The Mourinho Thread: Should he stay or go? | Sacked

Is Mourinho’s time as United manager up?

  • Yes

    Votes: 2,296 77.1%
  • No

    Votes: 293 9.8%
  • Not yet - needs more time to see if he can turn it around

    Votes: 388 13.0%

  • Total voters
    2,977
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Raoul

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I've said it before, Jose has been nothing but honest with the board, fans and media. He warned us this might happen if we didn't invest in the squad.

Off the back of an abysmal performance last week the team played well, and that is down to the manager.

Tactically we were spot on, and that is down to the manager.

Individual errors cost us, that is down to the players.

Jones is injured again, Rojo is chronically injured so we now lack cover in defence, and we didn't invest in a new CB despite Jose's request. That is down to the board.

Jose asked for Maguire or Alderweireld, we went for neither because Woodword wanted Varane. That is down to Ed.

If you can't see where the problem lies I give up all hope.
I agree with this but there are always two sides to each story and given Jose's signings over the past two years (Lindelof, Bailly, buying then selling Mkhitaryan etc) the board were bound to at some point ask for a return on their investment before giving him a blank cheque for yet more transfers that may or may not pan out.
 

Bojan11

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I don't think he has entered Wenger levels of decline but he is at Ancelotti level, where he is still good enough to just remain above water but you never know when things will go downhill.

I say wait until January and if we are out of the top four sack him. At least get us in the Champions League.
Why wait till we out of top four?

We got a chance now to save the season and achieve something. Why throw that away?
 

Twisted_Woody

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Which likely means they have no trust in Jose anymore, so what's the points of keeping him?
Or did he just confront them with some hard truths - some of our players aren't good enough and need to be shipped out and new ones need to be brought in. They took one look at the cost and balked at it and instead want to do the bare minimum to keep us afloat (in and around CL qualification, Arsenal style).
 

caid

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Dont think hes the source of problems at the club. The boards behaviour over the summer, particularly briefing the press against him a few days before the start of the season has made his job drastically harder than it should have been. Heads need to roll at the board room level regardless of what happens with Mourinho imo.
The players haven't helped in the slightest either. I've heard more moaning, leaks and bullshit from this squad in the last 3 years than i heard in 20+ years under ferguson. Big feck off fines and being dropped for a couple of weeks are over due for every vaguely controversial comment from this group of players. You sort that, stop the jackass trying to piss hundreds of millions up the wall on unattainable, unnecessary galactico's while ignoring the blatant holes in the team and we might start getting somewhere.
Mourinho won't turn the current malaise around, he cant due to the board undermining him and he'll almost certainly get sacked at some point this season. Undeservedly im beginning to think. The next manager will have a hard time turning the club around regardless of how good they are.
 

ash_86

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If Lukaku scored that, we would looking at a different result and a more upbeat mood.

I'm in. Mourinho deserves more patience than what LvG or Moyes ever deserved..
His players really need to step up and repay some faith in him. This is ridiculous
 

gr3yham3

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I agree with this but there are always two sides to each story and given Jose's signings over the past two years (Lindelof, Bailly, buying then selling Mkhitaryan etc) the board were bound to at some point ask for a return on their investment before giving him a blank cheque for yet more transfers that may or may not pan out.
But it's not really a blank cheque though, is it? Jose was not asking for a Mbappe or Neymar or Varane. Getting in a CB like Alderweireld was very well within our financial means. What's the point of being the world's richest club on paper when we can't even buy players that our manager reasonably wants?
 

Raoul

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But it's not really a blank cheque though, is it? Jose was not asking for a Mbappe or Neymar or Varane. Getting in a CB like Alderweireld was very well within our financial means. What's the point of being the world's richest club on paper when we can't even buy players that our manager reasonably wants?
You have to put it in context of Jose's previous singings. The board have approved CBs in the past two summers and they haven't panned out, so why would they do so yet again ? And why did Jose keep buying the wrong CBs in the first place ?
 

K2K

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"Can Manchester United score? They always score"
Even Van Gaal had his backers.

Jose is done. He is losing it like he did at Chelsea. Considering that I have always been a massive fan of his, this is sad to watch. But it's time.

Very few of us want him sacked because of just 3 games. Rather because we don't have much belief in him for the remaining 35..it's evident that something is wrong. It was evident in preseason to those who chose to see it.
 

Winrar

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This match and Brighton eerily feels like the kind of string of games that made me gave up on Moyes and LVG. (respectively 0-1 vs Everton and Newcastle, the no-win run towards the end of '15)

Our team looks disjointed and at the moment looks like it's heading nowhere. I'm afraid Mourinho's 3rd season jinx is working its magic on us too, even if he's not 100% at fault for it due to lack of vision at the top.
 

gr3yham3

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You have to put it in context of Jose's previous singings. The board have approved CBs in the past two summers and they haven't panned out, so why would they do so yet again ? And why did Jose keep buying the wrong CBs in the first place ?
Hmm, I can't provide an exact reason, but here are some possible thoughts:

1. Bailly was a success when he first came, but injuries threw things off track.
2. Jose expected that Smalling/Jones could be the "senior figure" in the defence, given their experience at the club and age. Has not happened.
3. Lindelof was bought as a young-ish player and maybe to play in a back 3 more often.

By the end of 2 seasons, Jose realises that we need that commander at the back despite giving the current options chances, but when he wants to get in someone of that ilk, the board says "no way Jose".
 

Ashley R1+O

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Anyone backing him needs to ask themselves what they are expecting in terms of results this year. Short of finishing 2nd we would effectively have gone backwards this year at which point Jose would probably be let go anyway.
Whatever happens. Anyone backing him has to be able to understand that we've compounded an already mess of a squad by ramming as much Ed Woodward superstar signings that make no sense into it as he possibly can. We can't then when this overpaid absolutely shitpile bunch of responsibility shirking pussies down tools turn around and start yelling about how shit he is.

I'm in for the long haul. Sack every single player tomorrow and take L's until January (keep DDG/Smalling/Lukaku tho maybe) until we can buy a whole new squad for all I care.

The last few weeks have wavered my skepticism on whether even the last three managers have been in charge of buying in their own players and not just having Ed spunk a bunch of wads into the squad for absolutely no reason.

How do you impart mentality down onto a bunch of players who don't care? You don't you boot them the absolute feck out of the club ASAP. Seems Ed won't let him do that either, so what the hell do you do but have to sit back and just wait and watch what happens. The quicker the fans realize this and start to absolutely lance these players and Ed woodward the quicker the actual Mourinho club/mentality will come out.

Do we wanna wait for any of this as a collective fanbase? I mean I don't mind but I can understand why everyone has itchy feet. Especially if those fans already don't trust mourinho for whatever reason.
 

AndyJ1985

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I've said it before, Jose has been nothing but honest with the board, fans and media. He warned us this might happen if we didn't invest in the squad.

Off the back of an abysmal performance last week the team played well, and that is down to the manager.

Tactically we were spot on, and that is down to the manager.

Individual errors cost us, that is down to the players.

Jones is injured again, Rojo is chronically injured so we now lack cover in defence, and we didn't invest in a new CB despite Jose's request. That is down to the board.

Jose asked for Maguire or Alderweireld, we went for neither because Woodword wanted Varane. That is down to Ed.

If you can't see where the problem lies I give up all hope.
Oh, so because he preemptively told us that we'll have a poor season that makes it alright? Rubbish. He's pissed off Martial and Pogba. He's coached our team to play poor football. He's responsible for buying two of the defenders that make up the awful defence he has so much contempt for. He's been given expensive signings only to get nothing from them. The go to excuse for him has basically become "it's all Woodwards fault" How convenient. Its all Woodwards fault because he wouldn't buy us another defender. I'm sure we'd be sat at the top of the league if we had another defender, I'm sure our best players would be banging goals in for fun, I'm sure we'd all be having a whale of a time watching our new defender take us to Premier league glory.
 

Canagel

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We are no closer to winning the PL now than when he arrived and this is HIS team. Bought an entire 11 almost spending close to 400 million pounds so the money argument is dead. After this we don't know what our best 11 is and you can count the number of top performances across 90 minutes on one hand. Our best players have been alienated and numerous players have regressed under his management. Enough of the excuses. There's been enough time and money to rectify any issues. Even last night I keep hearing this exceptional first half but what did we actually create? When did we open them up? Our best chance was gifted to us. I think we've become so accustomed to slow and boring football that even a slight bit of pressing is a shock to the system. Teams play like this all the time.
 
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kouroux

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I wanna understand the position of those who wanna keep Mourinho but I just don't see any points making sense. It is said to back him up and I agree with that but at the same time he's been the most backed from a financially POV Man Utd manager ever.
I could understand it if our football was improving a little, if we had what seems like a solid and consistent formation.
 

klsv

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Being realistic, top 4 was always going to be our aim this year and that's still very likely. We're not going to be losing two out of three for the rest of the season and other sides are not going to go unbeaten.

If Jose was to be sacked, he should have been sacked in the summer. It didn't make sense after our highest finish post-SAF and it doesn't make sense now either. Doing it now will just give us another van Gaal but without a transfer window. Now i expect the board, the coaching staff and senior members to of the team to talk to eachother and fans to support the team. Was glad to hear fans at OT being behind the team even when down by three goals. The keyboard warriors can do one. Jumping on the new hottest managerial trends - Klopp, Poch, Zidane etc is laughable.

I hope that once Jose gets sacked or walks, it will be once we've appointed a DoF, any other scenario will make things worse.
 

SER19

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Mourinhos point seemed clear post match.

We got 81 points last year, and beat tottenham with a dull 1-0 where the set up of the team compensated for our weak defence.

Last night we were more ambitious and that weak defence gets exposed.

Would 1 signing like alderweireld have changed everything? Of course not, but we'd be far better placed to play more adventurous stuff with him. Woodward decided we didn't need it and has been shown to be an out of his depth idiot.

Ill take the tumescent rubbish with decent results until dopey ed stops playing the football man
 

Greck

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There's really no reason that justifies us going backwards in games against Spurs and Brighton. Would be a different story if we lost to Liverpool or even City.
 

buckooo1978

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back the manager until we have a better option in place

a spirited 3 nil defeat at home to Spurs is hardly the kind of performance that inspires you to think Jose is the man for the job in the long term

the consistent lack of effectiveness in attack and a defence that gives up so many chances and makes so many mistakes has to be on the manager after two and a bit years of working with them
 

simplyared

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I've said it before, Jose has been nothing but honest with the board, fans and media. He warned us this might happen if we didn't invest in the squad.

Off the back of an abysmal performance last week the team played well, and that is down to the manager.

Tactically we were spot on, and that is down to the manager.

Individual errors cost us, that is down to the players.

Jones is injured again, Rojo is chronically injured so we now lack cover in defence, and we didn't invest in a new CB despite Jose's request. That is down to the board.

Jose asked for Maguire or Alderweireld, we went for neither because Woodword wanted Varane. That is down to Ed.

If you can't see where the problem lies I give up all hope.
We bought Lindelof - down to the manager!
 

fellaini's barber

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Loses 2 out of first 3 games of the season and most of you want Jose out?
Harsh.

The next manager is unlikely to last more than 2 seasons if it were left to fans, we'd have a new manager every season.

Moyes. LVG. Now Jose. Who next?
What the feck is your suggestion. We should have kept Moyes or LVG till now?
 

Janson

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This!

The team actually played well for most of the game. Defensive lapses yes and that is why mourinho wanted a new CB! And yes he bought lindelof and Bailly but Conte also bought bakayoko and realised he wasnt good enough and tried to rectify the situation. It happens, it's called a mistake and there isn't a manger out there who has never made one.

We played with intensity and drive in the first half and should have been 2-1 up at half time.

I actually thought we played our best game from an attack perspective tonight and could have won it if our finishing was better.

It's not a good situation right now but I don't think any one truly knows if the players are against him or not, or indeed what the board are thinking. It's all hyperbole and speculation from the fans and the media because we are the biggest show in town and that's what sells.

Lets all just get behind the manager and the team and see how it pans out. Calling for the mangers head or saying players are not good enough etc is not going to help them perform better when we need them most.

Who else out there is a sure bet? Who else has won what Jose has won?

It's depressing stuff but that's what being fan is all about, you stick but your team through thick and thin.
That's what it should be all about. Instead some of the "fans" are wishing we lose and creating a bad atmosphere.
 

Janson

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this is Mourinho's 3rd season here though

"b-b-but we finished in 2nd last year", yeah but stumbled our way there with De Gea saving our results time and time again. 3rd year going and the team has no basic competence, let alone an identity or playstyle. Its not acceptable.
And we have made progress through those 2 years. Then someone decided our CB's are good enough, and now we're seeing they're garbage.
 

VP89

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3 games in and he brought us to 2nd last year from 6th.

He ain't going yet and nor should he.
 

Bocca9978

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Time has to be up.
The last thing I wanted was another season like the last one. Didn’t think it would be like this though.
 

Nickosaur

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It's a dire situation. I honestly don't know whether it's best we get rid of Jose right now.

What we do need is a technical director who knows his stuff and who will work with the manager to achieve both short term and long term targets. Not saying someone who needs to work with Mourinho, perhaps his replacement, but it's becoming clear that Woodward and majority of the board have very little footballing knowledge.
 

Flexdegea

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The buck stops with the manager first and foremost. He picks the team, sets the strategy and the tactics, so he takes responsibility for their performance on the pitch and the final result. When the team isn't winning, the manager is to blame.
I agree but it's ridiculous thinking the fans are cheering because they are doing it for themselves, because they want to look which was what the OP was saying.

He was near enough looking Jose beheading at the touchline.
 
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Bojan11

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And we have made progress through those 2 years. Then someone decided our CB's are good enough, and now we're seeing they're garbage.
Mourinho signed two of those CBS. So why is he blameless in your eyes?

I remember when Stam left and our defence was a mess. Fergie decided attack was our best defence, we didn’t win anything that year but that was some of the best football we played under Fergie. Klopp and Pep had shit defences yet sorted it out with their signings. Yet when they did have terrible defences they didn’t resort to defensive football. Mourinho isn’t bold enough to do that.
 

Drifter

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I'm at the Jose half out stage at the moment. I'll give him till the New Year to see where we'll be.
 

Ban

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Mourinho signed two of those CBS. So why is he blameless in your eyes?

I remember when Stam left and our defence was a mess. Fergie decided attack was our best defence, we didn’t win anything that year but that was some of the best football we played under Fergie. Klopp and Pep had shit defences yet sorted it out with their signings. Yet when they did have terrible defences they didn’t resort to defensive football. Mourinho isn’t bold enough to do that.
Pep and Klopp made bad signings as well but found what they looked for. Jose didn't get what he wants this summer. Also I think we didn't play defensively Yesterday. It seems tho we can't find the right balance.
 

Andycoleno9

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I think that people can't understand how huge impact 2 players can have on squad. If he got 2 wc central defenders this squad, results and general play would be different. Our defenders cost us fa cup and points in last two games. Last game is also example what i am talking about for a year. You can't play attacking football with shit defenders. You just can't.
People say jose bought two defenders. Lets clarify that. Bailly was his buy. But for him he has excuse. He needs one experienced leader defender to play with him. And even if bailly is flop, every manager has bad buys. Does that mean that he must stick with that player?
And for lindelof; i don't think that he is jose's buy. Why? Jose likes experienced, strong and proven defenders. Lindelof wasn't that. I think that jose wanted some other defender and because of money( because top defender cost 60-70 mil) he settled with lindelof.

Jose is the right man for us. He has flaws and he is not without blame but he needs to stay and finish building this squad.
 

Infestissumam

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I don't view it as only 3 games and I certainly wouldn't sack him based on those 3 games alone obviously. It's much more than that to me: it's the poor track record regarding signings and the ineptitude to make any of those signings better. It's the bad man management including publicly trashing players and constantly switching up the lineup. It's the dross football and players not being arsed every other week (yes, that's partly on the manager too). It's the constant drama including undermining the board and players alike. Bottom-line it's the fact that he's made this great club a clown show and a laughing stock in many different ways.

I realize he's not going to get the sack today, that's not how United operate and in a way I'm glad that's the case. But really, I don't see how things can improve. Mourinhos track record suggests it's only going to get worse from here.

Woodward should get the sack too but that's a different discussion. He generates too much money for the Glazers to get rid, and bringing in a DoF next to him would solve a lot of issues. Shambolic that is hasn't happened yet, really.
 

Red_Ramirez

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Weren't a lot of people saying the same about SAF 3 years into his 6 year period before he won anything?
Yep.

It took 4 years to win his first trophy (an FA Cup) which bought him time...and 7 years to win the league

The Six seasons before the title triumph in 1993:

11th

2nd

11th

13th

6th

2nd
 
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