. He has shat on City recently IIRC.
How did we manage to sign Lindelof before that then? And City signed Silva? And Everton signed 5 different players.
He's not an oracle. He is, quite plainly, on the Mendes payroll, whether in terms of actually being paid, or receiving benefit in kind. No one has this sort of slavish devotion to a manager. Castles tells us what that camp wants us to hear. When they're being truthful, he's as right as they come. When they're not, he's not. Nothing remotely complicated about any of it, tbh.
gotta feel for Jose.... he was planning on sitting next to Matic and Morata on the plane to US and big bad Woody has ruined his plans......
maybe if he stamps his feet a bit more he'll get his way
maybe if he stamps his feet a bit more he'll get his way
Of course Mourinho would be annoyed at not having the new signings in early. Every manager would prefer that. But he's not new to this management lark, he knows that transfers aren't always as easy as sending a fax. It just happens that this year it's taking a while for window to gain traction. I don't imagine it's going to be a major cause of friction between Mourinho and the club.
I just dont see it as that involved. He may have an acquaintance level relationship with Mendes or a source at the club that he doesn't wish to piss off, hence the slightly more favorable coverage of United over the past year. He could also be greatly embellishing what little he knows to stretch into predictable article length narratives that most fans could deduce without his help (i.e. Mourinho increasingly frustrated with Woodward's lack of progress on the transfer front). It's always best to view this sort of thing with a healthy dose of scepticism.
Arsenal have signed Kolasinac and now Lacazette while circling around Mahrez.
Chelsea have signed Caballero and now Rudiger while being close to Bakayogo and circling around A.Sandro and Lukaku.
Yes City have signed Silva and Ederson, but are reported to be very close to both Mendy and Alves while circling Betrand, Walker and Alexis.
Spurs are the only team we really haven't seen much noise from, but it is likely down to Levy haggling over the massive fees in the market. Always have alway will.
Stating that Sandro (Everton) would not improve any of the teams above is just plain odd. We could do with a proper ST I believe and whereas he might not be a starter in many of the teams, he would be a great player for any to have on the bench.
I don't buy that at all. I don't think it makes sense. Look at where he makes his money and the subject matter. Consistently. This isn't once every few months. If he was just spinning stories from a few words thrown his way they'd stop speaking to him. He's writing long, detail-heavy pieces that could easily be knocked down by Mourinho or his people. But they never are.
And fwiw, the coverage hasn't been "slightly more favourable". It's been a complete volte face. Castles went from ridiculing us, to suddenly seeing the best in us when almost no one else did. Albeit now he's decided Ed is the worst transfer man of all time (again). (in the replies).
Fecking hell. Where did it all go wrong.
Jose getting his excuses in early in case it all goes arseways
Woody seems to smart enough to ignore all media bullshit, especially if he's on vacation to NZ, and I expect him and Mou to sometimes have a good laugh at all the clowns who writes this shit.
Secondly what awful threatment (of some) do you refer to? Just interested to know..
Third its good we have some negativity in this club. I like that. Muito. Old grumpy, sceptical and cynical against everyone and everybody that's my favorite boy
We couldn't register them until July 1st. You can get the paper work signed and sealed you just can't deliver it before that date.
Missing out on Griezmann was a huge loss especially since the player looked happy to join us and a release clause meant we could avoid any prolonged negotiations. If we had Griezmann and Lindelof in the bag at this point I'd think Mourinho would be fine when it looks like other targets are being held up by clubs lining up replacements. Woodward shouldn't be taking holidays when deals could be done period. Get whoever Mourinho wants then have a 1 month holiday for all I care, it's a major problem that footballing matters at United don't seem to be his priority.
Yes and that transition came when Mourinho came to United. Castles has always been Mourinho's right hand man in the media. Saying that, he's said himself several times that he still doesn't particularly like us.
Are you seriously gonna exchange one of the best manager in the football and perhaps in the history of the game, a man who helps us to win THREE trophies after just one year in the helm of awfully unbalanced team with psychologically broken players, to a person who has zero football knowledge and completely incompetent at operating with transfers??????
Yes he has to do his job, which is to get United the players that the manager wants!
And he has failed miserably till now this year.
Looks bad on Woodward and the failure to secure the intended targets. Mind you i am not overly fussed on missing out on Matic and Peresic. Think we dodged a bullet there
If I was Mourinho I'd be upset as well. He should be left in charge of all the footballing matters and given how terrible we've looked since Fergie left it's clear we need signings and even moreso after losing a 20+ goal striker. Pull the finger out Woodward.
Why is everyone every news outlet so worried about our transfer deals. Some fan on here really make me sick. Seriously who says we are not working on the mangers shopping list. Just because the club not sharing anything with the media and doing things quietly seriously that's the only way to do business.
I trust we will sign what is needed considering the amount of draws and how unlucky we were in front of goal last season. Still nearly 2 months for the transfer window just be patient and stop moaning like a bunch of spoiled kids
I trust we will sign what is needed considering the amount of draws and how unlucky we were in front of goal last season. Still nearly 2 months for the transfer window just be patient and stop moaning like a bunch of spoiled kids
100% agree. Yes, we've not got all our targets atbthis moment in time but who else has? Forget in England, across the major leagues in Europe even.
It gives him an excuse in the event the season starts slowly, Well, in his mind it does. The older he gets , the more his insecurities show.
Also, why doesn't Mourinho get involved in the discussions and see how difficult it is? One thing is for sure, Woodward has proven to us all, he's not scared of splashing the cash. So it can't be just about money.
What a complete steaming load of BS.
I'm really frustrated because I don't know what to think about all of this.
At one hand, as someone already mentioned, I think we could do much better than Perisic and Matic and I really do not want them here.
I think Ed is right on this one - We should not pay over the odds and fund other club's transfer budget. We are basically buying outcasts while they are replacing them with superior players.
On the other hand I don't want our manager to be unhappy and I trust his judgment 99% of the time, but I really hope he is not the one pushing for mentioned players (at quoted price) because it would be insane.
At one hand, as someone already mentioned, I think we could do much better than Perisic and Matic and I really do not want them here.
I think Ed is right on this one - We should not pay over the odds and fund other club's transfer budget. We are basically buying outcasts while they are replacing them with superior players.
On the other hand I don't want our manager to be unhappy and I trust his judgment 99% of the time, but I really hope he is not the one pushing for mentioned players (at quoted price) because it would be insane.
Trouble is the amounts have risen significantly in the past year or two. It started with the Pogba transfer. If a club was willing to pay £85m for a player that was previously thought of in the 40-50m range then any subsequent club we approach would view that as a green light to raise their asking price by another 50%. The likes of Morata and Perisic should be going for about 40 and 25m respectively before this latest increase.
Exactly. So IF Mourinho is moaning, he should take all this into consideration.
I agree - it wasn't a great article
The article was actually light years better than your response to it.
I don't think Pogba was the start point, the start point was John Stones for £50m. A developing, far from finished article centre-back for £50m. In that environment clubs were gonna say 'well if a non-finished centre back is £50m, Pogba is definitely £89m, Mbappe is £100m+' The money in the game inflated the market. Watford wanted £30m for Troy Deeney. If we want Morata we'll have to pay big. If a club wants Harry Kane they'll have to find at least £150m. Thats how the game has gone.
The Clubs are starting to price each other out of the market which was always going to happen with no price cap in place. Some of the prices are crazy and clubs just can't sustain that kind of spending. If very little business is done this transfer summer then that is a message that things have definitely reached a plateau I reckon.
I wonder who will open a Jose sack/Quit watch thread,probably over the weekend after a lash of beer 
Is it? I think there's reasonable points in there. I think Mourinho has done a fairly impressive job at getting the worst out of our younger talents (Martial and Shaw, in particular) and many of our supporters have bought into it the criticism. Martial, in particular, is going to be a superstar and I fear that it won't be at Manchester United.
Martial and Shaw have a big season ahead, and they are ultimately responsible for their own form, but give them a bloody shot, with some consistent game time in an attacking team. Get the best out of them. Make them feel confident in their abilities, so that they play will aggression, positivity and without fear.
Other managers are getting a hell of a lot more out of inferior sets of players, especially in an attacking sense. It's Mourinho's job to get them into attacking positions wave after wave, like a proper United side should do.
Some this lot on here would have you believe that our players are completely useless, and that merely replacing them with the next big thing will change everything at once. Well, it won't.
Woodward's position is more solid than Jose's and if he throws his dummy out of the pram and acts unprofessionally he puts himself at risk - that article personally questioned Woodward's decision to go to New Zealand - Jose has history for petulant behaviour and not long after he criticised buying policy at Chelsea in his first stint he was sacked. We all know what happened when childish, venomous Jose reared his head in his second stint at Chelsea.... I was worried he might lose it back in November when things were going badly and he was attacking players
he'd need to be careful or perhaps realistic
come off it - that article was one of the most sickly-sweet, powder puff ode to Jose's I'd read in a while
a real hard done by tale of a poor man who's transfer targets hadn't been secured 4 days into the window
doesn't matter if teams want to slap extortionate prices on players or don't want to sell, poor Jose has had nothing to work with and should get what he deserves
a bullshit article from Castles which likely emanated from Jose himself
I appreciate that Mourinho has his methods, but these reports are unhelpful and simply unprofessional. He's got a great gig at United and there's absolutely no need to pedal this shite for public consumption, especially considering the vast sums of money already given to him.
lets not forget Mata and Miki as wingbacks