Jose Mourinho | 2017/18 Assessments | Poll Added

[Dr. StrangeHate]

If we had two seasons like this under any manager not named Morurinho or the ilk (Pep, Klopp, Simeone, etc.), they would have been fired. We are judging Mourinho not on what he is but what he used to be (at Inter last). No one can convince me that this is the same Mourinho as was in Inter, Chelsea (the first time) or Porto.
A lot of the blame lies with Woodward and the board. They have been identifying and hiring managers that are not compatible with United. Take most United fans not from Manchester and ask them why they started following United. Trophies won't be the major factor, the following would be more important:
1) Style of football
2) Late winners/exciting matches
3) Players like Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs, Cantona, etc.
4) Sir Alex
Woodward and the board don't realise that and don't care, hence the hiring of dross like Mourinho and Moyes. LVG was an understandable appointment as possession, playing from the back, high pressing is where football is at now; but he was past his expiry date. My hope is after Mourinho, Woodward and some of the board gets the chop as well. Failing from the financial and commercial position United was at is a spectacular achievement.

 

[Garethw]

That will be his choice, but we need to install some traditional play into our game, United have always been successful playing exciting attacking football if Jose wants to play the dross served up then he should go. He needs to adapt to our style of football, it's obvious that while this style was an improvement on previous seasons it will never catch the likes of City under Pep who plays more to our traditional style than Jose does.

Oh I’m with you 100% my friend. I’m sick to death of watching such negative football. The trouble is Mourinho’s ego is too big to adapt to anything outside of his normal MO even if that means the team fails.

 

[Canagel]

He needs to go for the club to progress. Any elite club would have him out after this season but our board will wait until things get toxic before reacting. Why not change now? He has spent 300 million pounds and still doesn't have a tactic other than hoofball. Only some fans here could say he is 'building' something. It seems that whatever we spend we are stuck with the same under performing players and the 19th century tactics deployed by David Moyes. It's very depressing and totally agree with the OP.
I don't care what signings come in tbh. What's the point? We will ruin them just like Sanchez, Pogba, Martial etc.
He has no time for our exciting talented players but persists with average dross and overrated English players that have never been good enough. Not one player I can think of that has improved since he came. How can we be 2nd and have no players in the team of the year apart from our goalkeeper? Wake up people and smell the coffee. This is as good as its going to get. From here things are going to go downhill. Hes even had a go at Lukaku for not being ready to play yesterday! Lukaku! One of his biggest favorites and a guy he's backed to the hilt. The warning signs are there for the infamous 3rd season meltdown.
We need a progressive manager with fresh ideas before the club is damaged even further. We have become a boring, uninspiring team with no pace, flair, nothing. It's not Man United. Get him out.

 

[Adisa]

If we had two seasons like this under any manager not named Morurinho or the ilk (Pep, Klopp, Simeone, etc.), they would have been fired. We are judging Mourinho not on what he is but what he used to be (at Inter last). No one can convince me that this is the same Mourinho as was in Inter, Chelsea (the first time) or Porto.
A lot of the blame lies with Woodward and the board. They have been identifying and hiring managers that are not compatible with United. Take most United fans not from Manchester and ask them why they started following United. Trophies won't be the major factor, the following would be more important:
1) Style of football
2) Late winners/exciting matches
3) Players like Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs, Cantona, etc.
4) Sir Alex
Woodward and the board don't realise that and don't care, hence the hiring of dross like Mourinho and Moyes. LVG was an understandable appointment as possession, playing from the back, high pressing is where football is at now; but he was past his expiry date. My hope is after Mourinho, Woodward and some of the board gets the chop as well. Failing from the financial and commercial position United was at is a spectacular achievement.

Disagree.

 

[Dr. StrangeHate]

Disagree.

So you are saying that LVG and Moyes wouldn't have been fired if they played football like this for two seasons, were more than 20 points behind champions, nowhere close to the CL, didn't trust most of their own signings, were blaming the club for everything and alienating players.

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

Well. Our biggest game of the season and for the first 45mins we looked like dog faeces. Once again, it needed us to fall behind to actually start playing, once again proof that Jose sets us up to not concede and only lets the shackles off when he needs to - not good enough. Our only chance of silverware up in smoke with a tumescent performance. Finishing 2nd was cool, I wasn't too unhappy with that, but our CL 'performances' and this were just unforgiveable.

We need to accept that we've got another season of this crap ahead. I'm expecting a fortune spent in the summer and no improvements on the field next season, we won't finish 2nd either as Liverpool are going to be a juggernaut next season. Not too worried about Chelsea, Spurs or Arsenal but without a complete turnaround in terms of attacking, proactive football we're finishing 3rd or 4th. It's not about new signings, as we've managed to turn almost every signing into an also-ran.

Give him next season and if there's no improvement, part ways. The thing I'm worried about though, is there's no real options out there - nobody who will instantly improve us. We should go for a younger manager and accept it'll take him 2 seasons to have us challenging but I fear the board will panic and go for some old, steady head like Ancellotti.

 

[Adisa]

So you are saying that LVG and Moyes wouldn't have been fired if they played football like this for two seasons, were more than 20 points behind champions, nowhere close to the CL, didn't trust most of their own signings, were blaming the club for everything and alienating players.

Ed Woodward is not going to fire a manager that finished second. Simple as.
We could play dogshite cootie till kingdom come. As long as the money rolls in, it's all good.

 

[.Rossi]

He'll be gone next season.
The ages of the signings he's apparently after tells the story

 

[Dr. StrangeHate]

Ed Woodward is not going to fire a manager that finished second. Simple as.
We could play dogshite cootie till kingdom come. As long as the money rolls in, it's all good.

Well I guess that is the problem right there and Woodward should be the first to go. At Real or Barcelona he would have been humiliated and thrown out even if he was the owner himself. We laugh at Real's white handkerchiefs but they have standards, standards which even Ronaldo can't match sometimes. Their supporters standards and the club's success is no coincidence.

 

[Jig1234]

Those stats tell the story, Lukaku and Sanchez get to keep starting no matter how they play, but Martial and Rashford are playing on a knife edge as one bad game and it's back to the bench.

Which is why I'm struggling to be optimistic for next season. Same thing will happen. He will ostracise the new signings like he did with Lindolof for the start of the season and then they'll hardly feature or get dropped every other game. We'll be wondering why the signings have not worked out. Mourinho is a horrible man manager. He didn't used to be like this. In his 2nd spell at Chelsea. He picked the same XI every week. He signed 2 defenders and still picks Smalling and Jones in a cup final.

I think next season is his last. Hope I'm wrong, I would hate for us to sell all our best talents like Martial to end up in a situation where Jose loses his job. The new manager will have a bunch of 30+ players like Wilian, Matic and Sanchez that will all need to be replaced within a year or so. Mourinho is taking us backwards, We'll need another clear out in 2 years because of his inability to coach anyone under 25.

 

[goober88]

Look, I don't think Mourinho thinks we deserved to win. I think he is saying this to highlight people's criticism of him. That's why he was saying that he will be reading what people write over the next few days. Normally he gets lambasted for doing what Chelsea did so surely he should be praised for the way the team played yesterday. And, if they don't praise, they should reconcile themselves with his defensive performances. That was his point.

 

[Jazz]

He needs to go for the club to progress. Any elite club would have him out after this season but our board will wait until things get toxic before reacting. Why not change now? He has spent 300 million pounds and still doesn't have a tactic other than hoofball. Only some fans here could say he is 'building' something. It seems that whatever we spend we are stuck with the same under performing players and the 19th century tactics deployed by David Moyes. It's very depressing and totally agree with the OP.
I don't care what signings come in tbh. What's the point? We will ruin them just like Sanchez, Pogba, Martial etc.
He has no time for our exciting talented players but persists with average dross and overrated English players that have never been good enough. Not one player I can think of that has improved since he came. How can we be 2nd and have no players in the team of the year apart from our goalkeeper? Wake up people and smell the coffee. This is as good as its going to get. From here things are going to go downhill. Hes even had a go at Lukaku for not being ready to play yesterday! Lukaku! One of his biggest favorites and a guy he's backed to the hilt. The warning signs are there for the infamous 3rd season meltdown.
We need a progressive manager with fresh ideas before the club is damaged even further. We have become a boring, uninspiring team with no pace, flair, nothing. It's not Man United. Get him out.

You shouldn't be surprised he did this. I said he would as well. No player can trust him as he'll throw anyone under the bus if he thinks it will absolve him of blame. It's a recipe for disaster and I have a horrible feeling the entire dressing room will be lost by December as it seems he just can't help himself.

 

[Garethw]

You shouldn't be surprised he did this. I said he would as well. No player can trust him as he'll throw anyone under the bus if he thinks it will absolve him of blame. It's a recipe for disaster and I have a horrible feeling the entire dressing room will be lost by December as it seems he just can't help himself.

He was having gentle digs at Lukaku for not starting yesterday too. The guy just doesn’t learn.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

United's performances against teams that utilise a low block are pathetic and predictable. It's been this way since Van Gaal's first season when he played terrifically vs. Tottenham, Liverpool & City and then went to Stamford Bridge had 70% possession and never looked like scoring.

It is completely inexcusable for United to display the lethargy they do when faced with a low block, the best way to break these games open is come flying out of the traps in the first 15 mins and catch the opposition cold. A few mins into a cup final and we were knocking the ball about like it was a pre-season friendly. The fault for that lies with coaching, all season Mourinho has been unwilling to get the team playing with intensity and energy that we display when chasing a game from the very start of a game. It's not so much that he can't get them to play, he just refuses to allow them to until we absolutely must start playing.

There is a half decent team waiting to happen if Mourinho lets it but he won't and he'll piss off some decent players along the way, we're going nowhere fast and I am having a hard time envisaging him taking us above Pep's City with the way he continues to approach games. We'll be fine in games we aren't fancied to win and teams try to attack us but we'll continue to struggle against teams that sit deep and ask us to beat them. I see no reason why we are prolonging the inevitable and why we aren't pursuing a coach/DoF model, especially with Pochettino umming and ahhing over his position at Spurs.

 

[Eckers99]

Gone from option 1 to option 2. The league position has improved but the football's as bad as at any point since January of LvGs final season. He's just about earned another season but I expect it'll be his last.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Apparently Mourinho was getting death threats.

Its not been a great season but threatening to kill the manager? FFS lads.

I heard about that too. His family were also getting a lot of abuse. Disgusting.

 

[Smores]

He needs to go for the club to progress. Any elite club would have him out after this season but our board will wait until things get toxic before reacting. Why not change now? He has spent 300 million pounds and still doesn't have a tactic other than hoofball. Only some fans here could say he is 'building' something. It seems that whatever we spend we are stuck with the same under performing players and the 19th century tactics deployed by David Moyes. It's very depressing and totally agree with the OP.
I don't care what signings come in tbh. What's the point? We will ruin them just like Sanchez, Pogba, Martial etc.
He has no time for our exciting talented players but persists with average dross and overrated English players that have never been good enough. Not one player I can think of that has improved since he came. How can we be 2nd and have no players in the team of the year apart from our goalkeeper? Wake up people and smell the coffee. This is as good as its going to get. From here things are going to go downhill. Hes even had a go at Lukaku for not being ready to play yesterday! Lukaku! One of his biggest favorites and a guy he's backed to the hilt. The warning signs are there for the infamous 3rd season meltdown.
We need a progressive manager with fresh ideas before the club is damaged even further. We have become a boring, uninspiring team with no pace, flair, nothing. It's not Man United. Get him out.

State of this you're one of the worst culprits at whipping up drama on here. Just cliche bingo that post and if you think we played hoofball yesterday you haven't a clue

 

[Beachryan]

I guess there are, realistically, only 2 ways this pans out:
1. He continues with the last 4/5 months of form, our style bores even De Gea who stops being superhuman and we descend down to 6th where our performances belong. Jose blames Rooney, Giggs, the media, the Queen, Trump and Piers Morgan before throat-punching Fred the Red as he storms out, then we pay him 10m for two more season while he recovers.

2. He spends well in the summer, sorts out an attacking style, fixes our back line, keeps De Gea happy, gets a tune out of Sanchez, works out what to do if Lukaku gets a knock and goes on a buddhist retreat, returning happy to simply be in the moment. Calls Pep to communicate his newfound inner peace, convincing Guardiola that football is simply a trivial distraction from his true cause of Catalan independence, so he walks away from City after having stolen billions to aid his effort. Mo Salah trips and tears his ACL, leaving United to storm to first place in the league with 75 points having scored just 31 crucial goals, but only conceding 5.

Personally I only see one outcome, but hey, why not stick with it as long as commercial revenues are up.

 

[FootyGirl88]

.....

 

[liamp]

It’s Mourinho’s Way or the highway. If the board demand he plays attacking football he will walk.

If the board demands he play attacking football, he'll bring on one new coach and market him as someone who will help Mourinho drive a new attacking philosophy. He'll then go out and spend an absolutely insane amount of money again this summer to supplement his squad. If he succeeds next season, he'll take the credit while pointing to his hire and transfers. If he fails, we'll see the same digs, ranging from subtle to pointed, at the squad and the front office for not getting him the right players.

He's not going to walk because of any edict that a higher up places on him. He's the 2nd highest paid coach on the planet by a huge margin and he's at one of the few clubs left in European football that allows him full power. The idea that he's going to give that up without being forced out doesn't register with me.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

.....

I only found this guy like 4 days ago but he’s awesome and hilarious, love his passion. He was the guy I spoke of earlier today where some twat approached him whilst he was giving an interview aggressively and started pointing and shouting in his face. Thought it was going to kick off. Interviewer stepped in and a bunch of dudes gathered round to like protect him.
Honestly thought there was away to be a united fan vs United fan brawl.

His reaction to Phil Jones

 

[luke511]

.....

All hail our new messiah

 

[luke511]

I'm trying to decide whether the Sanchez signing was more to do with Woodward's obsession with marketable players or Mourinho's obsession with one upping Pep. Whoever's idea it was deserves the sack in my opinion.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

United's performances against teams that utilise a low block are pathetic and predictable. It's been this way since Van Gaal's first season when he played terrifically vs. Tottenham, Liverpool & City and then went to Stamford Bridge had 70% possession and never looked like scoring.

It is completely inexcusable for United to display the lethargy they do when faced with a low block, the best way to break these games open is come flying out of the traps in the first 15 mins and catch the opposition cold. A few mins into a cup final and we were knocking the ball about like it was a pre-season friendly. The fault for that lies with coaching, all season Mourinho has been unwilling to get the team playing with intensity and energy that we display when chasing a game from the very start of a game. It's not so much that he can't get them to play, he just refuses to allow them to until we absolutely must start playing.

There is a half decent team waiting to happen if Mourinho lets it but he won't and he'll piss off some decent players along the way, we're going nowhere fast and I am having a hard time envisaging him taking us above Pep's City with the way he continues to approach games. We'll be fine in games we aren't fancied to win and teams try to attack us but we'll continue to struggle against teams that sit deep and ask us to beat them. I see no reason why we are prolonging the inevitable and why we aren't pursuing a coach/DoF model, especially with Pochettino umming and ahhing over his position at Spurs.

I hope theres a reason as to why, maybe he doesnt trust the defenders, feels we're still lacking in some forward options (right wing), the full backs, too. Hes now got a 3rd summer window to add some much needed additions. I still have faith in him however, if we play like we have in most of games in 2018, then I, too, would shift into the other camp. As you say, its horrible that we spent the first 30-40 minutes in gear 1.

 

[Distracted Steward]

Over to you, Mourinho. Make the attack into something worth watching or move along. The problems are clear, fix them or go.

I appreciate the progress he’s made, but don't watching the team out of love and loyalty but not really for the joy.

 

[jderbyshire]

Was that the guy who's been on FTD before ranting about Delph after we lost to City at Old Trafford

("He's playing a midfielder at left-back - Martial, just take the fecking cnut on!!!")

 

[Distracted Steward]

Was that the guy who's been on FTD before ranting about Delph after we lost to City at Old Trafford

("He's playing a midfielder at left-back - Martial, just take the fecking cnut on!!!")

Who?

 

[endless_wheelies]

I hope theres a reason as to why, maybe he doesnt trust the defenders, feels we're still lacking in some forward options (right wing), the full backs, too. Hes now got a 3rd summer window to add some much needed additions. I still have faith in him however, if we play like we have in most of games in 2018, then I, too, would shift into the other camp. As you say, its horrible that we spent the first 30-40 minutes in gear 1.

But why was that? Why did we start well against Sevilla then suddenly drop off? Why was Mourinho initially so protective after Sevilla?

Why did we improve so much in the second half against Chelsea after Mourinho he had got into the players?

We're a feeble, weak team mentally and we choke is why. That's why we bought Sanchez.

 

[RedMane]

Well, Jose Mourinho isn't any less of chequebook manager than Pep Guardiola. I am pretty sure from Real Madrid to Manchester United, Jose have spend as much money if not more than Guardiola in the same time period but Guardiola play with a style which justifies the spending. Jose is just more successful Sean Dyche with more money. A manager like Dyche have a perfect excuse to be pragmatic, dogmatic whatever. Many Manchester United fans think Jose Mourinho need more money and time to get this going but that can be said about every manager but Jose has no excuse after spending this much money.

I am not against spending the money but you spend the money to solve the problems not to create new ones i.e Alexis-martial. Manchester United have like 4 dedicated CBs and two players in Rojo and Blind who can play in that position. So why didn't he tried 3 at back? Valencia and Ashley , even though 30+ and not so good defensively are still good wide players, if Chelsea can play Victor Moses at Wing back and then why can't Man Utd play Valencia and Ashley as WBs? I mean those two are clearly better than Victor Moses ever was. Could have solved the pogba-sanchez problem as well. Pogba would have had more freedom because of three at back and Matic in front of them. Sanchez (even mkhi) would have been more effective as free-roaming AM behind tall Lukaku and fast Lingard/martial/rashford. I think people crying about poor squad need to know that this squad has all the ingredients needed to play a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1.

Now some people might wonder why is LFC fan talking about our club. Reason is I was coach for junior teams(field hockey and not football), will be coach again and i like to study cases like this. IMHO you guys ain't as bad as a team as Jose makes you believe. Jose is one trick pony, has played same style, same system whole his life bit like Arsene Wenger , I don't think Jose is over yet but what if this is the case of stubborn manager refusing to change with the time?

 

[Florida Man]

The posts in support of giving Jose more time and money are starting to look really similar to the posts that said that about Moyes and Van Gaal.

 

[endless_wheelies]

Well, Jose Mourinho isn't any less of chequebook manager than Pep Guardiola. I am pretty sure from Real Madrid to Manchester United, Jose have spend as much money if not more than Guardiola in the same time period but Guardiola play with a style which justifies the spending. Jose is just more successful Sean Dyche with more money. A manager like Dyche have a perfect excuse to be pragmatic, dogmatic whatever. Many Manchester United fans think Jose Mourinho need more money and time to get this going but that can be said about every manager but Jose has no excuse after spending this much money.

I am not against spending the money but you spend the money to solve the problems not to create new ones i.e Alexis-martial. Manchester United have like 4 dedicated CBs and two players in Rojo and Blind who can play in that position. So why didn't he tried 3 at back? Valencia and Ashley , even though 30+ and not so good defensively are still good wide players, if Chelsea can play Victor Moses at Wing back and then why can't Man Utd play Valencia and Ashley as WBs? I mean those two are clearly better than Victor Moses ever was. Could have solved the pogba-sanchez problem as well. Pogba would have had more freedom because of three at back and Matic in front of them. Sanchez (even mkhi) would have been more effective as free-roaming AM behind tall Lukaku and fast Lingard/martial/rashford. I think people crying about poor squad need to know that this squad has all the ingredients needed to play a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1.

Now some people might wonder why is LFC fan talking about our club. Reason is I was coach for junior teams(field hockey and not football), will be coach again and i like to study cases like this. IMHO you guys ain't as bad as a team as Jose makes you believe. Jose is one trick pony, has played same style, same system whole his life bit like Arsene Wenger, I don't think Jose is over yet but what if this is the case of stubborn manager refusing to change with the time?

Can't be bothered to argue with the tactical analysis of a field hockey coach, however I do feel obliged to point out that Mourinho has tried a 3-5-2 for United and everyone hated it. He played 4-3-3 at Chelsea, 4-4-2 at Inter, 4-2-3-1 at Real Madrid and then predominantly a mix of 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 at Manchester United.

To say "Jose is one trick pony, has played same style, same system whole his life bit like Arsene Wenger"... like can you dissect your thought process on that one?

The posts in support of giving Jose more time and money are starting to look really similar to the posts that said that about Moyes and Van Gaal.

While the self-appointed-expert opinions of anti-Mourinho posts are very reminscent of Brexiters.

 

[red4ever 79]

Sack him., We showed Van Gaal no remorse when he won the FA Cup.. Get Enrique in

 

[dove]

The posts in support of giving Jose more time and money are starting to look really similar to the posts that said that about Moyes and Van Gaal.

You are not seriously comparing Moyes and LVG's 15/16 season with this one are you?

 

[Bastian]

Those of you who want him out:

Do you think we need a major transfer window w 4-5-6 players coming in and at least the same out. Or is it a stay of execution for the whole squad until it gets a manager that somehow makes them collectively and individually much better?

 

[Florida Man]

While the self-appointed-expert opinions of anti-Mourinho posts are very reminscent of Brexiters.

I don’t speak to many Brexiters and I’m personally not in support of that, so I don’t know what to really make of this. But aside from that, it’s becoming as clear as day that Mourinho is not the right fit to bring us back to success. I appreciate that our defense has improved, but that alone is not enough. I’ve never seen a top team look so clueless going forward, and it’s sad that someone like me, who’s not even followed football his whole life, can know exactly what our players are going to do when on offense. How can anyone not be concerned about our predictability and lack of pace? Even with better fullbacks, it’s going to be the key that unlocks the fluid attacking football we ALL want.

 

[Canagel]

State of this you're one of the worst culprits at whipping up drama on here. Just cliche bingo that post and if you think we played hoofball yesterday you haven't a clue

It's still the go to tactic. And when you don't have a single player capable of putting in a decent cross then yes it becomes hoofball. Aimless balls into the box. That's hoofball.

 

[Florida Man]

You are not seriously comparing Moyes and LVG's 15/16 season with this one are you?

While there are some similarities, particularly with the tumescent and slow build up, that’s not what I was saying. I was talking about the posts that reason to give Mourinho more time and money. Many said the same of Moyes and LVG despite it being obvious that they were not the right fit. Mourinho is a step up from them, but he’s just not the right one.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Those of you who want him out:

Do you think we need a major transfer window w 4-5-6 players coming in and at least the same out. Or is it a stay of execution for the whole squad until it gets a manager that somehow makes them collectively and individually much better?

I’d honestly accept zero new signings if I was confident we had a manager capable and willing to get the very best out of what we have. I don’t think Mourinho is that manager but, depressingly, he’s going nowhere and I’m not even sure there’s an obvious alternative. So I’m fully expecting a re-run of this season, no matter how many new players we sign. Generally effective but ultimately joyless football with Mourinho moaning and groaning his way through the season, looking to blame anyone but himself for any adversity.

 

[FrantikChicken]

While there are some similarities, particularly with the tumescent and slow build up, that’s not what I was saying. I was talking about the posts that reason to give Mourinho more time and money. Many said the same of Moyes and LVG despite it being obvious that they were not the right fit. Mourinho is a step up from them, but he’s just not the right one.

Moyes and LVG were both sacked specifically because they didn't achieve CL football. I'm quite certain Van Gaal would have gotten a 3rd season had he managed to keep us in the CL.

Remember, both him and Mourinho have said that building this team could take 3 years. For the board to fire them for not being entertaining enough even though results are improving would be silly.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

I hope theres a reason as to why, maybe he doesnt trust the defenders, feels we're still lacking in some forward options (right wing), the full backs, too. Hes now got a 3rd summer window to add some much needed additions. I still have faith in him however, if we play like we have in most of games in 2018, then I, too, would shift into the other camp. As you say, its horrible that we spent the first 30-40 minutes in gear 1.

Good players will make us better, yes but Mourinho's approach will hold us back unless we have top class players all over the pitch.