The Jose Mourinho Appreciation Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Caporegime
Joined
9 Mar 2006
Posts
56,126
Location
Surrey
Martial, whilst a talent has had his chances.

When?

I remember Rashford starting the season over him (while Jose tried to sign another left winger in the summer) then Martial won back the starting spot winning player of the month...at which point Jose went and signed Sanchez and dropped him. When exactly did he get chances?
 
Don
Joined
9 Jun 2004
Posts
46,154
This would have to get really bad for them to sack him midseason but he did achieve it at Chelsea so who knows. One way or another I think he'll be gone by next summer though.
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
Posts
25,023
Location
Tunbridge Wells
If United don't start the season well and compete for the title and make at least quarters in the CL he will have a melt down and be gone by the start of next season. He is a chequebook manager and he is being outspent by a better manager at City and out managed by at least 3 other managers in the top 6 in the PL.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2010
Posts
4,957
Location
The 'Shire'
As a Chelsea fan I love Jose and feel the way player power works he needs to be a bit smarter on what he says about these cry baby footballers as they can down tools, get you the sack and still get a new contract at the end of the season!
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
Posts
25,023
Location
Tunbridge Wells
As a Chelsea fan I love Jose and feel the way player power works he needs to be a bit smarter on what he says about these cry baby footballers as they can down tools, get you the sack and still get a new contract at the end of the season!

Mourinho just needs to be smarter about how he treats and manages players. Yes the players have a lot of power but how would you like it if your boss had a meeting every week to berate you and tell everyone how you are underperforming. Perhaps he could comment on your weight or how he thinks the company should hire better people because you lot are ****.

That is a massive part of being a manager and Klopp, Guardiola, Pochetino etc are all very good at it. A happy work force is much better than an unhappy one and keeping a bunch of footballers happy isn't the hardest job in the world, he just chooses not to bother.
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Posts
22,598
I have no doubt that JM could do a lot better, and be a lot more positive - but so could the board.

Lets face it - they ***** up over Perisic last summer, and all season that side of attack was dreadful (not helped by the aging and useless Valencia), they have also ballsed up this transfer window by acting so slowly and penny pinching here and there. Lets not forget that City have spent near enough the same on Mahrez (a backup) than Utd have in total so far ....and 1/3 of that is on a 20 year old kid who very few even expect to be starting before next season (regularly).

Its not all about spending but when City have spent £500m more on transfers in the last ten years (figures were widely published a few months ago) it was only a matter of time before this scale of dominance happened. They are also bringing in more mature players who are coming into their peak - no disrespect to Rashford, Martial , Lingard and a few others but they are all very inexperienced and form can be very shaky at times (I know Lingard is considerably older, but given injuries etc is still pretty inexperienced at this level).

The fact that Liverpool have also spent at least double this summer than Utd so far, and have (from the outside at least) had a pretty easy / uneventful window (I suppose Fekir but impossible to know truthfully if that wasn't a bit ***** by both sides, and transfer still could happen) just rubs salt into the wounds

The result the other night doesn't mean a thing in the context of the season, but it doesn't help at all that 1/2 the senior squad isn't going to get a decent pre-season at all , and will probably miss the 1st two games at least (and the 3rd game is vs Spurs so not the best game to come back into in all fairness).

JM deserved another season after finishing 2nd , and deserved to be backed fully by the board this summer (there shouldn't be any necessity to sell first before bringing new signings in - especially given how the window is arranged this summer, but it certainly suggests that's how the board want to operate) , so I can understand why JM is annoyed (2nd summer in a row).

Its also hard to tell because we are missing so many of the 1st team how this season will be, but there is no excuse for JM to maon about the kids, he should be fully supporting them and that's not on at all. Periera is looking really good in a new position after his two years in Spain on loan, and looks like he will be starting a few matches given Matic's injury. Impossible to know about Fred given he only got 15 minutes the other night.

The board have left it too long (this summer) to sack JM, even before considering there is no-one at all at even remotely the same level to take over - I don't see any reports of unhappy players though (even if they have a right to be, esp the younger ones) but wouldn't surprise me if this starts given what he has said recently.
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
Posts
25,023
Location
Tunbridge Wells
The problem is Frank, Mourinho isn't making the most out of what he has and is always happier to blame his players or lack of signings for any issues instead of trying to do his best. I would say we had the 2nd best squad in the league last season and easily the best keeper who probably added a good 10 points to our final total. We have a left back who has shown that he has masses of potential (Shaw) but he barely gets a sniff, a LM/LW who is one of the hottest young players in Europe who doesn't get a look in most of the time (Martial) and who will likely leave at the first chance. I'm not sure that any of our players are massively enjoying their football or playing to their potential apart from DDG.

Compare Sane at City to Martial at United. One has been backed by his manager and supported while he adjusts to the premier league and makes mistakes and the other has been ignored, thrown on for 10 minutes at the end of a game where the rest of the team around him barely moves and is then criticised for his performance. One has rewarded his manager with massive improvements and a large part of their title success towards the end of the season and the other one looks like he is just treading water until he can leave to play somewhere else. Sane at the start of the season didn't look like he was even half decent. Lost the ball a lot, didn't really accomplish much when he played but Pep persisted with him because he saw potential.

City are winning a game 2-0 and they will give a player some time on the pitch. United are winning 2-0 and Mourinho will wait until the 75th minute and put on Fellaini to see the game out.

Even if you gave Mourinho 250m every summer to spend he would still complain that the players he bought aren't playing well enough or that he needs more. He always blames someone else and thinks that the squad is the problem instead of his managerial skills.
 
Don
Joined
9 Jun 2004
Posts
46,154
I have no doubt that JM could do a lot better, and be a lot more positive - but so could the board.

Lets face it - they ***** up over Perisic last summer, and all season that side of attack was dreadful (not helped by the aging and useless Valencia), they have also ballsed up this transfer window by acting so slowly and penny pinching here and there......

Did they **** it up or were they simply not willing to pay such a big fee on a 28 year old? Iirc, you were very much against Utd spending so much on him last summer. As I said in my reply to Loki, the board's job is to make funds available but make sure they're not spent recklessly. They have to draw the line somewhere.

He wanted "4 specialists" in his first summer and he said Utd could challenge for the title - he got them all at huge expense. He was then given huge money again the following summer, including spending a big fee on an aging Matic. You then signed another aging player in Sanchez, on a hugely expensive contract. If two positions Mourinho still wants players in are as what's being reported, CB & winger, then it's easy to understand why the board aren't willing to spend huge fees, especially if they don't believe they're getting value - whether that be due to age or quality. As I asked Loki, if you were running the finances at Utd would you not be slightly concerned about spending a huge fee on another CB, having already bought two expensive CB's in the previous 2 summers? Would you not be worried about spending £50m+ on Perisic or Willian, having already brought in Sanchez, knowing that in a couple of years they're going to need replacing again?

Even Man City, with all their oil money would need to put a leesh on Mourinho. Mourinho will spend every penny available to him and as I touched on in my reply to Loki, he's not even that fussed about who he signs - Mourinho said himself, for one position he identifies 5 possible targets. If he can't get the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th, he'll happily sign the 5th choice and will no doubt look to replace them in 6 or 12 months time.

I'm not saying Liverpool's system is right and Utd's is wrong, it's how they're implemented that is most important but the difference in the way Liverpool and Utd have done their business this summer is night and day and the reason why is because at Liverpool (something we've not had for a long time) we have got owners, board, sporting director and manager all working together. Utd, certainly from the outside, appear to lack any clear, long term strategy to their transfer dealings and if the manager and those controlling the budget aren't on the same page you're going to end up missing out on targets and wasting money.
 
Associate
Joined
1 Feb 2012
Posts
383
Location
Manchester
I don't blame the board at all to be honest, every player Mourinho has been linked with, is 29 years old with fees of £60mill or so.

Peresic, Wilian, Alderweireld, Sanchez in January. The board is absolutely doing the right thing by not sanctioning inflated prices for players with 3 years left in them.

The board has backed him, with younger players like Dalot and Fred.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2012
Posts
18,556
I dont believe for one second Jose has the final say...if he does however and like you say the board are blocking his transfer requests...what is he still doing there?

The buck falls with your board.
 
Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2018
Posts
45
Location
Banbury, Oxfordshire
Sounds like we've been reading too many HYS articles on BBC.

Utd lose to Liverpool = Man U in crisis, Jose next to be sacked?

Utd beat Real Madrid = It's only a warm-up game.

Feels like the media have picked their next target. I still feel we have a few players who are nowhere near good enough to be in a Utd shirt.. Smalling, Jones, Valencia, to name a few. We've still got echoes of Moyes and LVG we need to get rid of. Reports are that Smalling is going to Wolves.. if he really was a quality player he wouldn't be going to a bottom half group
 
Permabanned
Joined
23 Apr 2014
Posts
23,553
Location
Hertfordshire
Lose a couple of games and City/Liverpool will get the same. The media are snakes.

Also Mourinho just invites this kind of thing with his attitude, unless its one of his butt kissing toadies(Duncan Castles). Compared to Pep/Klopp who are generally affable and likeable.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Aug 2007
Posts
28,937
Lose a couple of games and City/Liverpool will get the same. The media are snakes.

Also Mourinho just invites this kind of thing with his attitude, unless its one of his butt kissing toadies(Duncan Castles). Compared to Pep/Klopp who are generally affable and likeable.

When it comes to the media , I think you are right, Mourinho does invite it. Pep/Klopp come across as sharp and witty, they are indeed likeable. There are many who dislike Liverpool FC but really like Klopp for example. Pep and Klopp are seen as guys like us, guys you could sit with a couple of pints and watch a match with. They are box office.

Mourinho used to be like that, sharp with a dry wit, putting a camera lense in front of him was box office, but now, he seems jaded, burned out and frankly , old. In the "modern" game, Mourinho and his media personality seem outdated and old news.
 
Caporegime
Joined
1 Dec 2010
Posts
52,101
Location
Welling, London
The manager definitely has a big effect on how the team is treated in the media. As Tombstone says, pep and klopp are witty and very friendly, so they get an easy ride, Mourinho is a miserable old git who talks sarcastically at journos and treats them like idiots. It’s no wonder he gets a rough ride.

Wenger and Arsenal used to get a bit of a rough deal from the press at times. Wenger was stubborn, could be miserable, spoke back quite sharply at times and was regarded as an old dinosaur. We’ll probably get a much easier time now we’ve got the younger Spaniard in who seems a very friendly guy, trying his best to learn English, which the journos appreciate.

So yeah, in a nutshell, Mourinho’s attitude has a huge bearing on Utd’s negative press, and the journo’s will be waiting like snarling wolves for every little mistake that’s made at Old Trafford.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom