What did the Mourinho era fix?

Skills

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GK - with De Gea's worse season in years and maybe him leaving this summer we're weaker here than we've been in a long time

FB - I think the Valencia Mourinho inherited was a better RB than the players he's left behind. Shaw is still the player he was pre-Mourinho, but at least he hasn't got a broken leg anymore.

CB - meant to be Mourinho's strength. Organising a strong defense. I'd argue we're in a worse position now than we were post Van Gaal. At least we had a competent option in the Blind-Smalling partnership?

CM - this one is tragic. He signed a CM for a WR fee who is probably going to leave this summer. He inherited Herrera who went onto be his player of the year in his first season - left the club. He signed Matic who within 2 seasons, is the one we desperately need to improve on. And he signed another CM for 50m who couldn't get any game time for Mourinho himself.

Attack - we had a sub 70 goal before Mourinho we have a sub 70 goal attack now. Expect for its a older (Sanchez replacing Rooney as the old pensioner) and more expensive than pre-Mourinho. The two players he signed are the ones who the club will probably try to offload this summer (Lukaku and Sanchez).

Performance : inherited a 5th place team. Left a 6th place team.

I mean what have we actually got left that we can build on from his era?
 
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Revaulx

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Not a lot that’s lasted.

The best thing about the Jose era was the comebacks. I think these indicated two main things:
  • Whatever his other faults, his in-game management was still brilliant
  • Our squad isn’t as “mentally weak” as people on here like to make out
 

RedTillI'mDead

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Not a lot that’s lasted.

The best thing about the Jose era was the comebacks. I think these indicated two main things:
  • Whatever his other faults, his in-game management was still brilliant
  • Our squad isn’t as “mentally weak” as people on here like to make out
Just crap instead?
 

poleglass red

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the Jose era taught us that non football men should stay away from the football aspect of the club ie recruitement.
 

Skills

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the Jose era taught us that non football men should stay away from the football aspect of the club ie recruitement.
So he could sign more players like Matic I.e. William who we would also have to replace this summer?
 

Revaulx

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So he could sign more players like Matic I.e. William who we would also have to replace this summer?
He was stuck in the past. But the club was also at fault for not coming up with younger alternatives. Unless of course they did, and Jose rejected them.
 

SiRed

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The best thing about Mourinho was shipping out some of the 20odd players we have that arent good enough.

Depay
Schneiderlin
Schweinstieger
Blind
Micky T
Januzaj
McNair
Varela
V Valdes

Great work getting all them out but could have got rid off more tbh.
 

BlueHaze

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He left us in a much, much worse state no doubt about that. Signed Mkhi traded him for the embarrassment that is Alexis. Then the centre back issue where we have severely lacked quality ever since Rio and Vida left. He spent £60m on two average players one being injured more often than Jones which I never thought could be possible. He added problems upon an area that was already full of it. Then we have the midfield.. He signed a 29 year old slow and immobile player for £40m which we will now most likely lose for less than half of that fee. He then proceeds to spend nearly £50m on Fred which turned out to be one of our worst signings I can remember.

Then we have imo the worst out of them all.. £75m on Lukaku who scored only 16 in the league after a "good season" Even here we are likely to lose him for less than half the fee. The same goes for Pogba which was the only decent signing he did but even here we are likely to lose him this summer. So basically apart from Lindelöf practically all his signings are likely to be gone within a year. It's quite horrible when you actually think about this.. And still some defend him. :nervous:
 

Skills

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The best thing about Mourinho was shipping out some of the 20odd players we have that arent good enough.

Depay
Schneiderlin
Schweinstieger
Blind
Micky T
Januzaj
McNair
Varela
V Valdes

Great work getting all them out but could have got rid off more tbh.
Mikhtaryan was his own signing that he did a good job of getting rid of? :lol:

Then also signing another group of players now also needs to get rid of but for a lot of money :

Bailly
Matic
Sanchez
Lukaku

I think we've spunked more cash on just those 4 than the ones in your list.
 

roonster09

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Fixed nothing, just 390 million poorer with average playing squad which has more holes than swiss cheese.
 

Canagel

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Mourinho's legacy: Lukaku, Matic, Sanchez, Fellaini (contract), Rojo (contract)..

We have shipped Fellaini but it's only the start. Itll take more time to fully cleanse the Mourinho stain off the club.
 

poleglass red

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So he could sign more players like Matic I.e. William who we would also have to replace this summer?
We didn't sign Willian. What we need is a correct structure at the club, where football men make those decisions. A DOF in place would help identify players we need to make us successful for the forseeable. Jose was an attempt by the club to bring instant success, that doesn't work anymore. We should have been more proactive, brought in a manager with an attacking style of play. That would have bought the manager time, remember Klopp and Pep didn't bring instant success, but it's much easier for the fans to accept when they like the product they are seeing and know they are improving.
 

Ekeke

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The best thing about Mourinho was shipping out some of the 20odd players we have that arent good enough.

Depay
Schneiderlin
Schweinstieger
Blind
Micky T
Januzaj
McNair
Varela
V Valdes

Great work getting all them out but could have got rid off more tbh.
2 if not 3 of them would be an improvement on what we have now
 

Adam-Utd

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Fixed nothing.

Did well to win us 2 lower tier trophies and get to the FA cup final, no praise anywhere else deserved.
 

Pavl3n

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He shipped Rooney and a lot other dead wood. That was a big task.

Nearly exposed Pogba for what he is. Now we have a clearer picture, that even if Mou was a touch too negative for our liking, Mr. Labile is not the innocent nun we thought he is.


McTomminay looks like a promising project.
 

Skills

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He shipped Rooney and a lot other dead wood. That was a big task.

Nearly exposed Pogba for what he is. Now we have a clearer picture, that even if Mou was a touch too negative for our liking, Mr. Labile is not the innocent nun we thought he is.


McTomminay looks like a promising project.
So he publicly depreciated a 90m player he himself bought? Genius.
 

arthurka

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Can´t write anything positive about that time.
Sadly it´s just how I feel about Utd at the moment.
 

VP89

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2nd season suggested he was definitely going somewhere but he threw it all away in the first half of this season.
 

Negan

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He won us two trophies and got us to our highest league position since Sir Alex.

But sure, he fixed nothing. Ole’s at the Wheel, he’ll show him how it’s done :rolleyes:
 

aditya826

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The best thing about Mourinho was shipping out some of the 20odd players we have that arent good enough.

Depay
Schneiderlin
Schweinstieger
Blind
Micky T
Januzaj
McNair
Varela
V Valdes

Great work getting all them out but could have got rid off more tbh.
Not enough in comparison to the deadwood that Van Gaal binned. No other manager has been as ruthless in post-SAF era.
 

aditya826

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2nd season suggested he was definitely going somewhere but he threw it all away in the first half of this season.
Nothing in the 2nd season suggested he was going anywhere, unless you accept the vacuous points tally and position.
 

Jojo <3 Mou

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GK - De Gea was in the team of the year twice under Mourinho, was the best GK last year. Has had challenges this year. He is 3 years older....

FB - Aging is real, Valencia is old. Is that on Mourinho? Luke Shaw has finally been fit long enough to show good consistency.

CB - Lindelof looks promising, Bailly has injury issues. Smalling and Jones remain permanent fixtures. Is that on Mourinho? We dont know because we dont know who makes these decisions. Note the new contract under OGS.

CM - United cannot lose financially on ogba. Fred has had a 1 year transition, why is everyone ready to write him off. Matic looks like he shouldnt be a starter anymore. Guess what, clubs sometimes get signings wrong...

Attack - United scored the most goal since SAF under Mourinho. Lukaku is a goal scorer who may or may not fit the system that OGS uses. Sanchez seems to be a costly mistake. Again, who made this decision? IDK

Performance : Inherited a 5th place team. Carried them to 2nd. Left a 6th place team. Won 2 or 3 trophies.

Football is constantly changing. A year ago it seemed as if we need 3 or 4 signings to challenge. Mourinho at United was ultimately not a success but do not attempt to rewrite history.

Also, in that vein, how did van Gaal improve United?
 

charlenefan

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In hindsight we should have sacked him after the EL final, so much positivity in and around the club then and went into the following season as 4-0 FC

Like everywhere Mourinho goes, starts off well and ends horribly
 

Lentwood

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Nothing, because we bought in a manager with a strong identity and with strong opinions about the type of player/football he wanted that was completely at odds with everything the club wanted
 

VP89

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Nothing in the 2nd season suggested he was going anywhere, unless you accept the vacuous points tally and position.
His improvement on points was proof that he was cutting the gap. Bizzare statement.
 

Reddy Rederson

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The jose era showed me that we are a club being run into the ground by the glazers and woody. Jose may be a prick, but hes not the prick he was shown to be here. He wanted to take us to first. He demanded 100% from everyone that put on the shirt. And instead of liking those qualities we burned him for them. People say "he threw away our season", where it should be said "the glazers/woody threw away our season". Whether he was building for the future or not, he was building for now. He got 81 points with this group who have shown themselves to be wanting. He wanted to kick on this season, and instead of being backed he was publicly criticised by woodward and given next to no new players. Fred he didnt even know how to use, was he really a jose signing? Ole has trouble fitting him into the system. So whats really going on at united? Thats the jose era in a nutshell. What the feck is going on at our club? Why does everyone who comes here turn to shit no matter who the manager is?
 

Kapardin

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Got rid of Rooney, brought in players like Lindelof, Bailly, Matic, Pogba who despite not being up to par (bar Pogba) were still useful at various points and better than LvG's signings.

Jose inherited a team which was worse than 6th place actually. LvG finished 5th in a season when Leicester won the league and Chelsea finished 10th. We would have finished 10th this season with that squad.

Jose's signings helped retain our top 6 status. Not progress, failure indeed -- but still better than Moyes and LvG.
 

Aloysius's Back 3

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The best thing about Mourinho was shipping out some of the 20odd players we have that arent good enough.

Depay
Schneiderlin
Schweinstieger
Blind
Micky T
Januzaj
McNair
Varela
V Valdes

Great work getting all them out but could have got rid off more tbh.
In my opinion these players are much better than the ones left behind.

Januzaj & Mkhitarayan & Depay are all more better than Sanchez & Lukaku.

Blind is better than Bailly & Rojo - possibly Jones too against the right technical teams.

Scheniderlin seemed pretty useless - but I'd still have him as an option in midfield because we seem to lack quality but also quantity.

Varela could have covered instead of young or Valencia - whilst letting there be a competition for the RB spot between Varela, Dalot & even TFM.

TFM & Tuenzebe & even CBj didn't need a loan - they performed well almost instantly under LVG & was only sent on loan because Jose was too lazy to use these young players & some have gone to struggle or go down hill because of it.

Ultimately - Jose was one of the worst appointments United could make, but I could understand it why we would go for him post SAF.

However going from LVG to Jose is one of the biggest mistakes I have ever seen in football by Woodward & Co because LVG had spent 2 years trying to do something a certain way whilst Jose couldn't be more further from that method if he tried. That is not how you build momentum or progress.
 

SCJY

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Probably the biggest problem he "fixed" was getting rid of a rapidly declining Rooney, but I do find myself missing Rooney and some of his grit and leadership qualities.

I don't know how complete this list is, but here's most of Mourinho's transfers:

In:
Alexis Sanchez - free* (Arsenal)
Paul Pogba - £89m (Juventus)
Romelu Lukaku - £75m (Everton)
Fred - £50m (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - £37m (Dortmund)
Nemanja Matic - £40m (Chelsea)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - free (PSG)
Victor Lindelof - £31.5m (Benfica)
Eric Bailly - £34m (Villarreal)
Diogo Dalot - £19m (Porto)
Lee Grant - £1.5m (Stoke)

Out:
Wayne Rooney - free (Everton)
Will Keane - £1.08m (Hull)
Tyler Blackett - £1.62m (Reading)
Paddy McNair - £4.73m (Sunderland)
Sam Johnstone - £6.62m (West Brom)
Adnan Januzaj - £7.65m (Real Sociedad)
Daley Blind - £14.40m (Ajax)
Memphis Depay - £14.40m (Lyon)
Morgan Schneiderlin - £20.61m (Everton)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - £30.60m (Arsenal)


I only have one player I wish he didn't sign: Sanchez.
1 player I truly wish was still here: Daley Blind.

Overall, I reckon he didn't do too badly on the transfer market. But I really don't get why he didn't do anything to sort out the right hand side. Why did he want to sign Perisic so badly when we have Martial there... and why sign Sanchez for the same reason? When United DON'T HAVE A RIGHT WINGER.

I think I'm correct in saying Wilifred Zaha can play there... and he could be brought back in a cut-price deal. I really hope we get someone to play there this summer.

Edit: I just watched a highlights reel and Zaha seems to most often play on the left, but looks more right-footed. So I think he can play and is comfortable across the front line... meaning he's VERSATILE. Which is more than can be said for most of our current players.
 
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redshaw

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Lindelof maybe. Can't think of anything really apart from getting the Europa that was missing in the collection.

He shipped out a lot of crap but also bought ton of very expensive crap.

I think Rooney was done though and he did have the balls to let him go early on. Not that it changed our fortunes much in the long term. Unfortunately Jose was a ladder and a snake so we slipped back to square one.

We did parka de bus quite well under him sometimes, I'll give him that.

Maybe he shines some light on the state of the board and running of the club in the long term. We might fully understand and do something about it one day.
 

ArjenIsM3

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I think I'm correct in saying Wilifred Zaha can play there... and he could be brought back in a cut-price deal.
No he couldn't because he has absolutely no interest in returning to the club. In loads of interviews he's given since leaving he's mentioned how badly he was treated here. This isn't football manager where you can just buy whoever you want.
 

SCJY

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No he couldn't because he has absolutely no interest in returning to the club. In loads of interviews he's given since leaving he's mentioned how badly he was treated here. This isn't football manager where you can just buy whoever you want.
I know, I read those reports at the time. Coincidentally, I just loaded up YouTube and The United Stand are talking about a potential return for Zaha too.
 

Tomuś

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The thing he fixed was what I've been telling since somewhere in the middle of LvG's tenure - the manager is not the problem and that we'd run out of options believing so.
 
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