Jose Mourinho | 2017/18 Assessments | Poll Added

Your stance

  • Top manager in charge of a major rebuild. Needs more time and/or money.

    Votes: 684 43.8%

  • Made improvements but we've stagnated. Sack him if we drop out of top 4

    Votes: 377 24.1%

  • He's not the right fit. Sack him and get someone else who can get more out of our squad

    Votes: 502 32.1%
  • Total voters
    1,563
  • Poll closed .
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Abhinav said:
This to me a damning statistic that underlines the team’s soft underbelly. And this is more so on players and their lack of belief and confidence. Plus, I think it is a reflection of the post Sir Alex era. When we used to concede under Fergie, the manager used to believe we could come back, the team used to believe we could come back, and the crowd held the same belief. With three years of relative failure, the team and supporters have been scarred. Its not an easy turnaround.
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MDFC Manager said:
This is absolutely damning, to say the least. Just a reflection of the strategies that he employs. Horrific.
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It’s only damning if there are examples of other teams with much better records after conceding first. Newsflash. Teams that concede first don’t often win.
 
Ok. I think we do need to blame Mourinho at some point.

Like, we are being absolutely humiliated by other big teams.

Last year, we were absolutely humiliated by City on both occasions (even though the last one was a draw), then by Chelsea away, defended for our lives against Liverpool, terrible at Arsenal away, rubbish against Tottenham away.

This year, again, humiliated by City at home, shambolic against Liverpool (even worse than last year), garbage yesterday against Tottenham, very poor against Chelsea. Managed to win against Arsenal, but we were being outplayed for large periods in that match too.

I mean, I don't mind losses, but we are being just destroyed by other top teams. Our players are not even managing to put up a fight, struggling to make simple passes and are instantly downing tools. I can tolerate an uncharacteristic poor performance now and then, but we seem to be following a pattern against top teams.

Guys, we have spent a fortune. We need to be doing better than this. We have never fared so poorly against the other top 6 teams, even under Van Gaal. Performances like this should happen rarely.
 
shield said:
Ok. I think we do need to blame Mourinho at some point.

Like, we are being absolutely humiliated by other big teams.

Last year, we were absolutely humiliated by City on both occasions (even though the last one was a draw), then by Chelsea away, defended for our lives against Liverpool, terrible at Arsenal away, rubbish against Tottenham away.

This year, again, humiliated by City at home, shambolic against Liverpool (even worse than last year), garbage yesterday against Tottenham, very poor against Chelsea. Managed to win against Arsenal, but we were being outplayed for large periods in that match too.

I mean, I don't mind losses, but we are being just destroyed by other top teams. Our players are not even managing to put up a fight, struggling to make simple passes and are instantly downing tools. I can tolerate an uncharacteristic poor performance now and then, but we seem to be following a pattern against top teams.

Guys, we have spent a fortune. We need to be doing better than this. We have never fared so poorly against the other top 6 teams, even under Van Gaal. Performances like this should happen rarely.
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Yes things can improve, no doubt. Whichever we spin it though, draws at Anfield are good. Last year away games against Arsenal and Spurs were dead rubbers. We attacked Arsenal this year, took a 2-0 lead and sat on it. Broke and got the third. Still kept them out with 10 men. Beat Spurs at home. Things have to get better yes, but they are better than last year and will continue to get better. I am not worried.

We also completely dominated Arsenal at OT last year. The masterclass against Chelsea last year is also forgotten by everyone.
 
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Pogue Mahone said:
It’s only damning if there are examples of other teams with much better records after conceding first. Newsflash. Teams that concede first don’t often win.
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You are right. I was taken aback more that we had lost 60% of our games after conceding first. But digging deeper, some our stats from yester years are also equally bad. E.g, in 2011/12, we conceded first five times in PL, failing to win any of the matches and drawing 2. However, in Fergie’s last season, we conceded first 15 times, won 9 of them and drew 2.
 
haram said:
Yes things can improve, no doubt. Whichever we spin it though, draws at Anfield are good. Last year away games against Arsenal and Spurs were dead rubbers. We attacked Arsenal this year, took a 2-0 lead and sat on it. Broke and got the third. Still kept them out with 10 men. Beat Spurs at home. Things have to get better yes, but they are beter than last year and will continue to get better. I am not worried.

The masterclass against Chelsea last year is also forgotten by everyone.
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They're okay...but I don't think we should be looking at going away to Anfield and managing to scrape out a 0-0 draw as anything other than serviceable. At best. Especially when you consider that we've currently got more spending power than Liverpool and by all rights should be better than them.

Obviously Klopp's Liverpool tend to be dangerous in big games and I can understand why we're not going to go all-out for a win away to them...but I do think we're massively lowering standards if we're looking at a draw against them as anything to write home about. It's...okay, maybe, but nothing more.

My main problem with us away from home in big games is that we tend to have little to offer if we do fall behind. Last night was an example of that - ideally in big games the losing side should be the ones putting pressure on the opposition, but it was as if we'd not even considered the possibility of falling behind, leading to us just sort of crumbling once we realised we'd have to do so.
 
Cheesy said:
They're okay...but I don't think we should be looking at going away to Anfield and managing to scrape out a 0-0 draw as anything other than serviceable. At best. Especially when you consider that we've currently got more spending power than Liverpool and by all rights should be better than them.

Obviously Klopp's Liverpool tend to be dangerous in big games and I can understand why we're not going to go all-out for a win away to them...but I do think we're massively lowering standards if we're looking at a draw against them as anything to write home about. It's...okay, maybe, but nothing more.

My main problem with us away from home in big games is that we tend to have little to offer if we do fall behind. Last night was an example of that - ideally in big games the losing side should be the ones putting pressure on the opposition, but it was as if we'd not even considered the possibility of falling behind, leading to us just sort of crumbling once we realised we'd have to do so.
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We responded well to the first goal tbh. The second goal did probably kill it. Draw against Liverpool is nothing to write home about you’re right. But it is still a decent result. Big games this year we have also been handicapped by injuries in midfield.
 
Abhinav said:
You are right. I was taken aback more that we had lost 60% of our games after conceding first. But digging deeper, some our stats from yester years are also equally bad. E.g, in 2011/12, we conceded first five times in PL, failing to win any of the matches and drawing 2. However, in Fergie’s last season, we conceded first 15 times, won 9 of them and drew 2.
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I remember that. It was crazy how many comebacks we made. I also remember people kept bumping a thread from the previous season about how we never make comebacks any more!
 
Cliche Guevara said:
That’s pretty much exactly how I saw it. Very disappointed in the players. You can say what you like about the system but it was absolutely no excuse for that shite.

Further, I was expecting a blistering interview from Jose but I think there might have been a few injuries etc behind the scenes and he wasn’t confident of a result. He certainly never threw anyone under the bus. Which wasn’t parked.
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The system can't be at fault for players losing every 50-50, not being bothered put a foot in, missplacing easy passes left, right and centre, not running and sure as hell it wasn't setup in a way that meant Lukaku is imitating a tree for 90min.

I see a manager who is trying to get out of his comfort zone and evolve a more attacking tactic and his players letting him down spectacularily. He should've thrown them under that bus of his.
 
Noir said:
The system can't be at fault for players losing every 50-50, not being bothered put a foot in, missplacing easy passes left, right and centre, not running and sure as hell it wasn't setup in a way that meant Lukaku is imitating a tree for 90min.

I see a manager who is trying to get out of his comfort zone and evolve a more attacking tactic and his players letting him down spectacularily. He should've thrown them under that bus of his.
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It's ultimately the responsibility of a managers to motivate the players to do better though. Like it or not if he fails to do that then the buck comes back to him.
 
He's pretty stubborn with only playing two central midfielders who are tasked with a lot to do compared to the other top teams who play 3 in midfield or have two traditional holding midfielders with a forward line player supporting/coming deep into central midfield, which then overwhelms again Pogba and Matic.

In top 6 games, it's fairly easy to line up against United. Play 3 central midfielders, mark one or both of Pogba or Matic when they are off the ball. Allow them to go into their own half and pick up the ball. The distance between the ball and an attacking forward line player is so far and then the proximity to the opposition goal is non-threatening.

Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, City all outnumber and out tactic United in the midfield battle. The best way for United to play against these teams in order for them to have a good chance of getting a result or the full points is the reverse fixture against Spurs at OT.
 
abdo99 said:
I was very disappointed with last nights defeat because we've seen the same performances numerous times with Mourinho away from home against the big sides. Just look at our record. I was confident and optimistic going into the game and the feel-good factor I've had this week is gone. Another big game game goes by and once more we don't perform. The lack of effort is what I can't accept. The way we downed tools was unforgivable and unacceptable from a United team. Even at 2-0 down I was still relaxed because I knew we had enough quality to get back into it but Mourinho seemed to imply that the team had mentally given up after the 2nd goal. Where's the never say die attitude and fight this club is famous for? We can lose games and we lost games under Fergie too but Fergie's sides would never have gone down like we did last night. They would've gone down fighting. Its happened a few times now this season already. Those players need to understand what it means to play for United and stop feeling sorry for themselves. We have a weak mentality and that's going to stop us from winning trophies in the future.
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Absolutely spot on. The team has a weak mentality. If things go well, we all want to party. But we seem to lack, dare I say it, maturity. And I don't think Mourinho helps, because he is far too emotive as a manager. His moods change, and he can be far too stubborn. He is used to winning titles with a certain methodology, and now look. The world has changed, and in the big games, invariably, he is coming up short.
 
Cheesy said:
It's ultimately the responsibility of a managers to motivate the players to do better though. Like it or not if he fails to do that then the buck comes back to him.
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With the money they are getting paid they should be motivated to play for the official MUFC hairdresser down the road. OFC the buck stops with the manager, but some people in this day and age just think that showing up at the game is all there is to getting their fat paycheck.
 
Don’t know what he was thinking today. I must admit, I was certainly excited by that lineup when I first saw it. But our midfield was getting completely bypassed time and again. He should have brought on Herrera or Fellaini sooner than he did, and add to the midfield. Not sub another midfielder off for them though.

In hindsight, I’m baffled why he went with that lineup against Spurs away. He usually is very pragmatic against the big teams away. Maybe he was hoping to surprise Spurs with that attack heavy lineup? It failed miserably though. Also why keep Lukaku on, while subbing off Lingard. Lukaku was useless all game and he did nothing about it.

Hope he learns from this. A 2 man midfield with Matic and Pogba simply does not work.
 
shield said:
Could be. Last year, at White Hart Lane, we lost but, we were playing the Mourinho way, and we actually gave them a really hard time in the second half. That was with a team where he had rested most of his main players for the EL (no Pogba, Herrera or Zlatan), had Bailly as a RB and Rooney huffing and puffing (who, however, surprisingly, played quite well). Also, Spurs were in much better form than yesterday and were playing at home (not Wembley).

Still, he needs to figure out how he wants us to set out. He is just too confused here. At Chelsea, things were very simple. No one expected them to playing great attacking football, just win, and he somehow, managed to do both. Here, things are more complicated ... more media, more scrutiny, more fans, more legends, more history.
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Totally Agree. Interesting to see how he gets out.
 
I hope that away against top teams he goes with a 3 man midfield and to heck with pundits and fans who want to play an open game. Shut up shop first and then try to win the game. A 0-0 would have been a good result. That said just because they wear the shirt of United does not mean the players are all good enough. yes we have very top class players in Pogba, Martial DeGea and now Sanchez but the rest of the bunch are ordinary and would not be out of place in any team in the PL.
 
edcunited1878 said:
He's pretty stubborn with only playing two central midfielders who are tasked with a lot to do compared to the other top teams who play 3 in midfield or have two traditional holding midfielders with a forward line player supporting/coming deep into central midfield, which then overwhelms again Pogba and Matic.

In top 6 games, it's fairly easy to line up against United. Play 3 central midfielders, mark one or both of Pogba or Matic when they are off the ball. Allow them to go into their own half and pick up the ball. The distance between the ball and an attacking forward line player is so far and then the proximity to the opposition goal is non-threatening.

Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, City all outnumber and out tactic United in the midfield battle. The best way for United to play against these teams in order for them to have a good chance of getting a result or the full points is the reverse fixture against Spurs at OT.
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It would be the exact same with three in midfield, though. There is literally no difference.
 
Cliche Guevara said:
It would be the exact same with three in midfield, though. There is literally no difference.
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I would take Pogba 1 v 1 against most central mids in the league. He would attract attention from two players and that frees up space for others to lose their marker and interchange. Breaking up a pressing side like Spurs with a 3rd central mid or use the two CBs or the one footed RB?

Spurs frustrated and beat Pogba yesterday which lost all hope in the center.
 
shield said:
Ok. I think we do need to blame Mourinho at some point.

Like, we are being absolutely humiliated by other big teams.

Last year, we were absolutely humiliated by City on both occasions (even though the last one was a draw), then by Chelsea away, defended for our lives against Liverpool, terrible at Arsenal away, rubbish against Tottenham away.

This year, again, humiliated by City at home, shambolic against Liverpool (even worse than last year), garbage yesterday against Tottenham, very poor against Chelsea. Managed to win against Arsenal, but we were being outplayed for large periods in that match too.

I mean, I don't mind losses, but we are being just destroyed by other top teams. Our players are not even managing to put up a fight, struggling to make simple passes and are instantly downing tools. I can tolerate an uncharacteristic poor performance now and then, but we seem to be following a pattern against top teams.

Guys, we have spent a fortune. We need to be doing better than this. We have never fared so poorly against the other top 6 teams, even under Van Gaal. Performances like this should happen rarely.
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van Gaal had an easier time due to weaker teams and lesser managers. Rodgers' Liverpool and Pellegrini's City are not really difficult to beat, especially when the managers were on the wane. van Gaal got schooled by Spurs and Arsenal in away games.

I am of the opinion that Jose is doing a lot of things right, but agree with others that this Top 6 record is a malaise. He should be doing better. What I'd prefer is for him to simply park the bus until he finds a proper solution - no more of this half-arsed attack only to get overrun. A part of the blame lies in the fact that our midfield is thin and our FBs are appalling. Anyone who thinks Valencia and Young are adequate are setting low standards for FBs.

And I believe we wouldn't have conceded the two goals if we had Bailly in top form at the back.
 
Ban said:
No it wouldn't. One big problem from yesterday was exactly the fact with mid 2 we were lightweight in midfield.
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There’s no excuse for that. It’s not a system issue.

Too many people think it’s just about numbers and that 3 > 2.
 
It's so frustrating for me because personally I absolutely love beating our top six rivals, I get so much satisfaction winning big games and seeing all the positive energy and headlines that come from it. We've been absolutely shit for 2 seasons in these games now bar a few it's really depressing.

Was so excited about a big performance last night and what do we do? Concede 10 seconds in. Absolutely humiliating.
 
Mourinho has tried everything since he came but the fact that we have too many spineless players on this team makes it difficult.
 
I really get tired of thinking this when I watch United but what the hell do the midfield and forwards do in training?

Everything is so fecking chaotic.
 
Minimalist said:
I really get tired of thinking this when I watch United but what the hell do the midfield and forwards do in training?

Everything is so fecking chaotic.
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In some recent interviews i read that Jose organizes defences and lets attackers play as they want. I cant belive thats true but when i watch United play i think it might be true
 
He is still getting things wrong.

The title may well be gone, I accept that but he should be using the remainder of this season to get the team ready for next and by that I mean choose a formation, preferably 4-3-3, pick the players who’ll he will want to keep around and play them consistently. Don’t drop our best players just because he gets the tactics all wrong in the game before.
 
I am convinced he just leaves attackers to sort it out themselves and simply focuses of tactical positional training.
Our attackers always look like strangers regardless of who plays.
There's no sustained passing combination, just individuals trying to create something.
 
Sunny Jim said:
In some recent interviews i read that Jose organizes defences and lets attackers play as they want. I cant belive thats true but when i watch United play i think it might be true
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Nah it's been said a lot in recent months and at this stage I can only assume it's 100% correct. It's literally up to individuals to work some magic.

Personally I think that's fecking stupid. The whole point of a coach is to influence how your team plays.
 
Janson said:
Mourinho has tried everything since he came but the fact that we have too many spineless players on this team makes it difficult.
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He's bought Lindelof, Bailly, Matic, Pogba (dropped today), Mkhitaryan (already sold), Sanchez and Lukaku. That's 7 out of 11 players. The existing goalkeeper is brilliant. Valencia has been one of his best players and Martial and Rashford are wonderfully talented young players. So it's not as if he didn't have some great players to work with already - albeit some of the acolytes would have you believe that.

Who, exactly, are the spineless players you refer to? Because he's been given the resources to replace them already.

The excuses made for Mourinho are increasingly bizarre.
 
For the first time I put the whole blame on Jose. Pathetic stuff for making such silly and stupid selections. Yes let us drop Pogba and martial, our two best performers in Jan, for average players. Man up and take your responsibility.
 
No idea what he's doing in training. Over 1 and a half years after joining we still play like 11 strangers. It's grimly predictable watching us.
 
We need an offensive coach in the backroom staff, seriously this isn't good enough.
 
Dropping our two best players just to make some sort of statement despite the rest of the side struggling made no sense.
 
We are to slow and predictable. 4231 doesn’t work without a natural playmaker. Martial and Sanchez on separate wings, Pogba in the middle otherwise I get seriously worried.
 
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