José Mourinho | 2018/19 Performances

[Andersons Dietician]

For example the experienced centre back signing was vetoed, but like an analyst said during the Leipzig Dortmund game today, Leipzig's central defence was poor because of both young talented defenders having to take on excess organisational responsibility rather than having an experienced leader next to them which would allow them to focus solely on their own game; no current elite European side is without a commanding experienced central defender.

I would class Smalling as an experienced CB, more so than Maguire, it’s also not like Lindelof and Bailly are 19 or 20 yr olds. They are both 24 and Lindelof was part of 1 of the best defences in Europe at Benfica. I’m not saying having an experienced CB wouldn’t have helped them out a bit more but I wouldn’t say Alderweireld is that great of an organiser, and neither is the likes of Varane.

So did Jose really want an experienced CB or did he just want to see if he could get a better CB than the two he had already bought to replace them.

 

[Jeppers7]

So you expected him to smash the Premier League record and get 101 points in his second season in order to achieve the final position you deem "good enough"? Do you think that's a reasonable expectation?

I appreciate your passion and emotion as a supporter but it's also the part of your rationale I have a problem with, that being that passion and emotion by definition run contrary to rational thinking. Taking away my emotion, my enjoyment/anger/etc, I think the following:

Dynasties, legacies, traditions or whatever you call them are built on success, not prettiness. You support Manchester United and not Salford City because of their success, and you wouldn't have heard of them as a kid if they had not had the success that Manchester United had over the decades before. Chelsea fans remember their scrappy, flukey 1-1 Champions League final win over Bayern in 2012 far more fondly than they do their 5-0 league win vs Newcastle in 2003, I'm sure you remember our poor 2-1 Champions League final performance vs Bayern Munich in 1999 far more fondly than the 4-0 against Charlton in 2005, and Buttflog FC would not create "tradition" by finishing mid-table in National League North because they either won or lost every game 5-0 during a season.

Above all Manchester United are a side that wins. We have not won the league title for half a decade and counting, we need to put something on the board before we start thinking about style again, or you can forget about us even having a tradition that matters anymore. For all the hipster offerings of Pochettino, Jardim et al. there is currently no better winner on the market than Mourinho.

I'm sorry but it's not exclusively one or the other. Sir Matt used to talk about the fans and how they had worked all week to go to the games, that the players had a responsibility to entertain them. Sir Alex knew he had a responsibility to maintain those values even 20 odd years since we had last won the league.

I'm sure both great managers had their share of ground out wins to get over the line. In the end you do what you have to, to win sometimes. However it's nonsense to suggest Manchester United are only about winning. To try to pretend there's no more substance to our history than winning at all costs. You do a great disservice to Sir Alex and Sir Matt by even suggesting all that mattered to them was winning. Nothing more.

Well we aren't winning, and we're terrible to watch. 26 years of watching this football and we won't be supported as we were in the 80s.

The Busby babes, playing reactive football away at Brighton ? Cos winning was all that mattered to United. Ffs.

 

[reddevil80]

WTF? Only Mata, DDG and Martial started against Brighton.

Also, how is it Mourinho's fault that Ed won't buy the players? He had good summer transfer windows in the first 2 years but only got Fred for the first team this year, and that's not due to a lack of trying from Jose's part.

To be fair, do you not think that the "big" stars and players don't WANT to come to OT and play defensive garbage under Jose?, hence not getting the players Jose wants. If Zidane was our coach, say, do you think HE would attract more players?, I do and I think many others would too. That, for me anyway, is a possible example of how Jose doesn't have he attraction power anymore.

 

[Renegade]

Would people here say Mourinho created a lot of the negativity around the club during pre season with his comments?

I remember being relatively positive before those comments were made.

He played games with the media and it backfired in my opinion.

 

[tjb]

I feel bad for him. This year is like some instant tornado. If Chelsea lost yesterday, or Liverpool lost yesterday, despite worse records last season, noone would have been talking too much. But one loss in and its turmoil, despite us finishing second last season. This is the reason I want him to go, its clear that alot of the fans and people at the club are not backing him, and that has translated into this early storm. Maybe if the fans get a manager that plays the type of football they want, despite results, we won't be as unstable as we seem to be.

 

[reddevil80]

I'm sorry but it's not exclusively one or the other. Sir Matt used to talk about the fans and how they had worked all week to go to the games, that the players had a responsibility to entertain them. Sir Alex knew he had a responsibility to maintain those values even 20 odd years since we had last won the league.

I'm sure both great managers had their share of ground out wins to get over the line. In the end you do what you have to, to win sometimes. However it's nonsense to suggest Manchester United are only about winning. To try to pretend there's no more substance to our history than winning at all costs. You do a great disservice to Sir Alex and Sir Matt by even suggesting all that mattered to them was winning. Nothing more.

Well we aren't winning, and we're terrible to watch. 26 years of watching this football and we won't be supported as we were in the 80s.

The Busby babes, playing reactive football away at Brighton ? Cos winning was all that mattered to United. Ffs.

Absolutely spot on Jeppers. I have watched and supported Man Utd since I watched my first game at 5 yrs old and I always remember the "buzz" and the atmosphere in and around the ground. At 5, I wasn't bothered about winning, my grandad, uncle and aunty (who use to take me to OT), were always singing and happy because the players had heart and they played with their hearts on their sleeves. The 2 points were an absolute bonus. That atmosphere has long gone and Jose is NOT going to bring that back.

 

[tjb]

Would people here say Mourinho created a lot of the negativity around the club during pre season with his comments?

I remember being relatively positive before those comments were made.

He played games with the media and it backfired in my opinion.

I agree. He sparked this by publicly bashing the board...now he has put himself in a tight corner that only wins can solve.

 

[Shaun88]

Where we are around new year will hold the key for many. If we're anywhere close to the leader, holding our own in 2nd/3rd place and putting up a fight in the big games as we did last year then I think a lot will back him to take us into next season. If we're well off the pace, then I think many will run out of patience with him. Why continue to sacrifice style and attacking football for results at all costs, if those results don't materialise? Another season treading water might be the final straw.

This is a good point. If we are not close to challenging and playing poor football what is the point? Surely there becomes a time where if no form of progression is forthcoming its time to move in a different direction. We can talk all day about jose but i dont think it would necessarily matter who was managing us, if we are not making progress and not playing good football its always going to be a big problem for any manager

 

[Jazz]

Would people here say Mourinho created a lot of the negativity around the club during pre season with his comments?

I remember being relatively positive before those comments were made.

He played games with the media and it backfired in my opinion.

Oh absolutely it started the negativity.
He also used the press to bully the board to buy whomever he wanted, instead of compromising and doing these things behind closed doors. Don't know why he thought he could constantly get away with this. Ed may look like a nerd but it's very deceptive, the guy is ruthless, and was not going to keep taking his public jibes.

All in all, he outmanoeuvred himself, when Ed and the press reacted otherwise.

Let's hope he can fix it to some extent before we start losing all our upcoming games.

 

[ivaldo]

That was the reason why Mourinho was hired in the first place and the goalposts have not shifted. He has yet to challenge for the title. Note, not win the title. Challenge for the title. Even after all the money spent he has yet to mount a title challenge past December.

This point has always baffled me. City have spent more on a squad that was already far better than ours, and yet you now expect us to challenge on that basis. It's illogical and plain daft.

 

[Janson]

If we lose tomorrow and it's another horror show of a performance I think he will get sacked.

Would leave us 6pts behind Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs after just 3 games. City would be just 4 ahead but that's a race we know we aren't winning this year anyway. The first 3 are the real threats to us.

 

[Laurentiu amt]

If we lose today, no, he won;t be sacked, but if we lose next week as well, he'll be dumped, as stupid as it sounds.

 

[Janson]

Exactly and by the looks of it, we will hardly be challenging for anything other than top 4 this season as well. When he was appointed he said something along the lines this being a 2, 3 year project, yet results and overall football in comparison to money spent and squad at his disposal, have been pretty underwhelming.

People brag about 81 pts 2nd place which is nice but we never really challenged for the title last season, no team did except City.

When grinning cnut realized league is far gone, he went guns blazing in CL, just making sure he finishes in top 4, Chelsea and Arsenal had awful season overall and Spurs tried to make an impact in CL, plus the infamous Wembley issue.

81 pts 2nd place does sound nice on the paper, but when you look at all the circumstances surrounding it, isn't really that impressive at all.

Expecting us to challenge for the title with City having that once in a lifetime season is pretty delusional.

 

[Irish Jet]

The only way I see him getting sacked any time soon is if we get absolutely hammered by 3/4 goals and he throws everything and everyone under the bus.

Sadly not too unrealistic.

 

[Bestietom]

If we Lose tonight against spurs, then Sack him and bring in Zidane now before it's too late.

 

[Janson]

I feel bad for him. This year is like some instant tornado. If Chelsea lost yesterday, or Liverpool lost yesterday, despite worse records last season, noone would have been talking too much. But one loss in and its turmoil, despite us finishing second last season. This is the reason I want him to go, its clear that alot of the fans and people at the club are not backing him, and that has translated into this early storm. Maybe if the fans get a manager that plays the type of football they want, despite results, we won't be as unstable as we seem to be.

Unfortunately, that's true. Too many spoilt fans, crying because they aren't entertained. Blind to the actual progress we've made, driving the manager out. Let's see what happens when we inevitably get an inferior manager who also isn't backed by the board. We will challenge City? Yeah right.

 

[Kapardin]

The only way I see him getting sacked any time soon is if we get absolutely hammered by 3/4 goals and he throws everything and everyone under the bus.

Sadly not too unrealistic.

If we Lose tonight against spurs, then Sack him and bring in Zidane now before it's too late.

The briefing by Woodward indicated that Jose won't be sacked even if we keep losing every game till the international break, so let's put that to bed.

We will either beat or draw Spurs, we hardly ever lose to them at home. Plus, Jose gets our players fired up for big games usually, that's how we had a near perfect record against the Top 6 last season.

I hope Jose somehow manages to coach the attack well so that we look fluid and dispel the current negativity, winning with style. I keep hoping for that as each game comes by though.

 

[Mercurial]

Pretty obvious at this point the board are going full Arsenal 2.0 with commercial side and top 4. They act business first and are probably intending to turtling out the City dominance vs taking a massive hit to the profits and compete. Jose is not a yes man he wants to win, doubt he is the kind of coach to accept such a scenario and neither should we it's a recipe for fail. Back him or sack him and get a DoF.

 

[Irish Jet]

The briefing by Woodward indicated that Jose won't be sacked even if we keep losing every game till the international break, so let's put that to bed.

He also briefed that Van Gaal and Moyes would see out their contracts. It's easier to say these things than actually see them through if the mood became too poisonous.

Mourinho essentially nailed his own coffin at Chelsea with the betrayal comments - He couldn't carry on when he was publicly claiming the players weren't playing for him. If it reaches that level (I don't think it will but it's not impossible) then his situation would be untenable.

 

[dove]

If we Lose tonight against spurs, then Sack him and bring in Zidane now before it's too late.

Now that would be even worse than losing 0-4. I am absolutely not convinced Zidane would do better with this squad, the difference in quality between us and Real is shocking. I am all for Jose to go at the end of the season but seriously, it's about time we make a good decision instead of a reactive one.

 

[red4ever 79]

On borrowed time now in my opinion. I am not a fan of changing our manager often, however if Jose stayed here this season, would anything really change?. Would we suddenly see a team play a more attacking brand of football. Would we all of a sudden stop losing to teams like fecking Brighton. On the other side if he stays we continue to alienate top players at the club and could potentially see them leave

 

[Thomas A.Anderson]

People who suggest Zidane after Mourinho haven't seen Real Madrid game in two years. There's no other explanation.

 

[Marcelinho87]

All those who expect him to be sacked anytime soon

Moyes was sacked when a clause meant it would be financially viable, LVG the same.

The only way Mourinho gets the sack is if we DON'T qualify for the UCL, simple as that.

As for who we hire next? Whoever is a free agent as we don't wanna pay up for already working managers.

 

[tonnas]

All those who expect him to be sacked anytime soon

Moyes was sacked when a clause meant it would be financially viable, LVG the same.

The only way Mourinho gets the sack is if we DON'T qualify for the UCL, simple as that.

As for who we hire next? Whoever is a free agent as we don't wanna pay up for already working managers.

Zidane is free, having said that, apart from Pep I am not convinced by anyone to take over, I like Pochettino and Zidane but the promising ones left are a gamble such as Jardem Hangleman MSilva howe etc etc....I dont fancy any Italian coaches apart from Sarri

 

[Mercurial]

Now that would be even worse than losing 0-4. I am absolutely not convinced Zidane would do better with this squad, the difference in quality between us and Real is shocking. I am all for Jose to go at the end of the season but seriously, it's about time we make a good decision instead of a reactive one.

Zidane command player respect with his pedigree.

Zidane is free, having said that, apart from Pep I am not convinced by anyone to take over, I like Pochettino and Zidane but the promising ones left are a gamble such as Jardem Hangleman MSilva howe etc etc....I dont fancy any Italian coaches apart from Sarri

Pep would fail here also, we lack structure behind the scenes.

 

[The Firestarter]

All those who expect him to be sacked anytime soon

Moyes was sacked when a clause meant it would be financially viable, LVG the same.

The only way Mourinho gets the sack is if we DON'T qualify for the UCL, simple as that.

As for who we hire next? Whoever is a free agent as we don't wanna pay up for already working managers.

If he loses five games in a row he will get sacked. Zidane may not be available at the end of the season so this time they may change their MO.

 

[el3mel]

If he loses five games in a row he will get sacked. Zidane may not be available at the end of the season so this time they may change their MO.

LVG lost 4 games in a row, went on a 8 winless strike games and stayed till end of the season.

We're not thinking of managerial change or not till end of the season.

 

[The Firestarter]

LVG lost 4 games in a row, went on a 8 winless strike games and stayed till end of the season.

We're not thinking of managerial change or not till end of the season.

The times are different. The board's refusal to sign checks is telling.

 

[el3mel]

The times are different. The board's refusal to sign checks is telling.

Time is different ? That was 2 years ago. They also didn't sign anyone for Moyes except Fellaini left him till he lost on top 4.

Mourinho isn't leaving midway in the season. Get with it.

 

[The Firestarter]

Time is different ? That was 2 years ago. They also didn't sign anyone for Moyes except Fellaini left him till he lost on top 4.

Mourinho isn't leaving midway in the season. Get with it.

Did not mean it literally. And the Moyes (non)transfers was completely down to his ineptitude.

 

[el3mel]

Did not mean it literally. And the Moyes (non)transfers was completely down to his ineptitude.

Ed had a big role in fecking up the Moyes marker as much as that last summer. Moyes had some unrealistic targets as Ronaldo but fecking up Fabregas deal (who went the next summer to Chelsea ) and waiting till last day to overpay for Fellaini, more than his initial clause was also on Ed.

 

[The Firestarter]

Ed had a big role in fecking up the Moyes marker as much as that last summer. Moyes had some unrealistic targets as Ronaldo but fecking up Fabregas deal (who went the next summer to Chelsea ) and waiting till last day to overpay for Fellaini, more than his initial clause was also on Ed.

So these days Ed is to blame for everything in past and present .

 

[el3mel]

So these days Ed is to blame for everything in past and present .

He shares the blame for Moyes for this summer. At the end, Moyes puts the list and Ed negotiates for them. Moyes put some unrealistic targets but Ed also fecked up the negotiation. It's unfair to give Moyes the full blame for this summer because he's a hated figure. He did enough in the reason to slaughter him and everything he did anyway.

 

[Lentwood]

Fact for you all - on this day in 2002 Rio Ferdinand made his Manchester Utd debut. As we know, Rio went on to form possibly the best CB partnership in PL history with Nemanja Vidic, won a cabinet full of domestic trophies and played in three CL finals

Relevance? We paid £30m for Rio....in 2002

Nowadays we’ve got people on here still stuck with their heads in the sand bleating about the £30m we spent on Bailly and Lindelof and using this as a stick to beat Jose

SAF knew Rio was the best CB around and had no qualms in paying a huge sum to get him. In doing so, he probably saved the club millions even on such an expensive purchase because he got it right first time and was rewarded with a world-class CB for a decade

Shop in the bargain bins and you take risks. Buy cheap, buy twice

 

[Kapardin]

Fact for you all - on this day in 2002 Rio Ferdinand made his Manchester Utd debut. As we know, Rio went on to form possibly the best CB partnership in PL history with Nemanja Vidic, won a cabinet full of domestic trophies and played in three CL finals

Relevance? We paid £30m for Rio....in 2002

Nowadays we’ve got people on here still stuck with their heads in the sand bleating about the £30m we spent on Bailly and Lindelof and using this as a stick to beat Jose

SAF knew Rio was the best CB around and had no qualms in paying a huge sum to get him. In doing so, he probably saved the club millions even on such an expensive purchase because he got it right first time and was rewarded with a world-class CB for a decade

Shop in the bargain bins and you take risks. Buy cheap, buy twice

Salah cost 38 million, but he produced a Ronaldo/Messiesque performance last season.

Price has nothing to do with quality. Price is incidental and is determined by the selling club based on their appraisal of their player. It is possible to get quality players both cheaply as well as for top dollar. For the former, good scouting is required, which appeared to be lacking --- so far it seems, as they could still come good --- for Bailly and Lindelof.

 

[Sarni]

Fact for you all - on this day in 2002 Rio Ferdinand made his Manchester Utd debut. As we know, Rio went on to form possibly the best CB partnership in PL history with Nemanja Vidic, won a cabinet full of domestic trophies and played in three CL finals

Relevance? We paid £30m for Rio....in 2002

Nowadays we’ve got people on here still stuck with their heads in the sand bleating about the £30m we spent on Bailly and Lindelof and using this as a stick to beat Jose

SAF knew Rio was the best CB around and had no qualms in paying a huge sum to get him. In doing so, he probably saved the club millions even on such an expensive purchase because he got it right first time and was rewarded with a world-class CB for a decade

Shop in the bargain bins and you take risks. Buy cheap, buy twice

£30m now is probably the equivalent of £10m back then if not less. Recently I've read that Iago Aspas could move to Real Madrid for £35m (he's 31 I think) and PSG were preparing a £81m bid for Rakitic which gives you a picture of what sort of market we are talking about now.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

We aren't losing today, fellows. It's spurs. At home.

 

[Smores]

Salah cost 38 million, but he produced a Ronaldo/Messiesque performance last season.

Price has nothing to do with quality. Price is incidental and is determined by the selling club based on their appraisal of their player. It is possible to get quality players both cheaply as well as for top dollar. For the former, good scouting is required, which appeared to be lacking --- so far it seems, as they could still come good --- for Bailly and Lindelof.

That's such a idiotic post I'm suprised you pressed submit. Price has nothing to do with quality? I mean just think of all those times SAF overpaid why didn't he just pull out bargain after bargain eh what a chump.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Fact for you all - on this day in 2002 Rio Ferdinand made his Manchester Utd debut. As we know, Rio went on to form possibly the best CB partnership in PL history with Nemanja Vidic, won a cabinet full of domestic trophies and played in three CL finals

Relevance? We paid £30m for Rio....in 2002

Nowadays we’ve got people on here still stuck with their heads in the sand bleating about the £30m we spent on Bailly and Lindelof and using this as a stick to beat Jose

SAF knew Rio was the best CB around and had no qualms in paying a huge sum to get him. In doing so, he probably saved the club millions even on such an expensive purchase because he got it right first time and was rewarded with a world-class CB for a decade

Shop in the bargain bins and you take risks. Buy cheap, buy twice

You take risks even if you spend big as we've seen with ADM, Pogba and many more.

And Alderwerald is half the player Rio Ferdinand was.

 

[Sarni]

That's such a idiotic post I'm suprised you pressed submit. Price has nothing to do with quality? I mean just think of all those times SAF overpaid why didn't he just pull out bargain after bargain eh what a chump.

It's true though. The more you spend, the more likely you are to get a good player.