José Mourinho | 2018/19 Performances

[RORY65]

Jose has been a pragmatic manager in all his clubs. He plays a margin game and would try to tip the odds with a moment of brilliance. That's how he works. It usually works as he'd got a good squad or assembled one where ever he's been. Our case is quite different. We had an extremely unbalanced squad and high exceptions such as Giving youngsters a chance, playing attractive football vs effective football ect.. Our club has been a wrong fit for him IMO. Say if he'd got 2nd at Chelsea playing same football in his 3rd season there, he'd not have got the stick he's getting here. Also , Jose needs certain players to be successful. Once who make extremely good decisions, plays for the team/ dirty when required , one WC player and players with hight workrate. We don't tick several of those boxes. When you take him out of his familiar habitat and also shoot him with high expectations and curtail him on the transfer market , he struggles as expected. I still think he'd do really well with teams that arnt spoilt by attacking football, just not us.

I agree with you that we need a long term plan to get anywhere close to city. Our next manager appointment is going to be the most important decision that can either keep us relevant or not.

He's not really a pragmatic manager anymore, he's just a negative one. Ferguson was a pragmatist, there were times when we were negative when he felt it was necessary but he also knew that it was important to go for the jugular when he knew his team was better and that most of the time we should play on the front foot as we were superior to our opposition. What Mourinho did at home to Sevilla wasn't pragmatism, us trying to scrape past massively inferior sides in the knock outs of the Europa League wasn't pragmatic either, it was ideological.

I'm not sure his way will be that successful anymore, he's not going to get one of the big jobs after us (maybe PSG if they're desperate) and I don't think the top sides want to play like that. It was different at Chelsea as they had experienced no success so he was coming in to a blank canvas, even by the second time they seemed to get fed up of it more rapidly.

I've seen a lot of comments over the last couple of days to say it would be delusional to think another manager could come in and win the title with this team and that's absolutely correct. However, we could get a manager who creates more of a bond between the team and the fans (everything feels quite toxic now and he's been very willing to distance himself from the team when things have gone badly ever since he's been here), we could get a manager who would play a more progressive style of football and would improve the players he's got. We're not going to be league winners again though until we sort out the structures at the club and have a more coherent vision of what we want to be and who we want to recruit. Getting Mourinho in the first place was a sign of that lack of vision, just appointing a name rather than the right fit for the club.

 

[Jazz]

Jose has been a pragmatic manager in all his clubs. He plays a margin game and would try to tip the odds with a moment of brilliance. That's how he works. It usually works as he'd got a good squad or assembled one where ever he's been. Our case is quite different. We had an extremely unbalanced squad and high exceptions such as Giving youngsters a chance, playing attractive football vs effective football ect.. Our club has been a wrong fit for him IMO. Say if he'd got 2nd at Chelsea playing same football in his 3rd season there, he'd not have got the stick he's getting here. Also , Jose needs certain players to be successful. Once who make extremely good decisions, plays for the team/ dirty when required , one WC player and players with hight workrate. We don't tick several of those boxes. When you take him out of his familiar habitat and also shoot him with high expectations and curtail him on the transfer market , he struggles as expected. I still think he'd do really well with teams that arnt spoilt by attacking football, just not us.

I agree with you that we need a long term plan to get anywhere close to city. Our next manager appointment is going to be the most important decision that can either keep us relevant or not.

He does well with the underdogs. His methods aren't suited to Madrid and United for example.
You're right, he's just not the right fit for us.

Also, he could have helped himself by adapting. Most footballers are different nowadays in their mentality, so those qualities that worked so well for him in the past is not so readily available nowadays. It is up to him to adapt and find a way to work with different personalities and he just hasn't. We as a club, can't keep buying players until he gets the ones that he thinks is in sync with his mentality. This would bankrupt the club.

It's just not working and I can't see it changing sadly.

 

[JPRouve]

I just don’t understand what’s gone wrong with him. He’s won the CL with Inter and Porto. Without being disrespectful to them two teams were a much bigger club.

I remember his first stint at Chelsea and they were an excellent team. He defended his players to the hilt, and they would run through brick walls for him. There was a togetherness.

He had a cockiness and extreme self belief that he was the best. Now he just seems that he doesn’t what it anymore or has lost his mojo. He used to play 433 with pacey wingers and a strong striker. Where has the old Jose gone?

Nothing, there is a trend among managers they win the most during the early part of their career and something that people tend to overlook, young managers have a drive that is contagious, drive that they can't keep for very long. Older successful managers in all sports are extremely smart people with a deep understanding of their field and human relationship, people like SAF, Belichik or Popovich are very very special, they can tweak anything and anyone, including themselves.

Just an example, on how different he is from a lot of top managers that failed to last, the following question is also interesting:

Did you already have your ideas in place regarding the way you wanted your future teams to play? Have these ideas changed over the years?

I always believed in possession of the ball, with every team I’ve had. Passing the ball, possession. That’s what we worked on when I was at East Stirling. All the time. They were limited players, to be honest, but they tried really hard. They were only part-time players; I’d only have them three nights a week. We played Tranmere in a preseason friendly. Ron Yeats was the manager. They beat us 2-0. Steve Coppell was their centre-forward at the time—just before he went to Manchester United. And Ron told me after the game, “I’ll give you a tip: You play far too much football.” And I said, “I’m quite happy if that’s a crime.” Playing too much football! But I’ve always believed in possession of the ball. I say to my players: Human nature tells you that when you have something in your possession, the other person wants it. So the patience runs out, they lose control. One of those 10 players is going to try and get that ball, so therefore, you’re playing against nine players. That was my theory, as a young manager. ... I’ve changed a bit since then, of course.

You see, we read a lot "That's not X team" because he doesn't have the players that fit his single way of seeing the game. SAF never abandoned possession football but he adapted it to his players and to the era, he has never been limited by personnel because he has enough understanding of people and the game to adapt himself and people around him.

 

[fergies coat]

Nothing, there is a trend among managers they win the most during the early part of their career and something that people tend to overlook, young managers have a drive that is contagious, drive that they can't keep for very long. Older successful managers in all sports are extremely smart people with a deep understanding of their field and human relationship, people like SAF, Belichik or Popovich are very very special, they can tweak anything and anyone, including themselves.

Just an example, on how different he is from a lot of top managers that failed to last, the following question is also interesting:



You see, we read a lot "That's not X team" because he doesn't have the players that fit his single way of seeing the game. SAF never abandoned possession football but he adapted it to his players and to the era, he has never been limited by personnel because he has enough understanding of people and the game to adapt himself and people around him.

Good post it’s just shows you what a genius he was. I suppose the same happened with Brian Clough then? Although the drink didn’t help.

 

[el3mel]

He does well with the underdogs. His methods aren't suited to Madrid and United for example.
You're right, he's just not the right fit for us.

Also, he could have helped himself by adapting. Most footballers are different nowadays in their mentality, so those qualities that worked so well for him in the past is not so readily available nowadays. It is up to him to adapt and find a way to work with different personalities and he just hasn't. We as a club, can't keep buying players until he gets the ones that he thinks is in sync with his mentality. This would bankrupt the club.

It's just not working and I can't see it changing sadly.

Since when exactly Inter were considered underdogs at the time he managed them ? They were dominating the Serie A and won the last 3 league titles before Mourinho managed them.

 

[Theonas]

Since when exactly Inter were considered underdogs at the time he managed them ? They were dominating the Serie A and won the last 3 league titles before Mourinho managed them.

At the European stage, they indeed were relatively of course. Nobody expected him them to go out and outplay certain teams the way Real Madrid are for example.

 

[el3mel]

At the European stage, they indeed were relatively of course. Nobody expected him them to go out and outplay certain teams the way Real Madrid are for example.

If you're reviewing them being underdog based on European competition, then Madrid and United were underdogs then ? Madrid were rubbish in Europe for several years getting knocked out of 16th round several successive years while United, well, we knew about it.

So if you considered Inter an underdog because they weren't good at Europe, United and Madrid were underdogs too then.

And if you're considering underdogs based on the club quality overall like Madrid and United regardless of their form, no chance this Inter side who was dominating the league 3 successive years before him can be considered one.

This "underdog" theory is eating itself imo.

I didn't even mentioned his first Chelsea team who has just finished second before he got the job and spent giga loads of money when he got the job when United was starting a rebuild and had already lost the league to Arsenal, finishing 3rd not even second ( behind Chelsea under Ranieri). How is this Chelsea team can be considered an underdog?

The only underdog team he managed is Porto.

 

[Theonas]

If you're reviewing them being underdog based on European competition, then Madrid and United were underdogs then ? Madrid were rubbish in Europe for several years getting knocked out of 16th round several successive years while United, well, we knew about it.

So if you considered Inter an underdog because they weren't good at Europe, United and Madrid were underdogs too then.

And if you're considering underdogs based on the club quality overall like Madrid and United regardless of their form, no chance this Inter side who was dominating the league 3 successive years before him can be considered one.

This "underdog" theory is eating itself imo.

I didn't even mentioned his first Chelsea team who has just finished second before he got the job and spent giga loads of money when he got the job when United was starting a rebuild and had already lost the league to Arsenal, finishing 3rd not even second ( behind Chelsea under Ranieri). How is this Chelsea team can be considered an underdog?

The only underdog team he managed is Porto.

Underdog in terms of status. Chelsea were definitely not underdogs in terms of their finances and quality prior of his arrival but in terms of status and prestige, they were. What this means is there is less expectation on them to play in a pro active way and win. They were not the sort of team that people expect to win or more importantly, win with authority and flair. Real Madrid and to a lesser extent us command more attention, more coverage, harsher criticism and higher expectation in terms of performance and playing style than everyone bar Barcelona and recently Bayern Munich. The other clubs including even City don't.

 

[el3mel]

Underdog in terms of status. Chelsea were definitely not underdogs in terms of their finances and quality prior of his arrival but in terms status and prestige, they were. What this means is there is less expectation on them to play a certain way. They were not the sort of team that people expect to win or more importantly, win with authority and flair. Real Madrid and to a lesser extent us command more attention, more coverage, harsher criticism and higher expectation in terms of performance and playing style than everyone bar Barcelona and recently Bayern Munich. The other clubs including even City don't.

Can we consider Juve underdog then according to this "logic" ?

 

[buckooo1978]

you know what I don't get about Mourinho (there are numerous things I dont get) - one of the things you'd expect as a bare minimum from a 'Mourinho team' is for them to work hard - I heard on a podcast this morning we had only covered 90km or so I think

here's some stats from last year about us covering the least amount of ground

https://www.themag.co.uk/2018/04/fa...team-ran-season-interesting-newcastle-united/

is it not obvious if we run harder we can pressure teams into mistakes, press and win the ball back and make supportive runs to help our attack

why are the management not making basic changes like this?

baffles me

 

[AR87]

you know what I don't get about Mourinho- one of the things you'd expect as a bare minimum from a 'Mourinho team' is for them to work hard - I heard on a podcast this morning we had only covered 90km or so I think

here's some stats from last year about us covering the least amount of ground

https://www.themag.co.uk/2018/04/fa...team-ran-season-interesting-newcastle-united/

is it not obvious if we run harder we can pressure teams into mistakes, press and win the ball back and make supportive runs to help our attack

why are the management not making basic changes like this?

baffles me

I think it's because we don't press when we lose possession and instead drop into our own half into a defensive shape. Additionally we barely make forward runs when we get the ball with any speed or purpose and also don't generally commit numbers forward.

 

[.Rossi]

Not really going to get into a discussion but, anyone who thinks it's going to be any different if we get a new manager, needs to have a word with themselves

 

[Theonas]

Can we consider Juve underdog then according to this "logic" ?

Depends. Maybe not underdog but they definitely do not have the same expectation in terms of pro active playing style compared to the likes of Barcelona or Real. Traditionally, Italian teams did not have that obligation to play on the front foot except maybe AC Milan. Things are changing nowadays though from 10 years ago with the emergence of PSG and City and the new wave of managers all adopting front foot approaches, it raised the bar for everyone. Owners and fans are demanding more than just results unless they feel their team is at a serious financial disadvantage like Atlético Madrid. Even Everton fans were not happy with the very respectable results they achieved last year when they felt their team could play better football. So to answer your question about Juventus, it depends on how their fans see them nowadays. If they feel that financially, they are not inferior to the Spanish and English clubs and that they embrace the new wave of attacking authoritative football and want a slice of the pie, then, no and Mourinho will find similar problems there to the ones he faced at Real and here.

 

[buckooo1978]

I think it's because we don't press when we lose possession and instead drop into our own half into a defensive shape. Additionally we barely make forward runs when we get the ball with any speed or purpose and also don't generally commit numbers forward.

yes thats what i said in the post - its ridiculous really that thr team simply arent working hard enough to win the ball back quicker or to create more attacking opportunities

it's a basic thing we could change to make an impact so why haven't we done it

 

[YouOnlyLiveTwice]

Not really going to get into a discussion but, anyone who thinks it's going to be any different if we get a new manager, needs to have a word with themselves

In terms of style it could easily be different. If you mean trophies, then yeah, not with how we are run currently.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

What I struggle to comprehend is how poorly coached we look. The tempo of our play, the positions our players take, the options available to players on the ball and the patterns we have to break through the lines are non-existent. Our defending from set-pieces is a real weak point as well considering the physical attributes of the players we have throughout the team. At the turn of the decade I would have said Mourinho was the best coach in the world but watching us now, and for the last 2 years, we look like we've never been coached at all. There was an outside hope that perhaps McKenna and Carrick could influence this a bit but so far we look as bad as we did last season.

I think part of the reason we looked ok in most big games last year is because these are the games Mourinho takes an active part in planning all the small details, when we play smaller teams he just leaves the players to their own devices. He has definitely lost the intensity he had when he was younger and he has not deferred to any younger coaches who can impact the team in the same manner yet.

I still can't get that rondo from pre-season that Sam Luckhurst posted on Twitter out of my head.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

What I struggle to comprehend is how poorly coached we look. The tempo of our play, the positions our players take, the options available to players on the ball and the patterns we have to break through the lines are non-existent. Our defending from set-pieces is a real weak point as well considering the physical attributes of the players we have throughout the team. At the turn of the decade I would have said Mourinho was the best coach in the world but watching us now, and for the last 2 years, we look like we've never been coached at all. There was an outside hope that perhaps McKenna and Carrick could influence this a bit but so far we look as bad as we did last season.

I think part of the reason we looked ok in most big games last year is because these are the games Mourinho takes an active part in planning all the small details, when we play smaller teams he just leaves the players to their own devices. He has definitely lost the intensity he had when he was younger and he has not deferred to any younger coaches who can impact the team in the same manner yet.

I still can't get that rondo from pre-season that Sam Luckhurst posted on Twitter out of my head.

Regarding the young coaches, we have McKenna and Carrick in place now, but these things take time.

 

[el3mel]

Depends. Maybe not underdog but they definitely do not have the same expectation in terms of pro active playing style compared to the likes of Barcelona or Real. Traditionally, Italian teams did not have that obligation to play on the front foot except maybe AC Milan. Things are changing nowadays though from 10 years ago with the emergence of PSG and City and the new wave of managers all adopting front foot approaches, it raised the bar for everyone. Owners and fans are demanding more than just results unless they feel their team is at a serious financial disadvantage like Atlético Madrid. Even Everton fans were not happy with the very respectable results they achieved last year when they felt their team could play better football. So to answer your question about Juventus, it depends on how their fans see them nowadays. If they feel that financially, they are not inferior to the Spanish and English clubs and that they embrace the new wave of attacking authoritative football and want a slice of the pie, then, no and Mourinho will find similar problems there to the ones he faced at Real and here.

How is that can be considered an answer when your earlier post said that Inter were considered underdogs because the expectations and attention from the world is less for them than for United and Madrid then revert to say it'll be according how their fans see it and want it ? You clearly don't have an answer that will keep your logic intact and want to divert it elsewhere, because it was completely wrong from the start anyway.

Underdog in terms of status. Chelsea were definitely not underdogs in terms of their finances and quality prior of his arrival but in terms of status and prestige, they were. What this means is there is less expectation on them to play in a pro active way and win. They were not the sort of team that people expect to win or more importantly, win with authority and flair. Real Madrid and to a lesser extent us command more attention, more coverage, harsher criticism and higher expectation in terms of performance and playing style than everyone bar Barcelona and recently Bayern Munich. The other clubs including even City don't.

No chance Juve have the same expectations in Europe as Barca and Madrid, and definitely don't have the same attention thrown on them from the media and outsiders as United, Madrid and Barca, and their statue as a club is always debatable in comparison to the great AC Milan because of their failure in Europe compared to Milan, so according to your weird "logic", they're considered underdogs then, when they're clearly not because they're the best Italian team and have great squad and can be toe to toe with any current team in Europe.

You probably don't know anything about Inter history. They have won 18 league titles, same as Milan and only behind Juve, and were dominating Italy at this period. They got Mourinho for one reason and that's to make a push for Europe. His enter second summer their was based on revamping the squad to make a push for CL. They were a great team when Mourinho got the job.

So let's summarize it :

1) If you're considering Inter as underdog based on European competition, United and Madrid were underdogs when Mourinho got the job. Madrid were rubbish in Europe getting KOed at 16th round and facing the one of the best football sides ever and United were rubbish for 3 years struggling to get to CL.
2) If you're considering the term "underdog" based on their statue or quality, no chance in hell this Inter was considered one due to their top squad, domination over Italy and very good history overall.
3) If you're considered Inter as underdog based on the expectations and attention from media and everyone, Juve are underdogs then, as no one gives them much attention or coverage outside Italy and hardly any outsider follows or watches their matches while the expectations for them is far less than Madrid and Barca.

What next ?

 

[buckooo1978]

honestly and I'm being realistic but what are the strengths of the team

there's nothing we've done really well as a team for a while and the last time I remember us playing really well as a team was against Spurs in the semi (Maybe one or two after that)

we don't work hard enough
we don't play with enough pace or tempo
we don't defend as a team
there are no patterns to our passing or movement
we play too direct
we don't control games
we don't create enough chances
despite buying lots of tall physical players we barely impact at set pieces

funnily enough the only time we have a clear game plan is when Fellaini is on and we play ultra-direct

what do we do well as a team?

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Regarding the young coaches, we have McKenna and Carrick in place now, but these things take time.

Yes but it will depend on how much influence Mourinho lets them have I suppose. I guess you could interpret the Brighton performance as United trying and failing to implement a possession based style of play but the movement around it all was still as static as ever.

 

[Theonas]

How is that can be considered an answer when your earlier post said that Inter were considered underdogs because the expectations and attention from the world is less for them than for United and Madrid then revert to say it'll be according how their fans see it and want it ? You clearly don't have an answer that will keep your logic intact and want to divert it elsewhere, because it was completely wrong from the start anyway.



No chance Juve have the same expectations in Europe as Barca and Madrid, and definitely don't have the same attention thrown on them from the media and outsiders as United, Madrid and Barca, and their statue as a club is always debatable in comparison to the great AC Milan because of their failure in Europe compared to Milan, so according to your weird "logic", they're considered underdogs then, when they're clearly not because they're the best Italian team and have great squad and can be toe to toe with any current team in Europe.

You probably don't know anything about Inter history. They have won 18 league titles, same as Milan and only behind Juve, and were dominating Italy at this period. They got Mourinho for one reason and that's to make a push for Europe. His enter second summer their was based on revamping the squad to make a push for CL. They were a great team when Mourinho got the job.

So let's summarize it :

1) If you're considering Inter as underdog based on European competition, United and Madrid were underdogs when Mourinho got the job. Madrid were rubbish in Europe getting KOed at 16th round and facing the one of the best football sides ever and United were rubbish for 3 years struggling to get to CL.
2) If you're considering the term "underdog" based on their statue or quality, no chance in hell this Inter was considered one due to their top squad, domination over Italy and very good history overall.
3) If you're considered Inter as underdog based on the expectations and attention from media and everyone, Juve are underdogs then, as no one gives them much attention or coverage outside Italy and hardly any outsider follows or watches their matches while the expectations for them is far less than Madrid and Barca.

What next ?

First of all, behave yourself and watch that little nasty tone. Either be civil or ignore my posts and go be cumbersome elsewhere.

Yes. Underdog status and fans expectations are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Juventus do not have the same expectation from the footballing world as Real Madrid or Barcelona. The relevant part here is about how difficult managers are finding it nowadays. Clubs nowadays even if they do not enjoy that same status traditionally are slowly shifting into demanding more. Everyone now from Chelsea, City, PSG are demanding a certain quality of football in addition to winning even if those clubs are not viewed as traditional elite. When people claim that Chelsea or Inter were underdogs, the point is their fans were not too picky. They, for whatever reason be it cultural, financial or historical did not mind the football as long as it delivered results which allowed managers like Mourinho more freedom to do whatever he wanted. The reasons can vary and the new one emerging now is that everyone is aiming to play on the front foot in a way that simply did not exist to the same extent last decade. The expectations on the likes of us now are not simply from a historical and prestige perspective, but also from what our rivals are doing. This is why I wrote that Juventus are a difficult case to answer; traditionally, their fans would probably not be as demanding from their manager the way Real Madrid fans would but again nowadays even Everton fans are demanding.

 

[el3mel]

First of all, behave yourself and watch that little nasty tone. Either be civil or ignore my posts and go be cumbersome elsewhere.

You realize that you're the one quoted me first right ? I wasn't even in discussion with you from the start. You weren't the original poster I was replaying to. You're the one who entered it by yourself, so don't act like I run to talk to you. I didn't want from the start anyway, but I won't refuse a discussion coming at me.

Yes. Underdog status and fans expectations are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Juventus do not have the same expectation from the footballing world as Real Madrid or Barcelona. The relevant part here is about how difficult managers are finding it nowadays. Clubs nowadays even if they do not enjoy that same status traditionally are slowly shifting into demanding more. Everyone now from Chelsea, City, PSG are demanding a certain quality of football in addition to winning even if those clubs are not viewed as traditional elite. When people claim that Chelsea or Inter were underdogs, the point is their fans were not too picky. They, for whatever reason be it cultural, financial or historical did not mind the football as long as it delivered results which allowed managers like Mourinho more freedom to do whatever he wanted. The reasons can vary and the new one emerging now is that everyone is aiming to play on the front foot in a way that simply did not exist to the same extent last decade. The expectations on the likes of us now are not simply from a historical and prestige perspective, but also from what our rivals are doing. This is why I wrote that Juventus are a difficult case to answer; traditionally, their fans would probably not be as demanding from their manager the way Real Madrid fans would but again nowadays even Everton fans are demanding.

Again very long paragraph without clear answer. So it's up to fans expectations now ? When we were completely rubbish the 3 years before Mourinho got the job, struggling to even qualify for CL and finishing 7th, 4th and 5th but arguably the fans expectations of United at this time was higher than the expectations of the best Italian team who were dominating the league or a team who was entering the season spending giga loads of money after finishing second the season before.

Ok mate.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

Since when exactly Inter were considered underdogs at the time he managed them ? They were dominating the Serie A and won the last 3 league titles before Mourinho managed them.

I still remember to this day at how the Inter Milan fan's were - didn't care even a percentage about how the football was played since Jose just enable them to keep on winning. On the european stage- they were merely acting as followers of Jose than Inter Milan.

That kind of fan service does not happen at Manchester United and Real Madrid - who have a much more stronger ethos of how football should be played never mind who the manager is.

They ultimately saw Jose as a way of moving up a stage from starting to win things at home to winning things in Europe.

In comparison : He came to Madrid - was forced to overtake pep, forced to use and get the best of certain players whilst actually playing decent football that would atleast get some attention back to real madrid. (remember his preferences for coentrao and higuain over marcelo and benzema - how did Madrid people react? defintely different to Chelsea, Porto or Inter who whilst succesful, consistently live in shadows).

Him managing United is no different.

 

[Apokalips]

He honestly just has not been the same guy since his Real tenure. He doesn't have that infectious confidence, instead he is quite grumpy and very negative in his approach. Even at Real his approach vs Barca was to just kick them into oblivion - hence Pepe in midfield. I honestly thought he'd turn it around here, but I think the damaged persona he showed at Chelsea is truly here to stay.

I really want him to succeed here, but I can't accept his reactive, defensive approach. He makes me feel like we are some sort of plucky relegation battling team and I can't believe he wants to buy top stars and force them to play in such a way that prevents us from seeing their talents at their best. That Sevilla tie was the turning point for me, because that was simply unacceptable for a club of our stature as was the FA cup final. I don't care about signings or any of that garbage, there was NO excuse for that over 2 legs - we are Manchester United and we are supposed to have a swagger and belief instead of simply going out hoping not to lose.

Some of his interviews have been awful and disrespectful to this great club and are a continuation from some of his madness in the second Chelsea stint. Maybe Jose should look at his own fecking recent "heritage" - he certainly hasn't filled the fans with any confidence, belief or excitement. Unlike some managers he seems to care more about himself than being down for the cause of his club in the way he was pre-Real Madrid. I really don't know what we should do to be honest - all I know is we cannot accept this type of football or attitude from our man in charge.

 

[Isotope]

This just reminds me of Moyes time. Players just don't know what they are doing. It's totally embarrassing for Manchester United to play like that.

 

[FujiVice]

He used to get compared a lot to Brian Clough when he first came to England. Game is moving by him like it did with Cloughy in the early 90s. He's not the first manager to see the game fly past him.

 

[buckooo1978]

it's hard to see things improving given the current climate - obviously we need to give Jose some more games to fix this

we might win a couple but one bad result and the pressure returns - we need someone to breathe life into this team, get us playing without fear and for the shirt

can't help but feel a good interim manager, who comes in with positivity, will lift us

 

[United_We_Stand]

 

[pocco]

I get the feeling the club doesn't quite grasp the size of that storm coming their way from the supporters if they don't sort their shit out very soon. It all sounds very blasé. If this continues the revolt will be bigger and louder than the green and gold campaign. It just feels like it's heading to a tipping point right now and unfortunately Woodward may have made it unavoidable after his lack of action in the summer.

 

[AngliaRed]

Which ever fan said, in reference to Sanchez posting pictures of his new clothing range;

“ we signed a model for 500k a week” needs recognition and a thumbs up!

 

[Kamprad]

He honestly just has not been the same guy since his Real tenure. He doesn't have that infectious confidence, instead he is quite grumpy and very negative in his approach. Even at Real his approach vs Barca was to just kick them into oblivion - hence Pepe in midfield. I honestly thought he'd turn it around here, but I think the damaged persona he showed at Chelsea is truly here to stay.

I really want him to succeed here, but I can't accept his reactive, defensive approach. He makes me feel like we are some sort of plucky relegation battling team and I can't believe he wants to buy top stars and force them to play in such a way that prevents us from seeing their talents at their best. That Sevilla tie was the turning point for me, because that was simply unacceptable for a club of our stature as was the FA cup final. I don't care about signings or any of that garbage, there was NO excuse for that over 2 legs - we are Manchester United and we are supposed to have a swagger and belief instead of simply going out hoping not to lose.

Some of his interviews have been awful and disrespectful to this great club and are a continuation from some of his madness in the second Chelsea stint. Maybe Jose should look at his own fecking recent "heritage" - he certainly hasn't filled the fans with any confidence, belief or excitement. Unlike some managers he seems to care more about himself than being down for the cause of his club in the way he was pre-Real Madrid. I really don't know what we should do to be honest - all I know is we cannot accept this type of football or attitude from our man in charge.

Good post. His spells at Real and Chelsea(last one) has made him bitter and hurt his big ego. The way his players treated him at times. The same ego that helped him become the best coach in the world. Now it has made him less adaptive and poison a fine club like this. Where is the positive energy? Where is the man management that use to make his player do anything for him? Where is the we against the world-attitude?

I hope he can find that again because this is not the same Mourinho. He needs therapy or something.

 

[Bastian]

@United_We_Stand

Another briefing by the club if this is also reported elsewhere. Mentioning the 7x increase into the academy and club officials' bemusement over Neville's comments. That they believe Woodward is the man to solve the current situation really shows how lost we are.

 

[AngliaRed]

He honestly just has not been the same guy since his Real tenure. He doesn't have that infectious confidence, instead he is quite grumpy and very negative in his approach. Even at Real his approach vs Barca was to just kick them into oblivion - hence Pepe in midfield. I honestly thought he'd turn it around here, but I think the damaged persona he showed at Chelsea is truly here to stay.

I really want him to succeed here, but I can't accept his reactive, defensive approach. He makes me feel like we are some sort of plucky relegation battling team and I can't believe he wants to buy top stars and force them to play in such a way that prevents us from seeing their talents at their best. That Sevilla tie was the turning point for me, because that was simply unacceptable for a club of our stature as was the FA cup final. I don't care about signings or any of that garbage, there was NO excuse for that over 2 legs - we are Manchester United and we are supposed to have a swagger and belief instead of simply going out hoping not to lose.

Some of his interviews have been awful and disrespectful to this great club and are a continuation from some of his madness in the second Chelsea stint. Maybe Jose should look at his own fecking recent "heritage" - he certainly hasn't filled the fans with any confidence, belief or excitement. Unlike some managers he seems to care more about himself than being down for the cause of his club in the way he was pre-Real Madrid. I really don't know what we should do to be honest - all I know is we cannot accept this type of football or attitude from our man in charge.

Everything I’ve wanted to say about Jose but better than I ever could. Spot on mate!

 

[Womp]

Yes but it will depend on how much influence Mourinho lets them have I suppose. I guess you could interpret the Brighton performance as United trying and failing to implement a possession based style of play but the movement around it all was still as static as ever.

Which in itself is proof it is being worked on? You're not going to drastically change a style or improve all facets of attacking play in a matter of weeks, especially when most of the players haven't even been back from holidays for long.

I think Jose needs to go, for reasons I've stated in other threads. That being said though, expecting the football to drastically change so quickly, regardless of who the manager is, is a pipe dream.

The most important change for me is a DOF, an opinion I've maintained for a while now. Players are far too expensive and managers get sacked far too often these days.

 

[Adisa]

This club needs new ideas from top to bottom.

 

[ZenMaster Coltrane]

He used to get compared a lot to Brian Clough when he first came to England. Game is moving by him like it did with Cloughy in the early 90s. He's not the first manager to see the game fly past him.

I think Mourinho's ego and psychology preclude any kind of adaptive, evolving approach to tactics and man management. He's a reactive coach who focuses almost exclusively on negating the opponents' strengths. Pep and Klopp are trying to unlock new ways to dominate and end games early and decisively, whereas Mourinho is a risk-averse control freak whose rigid principles leave his teams in scenarios where underwhelming teams grow in confidence. There was a stat in a BBC article by Danny Murphy that showed that only 19% of the MUN CB passes (vs Brighton) were in the opposition half compared to 76% for Man City.

 

[Foxbatt]

who are the top coaches who would come to United to replace Jose? I do not see many around anyway.

 

[FujiVice]

We placed Alex Ferguson with David Moyes. Then didnt sack him until he did such a shit job that we saved a few quid getting rid of him. We gave Van Gaal months longer than he should have gotten, after that Christmas period. We'll stick with Mourinho, I imagine. The decision making of our board is rotten.

 

[An Irish Red]

We placed Alex Ferguson with David Moyes. Then didnt sack him until he did such a shit job that we saved a few quid getting rid of him. We gave Van Gaal months longer than he should have gotten, after that Christmas period. We'll stick with Mourinho, I imagine. The decision making of our board is rotten.

I honestly don't think we'd sack him if he finishes in the top four this season. We aren't ruthless enough.

 

[LoCalXT]

Every team we play is like playing Barcelona.
Sit back and let them have their fun and try to sneak a counter attack.
We have to be the ONLY " top side " in football that doesn't press for the ball or break a press. Then you wonder what they actually work on in practice because our game relies on individual brilliance , one creative player has a bad game and we are in for a tough night ... UNTIL the deployment of Mr Plan B.