While I was growing up they called it the end of term report in school. I realised that it doesn’t change through life, you can call it an assessment, evaluation, annual report, appraisal, examination report, test results or whatever, what matters is that every one receives it as a true mirror for work/job done, or not done.
Is Jose Mourinho getting his just report or is he going through – as he himself put it – a witch-hunt at this moment in time?
I’ll start by asking the press
JOSE MOURINHO 2 years at United;
Titles: 3. Europa League Winner, League Cup Winner, Charity shield Winner.
PRESS VERDICT? Failure, loser, bad, terrible.
JURGEN KLOPP 2.5 years at Liverpool
Titles: 0
PRESS VERDICT; Winner, Excellent, fantastic
MAURICIO POCHETTINO 4 years at Tottenham Hotspur
Titles : 0
PRESS VERDICT: Winner, talented, superb
I leave you to judge the above.
From the pundits box, I hear how a manager who won a premier league title 3 years ago, a European cup and a League cup 2 years ago is no longer relevant to the modern game and has to evolve or be extinct.
I hear how he destroyed Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford’s career but when the same players excel, I hear how the players have found a way back.
Just compare the press reporting of Fabian Delph with Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia. Compare the press on Rashford and Solanke.
If this isn’t bias I can’t say what it is, as the press continue to report jose sack, Jose to be sacked and he lost the dressing room.
Is this what we have turned to?
Someone told me some weeks ago that “that’s what we the British do, we build them up and when they get big we tear them down” Is that true?
JOSE’S STYLE
Just before the start of the season, Jose complained and moaned about the players he wanted that he didn’t get, predicting it would be a tough season.
Don’t say this United team can’t play because they can: I watched them win games effortlessly at the start of last season before the City game, rolling teams over and playing beautiful football.
I watched them go toe to toe against Arsenal at the Emirates last season and also play Tottenham off the park this season. The problem with the two games? Their defence couldn’t hold up and last season at the Emirates, they had only David Degea to thank for the points.
They can play but when they do, is the defence big enough to hold the forth?
You don’t win 9 league titles in England, Spain, Italy and Portugal without knowing how to win a title!
Jose knows how to win, and how to win different ways :Chelsea 1, Madrid, Inter, Chelsea 2, Porto have been won several ways and I don’t say there is one way or one way only, there are multiple ways to drive or fly into any city.
I have to admit here though that I haven’t seen any cohesion in United’s way of playing
The paradox however is that with each title Jose won at Chelsea, Madrid and at Inter, I saw cohesion at work.
Yes they were all different but I still saw a way, a pattern, team cohesion and individuals who knew what to do each time they had the ball or lost the ball.
Questions are; why is that absent here at United? is he missing something/s? Is he missing key Ingredients to play how he wants to play?
And please don’t say the game has changed, Antonio Conte and Claudio Raineri won the league playing differently to Pep Guardiola in the last few years too.
FACTS : DNA, MARKETING AND BOARD
Okay United are not where you want them to be, but anybody who knows football would know that it is what it is, because of many and several factors…
When I look at Manchester United since after Sir Alex, I see a disjointed transfer policy.
Who is making the buying decisions?
He kept saying in summer “I gave a list of 5 players to the board since April”
So who decided they were not going to give him those players?”
Who has won enough titles in the boardroom to know he doesn’t need to get the players he asked for?
When did United start buying B or C players instead of A players?
When did marketing and profit become more important than on the field matters at the theatre of dreams?
When I look at United, there has been no recognisable DNA across the team, I only see caution and prudence each time they head to the market or how many of the buys would walk into a top European or top premiership club and just pick a first team jersey?
Scouting has been terrible as well and decision making at board level has been extremely poor.
CLEANING POST FERGIE MESS
United board also have to agree with the manager to imbibe a DNA in transfer dealings and scouting
Honestly Mourinho is still cleaning up the mess post Sir Alex, where to be honest the signings have been extremely poor.
The first two years of Jose’s tenure has truly been to clean up the mess of the post Fergie transfer policy (just check the amount of players he has moved on since he Came in)
And unfortunately this day and age you can’t change the whole team at once.
The back four have been around for a long time and you have to wait for contracts to run out at times before you can clear the deck.
WHERE DO THE BOARD WANT TO GO?
The question the fans must quickly ask the United board, executives and decision makers must be “how far do you want to take this club?” “Where are we going?” “Where do you want this club to be?”
If United must stay relevant in England and in Europe, then there is still a lot of work to be done
There is a need to spend and spend and spend if they want to catch up and continue to be in reckoning with the European elites.
I hear “well Jose has been given money”
True, but this is Manchester United who are one of the biggest clubs in world football.
If you’re a house, and you want it to be the best but you suddenly look at the design and it’s not going to beat the neighbours, you have to call for more materials.
Look across the road: Pep Came and bought Claudio Bravo from Barcelona, when it didn’t work he spent more on Ederson. To right the wrong he had to spend even more.
When it became obvious Karius wouldn’t take Liverpool to the top, the board sanctioned another £67m for the Brazilian no 1 keeper Alison. Did Klopp not buy Bravo as replacement for Joe Hart?
Then to lower the age of the back four,
Pep spent £150m on full backs and another £54m on a centre back and one can’t even get a game at all.
I can go to Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern, PSG and you’ll see the same plot unfolding. To keep up with the best, you have to buy the best.
MESSAGE TO BOARD
You don’t build a house halfway and stop.
If you want to build a house you go all the way. You hand over materials and money and then demand a house. At moment, it’s not entirely happening.
I can also understand the board being cautious, but I think if they want to continue with Jose they just need to open the war chest and say “here you go” do what you did at Madrid and Chelsea and Inter again.
Do it in 12, 18 or 24 months or we say goodbye.
FANS
I hear Sir Alex, Sir Alex all the time, when would United move on from that era? Sir Alex cannot manage successfully in this era with the style he used.
Sir Alex may not play the way he did with two midfielders and wingers.
Sir Alex may not have the class of ‘92 that formed a nucleus of the team for 7 glorious years..
Can he go to players homes to end get togethers? Shout and throw the hand dryer at them in dressing room? Fall out with the biggest players bringing commercial revenue? Shift players with huge salaries who bring huge marketing revenues just like that?
That era has come and gone and this is where Jose Mourinho also needs to tow the line; what got me here would not get me there….
Jose has to change his style of management and style of play. Jose needs to realise that to stay successful at United he has to work with a limited budget (although we don’t know what they promised him when he first came)
He needs to get the best out of what he has (realistically a top 4 finish and nothing more) unfortunately. This team that Came second last term did so because of Jose Mourinho, they’re still not a premiership winning team
The backline has to change….
Juventus vs United was the classic for me. Juve outclassed United in every department except in goal (well, rumours have it Juve want Degea as well for next season)
And they did this without Mandzukic, Emre Chan and Khedira.
There was a time Andy Cole, Yorke, Beckham, Giggs, Keane, Ince, Vidic, Scholes, Van Der Sar, Scmeichel and Co used to terrorise Europe, now United can’t even terrorise Brighton
Every team now believe they have a chance against United.
Look at the roster… you can’t say for sure apart from the goalkeeper that more than a couple of the outfield players could get into the top European sides at moment. Shame.
THE WINNING HABIT
Jose is a winner, and winners have only one goal. Win! If they can’t achieve that goal they have another goal, win!
If they can’t win, they find it hard to reset their goal. Winners don’t have a second goal, they only have a winning habit.
If I want meat pie I want the meat pie and not potato pie as I ordered them… if you give me potato pie and expect me to eat it, I’m sorry I won’t pay for it. So what next? Either you refund me or I must have my meat pie.
Jose has his DNA… winning is that DNA
United have to refund or get the ingredients out for the pie. Jose won’t settle for a potato pie.
Question is: what do the board want to do?
Sack him or back him?
Whatever they do, I don’t think Jose has been given the correct report card so far.