Mourinho not happy with transfer window - Exclusive interview with Ogden

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Everybody speaks about the dimension of the investment at Man City [so far just below £220m] but there is another team that I feel the dimension of their investment is also phenomenal – Tottenham. Until now they spent zero pounds, right? They keep everybody they want to keep. They keep Dele Alli, [Harry] Kane and [Toby] Alderweireld, they keep Eric Dier, they keep everyone they want to keep.
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We have managed to keep all our best players as well so not sure how Spurs have an advantage over us in this regard.
 
Adebesi said:
Mourinho in the papers this morning talking down our chances of winning the league, complaining that United haven't kept up with the evolution of football, whatever the hell that means.

Doesn't seem to be much of a reaction on here unless I missed it. Van Gaal would've been crucified for saying the same thing.

How much has Mourinho spent since he arrived? £300m? A bit more? And he's been here a year. But he wants to keep moaning about the state he found us in? Reminds me of a Tory whining on about "the financial mess Labour left us with." Let's face it, he's just getting his excuses in early.
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There's nothing wrong with what he said. Realistically we are unlikely to win the league this year, other teams are stronger. Of the £300m you mention, £100m this summer was just to stand still (replace Zlatan and injured Rojo).
 
Red Katie said:
I've now read the article and what he says can be seen as "getting his excuses in" or it's simply an honest assessement of the situation and how he sees it. It's simply a question if you want to moan or not. And remember, the man is here for 15 years to come. Deal!!!
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Unlikely, Id say.

I actually dont think there's an enormous amount wrong with what he said either, but what people now accept as realism with Mourinho used to be seen as defeatism under previous regimes. I dont particularly mind that, I dont want Mourinho to go anytime soon, mainly because I dont see any better options out there. But he definitely is getting his excuses in early.
 
Adebesi said:
Unlikely, Id say.

I actually dont think there's an enormous amount wrong with what he said either, but what people now accept as realism with Mourinho used to be seen as defeatism under previous regimes. I dont particularly mind that, I dont want Mourinho to go anytime soon, mainly because I dont see any better options out there. But he definitely is getting his excuses in early.
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Wasn't serious about the 15 years remark btw. It think the reality this season is that 4 or 5 teams can win the league so he's right to say we are not big favourites. If we click and have luck on our side we can win it but we can also end up in 4th spot.
 
Adebesi said:
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We have managed to keep all our best players as well so not sure how Spurs have an advantage over us in this regard.
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That's really just making the point that their squad didn't need investment. Because of the age profile and quality of their squad that finished last season. He obviously thinks ours does. I'm inclined to agree.

Obviously, if Spurs had lost Kane and Alderweireld to cruciate injuries at the end of last season Pocchetino would be looking at transfers this summer with a similar sense of urgency to Mourinho.
 
dwd said:
He's just saying we aren't favourites. He would be crucified if he said we were. The man can't win.
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I cant speak for anyone else but he'd win with me if he said he thought he had a very good squad who were now all familiar with him and he thought we were in with a very good chance of winning the league.
 
Adebesi said:
I actually dont think there's an enormous amount wrong with what he said either, but what people now accept as realism with Mourinho used to be seen as defeatism under previous regimes. I dont particularly mind that, I dont want Mourinho to go anytime soon, mainly because I dont see any better options out there. But he definitely is getting his excuses in early.
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The only manager who really got in the neck for being defeatist was Moyes. Mainly because everything he said and did came across as so fecking hapless. I don't remember Van Gaal getting much grief for being defeatist. Certainly not after an interview where he said we were "a candidate" to win the league.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
That's really just making the point that their squad didn't need investment. Because of the age profile and quality of their squad that finished last season. He obviously thinks ours does. I'm inclined to agree.

Obviously, if Spurs had lost Kane and Alderweireld to cruciate injuries at the end of last season Pocchetino would be looking at transfers this summer with a similar sense of urgency to Mourinho.
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Hang on, werent you congratulating me for a post a couple of days ago where I was saying getting the most out of the players we already have is far more important for him than signing new players? Youve changed your mind about that now?
 
Adebesi said:
Mourinho in the papers this morning talking down our chances of winning the league, complaining that United haven't kept up with the evolution of football, whatever the hell that means.

Doesn't seem to be much of a reaction on here unless I missed it. Van Gaal would've been crucified for saying the same thing.

How much has Mourinho spent since he arrived? £300m? A bit more? And he's been here a year. But he wants to keep moaning about the state he found us in? Reminds me of a Tory whining on about "the financial mess Labour left us with." Let's face it, he's just getting his excuses in early.
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He is right and I also don't think we are in for a shout next season.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The only manager who really got in the neck for being defeatist was Moyes. Mainly because everything he said and did came across as so fecking hapless. I don't remember Van Gaal getting much grief for being defeatist. Certainly not after an interview where he said we were "a candidate" to win the league.
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Maybe youre right. Maybe Im making too much of a few posters complaining about a "lowering of standards" for thinking a year on year improvement is an acceptable performance from Van Gaal, rather than winning the league.
 
Adebesi said:
Hang on, werent you congratulating me for a post a couple of days ago where I was saying getting the most out of the players we already have is far more important for him than signing new players? Youve changed your mind about that now?
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I posted that after we had signed Lukaku and Lindelof. The two signings most obviously prompted by the injuries to Ibra and Rojo. Which were two signings that Spurs had the luxury of not needing to make. Obviously, the fact that Rooney's been moved on to faciliate his own ambitions (and grease the wheels for Lukaku) as well as the age/importance of Carrick means that we might need another one or two players. Or not. Depending on how big a contribution the likes of Ander Pereira can make. I obviously want us to get more out of existing players - and always maintain that the fewer players we sign the better - but I can also see that our squad has some obvious deficiencies.
 
Adebesi said:
Maybe youre right. Maybe Im making too much of a few posters complaining about a "lowering of standards" for thinking a year on year improvement is an acceptable performance from Van Gaal, rather than winning the league.
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I'm not sure what you mean? We didn't get a year on year improvement from Van Gaal. We did better in his first season in charge than we did in his second.
 
I have to say I'm not quite clued up on why Jose is saying 1 is enough instead of 2. The reason is because there's still plenty of time to conclude two deals. I would imagine what he meant is that of two required positions, if only 1 player is available and meets the requirements of what we want then that'll be enough. IE the stumbling block is availability, and not transfers fees or time. I have said in another post that rather than buying players for the sake of it I would rather wait and get them later, so I agree with him in that regard. There's no point temporarily filling positions with players that he doesn't want, because then it makes it harder to replace them later, and we lose a chunk of our budget (and a loss if we sell) which could be used for a superior player. Not to mention half the posters in this forum will constantly be on that player's back. There's absolutely no point of settling for a player he doesn't want as a long term option either.

We absolutely have to be in for a midfielder I reckon. We're desperate for a Carrick replacement. Attacker is needed really, and quite urgently too. However I feel we have sufficient quality if we can get the best out of the players we already have. CDM however, I don't think the calibre of player is there. Carrick is fantastic, but not mobile enough to screen the defence.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I'm not sure what you mean? We didn't get a year on year improvement from Van Gaal. We did better in his first season in charge than we did in his second.
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I was talking about comments that came in "expectations for this season" type threads, rather than "assessing how we have done this year" type threads, but this is getting way off point now.

Evidently people dont see any kind of difference in the way Van Gaal and Mourinho are appraised, that's fair enough, maybe its me being unfair.
 
Now Jose has spoken out about the two positions he wants to be filled, I'm a bit more confident we're looking elsewhere on the down-low as he won't wanna go into the season feeling short-changed on new players.
 
Adebesi said:
I was talking about comments that came in "expectations for this season" type threads, rather than "assessing how we have done this year" type threads, but this is getting way off point now.

Evidently people dont see any kind of difference in the way Van Gaal and Mourinho are appraised, that's fair enough, maybe its me being unfair.
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I don't think you're being unfair. You just seem to be remembering Van Gaal's tenure a bit differently to tye way I do. I honestly don't remember people being aggrieved about him managing expectations. From what I can recall, the general consensus was that Moyes had made absolute shite out of the club and Van Gaal would take a while to dig us out of it. We definitely expected to at least be in a title race in his second season (same expectations we have of Mou) but nobody expected him to come out and talk us up as favourites, or criticised him for not saying we were favourites. The only time I remember any manager getting a lot of shit for these sort of comments was Moyes with his "aspire to be like City" stuff. That's my memory of it anyway. Could be wrong.
 
How is this a defeatist attitude? He has always been a pragmatic manager. He seems to come off as honest. Also he has repeatedly said that he is very happy with the players he has and that they are all very good and have a great sense of bonding. I don't think even the most optimistic fan thinks we are the absolute favorites for the title. Of course we have a chance of winning, but we are certainly not favorites as of now.

People are so offended by anything and everything these days. If someone is honest, he's either an asshole or is whining. I'll be happy if we are in the race or thereabouts till the end of the season. But I do expect top 4 as a minimum this time, and think our team is very much capable of that.
 
Adebesi said:
I cant speak for anyone else but he'd win with me if he said he thought he had a very good squad who were now all familiar with him and he thought we were in with a very good chance of winning the league.
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Like Wenger does every season, yeah? I'd personally rather a manager that's realistic. Looking at our squad, yes Jose has brought in some of his own players, all of which have been a success so far. Then we still have players such as Fellaini, Blind, Darmian, Young, Smalling, Jones and Carrick(who's 36) around. None of these players have shown they're anywhere close to be near a squad challenging for major honors, and I'm probably missing a few too.

We aren't challenging for the title next season as it currently stands, I'm sure if that.
 
I don't think we need a winger to be honest when we have Martial and Rashford who can play that role.

What we do need is cover in the middle.
 
Shark said:
Like Wenger does every season, yeah? I'd personally rather a manager that's realistic. Looking at our squad, yes Jose has brought in some of his own players, all of which have been a success so far. Then we still have players such as Fellaini, Blind, Darmian, Young, Smalling, Jones and Carrick(who's 36) around. None of these players have shown they're anywhere close to be near a squad challenging for major honors, and I'm probably missing a few too.

We aren't challenging for the title next season as it currently stands, I'm sure if that.
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Well yes, like Wenger does. The criticism of Wenger isnt his optimism about winning the league, surely, so much as his inability to actually go out and do it?
 
Rusholme Ruffian said:
Just read it - doesn't seem too bad to me.
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Exactly. Watching his interview or reading full transcript, it doesn't sound bad at all. Papers using crap headlines and taking quotes that suits their agenda makes it look bad.
 
LoneStar said:
I don't think even the most optimistic fan thinks we are the absolute favorites for the title. Of course we have a chance of winning, but we are certainly not favorites as of now..
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There are many that are still living in Fergie-LaLa-Land and really do believe that United have some divine right to win the league year upon year.
Personally, I see last season as our first proper transitional period post SAF, and it was very encouraging for the future.

I'd be amazed if we won the League, surprised if we finish top 3.
Realistically, we have a good shout at 4th, anything else is an unexpected bonus.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I don't think you're being unfair. You just seem to be remembering Van Gaal's tenure a bit differently to tye way I do. I honestly don't remember people being aggrieved about him managing expectations. From what I can recall, the general consensus was that Moyes had made absolute shite out of the club and Van Gaal would take a while to dig us out of it. We definitely expected to at least be in a title race in his second season (same expectations we have of Mou) but nobody expected him to come out and talk us up as favourites, or criticised him for not saying we were favourites. The only time I remember any manager getting a lot of shit for these sort of comments was Moyes with his "aspire to be like City" stuff. That's my memory of it anyway. Could be wrong.
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No, youre right. It was more Moyes than Van Gaal.
 
Everything has become so quiet recently on our transfer window dealings, don't expect much more to happen tbh, very disappointing, almost feels as disappointing as that dreadful 2013 window, the thought of going into the new season with virtually the same squad as last year is cringey
 
Ikon said:
There are many that are still living in Fergie-LaLa-Land and really do believe that United have some divine right to win the league year upon year.
Personally, I see last season as our first proper transitional period post SAF, and it was very encouraging for the future.

I'd be amazed if we won the League, surprised if we finish top 3.
Realistically, we have a good shout at 4th, anything else is an unexpected bonus.
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If we had signed Griezmann, we would have been favorites for the title. That saga really messed up our transfers this season. Also the Ibra injury affected Jose's plans, although we signed a very good replacement in Lukaku.
 
Griezmann was a key issue for us for the coming season. It has dealt us a big blow. If he had arrived I would be very confident of a strong challenge.

I still have a feeling probably based on slight desperation that there is a big transfer cooking up. Not sure why I feel like this but there is something in the way that Jose is acting which makes me think he is overdoing the "oh well we won't get what we want" too much.
 
The problem here is that a few poor results and JM will throw Ed under the bus, and the squad, as a whole, will have an excuse to feel sorry for themselves.

We simply HAVE to get Matic/Perisic, because Jose is renowned for toys out of pram if he doesnt get what he needs (right so, he's a winner)
 
LoneStar said:
How is this a defeatist attitude? He has always been a pragmatic manager. He seems to come off as honest. Also he has repeatedly said that he is very happy with the players he has and that they are all very good and have a great sense of bonding. I don't think even the most optimistic fan thinks we are the absolute favorites for the title. Of course we have a chance of winning, but we are certainly not favorites as of now.

People are so offended by anything and everything these days. If someone is honest, he's either an asshole or is whining. I'll be happy if we are in the race or thereabouts till the end of the season. But I do expect top 4 as a minimum this time, and think our team is very much capable of that.
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Regardless of that pragmatic attitude, we need to go toe-to-toe with the rest of the top clubs this season both in PL and in Europe. Last season was not an unqualified success; we just managed to do the bare minimum. Trophies were just an added bonus really, and kudos to Jose for managing it efficiently.

There cannot be more of the "We're rebuilding" stuff coming in this year - we need to be dispatching smaller teams more ruthlessly and taking our chances when they come. Though I know our squad is not the scariest on paper, it will be great to see some fight in some of the lads to make a concerted effort to be in the title race and thereabouts come May.
 
EyeInTheSky said:
Griezmann was a key issue for us for the coming season. It has dealt us a big blow. If he had arrived I would be very confident of a strong challenge.

I still have a feeling probably based on slight desperation that there is a big transfer cooking up. Not sure why I feel like this but there is something in the way that Jose is acting which makes me think he is overdoing the "oh well we won't get what we want" too much.
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Agreed, that transfer would have been tailor-made for us. But surely Jose must have bigger targets in mind than Perisic and Matic? Having declined to identify the positions he would like us to strengthen so far, he went ahead and confirmed them (worst kept secret in football, and it's United's, yet again).

I surely hope, just like you do, that there is an exciting signing in store for us and the media haven't picked up the trail yet. Yet, so far, each move that he has made has been called out since the beginning of every transfer window, so I have my doubts whether it really is anyone else apart from these two.
 
Regardless of how it comes across to fans, we should also consider the impact of what Manager says has on the players. If he had said we should win the title this year it would have put immense pressure on the team, which wouldn't have been beneficial in our context. We have several players who need to make a step up this year, so at this time they should be focussing on their growth from previous season rather than worry constantly about the overall target/goal of winning the league. It is basically taking one step at a time rather than thinking about the eventual goal.
 
Sunny Jim said:
We have 5 senior midfielders, one of whom is Fellaini, there is also a 35 year old Carrick and a youngster in his first season in the EPL. Let that sink in.
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Scary ain't it. Add to that, Jose claimed Carrick was an important player last season (before kick-off) then quickly found that Mike is incapable of playing more than once a week maximum. Carrick hardly figured at all for long spells last season and when he did play, his influence was noticeably small.

That's why I thought a DM would be top of the list and we'd actually have scouted some talent rather than banking on Matic or Dier (both of whom would be difficult or impossible to get).
 
Ninja7Red said:
Agreed, that transfer would have been tailor-made for us. But surely Jose must have bigger targets in mind than Perisic and Matic? Having declined to identify the positions he would like us to strengthen so far, he went ahead and confirmed them (worst kept secret in football, and it's United's, yet again).

I surely hope, just like you do, that there is an exciting signing in store for us and the media haven't picked up the trail yet. Yet, so far, each move that he has made has been called out since the beginning of every transfer window, so I have my doubts whether it really is anyone else apart from these two.
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I think that the biggest one of all so far being Lukaku was "out of the blue" Chelsea pun intended... Nobody saw that coming just hope we have more ideas than the 2 we are being led to believe that we are after.
 
Alabaster Codify7 said:
Scary ain't it. Add to that, Jose claimed Carrick was an important player last season (before kick-off) then quickly found that Mike is incapable of playing more than once a week maximum. Carrick hardly figured at all for long spells last season and when he did play, his influence was noticeably small.

That's why I thought a DM would be top of the list and we'd actually have scouted some talent rather than banking on Matic or Dier (both of whom would be difficult or impossible to get).
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I'm half serious here- we even lost Rooney who played in midfield when needed. I see Blind, Jones, Lindelof playing DM at times.
 
His statement is Van Gaal esque...however is he wrong? I think not. We can't criticise his spending because every player he brought in so far has improved us. Lukaku and Lindelof yet to be assessed of course. We won't be going for the title this season unfortunately unless we catch a major fish before the transfer window closes which might increase our chances.
 
Ninja7Red said:
Regardless of that pragmatic attitude, we need to go toe-to-toe with the rest of the top clubs this season both in PL and in Europe. Last season was not an unqualified success; we just managed to do the bare minimum. Trophies were just an added bonus really, and kudos to Jose for managing it efficiently.

There cannot be more of the "We're rebuilding" stuff coming in this year - we need to be dispatching smaller teams more ruthlessly and taking our chances when they come. Though I know our squad is not the scariest on paper, it will be great to see some fight in some of the lads to make a concerted effort to be in the title race and thereabouts come May.
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But do you expect him to actually say any of that? That we are favorites for the title? I don't think he's ever said that before the season begins, that he actually expects to win the title. Of course he'll do everything he can to win it, his reputation is also on line.

Like I said, anything other than top 4 would be considered a failure (unless we win the CL). I have faith in Mourinho and think we will be challenging till the end. Think singing Lukaku was a big step towards that.
 
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