very balanced article indeed and made some excellent points
Has Jose Mourinho lost it?
- Thread starter Robbo
- Start date
Soldato
He'll be gone if he doesnt win the PL next season, he just doesnt look happy, whether thats because he isnt the top dog, or the pressure of having to compete without the riches. I dont think he feels loved in Manchester.
Soldato
We have got Mourinho for one more year and we need to back him.
Ferguson left our club's squad without a future, and it has taken three managers with differing visions and associated panic (Moyes) of chucking money around to try and get some balance returned at Old Trafford.
Mourinho has given us that and whoever takes over from him will be handed a better squad than the one that Ferguson handed Moyes.
Ok it has taken an absolute shed load of money and it will take a shed load more to get a team that CAN challenge.
I have been lucky as a United supporter but the league now is so different to where it was when we were dominating. We usually only ever had two or maybe three 'equals' in the league during most of Ferguson's time. Now you can probably double that and that and my confidence has gone.
To get back to the original point though.
Do I have faith in Mourinho? Yes, but he isnt the Mourinho that Chelsea hired in 2004, and he isnt the Mourinho that Inter Milan and Real Madrid had. His second spell at Chelsea changed him.......
Ferguson left our club's squad without a future, and it has taken three managers with differing visions and associated panic (Moyes) of chucking money around to try and get some balance returned at Old Trafford.
Mourinho has given us that and whoever takes over from him will be handed a better squad than the one that Ferguson handed Moyes.
Ok it has taken an absolute shed load of money and it will take a shed load more to get a team that CAN challenge.
I have been lucky as a United supporter but the league now is so different to where it was when we were dominating. We usually only ever had two or maybe three 'equals' in the league during most of Ferguson's time. Now you can probably double that and that and my confidence has gone.
To get back to the original point though.
Do I have faith in Mourinho? Yes, but he isnt the Mourinho that Chelsea hired in 2004, and he isnt the Mourinho that Inter Milan and Real Madrid had. His second spell at Chelsea changed him.......
Soldato
I read something a few days ago that, United are are only 4 or 5 points better off than at the same stage as last year, surely the expectation would be to be further along than that.
Associate
Mourinho wins trophys, he did that last year and it's a very good achievement. But as a neutral , I'm just fed up of his moaning every time bout everything. He never remotely seems happy to be in charge of one of the biggest footballing teams ever.
I do think the board should look to a manager who looks happy and maybe brings back the identity to utd.
I do think the board should look to a manager who looks happy and maybe brings back the identity to utd.
The last time Mourinho did something remarkable was that inter team, I’d likely need to rewatch their CL run again but the two games against Barca were seriously impressive.
Since then he’s done nothing that you wouldn’t expect with the finances available (and even the inter period was during the whole Juve scandal right?)
Since then he’s done nothing that you wouldn’t expect with the finances available (and even the inter period was during the whole Juve scandal right?)
The amount of luck Inter had in those 2 games were seriously impressive that's for sure. IIRC, in the first leg Barca had 2 clear pens not given and one of Inter's goals was 5 yards offside and then Barca had a perfectly good winning goal ruled out in the 2nd leg.
I must be mistaken, I remember inter not playing typical pathetic mouball in the first leg.
Second leg is impressive given Busquets, but Barca seemingly struggle vs 10men teams in knockouts
Caporegime
**Removed**
Try not to post spoilers in this thread or anything that hints at spoilers
Try not to post spoilers in this thread or anything that hints at spoilers
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Man of Honour
I'll close this now for the evening due to spoilers.
I already closed it, you opened it back up
Man of Honour
Oh God, it's been a long day 
At least I beat you to the spoilers
At least I beat you to the spoilers
For me it's not so much the results, but the football on the pitch and atmosphere around the club. And no, it isn't typical Mourinho, it looks like typical Moyes Utd now. Thoroughly depressing.
It's seriously starting to feel like it did with LvG too, indifferent about results, expecting to be bored by performances. Dull.
From day one Mourinho hasn't looked happy, and as the weeks go by, his position looks more and more untenable. But we shall see, January may present a chance to improve things, if this continues then something more drastic will need to be done...
Ollie Holt has done an article blaming Woodward and Glazers and defending Mourinho: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5223501/Woodward-know-like-Mourinhos-enemy.html
If what's being said is true then you'd have to sympathise with Mourinho but it really doesn't look like the purse strings are that tight. You don't need to spend £90m on Pogba's and similar on Lukaku's to secure top 4.
It's seriously starting to feel like it did with LvG too, indifferent about results, expecting to be bored by performances. Dull.
From day one Mourinho hasn't looked happy, and as the weeks go by, his position looks more and more untenable. But we shall see, January may present a chance to improve things, if this continues then something more drastic will need to be done...
Ollie Holt has done an article blaming Woodward and Glazers and defending Mourinho: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5223501/Woodward-know-like-Mourinhos-enemy.html
If what's being said is true then you'd have to sympathise with Mourinho but it really doesn't look like the purse strings are that tight. You don't need to spend £90m on Pogba's and similar on Lukaku's to secure top 4.
Well considering Ed wouldn't get Peresic over the line in the summer because he was too expensive suggests otherwise.
Since before Fergie left the majority of the time the squad has rarely had a proper 1st XI, Utd have had 3 or 4 big stars and the rest are pretty average squad players.
There are always going to be transfers that don't always work out, and that's the nature of the beast but when you only get 3 or 4 purchases done every summer (and rarely anything in the winter) that's only going to allow for 2 or 3 new additions after you have replaced the one that didn't work the summer before - or even the summer before that. Moyes buys are practically non existant for the last 18 months, and LvG's that are still here are average at best. That's even before some of JM's transfers which have been a bit hit and miss also.
A club the size of Utd is never going to have the squad quality required from the starting position Fergie left it in with that number of transfers every year.
Admittedly the injury crisis we appear to have every season doesn't help, even after investing millions in the medical equipment at Carrington in the last couple of years.
I'm not expecting 6 absolute ready-made superstars every season - but the way the squad has turned out for the last 6 years, 2 - 3 ready made stars (or at least ready to step into a senior role), and three more that might need a year or two to come to fruition is desperately needed to compete right at the top. Even if that means retiring / selling the same amount.
edit
In reference to top 4 - if Liverpool are spending £75m on a centre half, even before considering anything else they might do in Jan (and they weren't that far behind us in the 1st place) , Spurs despite their blip in Nov have a very good well rounded squad, and Chelsea are fighting us already tooth and nail for 2nd (and rumours they will bring in re-enforcements also) and they didn't spend that much less on Morata in the 1st place.
Its really not inconceivable Utd need at least two if not three additions to be ready to go immediately to have a chance at top 4 - and players ready to go will always cost more than prospects. (unless the club finds out of contract players, but they are out of contract for a reason - and therefore a different type of risk).
Its better than it was, but of course it doesn't help that Utd are still paying £45mish a year on the Glazer debt
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According to the latest reports Jose and the club are in more advanced discussions regarding a contract extension. I would hope this means Jose has got his own way - money to buy whoever he wants.
Whether he's able to improve players or not, you really have to spend a lot regardless these days.
Whether he's able to improve players or not, you really have to spend a lot regardless these days.
His greatest success is Lingard, without a doubt, Pep gets tons of praise for improving Sterling - a £50m player in a much better team - yet Lingard is an academy player. Granted he has to maintain it, but so does Sterling.
It's hard to anticipate really, the board will probably be keen to keep him, from a business sense he has a better track record than any manager we could replace him with. Things will need to keep improving though.
It's hard to anticipate really, the board will probably be keen to keep him, from a business sense he has a better track record than any manager we could replace him with. Things will need to keep improving though.
Ancelotti I'm not convinced is the ideal man to rebuild a squad (as still needs doing here despite the money spent). Poch is good I suppose, any excuse to leave Spurs!