Jose Mourinho | 2017/18 Assessments | Poll Added

[bosnian_red]

For all those criticizing Jose, watch post match comments from this game (I've just changed my tune after doing so). He knows what the issues are with the team and at this rate, Pogba should start fearing for his place in the team because I think we are going to see a more ruthless Jose

He questions why there is no fluidity, pace and movement but he puts out a 4-3-3 with no runners in behind and no wingers to stretch the play against a team that parks the bus. Then he makes subs to fix it but by then it's too late. There's problems in every game. We haven't put in a convincing 90 minute display all season. It's usually 60 minutes of shit followed by 30 convincing minutes, or 30 minutes to start off and the rest being crap and us being clinical to finish the game off. Yeah, he might know what the issues are, but he doesn't know how to solve them, and that much is definitely evident. How can he expect pace and fluidity and consistency when one week he tells them to park the bus, one week tells them to counter attack with pace down the wings, one week hoofs the ball to fellaini or lukaku and then one week wants to control the ball in midfield with slow build up play and slowly pressure them into submission? He changes his tactics every game and multiple times per game because he never knows what to start with, nor does he know how to build a tactic that can work long term for all opponents and force them to adapt to him.

Always reactive, never proactive. That's mourinho in a nutshell.

 

[Rash Decision]

Credits to Mourinho for stabilizing United's defensive organisation throughout the season, which helped United to grind out results. However, it's clearly time now to find a balance between offense and defense. He has great players at his disposal with Lukaku, Sanchez, Pogba, Rashford, Lingard and Martial. Lots of pace and power there, just unleash it and goals will follow. I am sure of that.

At this point I don't think it's just about "unleashing" the players. Surely when they were 1 down to West Brom, they would have been unleashed, yet they still were unable to score. Conversely, Jose needs a more defined attacking system so that they're not so utterly reliant on improvisation during the match. LVG was too extreme in controlling his attackers' movements; Jose seems to be on the other extreme in that he lets them do whatever the hell they want as long as they remember to defend.

 

[RonaldoVII]

Really not sure why we changed from the setup that beat Swansea. The first half against them was some of our best football this season. 3 in midfield at home to bottom of the league doesn't do him any favours.

 

[R'hllor]

Why don't they play in space? Why are they unable to pass and move? Why can't they anticipate their teammates moves? Why their technical accuracy depends on the opposition and the scoreline? Why do we play without intensity?

Your demands are so unrealistic

 

[redIndianDevil]

At this point I don't think it's just about "unleashing" the players. Surely when they were 1 down to West Brom, they would have been unleashed, yet they still were unable to score. Conversely, Jose needs a more defined attacking system so that they're not so utterly reliant on improvisation during the match. LVG was too extreme in controlling his attackers' movements; Jose seems to be on the other extreme in that he lets them do whatever the hell they want as long as they remember to defend.

I think both LvG and Mourinho are doing the same mistake, LvG demanded absolute possession meaning no misplaced passes and which meant the players always preferred the safe option, under Mourinho there is even more pressure on not making mistakes which again leads to safe passes. LvG failed to implement pressing along with his high line meaning the moment possession was lost we were in trouble and under Mourinho we are too deep and with out pressing we fall back and we have to once again launch an attack from very deep.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

I'd get shut, but I've been saying that for ages now, the second season is supposed to be the highlight..

 

[redIndianDevil]

I'd get shut, but I've been saying that for ages now, the second season is supposed to be the highlight..

The crack are appearing already. Unless we have a successful summer window, it's going to be bad.

 

[PepsiCola]

I can see him being here for many years. He's older, has done everything he'd want to have done elsewhere, and is probably ready to settle down and reconstruct Man Utd into his own image. Maybe 10-15 years here, then manage the Portuguese NT for a few years?
Of course he needs to get a few better players in, so the team won't be quite so annoying to watch.

CHRIST, please no.

 

[Minkaro]

It's easy to look at this team and start thinking "well, Jose doesn't like him, so they're probably gone" but it might be easier to think "how good could he be under a different manager?" He being any one of Martial, Shaw, Blind, Rashford, Pogba etc etc

I do think we need a big overhaul in defence regardless, but I wouldn't be at all disappointed to see a new man in the dugout next season. I wonder how much players want to play for him, with his shit defensive attitude, and constant (sometimes undeserved) criticisms of them.

Yes, we've progressed under Mourinho, but after Moyes and LVG surely the only way was up anyway? The football is terrible, he's alienating players (and that never goes badly, just look where Salah and KDB ended up), and...he's just a completely unlikable twat.

 

[pocco]

If Sarri could do it at Napoli with barely any funding, he can do it here too.

I just doubt he'd leave Napoli and I think he'd be silly to leave.

I'm not sure we have the personnel that he would want. I thought the same when we were linked with Guardiola, they don't have much to work with here in terms of their playing style.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

The crack are appearing already. Unless we have a successful summer window, it's going to be bad.

We've had two with him already, and whilst he's done ok with it, I personally don't think it'e enough if to persevere, I have no doubt we will though.

 

[pocco]

I don't think you've watched Juventus. Allegri is maybe the most tactically flexible coach in the world. His teams can play possession football and counter attacking football in equal measure. Juventus have been consistently fighting with the likes of Madrid/Barcelona on a much lesser budget for a while now and you don't get to 2 CL finals in 3 seasons by playing defensive football. They're defensively astute but the quality of their transitions and fluidity in attack is up there with the best in Europe. Just last night they completely outplayed Madrid in the Bernabeu. Without the genius of Messi and Ronaldo Allegri would probably have won the CL by now. He has probably the best balance between defence and attack than any coach.

They also got outplayed by Spurs over two legs.

I've seen enough, they're more negative than United at times. That game against Fiorentina a few weeks ago was enough for me. There would be no point swapping Mourinho for him. If you are getting rid of Mourinho because of style of football, you hire somebody that is obviously more progressive in their approach. This wouldn't be worth the hassle imo.

And that's without getting into the whole issue with Juve being considerably better than the rest of Serie A.

 

[Swift Football]

He questions why there is no fluidity, pace and movement but he puts out a 4-3-3 with no runners in behind and no wingers to stretch the play against a team that parks the bus. Then he makes subs to fix it but by then it's too late. There's problems in every game. We haven't put in a convincing 90 minute display all season. It's usually 60 minutes of shit followed by 30 convincing minutes, or 30 minutes to start off and the rest being crap and us being clinical to finish the game off. Yeah, he might know what the issues are, but he doesn't know how to solve them, and that much is definitely evident. How can he expect pace and fluidity and consistency when one week he tells them to park the bus, one week tells them to counter attack with pace down the wings, one week hoofs the ball to fellaini or lukaku and then one week wants to control the ball in midfield with slow build up play and slowly pressure them into submission? He changes his tactics every game and multiple times per game because he never knows what to start with, nor does he know how to build a tactic that can work long term for all opponents and force them to adapt to him.

Always reactive, never proactive. That's mourinho in a nutshell.

Spot on. I think the primary issue is not the player's mentality or Jose's tactics (of course, those have played a part), but not having a good style of play. We approach the games against top 6 in a certain way, concede space and hit them in counter, which is all good but when the onus in on us to take the game to our opponents, we fell short. We play in a reactive way for so many matches that it becomes a habit, it becomes our style.

One of the reasons why were we not able to score today was because of lack of creativity. We might not have world beater creative players in the team, but we do have sufficient to beat West Brom at home. The reason why we fail to show creativity is because we play so many of our matches without caring about creativity that when we need it, we do not know how to produce.

Jose might have tried his best to motivate players, but he is failing to realise that the team is getting shaped by his defensive preferences. So, its not really the mentality of the players thats the issue, but their insistence on not making mistakes rather than taking risks.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

It seems that we choose managers that are passed it. The way we play looks a lot like Chelsea played during Mourinho's last season.

Maybe you are right. We look to be moving in the right direction in some aspects. Our football just doesnt seem to be one of them. I'd like to think that motivation, or lack of, may have been an issue today but I guess well see on Saturday.

 

[redIndianDevil]

They also got outplayed by Spurs over two legs.

I've seen enough, they're more negative than United at times. That game against Fiorentina a few weeks ago was enough for me. There would be no point swapping Mourinho for him. If you are getting rid of Mourinho because of style of football, you hire somebody that is obviously more progressive in their approach. This wouldn't be worth the hassle imo.

And that's without getting into the whole issue with Juve being considerably better than the rest of Serie A.

Spurs are actually a very good team TBF.

 

[Canagel]

They also got outplayed by Spurs over two legs.

I've seen enough, they're more negative than United at times. That game against Fiorentina a few weeks ago was enough for me. There would be no point swapping Mourinho for him. If you are getting rid of Mourinho because of style of football, you hire somebody that is obviously more progressive in their approach. This wouldn't be worth the hassle imo.

And that's without getting into the whole issue with Juve being considerably better than the rest of Serie A.

They may have been outplayed by Spurs for spells in both games but when it mattered Allegri outclassed Pochettinho who people rave about on this forum. I don't think they are negative. Not from what I've seen of them but even if that is the case then you have to credit Allegri with rebuilding his team to stay competitive and with a lesser budget. I think he has the capability and ability to deal with the pressure of a club like ours but of course there are other contenders out there when Mourinho eventually leaves. Whoever it is I hope the club make the right choice and the next manager builds on what we have already done so far.

 

[pocco]

They may have been outplayed by Spurs for spells in both games but when it mattered Allegri outclassed Pochettinho who people rave about on this forum. I don't think they are negative. Not from what I've seen of them but even if that is the case then you have to credit Allegri with rebuilding his team to stay competitive and with a lesser budget. I think he has the capability and ability to deal with the pressure of a club like ours but of course there are other contenders out there when Mourinho eventually leaves. Whoever it is I hope the club make the right choice and the next manager builds on what we have already done so far.

I'm not saying he's a shit manager, far from it. But I wouldn't see the point in replacing Mourinho with him. He doesn't necessarily solve the issue with the football, though he may do. Mourinho may solve it also.

The thing is, given Mourinho has a history on the PL, I'd trust him even now over Allegri to deliver success eventually. The style of play is obviously a big issue for some, and I could see us right back in the same boat with some of the managers being suggested.

Afterall, people were equally as convinced that Jose would bring success as they are now by other managers.

 

[Swift Football]

They also got outplayed by Spurs over two legs.

I've seen enough, they're more negative than United at times. That game against Fiorentina a few weeks ago was enough for me. There would be no point swapping Mourinho for him. If you are getting rid of Mourinho because of style of football, you hire somebody that is obviously more progressive in their approach. This wouldn't be worth the hassle imo.

And that's without getting into the whole issue with Juve being considerably better than the rest of Serie A.

Agree. If we decide to change the manager, we should go for more progressive managers, going for Allegri or Conte wont make any difference.

 

[Sylar]

Consistency will come when we have
A consistent line-up
A consistent formation
Consistent tactics
Players playing in their proper positions and not changing around

 

[Hojoon]

He's our biggest problem, there's no synergy in our play at all. We look like a national team with 11 strangers on the pitch. We're second in the league due to the high quality of our players.

 

[Adisa]

Woodward will get stung if he puts all his faith in the Mourinho basket.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I'm not sure we have the personnel that he would want. I thought the same when we were linked with Guardiola, they don't have much to work with here in terms of their playing style.

He can make a few signings, but I think he could make it work.

 

[M Bison]

Don’t agree with those calling for Jose to be removed.

He needs another season for me. We can’t have yet another manager, spending another x-hundred million and the fans being told we’re a team in transition for another season, only for people start to grumble when we’re in the very same position again in another 2 years.

I still have faith it will work with Jose. He needs to get more out of our so-called big players for sure, but then again, some of our big players need to start giving a big more and playing with a bit of desire.

 

[Lentwood]

Listen to Jose’s post-match interview

Absolutely spot-on, again

Don’t fall for “the cult of the manager”. Put the responsibility on the players. Jose correctly identified the problem today, as did the majority of the stadium.

To many players believing their own hype because they had a good 15 minutes against City

 

[James Peril]

You play Pogba deep at home against WBA, and then you sub him after the interval? Shame on you! I wonder how close he was to subbing him against City, it probably wasn’t far away - no matter what he is saying after the game. Subbing Pogba to play Mata in midfield with Matic makes absolutely no sense and it showed. Subbing Pogba is going to bring the other players down, it’s like you could see it in their eyes - what the hell is going on?

Play Mata in a 4231 with Lingard in the middle, not in a 433 where his pace is going to be challenged. 20 minutes into this game, it was clear our plan was dogshit and he should have put Pogba up in the hole until the break. We should have put pressure on them in the middle and distributed balls down the channels - we went into every trap. Alan Pardew-esque plan

 

[breakout67]

Listen to Jose’s post-match interview

Absolutely spot-on, again

Don’t fall for “the cult of the manager”. Put the responsibility on the players. Jose correctly identified the problem today, as did the majority of the stadium.

To many players believing their own hype because they had a good 15 minutes against City

Yep, that's what I thought as well during the game.

They were satisfied with the comeback against City so decided to take a nice stroll in the park today.

 

[Bwuk]

He's our biggest problem, there's no synergy in our play at all. We look like a national team with 11 strangers on the pitch. We're second in the league due to the high quality of our players.

This 100%.

 

[AndyJ1985]

He's our biggest problem, there's no synergy in our play at all. We look like a national team with 11 strangers on the pitch. We're second in the league due to the high quality of our players.

National team comparison is spot on. Watching United is like watching an England friendly when Roy Hodgson was manager. Only difference is we have better players

 

[Pogue Mahone]

You play Pogba deep at home against WBA, and then you sub him after the interval? Shame on you! I wonder how close he was to subbing him against City, it probably wasn’t far away - no matter what he is saying after the game. Subbing Pogba to play Mata in midfield with Matic makes absolutely no sense and it showed. Subbing Pogba is going to bring the other players down, it’s like you could see it in their eyes - what the hell is going on?

Play Mata in a 4231 with Lingard in the middle, not in a 433 where his pace is going to be challenged. 20 minutes into this game, it was clear our plan was dogshit and he should have put Pogba up in the hole until the break. We should have put pressure on them in the middle and distributed balls down the channels - we went into every trap. Alan Pardew-esque plan

So that didn’t happen. Not in the first half anyway. When Pogba (and United) were absolutely wank.

It’s weird. So many legitimate reasons to slag Mourinho off. Why do people need to make shit up?

 

[2cents]

I always feel a sign of poor management is a manager who just throws more forwards at a situation in a desperate attempt to generate goals.

Yep, it's a sign of panic. If it worked the way you want it to then every manager would start with six forwards on the pitch.

 

[TMDaines]

Woodward will get stung if he puts all his faith in the Mourinho basket.

It does scare me that we don’t have a Director of Football. We can’t allow our transfer dealings to become short-termist to suit the wims of a manager who doesn’t think he will be there in the medium or long term.

Chelsea made this error selling De Bruyne, Salah and Lukaku. From the perspective of the manager who was tasked with winning trophies immeadiately that was a perfectly fine decision and one that was justfied by winning the league with the players the manager had faith in, but from the perspective of the club that was fecking naive.

 

[Zoo]

It’s awful we look so uncoached, what exactly are they doing training? The players are still on board with him which shows he can still foster a good spirit on the group but they will eventually lose faith playing the aimless way we do.

 

[goin4glory]

Has beaten Liverpool/Chelsea and City within a matter of weeks and loses a dead rubber so now not good enough. He's the best manager in the world and is finally going to undo all the damage caused by the two clowns Moyes/LVG. Rooney/Schweinsteiger/Depay/Schneiderlin all shipped off and rightly so. I'm excited for who he brings in and having a team that can genuinely compete.

 

[SecondFig]

Chelsea made this error selling De Bruyne, Salah and Lukaku. From the perspective of the manager who was tasked with winning trophies immeadiately that was a perfectly fine decision and one that was justfied by winning the league with the players the manager had faith in, but from the perspective of the club that was fecking naive.

And which manager wasn't interested in playing De Bruyne, Salah or Lukaku?

And in the last week there have been stories about Rashford and Martial leaving or wanting to leave because they're unconvinced that they're going to get enough game time.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Has beaten Liverpool/Chelsea and City within a matter of weeks and loses a dead rubber so now not good enough. He's the best manager in the world and is finally going to undo all the damage caused by the two clowns Moyes/LVG. Rooney/Schweinsteiger/Depay/Schneiderlin all shipped off and rightly so. I'm excited for who he brings in and having a team that can genuinely compete.

It’s not about the results for me. I’m bored senseless watching us and we play like a team of strangers. I’ve no idea what he actually coaches in training because I see no evidence of anything in our performances.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

I was never in favour of him at United.

He's done a lot of good though in team building, but ultimately it's inevitable to deny he's a misfit here. Both in the way we play the game and the way he manages the players, he's fallen a lot short of expectation.

Despite all he has done, we simply haven't been a 'team'. There is no chemistry, creativity or excitement with players or fans.

I'm happy to give someone else a try.

 

[SungSam7]

I swear some of the people defending Mourinho here is, in fact, Mourinho himself on the Caf...

Yeah, he's a well-respected manager but he never suited United's style of play. Chelsea fans adore him for what he did and the style to do it didn't bother them the slightest as they hadn't much success leading up to it.

He is a disaster for the club, his man management seems to be non-existent. His handling of Luke Shaw, Martial and you might as well throw Pogba in there is beyond a joke! They have bags of potential and it just takes the right manager to move them to the next level. Forget any of this mentality nonsense such as they haven't applied themselves! When Mourinho has a chip on his shoulder you might as well pack your bags and ask for a way out. Pogba is a gifted footballer but what is he actually good at or what is his true use under Mourinho? Does JM really know himself?

When we do good he soaks the applause, when we do bad he blames the team, the ref and everything that moves. Giving him any more money is travesty has he will just play the same boring sh*t. With the money spent over the past 2 seasons, we should be running rings around West Brom and not be struggling to get a shot off ffs.

 

[TMDaines]

And which manager wasn't interested in playing De Bruyne, Salah or Lukaku?

And in the last week there have been stories about Rashford and Martial leaving or wanting to leave because they're unconvinced that they're going to get enough game time.

I know, but the point was that Mou was right to not play them at that time as Chelsea were stronger without them. It’s the DoF and the rest of the club who were accountable for their sales. We shouldn’t repeat the same mistakes regardless of whether United and Mourinho see themselves in a long term relationship.

Rashford won’t leave, but I could well see Martial going. Not that arsed frankly given the alternatives in that position. If you could sell him tomorrow and get the equivalent talent who plays on the right, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

 

[r3idy]

I stand by how I voted and thats it's rebuilding and stick with him. We can say ok sell these 4 and buy these 4 and thats the answer to our problems. We tried that ages ago under Fergie when he bought Webb and Phelan. Clearly major buy and sell is not the answer. Get rid of Mourhinio and replace him with Ancelotti, Tuchel, Allegri, Simeone, Poccetino etc. If you get rid of Jose at the end of the season you are back to square one on re building. Are we willing to wait that long ? (to be honest we don't have any choice)

Without being too much of a conspiracy theorist, some things don't just make at the club and I question what is going on behind the scene's.

Pogba without doubt was one of our best players before Xmas playing as number 6 or number 8. Now he's the complete opposite. Ok people are quick to put that down to Jose. If your going to do that though, you have to give him credit for turning Big Rom from a flat track bully to an all round decent number 9 with a lot more to his game.

Sanchez Is he really the player we needed in January? A player bang out of form, low on confidence and probably on the verge of burnout from playing 3 or 4 consecutive summers without a break. Great player but why sign him, we didn't need him then and I'm not sure we need him now or next season.

Luke Shaw A lot has been said how Jose has apparently bullied / humiliated the lad. I would ask how many more chances he needs. How many times has Jose had his arm round him to tell him he has a great chance to be a tier 1 footballer, world cup year, work your way into my first 11 and stay there, give him a kick up the arse, we will never know that but all we hear is Jose is bullying him.

Something is seriously wrong at the club if you have had three relatively decent managers of good reputation at the club and we still don't look like being serious contenders for the title. All I would want from Jose's UTD is to play with a little more pace and conviction. I look at the Swansea game and he had the chance to smash them and really go for a 4 or 5 nil game, but he was happy to get 2 and shut up shop. Maybe he needs to redefine himself and let go of what he's won here there and everywhere. I think most of us remember a very young arrogant Jose coming on the scene a few years back and ruffled a lot of feathers, Fergie included. Fergie had to adapt to the game, maybe Jose should.

 

[rotherham_red]

Has beaten Liverpool/Chelsea and City within a matter of weeks and loses a dead rubber so now not good enough. He's the best manager in the world and is finally going to undo all the damage caused by the two clowns Moyes/LVG. Rooney/Schweinsteiger/Depay/Schneiderlin all shipped off and rightly so. I'm excited for who he brings in and having a team that can genuinely compete.

If he's the best manager in the world, why has it taken him two years to clear out the dross? I've backed him almost constantly but this was the last straw for me. And if he sells Martial or Pogba, I'd rather he left as the alternatives to those two don't bear thinking about.