José Mourinho | 2018/19 Performances

[bosnian_red]

Hopefully his last season, but I doubt it. Reckon the board will be happy enough with top 4 even if we don't win any cups/play good football. This world cup has reminded me more then ever of how much fun it can be to watch entertaining football. Obviously the dream is to always win trophies while playing good football, but I'd rather us be entertaining to watch consistently and win nothing then get the occasional league cup and top 4 through dire football. It's not worth the negative play if we don't actually win the league or CL (can't see us doing that), so it really is vital IMO. Sadly gonna be a while til we're an entertaining team I'd guess. Mourinho will sooner leave on his own then get sacked by Woodward.

Overall think the season will go largely like last one. Have some good performances, a lot of boring games, set up negatively in most big games, not win the title, more functional then creative and entertaining, and not get too close to the CL. Maybe win one of the cups.

 

[yo@Kirk]

Jose working a side job instead of working on needed transfers is pretty frustrating. United dropped 15 points vs bottom 7 teams last season while City dropped 1. We should know by the end of match day 8 if that issue has been addressed. I'll be an optimist until it's no longer reasonable to do so.

 

[JohnJohn]

I know I shouldn't extract conclusions after a World Cup. But it's impossible not to notice that City players weren't that impressive, to say the least. On the other hand United players didn't look bad.

Could the manager be the difference?

 

[Smores]

Blimey you lot been waiting for a new thread to moan in ain't ya. Not a ball kicked yet

 

[laughtersassassin]

Needs to make sure Pogba and the entire squad are happy boys coming into the season. Also needs to make a decision and decide on a real captain. My personal choice of being Paul. Leaving with someone like Valencia would be a poor choice.

 

[SirAF]

Jose working a side job instead of working on needed transfers is pretty frustrating. United dropped 15 points vs bottom 7 teams last season while City dropped 1. We should know by the end of match day 8 if that issue has been addressed. I'll be an optimist until it's no longer reasonable to do so.

Are you serious? Do you think managers are working on transfers? Mou has given his list of targets to Woodward AGES ago. It’s up to Ed and his team to deliver them.

 

[steffyr2]

To be fair, either of these can totally happen.

Or somewhere in the middle (well, we'll wind up in the top 4, and people will whine if it's not #1.)

 

[dove]

This thread is gonna be fun I can feel it. Same miserable people keep posting same negative stuff like some bots

 

[Borden]

Or somewhere in the middle (well, we'll wind up in the top 4, and people will whine if it's not #1.)

Well this is Manchester United, not West Ham. We don't collect top 4 finishes.

I'll be disappointed if we don't win the title, but if we do it while having a fair crack at the title, playing good football and looking like we're actually going somewhere I'll be open to giving him another year. But I don't expect that to happen. I think it's far more likely it'll be another disappointing season in every way, and if so I don't think Mourinho should get to keep his job (though I fear that Woody/the board will be content with merely another top 4 finish).

 

[Ban]

Great, great thread already.

 

[steffyr2]

Well this is Manchester United, not West Ham. We don't collect top 4 finishes.

I'll be disappointed if we don't win the title, but if we do it while having a fair crack at the title, playing good football and looking like we're actually going somewhere I'll be open to giving him another year. But I don't expect that to happen. I think it's far more likely it'll be another disappointing season in every way, and if so I don't think Mourinho should get to keep his job (though I fear that Woody/the board will be content with merely another top 4 finish).

Has West Ham ever finished in the PL top 4? According to Wikipedia, Man Utd, however, has finished 2nd 6 times (including last year), third 3 times (2002, 2004, 2005), fourth in 2015, fifth in 2016, sixth in 2017 and seventh in 2014. That's 13 times out of first place vs 13 times in first place -- which is a phenomenal record, btw, but no reason to say that we don't finish top 4.

I also expect that the board will be happy with a few steady top four finishes, after the recent history.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Jose working a side job instead of working on needed transfers is pretty frustrating. United dropped 15 points vs bottom 7 teams last season while City dropped 1. We should know by the end of match day 8 if that issue has been addressed. I'll be an optimist until it's no longer reasonable to do so.

It's not FIFA or football manager mate. Mourinho doesn't do any of the negotiating.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

This thread is gonna be fun I can feel it. Same miserable people keep posting same negative stuff like some bots

It's all just circle of life brother! The fans who can't stand the manager may be enemies now but turn to be amongst the heroes when he eventually & permanently fails!

Hopefully as usual he doesn't go for a 3rd year running! Luckily enough Pogba has had a good season post Jose & there are other players who might retaliate if struggling under José's methods which are beneficial to clubs who are historically the under dog.

 

[haram]

Back him in the damn market.

 

[Paxi]

Have a funny feeling a meltdown of epic proportions is coming. Hope I'm wrong though.

 

[Ban]

It's all just circle of life brother! The fans who can't stand the manager may be enemies now but turn to be amongst the heroes when he eventually & permanently fails!

Hopefully as usual he doesn't go for a 3rd year running! Luckily enough Pogba has had a good season post Jose & there are other players who might retaliate if struggling under José's methods which are beneficial to clubs who are historically the under dog.

Hopefully you'll be in the newbs for some time, maybe a year or 2 more!
No hard feelings!

 

[Borden]

Has West Ham ever finished in the PL top 4? According to Wikipedia, Man Utd, however, has finished 2nd 6 times (including last year), third 3 times (2002, 2004, 2005), fourth in 2015, fifth in 2016, sixth in 2017 and seventh in 2014. That's 13 times out of first place vs 13 times in first place -- which is a phenomenal record, btw, but no reason to say that we don't finish top 4.

I also expect that the board will be happy with a few steady top four finishes, after the recent history.

No, but if they did they'd be delighted. We shouldn't be though, which was my point.

We didn't hire Mourinho to finish in the top 4. We hired him to challenge for the title and get us back among Europe's elite. He's failed to do that twice. If he fails again he should be fired.

If you think he should get to keep his job for simply finishing in the top 4 again I'd say you're more of a Mourinho fan than a United fan. Or purely worried about the financial aspect of it, which I fear Woody and the board are.

 

[Santoryo]

He'll be gone by the end of the season

I second this.

Too much pressure to deliver this season. Has to win one of the league or CL for the season to be acceptable and he himself knows that, which means if by Christmas we're once again looking hopeless for the title he'd become more susceptible to a meltdown.

 

[Cloud7]

Stated my views on his performance last season ad nauseum in the related threads over the course of the last year.

Nevertheless, he’s still our manager, and it’s a new season, might as well hope for the best. I’ll leave the criticism, or ideally lack thereof, until we get to the football again.

 

[dove]

It's all just circle of life brother! The fans who can't stand the manager may be enemies now but turn to be amongst the heroes when he eventually & permanently fails!

Hopefully as usual he doesn't go for a 3rd year running! Luckily enough Pogba has had a good season post Jose & there are other players who might retaliate if struggling under José's methods which are beneficial to clubs who are historically the under dog.

I don't care if you support the manager or not, everyone has their opinion. However constantly repeating some BS like "Player X is shit just because of the manager, he would be GOAT under Klopp or Pep", "Wtf is Mou doing, we signed only 2 players and transfer window is closing!" etc etc just gets boring. If half of our fanbase can't get behind the manager and the team even before the season starts then there is not much else to say.

 

[Womp]

It's all just circle of life brother! The fans who can't stand the manager may be enemies now but turn to be amongst the heroes when he eventually & permanently fails!

Hopefully as usual he doesn't go for a 3rd year running! Luckily enough Pogba has had a good season post Jose & there are other players who might retaliate if struggling under José's methods which are beneficial to clubs who are historically the under dog.

No they won't. If he fails and then gets fired, it's because the board deemed so, not because some fans on a football forum were unbearable. At least wait until the season starts before slating the guy.

 

[Jojo <3 Mou]

I believe!
Nothing but positive energy from me to the team, manager, players and club.
Hoping for an amazing 2018/19!

 

[maniwin]

France is the most Mourinho team in WC and they won. Don't tell me they are playing attacking football , they didn't , look at their stats. They use 1 big target man , 1 flair player , 1 link up man , 2/1 holding mid , 1/2 box to box , 1 defensive minded fullback. They let opposition attack them , didn't put pressure up high , they played it long to Giroud when they were in possession, same blue print , but the difference is they have better quality player in most position. Pople call Deschamps is French Mourinho since ever .if they could win WC , then so does United could win the league. And He won't get sacked because United fans ask for it.

 

[MackRobinson]

France is the most Mourinho team in WC and they won. Don't tell me they are playing attacking football , they didn't , look at their stats. They use 1 big target man , 1 flair player , 1 link up man , 2/1 holding mid , 1/2 box to box , 1 defensive minded fullback. They let opposition attack them , didn't put pressure up high , same blue print , but the difference is they have better quality player in most position. Pople call Deschamps is French Mourinho since ever .if they could win WC , then so does United could win the league. And He won't get sacked because United fans ask for it.

Winning a knockout competition is very different from winning the league.

 

[maniwin]

Winning a knockout competition is very different from winning the league.

But it's proving that their pragmatic approach could beat anyone. It's up to us to do it week in week out consistently

 

[steffyr2]

No, but if they did they'd be delighted. We shouldn't be though, which was my point.

We didn't hire Mourinho to finish in the top 4. We hired him to challenge for the title and get us back among Europe's elite. He's failed to do that twice. If he fails again he should be fired.

If you think he should get to keep his job for simply finishing in the top 4 again I'd say you're more of a Mourinho fan than a United fan. Or purely worried about the financial aspect of it, which I fear Woody and the board are.

Maybe you shouldn't be delighted just because you're top 4, but firing the manager? Hasn't the last few years showed you that things could be worse?
And yes, the board will worry about the finances. That's their job.

 

[Christie]

Well this is Manchester United, not West Ham. We don't collect top 4 finishes.

I'll be disappointed if we don't win the title, but if we do it while having a fair crack at the title, playing good football and looking like we're actually going somewhere I'll be open to giving him another year. But I don't expect that to happen. I think it's far more likely it'll be another disappointing season in every way, and if so I don't think Mourinho should get to keep his job (though I fear that Woody/the board will be content with merely another top 4 finish).

Sounds like many people are struggling to accept that we are no longer at the top tier of clubs. It's okay to fall into that emotional trap, Liverpool fans are still mired in it despite decades of not winning the league. But you need to be cognizant of it.

If you want to be the top, you need to have top spending. We haven't spent like the rest of the challengers had in the past decade and that has put us down a peg, and it's harder to catch up now due to crazy inflation in player prices. Hard to accept, but we are closer to the Atletico and Dortmund tier than the Real/Barca/City/PSG tier thanks to our lack of spending in our more competitive league compared to those guys. I know someone will eventually bring up the "But but but Leicester!" argument, but think carefully whether you want us to become Leicester City FC!

So instead of getting upset that we aren't at the top, it's time to take your perspective down a little and see us as an underdog trying to fight against the big favourites for the title and you will be less upset. Atletico ain't playing pretty football to stay competitive, but nobody has a moan at them. You might be able to appreciate the good work the manager is doing instead with lower expectations.

And look at the positives and have a heart. It seems that Real and Barca are both broke and are unable to sustain their crazy amounts of spending they have done in the recent past to achieve all their success. If we are willing to invest big and back the manager we can easily take some of their shine of them. Imagine us getting Perisic last season instead of moaning about Jose going after old unproven players. Just pay up and Jose will deliver.

But sure, moan harder as if Mourinho are the source of all out troubles. As if we'll immediately do better once we get a new manager. Why not go support Arsenal instead if you enjoy pretty losing football? That isn't what Manchester United is about.

 

[chb23]

Looking forward to this season. I think mourinho will bring us the title.

He changed his coaching staff and got rid of his assistant to improve things. His assistant has been with him forever. He should get credit for this.

 

[Borden]

Sounds like many people are struggling to accept that we are no longer at the top tier of clubs. It's okay to fall into that emotional trap, Liverpool fans are still mired in it despite decades of not winning the league. But you need to be cognizant of it.

If you want to be the top, you need to have top spending. We haven't spent like the rest of the challengers had in the past decade and that has put us down a peg, and it's harder to catch up now due to crazy inflation in player prices. Hard to accept, but we are closer to the Atletico and Dortmund tier than the Real/Barca/City/PSG tier thanks to our lack of spending in our more competitive league compared to those guys. I know someone will eventually bring up the "But but but Leicester!" argument, but think carefully whether you want us to become Leicester City FC!

So instead of getting upset that we aren't at the top, it's time to take your perspective down a little and see us as an underdog trying to fight against the big favourites for the title and you will be less upset. Atletico ain't playing pretty football to stay competitive, but nobody has a moan at them. You might be able to appreciate the good work the manager is doing instead with lower expectations.

And look at the positives and have a heart. It seems that Real and Barca are both broke and are unable to sustain their crazy amounts of spending they have done in the recent past to achieve all their success. If we are willing to invest big and back the manager we can easily take some of their shine of them. Imagine us getting Perisic last season instead of moaning about Jose going after old unproven players. Just pay up and Jose will deliver.

But sure, moan harder as if Mourinho are the source of all out troubles. As if we'll immediately do better once we get a new manager. Why not go support Arsenal instead if you enjoy pretty losing football? That isn't what Manchester United is about.

What the hell are you talking about? We have one of the highest net spends in Europe in the last 5 years. And no, you don’t need to spend the most to win.

I’m continually amazed by the amount of dumping on their own club people will do to protect their precious Mourinho. Now we’re an ‘underdog’ like Dortmund or Atletico, and no longer at the ‘top tier’ like Liverpool.

And the moronic ‘go support Arsenal then’ thrown in at the end. Well done.

 

[Pyro19]

Sounds like many people are struggling to accept that we are no longer at the top tier of clubs. It's okay to fall into that emotional trap, Liverpool fans are still mired in it despite decades of not winning the league. But you need to be cognizant of it.

If you want to be the top, you need to have top spending. We haven't spent like the rest of the challengers had in the past decade and that has put us down a peg, and it's harder to catch up now due to crazy inflation in player prices. Hard to accept, but we are closer to the Atletico and Dortmund tier than the Real/Barca/City/PSG tier thanks to our lack of spending in our more competitive league compared to those guys. I know someone will eventually bring up the "But but but Leicester!" argument, but think carefully whether you want us to become Leicester City FC!

So instead of getting upset that we aren't at the top, it's time to take your perspective down a little and see us as an underdog trying to fight against the big favourites for the title and you will be less upset. Atletico ain't playing pretty football to stay competitive, but nobody has a moan at them. You might be able to appreciate the good work the manager is doing instead with lower expectations.

And look at the positives and have a heart. It seems that Real and Barca are both broke and are unable to sustain their crazy amounts of spending they have done in the recent past to achieve all their success. If we are willing to invest big and back the manager we can easily take some of their shine of them. Imagine us getting Perisic last season instead of moaning about Jose going after old unproven players. Just pay up and Jose will deliver.

But sure, moan harder as if Mourinho are the source of all out troubles. As if we'll immediately do better once we get a new manager. Why not go support Arsenal instead if you enjoy pretty losing football? That isn't what Manchester United is about.

Absolute car crash of a post.

Go Support Arsenal if you enjoy losing football? Huh.

Give me back the 2 mins of my time I wasted reading this.

 

[Christie]

What the hell are you talking about? We have one of the highest net spends in Europe in the last 5 years. And no, you don’t need to spend the most to win.

I’m continually amazed by the amount of dumping on their own club people will do to protect their precious Mourinho. Now we’re an ‘underdog’ like Dortmund or Atletico, and no longer at the ‘top tier’ like Liverpool.

And the moronic ‘go support Arsenal then’ thrown in at the end. Well done.

Sigh, this is the kind of misguided view I'm talking about. This has already been debunked by many other posters in this forum. Our net spending is way behind what Real/Barca/PSG/City have spent in the past 10 years, and hence we are rightly behind these clubs. We have to spend at least double what City has spent last season plus whatever they spent this season just to keep up with them in terms of club investment. Even Chelsea were far ahead of us before and only started to be skint the past few years and hence have fallen back a little. Let's not forget Bayern who has cheat codes to steal German league talents on the cheap for their club. But go ahead, keep believing that our spending has kept up with the very best clubs. Where are our Neymars, Hazards, Bales and Mbappes then? We only started to go for the top talents at LVG's last season, and we were really stumbling and just throwing money at the likes of Di Maria and Falcao without considering how they would fit in because we were so inexperienced being out of the top market for so long.

Dissatisfaction comes when your reality does not fit your expectations. From your post it is clear to see you are unable to accept that our squad has the same quality as an Atletico or Dortmund, when it is clear to me that we are at that standard. You are still dreaming that we are oozing with Real/Barca/PSG/City talent, when it is clearly not the case. Even if we have just begun buying top talents, it will take years for us to get the policies right just as it did for Chelsea/City/PSG who didn't start winning immediately since the began taking out their chequebook. It takes time. Take off your rose tinted glasses and see things at it is.

I like how you skipped around explaining how you would feel if we became Arsenal. Is that what you'd like Manchester United to become?

 

[Adisa]

Sounds like many people are struggling to accept that we are no longer at the top tier of clubs. It's okay to fall into that emotional trap, Liverpool fans are still mired in it despite decades of not winning the league. But you need to be cognizant of it.

If you want to be the top, you need to have top spending. We haven't spent like the rest of the challengers had in the past decade and that has put us down a peg, and it's harder to catch up now due to crazy inflation in player prices. Hard to accept, but we are closer to the Atletico and Dortmund tier than the Real/Barca/City/PSG tier thanks to our lack of spending in our more competitive league compared to those guys. I know someone will eventually bring up the "But but but Leicester!" argument, but think carefully whether you want us to become Leicester City FC!

So instead of getting upset that we aren't at the top, it's time to take your perspective down a little and see us as an underdog trying to fight against the big favourites for the title and you will be less upset. Atletico ain't playing pretty football to stay competitive, but nobody has a moan at them. You might be able to appreciate the good work the manager is doing instead with lower expectations.

And look at the positives and have a heart. It seems that Real and Barca are both broke and are unable to sustain their crazy amounts of spending they have done in the recent past to achieve all their success. If we are willing to invest big and back the manager we can easily take some of their shine of them. Imagine us getting Perisic last season instead of moaning about Jose going after old unproven players. Just pay up and Jose will deliver.

But sure, moan harder as if Mourinho are the source of all out troubles. As if we'll immediately do better once we get a new manager. Why not go support Arsenal instead if you enjoy pretty losing football? That isn't what Manchester United is about.

Jesus.

 

[Catt]

Got to win or come very close to winning the league this year. And also no Sevilla-esque preformances at home in the CL.

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

That guy's post about us not being a top club - it was a point put across badly, but there was definitely some truth in it.

When was the last time since SAF left that we actually acted like a big club on the pitch? As from where I'm standing, we only act like a big club when it comes to making a big, media-friendly signing for big money.

We haven't been at the top table since 2013. Our league finishes since that SAF finale season have told the entire story, we're currently a top 4 club and nothing more.

Not saying that can't change, but I'm very much a 'show me' type of person. I'm not seeing it, at present.

 

[Christie]

That guy's post about us not being a top club - it was a point put across badly, but there was definitely some truth in it.

When was the last time since SAF left that we actually acted like a big club on the pitch? As from where I'm standing, we only act like a big club when it comes to making a big, media-friendly signing for big money.

We haven't been at the top table since 2013. Our league finishes since that SAF finale season have told the entire story, we're currently a top 4 club and nothing more.

Not saying that can't change, but I'm very much a 'show me' type of person. I'm not seeing it, at present.

Yes we are a top 4 club which Mourinho managed to steer into second place, but yet he gets no credit at all, and all I hear are moans about how he's a failure since we couldn't challenge City.

Atletico is a top 4 club as well which Simeone kept competitive with tumescent football, yet no one gives him shit for not challenging Barca/Real but instead praise him for being able to keep up as underdogs. Why the double standard?

As if we'd be a swashbuckling side going toe-to-toe with City immediately after we replace Mourinho. I think it is far more likely we crumble into pieces when Mourinho leaves since he's the strongest presence we have had for a long time and it is highly unlikely we can find a stronger replacement.

Clearly, the problem here is the disparity between the current quality of our team and the expectation of our fans. People here still think we should be challenging for top honors when there is no sign that we have enough quality to do this consistently. This is where we back Mourinho, and give him the resources he needs to build a team of that quality. It's time to adjust your expectation to reduce your immediate dissatisfaction or you'd end up like RAWK, always we go again it's our year next year.

Those who still think we should challenge City and win the CL should stop smoking the powder. Which one of our players will start for City and PSG? I'd say only De Gea and Pogba will be immediate starters. Sanchez and Lukaku might make it as rotation players or be on the bench for them. Meanwhile 90% of their starters and some of their bench players will walk right into our first team.

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

That football heritage talk was so badly put but what he meant was that it's a process (to use a Van Gaalism). What he meant was obvious, the United squad lack players who have played many big games (semis, finals, league defining matches etc) and the club haven't been relevant in the CL since 2011 or 2013. Five years is a whole cycle in football.

"When I arrived in Real Madrid, do you know how many players had played in the quarter-final of the Champions League? Xabi Alonso with Liverpool, Casillas with Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo with Manchester United. "All the others hadn't even a quarter-final. That's football heritage"

Is he wrong? Who in this United side was in a CL semi final? Valencia, Carrick, Mata that's pretty much it. Not even Zlatan. The experience of the world cup means we now have Lukaku, Pogba and Lingard to add to that.

That said he got it horrendously wrong against Seville and in the FA cup final. Those were unpardonable mistakes. Money alone won't solve everything he has to coach players better. This season we'll find out if he has improved players or not. He's not been blameless but he's not the only one who is at fault. What is the transfer policy? We seem to buy players with no coherent idea of how we want to play. We've bought players who didn't want to be there (AdM), players clearly not to the standard whether quality wise or consistency wise (Rojo/Darmian/Mkhitaryan), panic buys (Mata/Alexis) and the wage bill is huge. We play largely dour football but for all that at least we finished a comfortable second after four years of hoping for top four. We've improved but the other teams around us have improved even more. That really is the issue - can Mourinho keep up with the new innovators in the league? I think he'll be gone come May. Modern football demands instant success and in the past Mourinho has guaranteed it. This time it's probably a step too far.

I agree, he made a right pig's ear of it but the point had some truth to it. We haven't been a major factor in European football.....hell, even in English football.....since 2013. Even longer for the European scene.

 

[breakout67]

His heritage comments were a nice way of saying he inherited a pile of shite. Its obvious that he didn't literally talk about heritage, because United have a rich heritage and have won multiple european trophies. He sometimes uses a word that doesn't really fit but you still know what he means because he speaks a lot of languages.

 

[Sunny Jim]

. Not a ball kicked yet

That is why I still feel optimistic.

 

[jesperjaap]

His heritage comments were a nice way of saying he inherited a pile of shite. Its obvious that he didn't literally talk about heritage, because United have a rich heritage and have won multiple european trophies. He sometimes uses a word that doesn't really fit but you still know what he means because he speaks a lot of languages.

Yes I think that too. At the same time he has had two years now. If they are shite, he really needs to show some balls in terms of offloading and bringing in new players this window. Will be interesting to see how many ins and outs and the signings he has made by the end of the window. Personally if he doesnt get it right I am in the epic meltdown lobby. Regardless of who he signs, the fans wont accept the style of football we have played so far for a third season if we arent winning, three years is plenty long enough time to transition into turnign into a team that is your own, Pochetinno and Klopp have both done it in that period, no trophies but progress and entertaining there fans, without the entertainment element or trophies Mourinho could be doomed

 

[MUFC OK]

This thread will get nasty by October if we don't do any business and carry on like we did last season. Feels like a ticking timebomb atm.