Would be a miracle to finish top four: Mourinho

roonster09

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world
Scout
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
36,715
"There's no one available! You know...besides the guy who won 3CL and 1 League title in the last 2 and 1/2 seasons"
Maybe he isn't interested in signing for us, who knows.
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
Because regardless of the last few seasons, you are still a big club.
Regardless of anything else, it will take years to sort out this mess and no manager is going to get the time.

Jesse Lingard, a man who was tweeting about his red socks during the week, after a match ffs. And that's only a tiny spec of what's wrong with this club at the moment...

To put this into perspective...If City winning the league last year, Liverpool getting to a CL final and now both clubs challenging domestically for the title, isn't enough for the board of Manchester United to do something about it, nothing will ever be enough!

Fergie meets with Guardiola, he pisses off elsewhere.
Fergie meets with Pochettino, he signs a new contract with Spurs

You'd almost think he was telling them not to get involved in this mess for their own sakes...
 

Paul_Scholes18

Full Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
13,891
Taking over from Mourinhos failures has worked out really well before. Madrid won the champions league, Chelsea won the league and did reach the champions league final the first time against us after he left.

I think we could really kick on next season. The players will just be much more motivated without him and the confidence should return and just give everyone a boost. With 1-2 good signings I think we can challenge and beat City to the title next season! If we get a good manager of course and not Mourinhos twin or something ;).
 

Real Madras

Full Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2016
Messages
1,068
Location
London
Supports
Real Oviedo
He wasn’t backed in the summer and did tell everyone we will struggle. Our squad didn’t improve over the summer and yes he has spent loads of money but he wanted a CB and low and behold, we have the worst defence In the league. Back him or sack him. Now
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
Taking over from Mourinhos failures has worked out really well before. Madrid won the champions league, Chelsea won the league and did reach the champions league final the first time against us after he left.

I think we could really kick on next season. The players will just be much more motivated without him and the confidence should return and just give everyone a boost. With 1-2 good signings I think we can challenge and beat City to the title next season! If we get a good manager of course and not Mourinhos twin or something ;).
I have heard this every year since 2013

Our players will not be motivated
 

roonster09

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world
Scout
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
36,715
Only ones I've seen defend Mourinho are those trying to give a balanced view, whilst still saying he should be sacked.

No idea what posts you're reading
What about the posts shitting on players and praising Jose as some winner?
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
What about the posts shitting on players and praising Jose as some winner?
Well, he is a winner. This will be and is his first proper failure as a manager.
Like it or not, the players deserve criticism for the shit they have served up. Some of them don't even look arsed playing for the crest on their jerseys

Of course Mourinho is to blame for his tactics and motivational skills as a whole. No one can dispute that. However, Woodward started this fire in the summer by not signing the players he wanted and then leaking it to the press and since then, we've had a roided up miserable Mourinho. Peak misery

I will never know the point in that
 

fergosaurus

Full Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
4,415
Taking over from Mourinhos failures has worked out really well before. Madrid won the champions league, Chelsea won the league and did reach the champions league final the first time against us after he left.

I think we could really kick on next season. The players will just be much more motivated without him and the confidence should return and just give everyone a boost. With 1-2 good signings I think we can challenge and beat City to the title next season! If we get a good manager of course and not Mourinhos twin or something ;).
Mourinho guaranteeing instant success in the league also worked out very well before....except for us. Our problems are deeper rooted than Mourinho, as much as he needs to go ASAP.

We also need Woodword to feck off back to the commercial side of things and bring in a DoF, so we have a long term plan and don't keep having to do expensive rebuilds every couple of years hiring managers who play a contrasting style of football.

We're a lot further away than one or two signings even if Pep was to take over.
 

roonster09

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world
Scout
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
36,715
Well, he is a winner. This will be and is his first proper failure as a manager.
Like it or not, the players deserve criticism for the shit they have served up. Some of them don't even look arsed playing for the crest on their jerseys

Of course Mourinho is to blame for his tactics and motivational skills as a whole. No one can dispute that. However, Woodward started this fire in the summer by not signing the players he wanted and then leaking it to the press and since then, we've had a roided up miserable Mourinho. Peak misery

I will never know the point in that
Of course Woodward started the fire in the summer, and Jose started it on pitch. If we had 1 or 2 players playing below their level then yeah, you can question attitude, when whole team is playing below their level then it's easy to see where the problem is.

He was a winner, not is.
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
65,825
Location
France
Well, he is a winner. This will be and is his first proper failure as a manager.
Like it or not, the players deserve criticism for the shit they have served up. Some of them don't even look arsed playing for the crest on their jerseys

Of course Mourinho is to blame for his tactics and motivational skills as a whole. No one can dispute that. However, Woodward started this fire in the summer by not signing the players he wanted and then leaking it to the press and since then, we've had a roided up miserable Mourinho. Peak misery

I will never know the point in that
Woodward can't sign players that aren't for sale or that don't want join us, we have at least Perisic and Boateng saying that they declined the opportunity to join us. Then you don't know how much clubs asked for their players. Also it's Mourinho who spent the entire summer moaning about transfers.
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
Woodward can't sign players that aren't for sale or that don't want join us, we have at least Perisic and Boateng saying that they declined the opportunity to join us. Then you don't know how much clubs asked for their players. Also it's Mourinho who spent the entire summer moaning about transfers.
Then what was the point in Woodward leaking it to the press that Mourinho's choice of players weren't what he wanted to sign?

What was to be gained by doing that?
 

roonster09

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world
Scout
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
36,715
Woodward can't sign players that aren't for sale or that don't want join us, we have at least Perisic and Boateng saying that they declined the opportunity to join us. Then you don't know how much clubs asked for their players. Also it's Mourinho who spent the entire summer moaning about transfers.
Well you are clearly wrong. Whole football world revolves around ManUtd and if the player is not signed it's because Woodward didn't want to, nothing to do with player or other club's interest.

Maybe you didn't get the memo.
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
Of course Woodward started the fire in the summer, and Jose started it on pitch. If we had 1 or 2 players playing below their level then yeah, you can question attitude, when whole team is playing below their level then it's easy to see where the problem is.

He was a winner, not is.
Disagree about their level...

For Smalling, Valencia, Jones, McTominey, Lingard, Herrera to an extent, Young, Rojo, Matic who is clearly done, this is their level
 

Needham

Full Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
11,754
So if he gets us to 4th the end of season DVD can be titled, "Champions League Assured: The Miracle of 2019".
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
65,825
Location
France
Then what was the point in Woodward leaking it to the press that Mourinho's choice of players weren't what he wanted to sign?

What was to be gained by doing that?
It was an extremely stupid attempt at responding to Mourinho who was continuously saying that he was supposed to get players but wasn't getting them and didn't know why. I said at the time that it was a really stupid thing to leak because it exposed a rift between the manager and his superiors, these things have to stay in house.
 

roonster09

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world
Scout
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
36,715
Who said that?
If you made that up, how is that relevant?
I didn't say you said that. There are more Jose defenders on this forum and I don't have to explain who said every point. Go and read some of the posts about lists, woodward and how he refused to sign Perisic, CB and few more players by 1 poster cheeky something
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
It was an extremely stupid attempt at responding to Mourinho who was continuously saying that he was supposed to get players but wasn't getting them and didn't know why. I said at the time that it was a really stupid thing to leak because it exposed a rift between the manager and his superiors, these things have to stay in house.
Exactly.
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
I didn't say you said that. There are more Jose defenders on this forum and I don't have to explain who said every point. Go and read some of the posts about lists, woodward and how he refused to sign Perisic, CB and few more players by 1 poster cheeky something
He did refuse to sign Perisic though. The Maguire bullshit I don't believe for a second. Don't think the club were interested in him at all, Mourinho or Woodward.

Also, he balked at not selling Darmian over an extra million but, has him on big wages as he sits in Milan most weekends :rolleyes:

Not arsed reading lists on here. Will take your word for it
 

roonster09

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world
Scout
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
36,715
He did refuse to sign Perisic though. The Maguire bullshit I don't believe for a second. Don't think the club were interested in him at all, Mourinho or Woodward.

Also, he balked at not selling Darmian over an extra million but, has him on big wages as he sits in Milan most weekends :rolleyes:

Not arsed reading lists on here. Will take your word for it
Didn't Perisic say last week that he had a big offer from ManUtd and he rejected it as he was sold by Spaletti's project? Again thanks for proving my point.
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
65,825
Location
France
He did refuse to sign Perisic though. The Maguire bullshit I don't believe for a second. Don't think the club were interested in him at all, Mourinho or Woodward.

Also, he balked at not selling Darmian over an extra million but, has him on big wages as he sits in Milan most weekends :rolleyes:

Not arsed reading lists on here. Will take your word for it
Perisic said that he had the offer on the table but decided to stay at Inter because Spalletti convinced him.
 

settembrini

Full Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2015
Messages
3,283
If all teams maintain their current points per game then we will be mathematically certain of finishing outside the top 4 in February.
 

Paul_Scholes18

Full Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
13,891
Mourinho guaranteeing instant success in the league also worked out very well before....except for us. Our problems are deeper rooted than Mourinho, as much as he needs to go ASAP.

We also need Woodword to feck off back to the commercial side of things and bring in a DoF, so we have a long term plan and don't keep having to do expensive rebuilds every couple of years hiring managers who play a contrasting style of football.

We're a lot further away than one or two signings even if Pep was to take over.
The trend for us, Madrid and Chelsea have been very similar. We did get the initial Mourinho boost just thast it was not really good enough this time. I think he has done a worse job here than at other clubs so that could help us even more once he is gone.
I do think we got talent at the club and lots of potential for improvement.

Woodward certainly needs to go too. We need to stop paying too much for all our players in terms of wages and negociate much better.
 

Paxi

Dagestani MMA Boiled Egg Expert
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
27,678
Didn't Kevin Keegan get sacked for saying something similar whilst in his second stint at Newcastle?

Anyway, cut Mourinho loose and we might still do something in the CL or FA Cup - we've definitely got the squad for it.
 

Paul_Scholes18

Full Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
13,891
I have heard this every year since 2013

Our players will not be motivated
Why not? I see a lot of potential motivation in a lot of the players just that right now the confidence is gone and Mourinho has really fecked everything up.
Players like Pogba, Lukaku, Rashford will certainly be lifted without Mourinho. Martial as well even if he is maybe not the most driven player. Still we have seen what he can do when he is in form.
A manager that can motivate and give him a more attacking role can give him a massive boost.
Not sure about Sanchez, but he could get a kick as well and we will probably not be able to sell him anyway.
We probably should let some of the older guys like Valencia and matic go and bring in some quality.

I think one good right back/central defender, one good midfielder and one attacker could be the added quality we need. With a new manager I think that could be enough to challenge and potentially win the league. Hard to beat City no doubt, but I think we could do it.
 

Janson

Full Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2016
Messages
6,028
Location
Sweden
Taking over from Mourinhos failures has worked out really well before. Madrid won the champions league, Chelsea won the league and did reach the champions league final the first time against us after he left.

I think we could really kick on next season. The players will just be much more motivated without him and the confidence should return and just give everyone a boost. With 1-2 good signings I think we can challenge and beat City to the title next season! If we get a good manager of course and not Mourinhos twin or something ;).
They still had quality players, we don't.
 

TheRedDevil'sAdvocate

Full Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
3,663
Location
The rainbow's end
We can talk about what we spent but before he came we stagnated and let other teams buy players we should have got and since Sir Alex retired our transfer strategy has been a mess and a bit part of the money spent is on 2/3 players. | think it's an impossible job. To the average fan, Young and Valencia are NOT full backs. We're still looking for balance in central midfield and we have no constant wing threat on either side. We did well to finish second last season with this group and when you seemingly don't back the manager in the transfer window...your asking for problems. Jose has probably unsettled the defenders but there have been problems for a long time. because for a big team, we give so many chances away that are avoidable. The club needs to sell and it needs to buy but it's getting harder and harder with these oil clubs and owners who talk about value.

2nd place last season is as good as it gets. We don't have the squad and saying what we spent is ignoring what others have spent and because of others that 450 odd has not gone as far as it would have in the past. Yes Joses made mistakes but this group have shown they can go away and beat Juventus but they don't have the hunger over games at the minute to be consistant and this could be what the club needed. Someone needs to stop blowing smoke up peoples asses. The truth is we need to look at the things clearly. There's big expectation on rashford/Martial at a time other areas are malfunctioning. Even Lukakus struggling, a man who have proven he can score goals and be productive. Something needs to change.
There's a lot of truth in what you're saying but the fact that he's in the third year of his tenure at United forces even most of the fans who were initially in favour of his appointment, like me, see things from a different perspective.

This is the same man who claimed when he was appointed as manager, that he needed to add only four specialists to the squad LvG left behind in order to make United competitive again. From that statement to the "miracle" of making it to the top-four in the space of two and a half years when you're the one who's in charge of the team and you're being paid top money, certainly doesn't make you look good... no matter who's playing at full-back.

He can moan all he wants about the defence and he will have a point but, on the other hand, the two CBs he signed don't seem to be United quality either. It's also true that Valencia/Young are converted FBs but so were Milner and Delph and that didn't hinder Klopp and Pep's plans to the point where it became a ready-made excuse for any failings. If we look a bit closer at the stats (yeah i know but sometimes they can be useful tools) we'll see that, out of the top-six clubs, we concede the most clear-cut chances and the most shots from inside our penalty box. I honestly doubt that this would not have been the case if he had been given the funds to buy Maguire and a new full-back. The truth is that his low block defence, not only without the assist of organized pressing tactics in the midfield but without any aggression put on the first attacker to win the ball too, leaves the back-four under a lot of pressure and with a lot of work to do, thus the mistakes and the negative goal difference. People were laughing at xgoals stats last season but these stats claimed that we should have finished last season right where we find ourselves right now. Yeah, Bonucci and Chiellini would offer more experience and quality to our defence but when every defender looks nowadays like a version of Jones (runs like a headless chicken to cover holes), you can tell that it's not just a matter of personnel.

Plus Juventus know how to take good care of the ball which is the crux of our problem under Mourinho... which brings us to the midfield. Matic/Pogba/Fred is his midfield, he signed these players just like he had signed Mkhitaryan to play as a #10. It's his choice to put a lot of trust in Fellaini and it's his decision to give minutes to McTominay, both of them not the most gifted footballers with the ball at their feet. In the third year of his contract, a manager of Mourinho's calibre should have done better. Just like it happened with LvG before Jose, there comes a time when the hourglass turns and your good reputation can't be used as the only pledge that things will be fine.

I'm not suggesting that we don't need to invest in the first team. But our financial status and our current wage bill should be able to make us play on the front foot against the majority of the PL and not dreading the coming clashes against Arsenal and Liverpool. The fact that Mourinho is neither inexperienced (Moyes) nor way past it/new to the PL (LvG) is a more than valid concern which unfortunately will be drowned in the sea of cries that want the manager sacked right here and right now. I also believe that Mou's divisive personality is the last place where these players can hide, presuming that they do not care as much as they should. If someone like Poch comes in and we're still a mess, most of the criticism will be directed to the players. But, as things stand, this is just another reason to cut the chord with Jose and start putting things into a new perspective.
 

.Rossi

ever get that feeling of déjà vu?
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
18,064
Location
Currently on trial for plagiarism
Perisic said that he had the offer on the table but decided to stay at Inter because Spalletti convinced him.
Ah OK. Didn't read that

Didn't Perisic say last week that he had a big offer from ManUtd and he rejected it as he was sold by Spaletti's project? Again thanks for proving my point.
Smarmy cnut
 

GBBQ

Full Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2012
Messages
4,808
Location
Ireland
Absolute bullshit. We're struggling in the table because we lost to West Ham and Brighton and only managed draws against Wolves, Palace and Southampton. None of these teams are setting the league alight but we still can't put them away. We win those games and we're in the mix and we should be able to do that comfortably with the team Mourinho has. Instead we persist with immobile midfielders and impotent attackers. He berates the young and talented to the press and gives a free pass to the brown nosers.

Even if you feel he was dealt an unfair hand in the transfer window surely his attitude and approach is not what we want to see at United.
 

Pyro19

Full Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2014
Messages
677
We need to sack him asap and get a new manager in if we want to have any chance of a top 4. The players have clearly stopped playing for him and only a managerial change will bring about the motivation this squad needs to achieve 4th at the minimum
 

Litch

Full Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2013
Messages
10,238
Man utd manager in December says its a miracle if we finish top four.....I'm done.
 

johanovic

Full Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
758
Mourinho did manage to get everyone against him at both Real and Chelsea in the 3 season https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ourinho-real-madrid-chelsea-manchester-united and quite simply you can not win by being at war with everyone. That perhaps works for a certain time but he sure seems to be running into the same problems as he did at both Real and Chelsea. And now he comes out before the game against Arsenal and we are trailing them by 8 points and say´s we can not reach fourth place this season. So instead of trying to change his dated methods he´s throwing in the towel just before we play Arsenal and that is just not acceptable for a Man Utd manager. What message is he sending when we are about a 1/3 into the season? Play Dalot at right back and sign 1 top defender like Koulibaly in January, play a midfield 3 of Herrera,Fred(Peireira) and Pogba with Matic at center back or just sold with Fellaini. Bring in a midfielder like young Tanguy Ndombele in january. Play Rashford,Lukaku,Martial and Sanchez has to leave a.s.a.p and we need to bring in good RW in january. Start to bring Laird,Garner,Gomes,Greenwood,Chong,Traore,Barlow,Connor into the first team squad. We have a lot of deadwood to clear out in the 2 upcoming transfer windows but MOURINHO needs to go first. He´s done and it´s there for all to see.