I thought it was very interesting at the end of the press conference when he seemed to suggest the problems we are having with results are related to the fact we are trying to play better football. He said something like "you cant have it both ways." Ignoring the fact that we keep letting our leads slip at the end of games when we try to shut up shop, precisely the moment we stop trying to play good football. It doesnt really ring true and sounds like fairly lame excuses really. But I wonder whether he wont double down on it and try and make us more solid, more like a classic Mourinho team. I dont think he will but it was an interesting remark.
Some praise for Jose
- Thread starter TheReligion
- Start date
I think you're taking credit away from us playing well by framing the game as just Arsenal playing badly. We stopped them playing their normal game pretty effectively. We beat City in the cup, albeit not a full strength starting 11, Liverpool caused us no trouble at all despite their great form. If we can stop losing silly early goals like in the City and Chelsea league games, I don't think we've much to fear from the teams above us.
Replaced by who?
This.
Terrible thing to say.
I praise him for signing fantastic players, but I can't praise him for much else. What he has done with the lot he has had is not great. Us playing better than last season and creating chances with Pogba and Ibra in a generally talented group of player is not this big deal people make it out to be. We're doing terribly for the resources we have. I want him to be given time but I also want him to be more progressive and forward thinking.
I think he was trying to point out that when he joined us, the media were pretty unanimous in declaring that his style of football wasn't right for Man Utd and he might not be able to adapt. He has adapted to a more attacking style of football so I guess he just wants to call out the hypocrisy of the press for slating the current style of football when it is exactly what they demanded of him a few months ago.
Except the press aren't slating the style at all. In fact he isn't getting anywhere near the criticism LvG has been getting despite breaking the world record. Mourinho is and has been very bitter about the criticism his approach gets and about how the likes of Wenger and Pep are praised. He never misses an opportunity to put their likes down and whenever he beats them, he likes to remind us that his pragmatism is better and smarter than their idealism. Remember when he put Zouma in defensive midfield against us couple of years back and spent the interview afterwards talking about how we were stupid to want to attack and that he knew it all along? Admittedly, some of our performances at home lately have been nothing like a Mourinho team which he himself stated when he talked about how unique this team is compared to others. But suggesting that playing front foot and winning are incompatible as he is doing now is not only worrying for us as he it sounds like he is going to get us more Stoke-ish, but the sign of a man that is getting increasingly more insecure about his reputation.
My only major complaint with Mourinho right now is that we haven't been able to control and consequently kill the games off. I honestly feel like we just need a couple of wins on the trot and that'll kickstart out campaign and see us headed to a long unbeaten run in the league.
Also, the players need to cut out silly lapses in concentration which have lead to goals conceded against Arsenal, West Ham and Everton (in recent memory). I don't think in any of those matches, the way we were playing or how we were set up resulted in the goals.
Also, the players need to cut out silly lapses in concentration which have lead to goals conceded against Arsenal, West Ham and Everton (in recent memory). I don't think in any of those matches, the way we were playing or how we were set up resulted in the goals.
Yeah like @Theonas said, it came across more like he was getting his excuses in rather than having a dig at the media (for something it isnt actually doing).
A lot of people are stacking up his points tally vs. LVG and Moyes at the same point and it doesn't make for great reading but I would expect if you were to tally the number of games you'd actually been entertained by at this point in the season it would be a lot higher for Jose.
No question.
As has been said quite a few times in various threads, A LOT of people - I want to say most people - said last year they could live with dropping points, it was the boring football they couldnt take. If the people who said that really meant it they have no reason to be complaining right now as we are playing much more entertaining football for the most part.
Its strange to give him credit for Miki or Martial. These were great players, flying, before this season and fell to pieces under Mourinho. Now they are starting to get back there but why was there a need to?
I really don't think Mourinho is getting enough credit for our terrible league form. He's clearly seen the detrimental effect the exertions of Europa League football is having on our squad this year and is doing everything he can to ensure we won't be playing European football next season. The man's a genius!
I don't think anybody could objectively say Arsenal were that poor purely down to how we played. Especially when we weren't great ourselves. They underperformed at Old Trafford as usual.
We got battered by a full strength City, same again at Chelsea and we were average at best against Liverpool.
I'm not saying we can't beat Spurs I just think it will take a performance we haven't yet produced.
I want to see us take on a good team, who are playing well but who we beat by outperforming them.
Are you taking the piss?
The people calling for Mourinho to be sacked would be the same sorts of people who called for Alex Ferguson to be sacked in his first season.
In fact, there were people wanting Alex Ferguson sacked in 1994, too.
People always think "change" is the answer, even when it might even look completely insane to change -anything- Sometimes it is, but sometimes you just have to stick at things instead of giving up.
Leicester fans are out there right now that want Ranieri sacked (there was one on talksport at least) - and while likely a tiny minority it makes me despair of the human race.
I think he's on the right lines and it would be insanity to ditch him and I agree that you can't always have everything come together instantly. Klopp is giving Liverpool an identity but in doing so he's experiencing defensive problems, Wenger has taken age to build his current side, Pottechino looks on the right track but there's obvious flaws in there given how they imploded in the run in, Guardiola hasn't had it all his own way either.
Ironically Conte is probably doing the best of the lot and that's with a squad largely full of Mourinho signings ! Their turnover of players in the summer was very low and with no european football the free weeks are benefitting them. Mourinho is getting there and it's never going to be an instant fix, he's got three seasons of crap to sift through but there is the formation of a decent team emerging whereas I couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel under LVG or Moyes.
We aren't losing many, we aren't concedeing shed loads, the football is good even if the conversion into goals rate is a bit patchy. I'm a thousand times happier at this stage of the season under Jose than I was under the previous two.
Ironically Conte is probably doing the best of the lot and that's with a squad largely full of Mourinho signings ! Their turnover of players in the summer was very low and with no european football the free weeks are benefitting them. Mourinho is getting there and it's never going to be an instant fix, he's got three seasons of crap to sift through but there is the formation of a decent team emerging whereas I couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel under LVG or Moyes.
We aren't losing many, we aren't concedeing shed loads, the football is good even if the conversion into goals rate is a bit patchy. I'm a thousand times happier at this stage of the season under Jose than I was under the previous two.
He's been on his case for a while. On the other hand he adores Pep.
I have to say I'm absolutely shocked that @TheReligion hasn't come in here since the Everton game.
hard to praise anything when we are so far off the pace. just because its better then LVG should no been praise worthy, the owners have backed jose to the hill with his signings and its up to him to get it right.
The only positive I can take is that we are easier on the eye to watch. Other than that, I am massively disappointed with the results, and the negative tactics used to see out games. Add on that I am sick and tired of this rotation b8Shit and the treatment of BFS and Miki (two players who can contribute more than others being given an opportunity)
Not impressed with the special one
Not impressed with the special one
Happy rather than shocked is the word I would use.
I remember in the eighties when the top 4 wasn't a thing that it could be quite fun being a cup side. Not sure it feels like that now.
I don't think the board will sack him. Not many better options available and we are playing better than before. Plus having a new manager who doesn't agree with the previous signings could be too costly!
I think he will be at United for his 3 year contract at least.
That does raise an interesting question though. Mourinho said in the last post-match conference something like "I was succesful with pragmatic football but you criticsed it as negative or boring, now I play the type of football you were calling for, but you complain about the results.You must decide." The question it raises is that are theo two mutually-contradictory, that you can't have attractive attacking football and pragmatically get the results. Mou usually says that good performances and playing well will lead to good results, which to me seems overly simplistic and false as it clearly hasn't as there are other factors involved, but at least shows he has faith in the United way, but his comments about the effectiveness of his negative pragmatic football suggest to me that he still fundamentally views that as the more effective.
Yeah well would you say Chelsea football or City football or even Liverpool football are not pragmatic enough? But they are still very positive on the pitch... On Sunday, Jose should have brought in a player like Rooney or Mata or even Schneiderlin, someone who can have the technical ability to protect a ball and not lose it. And waste time.
I think we should sack him and hire Giggs...
That way, we can all fall in love with Giggs again and then absolutely destroy and hound him out and then, maybe, just maybe, the penny will drop among some of you
Think the bedsheets are wet now? Wait for another ten years and ten managers down the road.
That way, we can all fall in love with Giggs again and then absolutely destroy and hound him out and then, maybe, just maybe, the penny will drop among some of you
Think the bedsheets are wet now? Wait for another ten years and ten managers down the road.
Interview in the next UWS
Sorry if the picture is big....
But yeah, love him!
Sorry if the picture is big....
But yeah, love him!
Totally and emphatically agree
Scholes for the first time, sounded positive about us in ages.
Think it was a smart move bringing on Fellaini today. Will lift his confidence.
Mkhitaryan was discussed at length and Mourinho heavily praised on Sky Sports for how he's handled him.
Think he gets an awful lot of stick for man management which is very undeserved and tarnished by the Chelsea rat fiasco last season.
Mkhitaryan was discussed at length and Mourinho heavily praised on Sky Sports for how he's handled him.
Think he gets an awful lot of stick for man management which is very undeserved and tarnished by the Chelsea rat fiasco last season.
Difficult to not praise Mourinho today, I thought we completely controlled the game against a very good side.
I laughed at him when he spoke positively about Rojo in September, which now looks pretty stupid.
I laughed at him when he spoke positively about Rojo in September, which now looks pretty stupid.
We also did that against Stoke, Arsenal, Everton and Burnley and yet we won none of those games.
We need to start scoring more. You can't blame bad luck. Mourinho is right, with the football we're playing we should be much higher up the table but that's life. If you miss easy chances, you won't compete for the league.On a different note I want Herrera as the next Manchester United captain. He motivates all the players around him with the spirit he shows during the game and the constant communication with his team mates. He's one of the few players who I believe really plays for the badge.
Wheres the 21 in 30 thread now.
We have lost 2 in 20 (iirc) , he has signed 4 players who have dramatically improved us. Are we there yet, no, but only a blind man wouldn't acknowledge the progress.
We have lost 2 in 20 (iirc) , he has signed 4 players who have dramatically improved us. Are we there yet, no, but only a blind man wouldn't acknowledge the progress.
I for one would take this season over both of LvG's every single fecking time, wherever we end up. We're actually playing, and 9 times out of 10 outplaying the opposition even if the results aren't reflecting that supremacy just yet. The people wanting Mourinho sacked after the crap we've witnessed over the last 3 years need their heads checking.
So he deserves praise for a good performance and a win yet is free of any criticisme for dropping all those points ?
He will get his praise from me if he can start winning game after game, which is what I expect from a team like United with players like Pogba, Mkhitaryan and Zlatan. He has 1 season to get the motor running, not 2, not 3, just 1, like his predecessors and if he fails to get CL football he should get the sack. I don't care how he gets it but a club like United that spends hundreds of millions on the best players must be in the CL. There are no if's and but's, there is only doing it or not doing it. Even a clown like Wenger who doesn't get to spend a penny has managed to get CL football in every season. If he is a specialist in failure like Mourinho claims, then surely it can't be a problem for one of the best managers in the world to get atleast CL football. We aren't asking for him to win the title, let alone the CL (which is were our true aim should be), it is just getting in the CL and he even has 2 paths to do it, so if he is truely the best man for the job, he should manage it.
So far still 6 of top 4, so he got his work cut out for him
It's finally starting to come together again for us. The results have been annoying but performance wise we're starting to look like a top team again. We've actually handled the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Everton quite comfortably recently only to get shafted with late goals through errors.
If we can start putting away our chances and Martial finds his best form then i think we'll be feared once again. We've looked solid at the back, created plenty of good chances and we're fighting like mad. We actually don't look like a spineless team of wimps anymore.
Whether we finish in the top 4 or not, if we keep seeing this progress theoughout the season it'd be madness to consider changing the manager again.
If we can start putting away our chances and Martial finds his best form then i think we'll be feared once again. We've looked solid at the back, created plenty of good chances and we're fighting like mad. We actually don't look like a spineless team of wimps anymore.
Whether we finish in the top 4 or not, if we keep seeing this progress theoughout the season it'd be madness to consider changing the manager again.
Good post
It is quite remarkable that all his signings have come off. That almost never happens.