Jose saving his skin - yet again.. (Manager v Players blame game)

[Andersons Dietician]

Because we made the wrong choice in hiring Moyes. A decision that continues to live with us today.

I agree with this, it has had a serious knock on effect. Personally I think that is when we needed to hire Jose as if anyone was going to step in after Fergie and not really care, and not be afraid to perform surgery on that team it was him.
For me Fergie had squeezed every last drop out of that team and it needed major surgery and Moyes and Ed fluffed it chasing windmills and giving it too much respect. The more annoying thing was the buys seemed obvious. Thiago, Strootman, Isco. 70 mil for those 3 I think and he would have massively changed our fortunes.

After that we ended up having to chase success by buying people who maybe weren’t the right fit and 4/5 years on that summer of indecisiveness is still causing issues.

 

[1974_Fergie_Time]

He can make that known to the players privately.

He probably did after the Sevilla game but after last's night game it was obvious they didn't listen to him

 

[VP89]

I think it's the public comments that bother some.

I'm no fan of Shaw at all. I think he should be sold ASAP, but the constant public berating doesn't seem to garner anything positive.

He could have done the dressing down in private. Ad blaming the player's "character" and "mentality" is always an easy excuse.

Public statements shouldn't be a problem. I'd personally see it that way than behind closed doors as the latter gives them too much protection.

The open tough love treatment is what they need to man up or get out.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

He probably did after the Sevilla game but after last's night game it was obvious they didn't listen to him

Even if that is true saying it in public is not going to make them listen more if anything the opposite would happen.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Public statements shouldn't be a problem. I'd personally see it that way than behind closed doors as the latter gives them too much protection.

The open tough love treatment is what they need to man up or get out.

Players do not get much protection they have been dealing with constant criticism since they were young. When a manager criticism them like Mourinho did in public it signals to them that Mourinho is willing to throw them under the bus to save his own reputation.

 

[Mr PG]

Fight or flight is the game Mou is playing right now as he wants and prefers only fighters in his squad.

 

[EmPeeKay]

Mourinho is clearly trying to deflect the attention from himself and blame the players. It's a typical reaction one would expect from a person who has a slight bias to the malignant end of the narcissistic spectrum. If you read between the lines of his last two conferences, i.e. after the Sevilla game and before the Brighton game, one could conclude that he is bigger than the club. This is one of the many fears I always had about him being appointed as the Manager of this great club.

 

[1974_Fergie_Time]

Players do not get much protection they have been dealing with constant criticism since they were young. When a manager criticism them like Mourinho did in public it signals to them that Mourinho is willing to throw them under the bus to save his own reputation.

When these players play with lack of fight and desire it's the club's reputation they are throwing under a bus, Jose is an employee of Man Utd hired to get the best out the players how he see fit , he doesn't have to worry about his reputation he has over 20 major trophies to his collection

If you want the papers to stop writing stuff that is negative about insipid and boring football about Man Utd the players have to perform

 

[Nik70]

I just don't see the wheels coming off. The league has been done and dusted for some time so there were minimal expectations there. The CL performance was a disappointment, but I somehow doubt anyone here realistically thought we would win it. Meanwhile we are still in the FA Cup and have moved up 4 league places since last year. Although the entertainment value has been fairly tumescent, its not nearly enough to create a sky is falling scenario that implies the manager's job is in jeopardy. Jose and Ed will simply point to the table and conclude otherwise.

Agreed

 

[Keeps It tidy]

When these players play with lack of fight and desire it's the club's reputation they are throwing under a bus, Jose is an employee of Man Utd hired to get the best out the players how he see fit , he doesn't have to worry about his reputation he has over 20 major trophies to his collection

If you want the papers to stop writing stuff that is negative about insipid and boring football about Man Utd the players have to perform

Mourinho worry's a lot about his reputation. That is why he reacts so strongly when he get criticized.

 

[Raoul]

Dear god are we still trying to blame Moyes !
Moyes bought Mata ( a good buy ) and Fellaini ( personally I think he is garbage but LVG and Jose obviously don't )
Moyes didn't buy these disasters
Schneiderlin
Darmian
Blind
Schweinsteiger
Lindelof
Mkhitaryan
And dare I say it Pogba

LVG was a specialist at buying mediocre players and in terms of transfers the only proven good buys since Fergie are
Mata
Matic
Lukaku
Bailly
3 of those came via Jose and one from the hated Moyes.
Moyes was a mistake but it's the players that Jose inherited from LVG that have been the main problem add them to some of the dross that has been hanging around since Fergie days ( smalling,Jones,Young,Valencia) and its clear to see how we stagnated in recent years.
I hate the defensive way Jose sets us up in the big games But maybe it is because there are so few players that he trusts to deliver for us

We’re not talking about the players Moyes bought. It’s the overall deleterious and disruptive effects of his calamitous management during his year here that spawned a series of highly disruptive knock on effects that lead us to where we are today. Part of that can be attributed to constant swapping in and out of new players under 3 managers in 4 years.

 

[VP89]

Players do not get much protection they have been dealing with constant criticism since they were young. When a manager criticism them like Mourinho did in public it signals to them that Mourinho is willing to throw them under the bus to save his own reputation.

We've been playing cowardly for years though and they have been protected long enough in that regard. If they can't take public criticism they really shouldn't be at Man Utd at this stage. I think after years of underachievement the last thing they deserve is a quiet arm round the shoulder in public.

Thing is, when you play for Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real or Barcelona it all goes out the window to some extent. Giggs/Scholes and all the other ex players speak about how ruthless the club expectations can be and how you need to grab whatever few opportunities you have or about how the mental character needs to be ridiculously strong.

We're also blindly just assuming that Mourinho hasn't repeatedly told his players behind closed doors to play better than they are. He probably has, and this public criticism very likely to be an accumulation of them being a collective bunch of pussies for too long.

 

[Gavinb33]

The flaw with that is that Jose’s bought in a number of players to replace Moyes’ and LVG’s squads. The same players who failed under LVG have been largely moved on, and yet we are still struggling. So is it Jose’s fault for buying the wrong players? What happened to Mkhi? Where’s Lindelof? Why not spend some money on our full backs? What’s happened to Herrera (our POTY under LVG)? Why are talented attacking players like Pogba, Martial and Sanchez failing to perform (it can’t be a coincidence that their form has dropped at the same time)?

A lot of blame falls on Jose here, if it’s the player (because they’re not good enough) then Jose has fecked up recruitment and should pay the price. If the players are good enough then Jose has messed up with his negativity.

Of the current squad JM has brought in 6 players into the squad, so yeah still largely the players who struggled under the previous regimes

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Of the current squad JM has brought in 6 players into the squad, so yeah still largely the players who struggled under the previous regimes

And 4 of them, along with DDG are the best players in the squad. 1 of them his career is probably over, the other is "young and learnin".

 

[Keeps It tidy]

We've been playing cowardly for years though and they have been protected long enough in that regard. If they can't take public criticism they really shouldn't be at Man Utd at this stage. I think after years of underachievement the last thing they deserve is a quiet arm round the shoulder in public.

Thing is, when you play for Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real or Barcelona it all goes out the window to some extent. Giggs/Scholes and all the other ex players speak about how ruthless the club expectations can be and how you need to grab whatever few opportunities you have or about how the mental character needs to be ridiculously strong.

We're also blindly just assuming that Mourinho hasn't repeatedly told his players behind closed doors to play better than they are. He probably has, and this public criticism very likely to be an accumulation of them being a collective bunch of pussies for too long.

How have they been protected? Guys like Pogba, Sanchez, Lukaku have had criticism from pundits all season. Hell the can look at their phone see thousands of Tweets every day from people saying they are shite. At this point only De Gea, Valencia, Matic and Lukaku seem to have guaranteed positions in the first 11 And notice guys like Rooney, Depay, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger are no longer here. And every professional Footballer in a top league know that every match they can get replaced and every window they can be sold.

 

[VancouverUtdFan]

Oh please shut up already.


> José doesn’t put the onus on players, he’s irresponsible and giving them a free ride

> José calls out players, he’s lost his mind and saving face


...pick one. He can never win can he

 

[1974_Fergie_Time]

We’re not talking about the players Moyes bought. It’s the overall deleterious and disruptive effects of his calamitous management during his year here that spawned a series of highly disruptive knock on effects that lead us to where we are today. Part of that can be attributed to constant swapping in and out of new players under 3 managers in 4 years.

If Moyes had kept the same backroom staff that Sir Alex had he might have won the league in his first season, instead of getting rid of them all or offering them demotion jobs

People always say when Sir Alex left there was no planning for a successor in place but he didn't leave as he planned, he left because of a bereavement to a member of his wife's family

 

[VP89]

How have they been protected? Guys like Pogba, Sanchez, Lukaku have had criticism from pundits all season. Hell the can look at their phone see thousands of Tweets every day from people saying they are shite. At this point only De Gea, Valencia, Matic and Lukaku seem to have guaranteed positions in the first 11 And notice guys like Rooney, Depay, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger are no longer here. And every professional Footballer in a top league know that every match they can get replaced and every window they can be sold.

Pundits are something different to managers though. His criticism of them is about them failing to follow orders. I think the pundits need to be segregated from the debate because I'm quite sure Mourinho nor the players would care about what say, Jaime Redknapp has to say.

FWIW, Mourninho's recent quotes is actually related to players who came away unscathed by the media in recent times. His reference to "attackers hiding behind defenders and failing to offer for the ball in between the lines" is obviously related to the likes of Martial. The Shaw criticism came again but Luke Shaw has barely ever been criticised by pundits. They've actually taken to his support every time he's said to be underperforming by Mourinho. And the other name drop was to McTominay and Valencia, neither of which have been under any fire by the media.

Pogba and Sanchez were dropped, so Mourinho obviously was not referring to them in his post match conference.

 

[endless_wheelies]

He is already making excuses. His words don't show any conviction that he genuinely believes he can overtake City. All teams will spend. By his logic, we will never be able to overcome City unless they have a disaster.

He said difficult not impossible, and in the context of providing perspective to those who think we should already be ahead of City. It shows no intimation of his ambition.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Pundits are something different to managers though. His criticism of them is about them failing to follow orders. I think the pundits need to be segregated from the debate because I'm quite sure Mourinho nor the players would care about what say, Jaime Redknapp has to say.

FWIW, Mourninho's recent quotes is actually related to players who came away unscathed by the media in recent times. His reference to "attackers hiding behind defenders and failing to offer for the ball in between the lines" is obviously related to the likes of Martial. The Shaw criticism came again but Luke Shaw has barely ever been criticised by pundits. They've actually taken to his support every time he's said to be underperforming by Mourinho. And the other name drop was to McTominay and Valencia, neither of which have been under any fire by the media.

Pogba and Sanchez were dropped, so Mourinho obviously was not referring to them in his post match conference.

Shaw rarely plays for us and often does not even make the bench. Whatever message he is trying to send the message was probably better sent by the fact that Shaw rarely plays. And he was critical of Shaw in public last season if he thinks Shaw does not listen to him he has had ample time to have him sold. And all our players get scrutinized in public by pundits and fans I mentioned Lukaku, Sanchez and Pogba since they get the loudest criticism since they are our most high profile players.

 

[Santoryo]

If and when Jose was an opposing team manager, pulling half the crap he's done the past few days both in pressers and when on the pitch, the collective reactions from these boards would have been(and have been) unanimous laughters and pointing out of his obvious and quite typical Mourinho meltdowns that he'd come to been known for.

Now we have hoard of people pretending that Mourinho is not this susceptible guy to random meltdowns. Suddenly people acting as if this isn't the same guy that has been known to play negative football and throw his players under the bus to self preserve. We're gonna conveniently forgot that he has a habit of falling our with his own players and losing dressing rooms.

No it's all about the players, they're the ones known to be scared to attack and would rather play negatively, the ones known to go into meltdowns, the ones known to cause stirs and fractures in dressing rooms. It has to be them, not the guy with a precedent. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt(while ignoring his history of disasters which is as recent as 2 years ago) and let lay all the blames and what's wrong on players.

Reading posts like the ones in this thread is what makes me cringe sometimes when I see people go on about the how the likes of Klopp and Pep are having meltdowns whenever they show even the slightest bit of irritation in their pressers or wherever yet they're the same people going over unimaginable length and ridiculous mental gymnastic to twist and dress up Mourinho's quite obvious rants and public outburst against his own players noneless as anything other than the sad meltdowns he's having.

People didn't even like defensive football on these boards, it was abhorred and repulsive to some just the idea, yet here we are.

I mean have any of you ever asked yourselves that if Mourinho can turn a fanbase that was known to only tolerate good attacking football to accept his negative drivel and actually even defend it when rightly questioned while at the same time these same people are finding it hard to let go of what has now become their default minset about football and how it can be won(plenty on these boards thinking good football and results are mutually exclusive) then just how hard would it be for players to get rid of the negative mentality and approach to games in a whole of 2 days.

Mourinho has managed to change ideologies of a large portion of fans and plenty are finding it hard to get back to the right minset of old which was attacking football or bust, why would the same criticise players for failing to shake off that negative stink off them in a mere 2 days and somehow produce some scintillating attacking football?

 

[VP89]

Shaw rarely plays for us and often does not even make the bench. Whatever message he is trying to send the message was probably better sent by the fact that Shaw rarely plays. And he was critical of Shaw in public last season if he thinks Shaw does not listen to him he has had ample time to have him sold. And all our players get scrutinized in public by pundits and fans I mentioned Lukaku, Sanchez and Pogba since they get the loudest criticism since they are our most high profile players.

Of course, but he only spoke of Shaw when asked. The only free criticism he gave unasked was the reference about players failing to play between the lines like he asked and the lack of character within the side. He even said Valencia wasn't very good.

I think we are discussing in too much detail at this point though. Personally I have no issues with Jose coming out and saying the side lacks character, because know there is no other manager in the world outside of him who can bring that ruthlessness and mental strength back. If he says its a shit show, then he's saying it for a reason and I'd rather see some public passion about what needs to be done. The players that get affected by such criticism probably don't have the mentality to play for us in the first place.

 

[RedorDead21]

Of course, but he only spoke of Shaw when asked. The only free criticism he gave unasked was the reference about players failing to play between the lines like he asked and the lack of character within the side. He even said Valencia wasn't very good.

I think we are discussing in too much detail at this point though. Personally I have no issues with Jose coming out and saying the side lacks character, because know there is no other manager in the world outside of him who can bring that ruthlessness and mental strength back. If he says its a shit show, then he's saying it for a reason and I'd rather see some public passion about what needs to be done. The players that get affected by such criticism probably don't have the mentality to play for us in the first place.

Hard to assess mentality and strength of character of prospective new buys...we don't seem to be very good at it of late...and this includes Mou...

 

[VP89]

Hard to assess mentality and strength of character of prospective new buys...we don't seem to be very could at it of late...and this includes Mou...

Well you look at Lindelof's on pitch expressions and willingness to shout at his players when needed, Matic, Lukaku and heck Zlatan too and you can see what sort of players Mourinho likes. He always liked the warriors. The ones that aren't afraid to plug away even when off form.

I think he's been watching Pogba closely, even when he kept playing him (and defending him to the media countless times) to see whether he can actually plug away and put himself about. It turns out Pogba closed even more into a shell and disappeared from matches all together, so he's dropped him outright. I back our manager to be honest. Coming out and saying his team played shite every so often shouldn't really be a crime.

 

[RedorDead21]

Well you look at Lindelof's on pitch expressions and willingness to shout at his players when needed, Matic, Lukaku and heck Zlatan too and you can see what sort of players Mourinho likes. He always liked the warriors. The ones that aren't afraid to plug away even when off form.

I think he's been watching Pogba closely, even when he kept playing him (and defending him to the media countless times) to see whether he can actually plug away and put himself about. It turns out Pogba closed even more into a shell and disappeared from matches all together, so he's dropped him outright. I back our manager to be honest. Coming out and saying his team played shite every so often shouldn't really be a crime.

I trust him as well. Pogba was a lot of money and was his buy. He's also an academy product and came from a Top club and was performing very well for them....we do seem to have an issue with players here not being able to replicate previous form? And it's nothing to do with the huge club we are as many of them came from other similar sized clubs......

Pogba is a good example...How is he a Mou type player even at Juve everything about him on and off field for me doesn't shout good fit? I think commanding efficient German CM ha when I think of a good fit for Mou.....odd I know!

 

[Di Maria's angel]

He can make that known to the players privately.

Going to quote my self from another thread as it's more relevant here. These are some examples of when the great man himself did a "Mourinho".

Fergie:

Ronaldo: "It's hard when a player who wants to entertain doesn't get everything his own way,” Ferguson explained. “But you can't get everything your own way.”

Evans: "F*****g wake up," Ferguson screamed at the 22-year-old defender. "I was just giving him a bit of gentle advice," Ferguson said later.

Rooney: "I don’t know what Wayne was trying to do with the penalty," Ferguson fumed. "I was dumbstruck by that one."

"I think Wayne is the type of player who has to play on the edge in a game really," Ferguson told MUTV. “When it's a really close and competitive game. When it gets to that casual bit, he's worse than the rest of them. He gets so casual about it.”

Smalling: "If you lose a goal at a set-piece you only have yourself to blame at this level," Ferguson said. He later admitted it was a mistake to single out Smalling.

Rooney: "He is very stocky, he is going to have to train well all the time, there is no doubt about that.”

Nani: "We were playing really good football at that point and all we needed to do was see the game out by keeping possession. "But Nani decided to try and beat a player, lost the ball and they got a penalty kick against us.”

Rooney: "I took him off because Villa were a very fast, young side, full of running, and their substitute was running past Wayne."

How dare Mourinho criticise our poor handsomely paid players!?

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Mourinho is clearly trying to deflect the attention from himself and blame the players. It's a typical reaction one would expect from a person who has a slight bias to the malignant end of the narcissistic spectrum. If you read between the lines of his last two conferences, i.e. after the Sevilla game and before the Brighton game, one could conclude that he is bigger than the club. This is one of the many fears I always had about him being appointed as the Manager of this great club.

It's comments like these that don't make sense. On Tuesday he said he was happy with the players, and when people state that he tried to deflect the game, they're accused of bullshit.

Now, he's come out and questioned the personalities, it's become a fact that he's blaming this on the players.

feck off (not you) with this yoyoing.

 

[Parry Gallister]

If you can't see how the last two press conferences and the post match comments don't suggest that something wrong is afoot, then I worry for your well-being over the next few weeks because mark my words.. as seen from previous Jose regimes at other clubs, this is just the beginning and the comments will get more acidic, there will be more cases of revolt and performances will continue to tank.

We might be sitting in second for now, but probably not for long now that he has declared war on most of the squad and they vice versa on him.

That's my point though, it's not like he's come out and said they're shite and are unsalvageable, he's criticised a performance from a few of them in a cup game in shit conditions.

It might go as you say, might not if the players have anything about them - don't think this is the same sort of bitchy dressing room as Chelsea's and Real Madrid's imo. Also don't think the atmosphere coming from the club has been poor - if anything, the squad have looked more united than they have in the last few years, though maybe we're just smarter at social media. Feel most of the negativity comes from external sources looking to give us a kicking whenever they get an opportunity (and they've had a couple too many handed to them in fairness) and a lot of supporters are letting it get to them.

Maybe it will get worse like you think, we'll see, he has the track record, but he gets a pass on this one imo.

 

[#07]

If you watch Mourinho's post match press conference its difficult to disagree with anything he said, especially about the full backs. When he explains in detail what he wanted from the full backs (between 5:11-5:34 of the video above), that they be aggressive and be in front of the midfield making space to play, you can't say either Shaw or Valencia did well.

Against Brighton the full backs ignored opportunity after opportunity to overlap, to get ahead of the ball and create out balls for the midfield. I was in J yesterday, so Shaw was operating on my side of the pitch in the first half. He was driving me utterly insane by not making runs into the space Martial was creating by going inside. I can see why Jose was frustrated. In the second half Valencia was closest to me, and again, poor offensively. If Mourinho's telling the truth that he asked his full backs to make the pitch big, and I've no reason to doubt that based on how his other sides have played, you can see why he was upset. Their refusal to move ahead of the ball hurt us in the build up and made it tough to transition forward.

 

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

This forum is reaching new levels of toxicity. It's like there are only two options, (as if the world is black or white):

A) Mourinho is a egoisthical prick, a narcisist with anger issues that seldom opts to play ugly and - thanks to all those things - is destroying the United Way™. Oh, and he is past his prime and can't manage for shit;

B) Mourinho is a great tactician, a manager that gives you trophies and that uses the "though love" approach to create a siege mentality within the team. If a player don't like it, goodbye. He wants fighters, not little flowers;

My point is: Barring one or two things, A and B - together - are and (always were) the "Mourinho Package". Why are you acting so outraged/shocked now? Yes, he is a a guy that can be a genius or a imbecile: the Mourinho that outsmarts Liverpool and shut ups De Boer for good is the same Mourinho that gave us the Sevilla game and the post-match interviews that bordered on the surreal. Banner/Hulk, Jeckyll/Hyde; that kind of thing.

What I'm trying to say (and the second language can be a problem here) is: maybe the truth about our manager (and about what we will have to endure) lies somewhere in the middle of A and B: The great manager that is prone to destroy things; the guy who only thrives on chaos; or something more simple: he has a "make or break" approach that doesn't always work because of his own ego (and he will never admit it).

No, I don't like the Mr.Hyde Mourinho, but I'm willing to tolerate him because the Jeckyll Mourinho is doing a good job. Could be better? Yes, a lot. Maybe the standards have lowered after de Moyes/LvG PTSD? Yes. But I'd rather give him one or two more seasons than start all over again with god knows who. More pragmatic than optimist, mind you.

If Mourinho self-destructs next season (or this season), ok, call someone. If don't, let the guy do his job. People backing him aren't necessarily stupid and people giving him stick aren't necessarily dumb. The guy is hard to understand, but whe don't need to pick fights to each other everytime Mourinhos does something good (or bad).

And for the love of Cantona, let Fergie and the supposed united way go. Its becoming a myth that no manager will ever surpass because IT'S A MYTH.

/rant

 

[red_devil83]

He was protecting his player. You don’t kick a man when he’s already down. How some of you don’t understand this I’ve no idea. His comments after a shite win are much more logical, keeps them grounded and makes it clear it wasn’t good enough still. The players knew on Tuesday that slop wasn’t good enough.

In the context of this season, they're entirely illogical. The game against Brighton is exactly what's happened all season. Play crap, usually win. He can't turn around and have a go at the players for that now, after he's been perfectly happy the other 30 games.

I couldn't give a shit about kicking them when they're down. If they're too weak to deal with it, then they can get lost.

What he has successfully done is go on a long rant and talk a load of absolute shite, so that everyone's focusing on that, rather than the result against Sevilla. Which was mostly his fault.

 

[Tony Babangida]

This forum is reaching new levels of toxicity. It's like there are only two options, (as if the world is black or white):

A) Mourinho is a egoisthical prick, a narcisist with anger issues that seldom opts to play ugly and - thanks to all those things - is destroying the United Way™. Oh, and he is past his prime and can't manage for shit;

B) Mourinho is a great tactician, a manager that gives you trophies and that uses the "though love" approach to create a siege mentality within the team. If a player don't like it, goodbye. He wants fighters, not little flowers;

My point is: Barring one or two things, A and B - together - are and (always were) the "Mourinho Package". Why are you acting so outraged/shocked now? Yes, he is a a guy that can be a genius or a imbecile: the Mourinho that outsmarts Liverpool and shut ups De Boer for good is the same Mourinho that gave us the Sevilla game and the post-match interviews that bordered on the surreal. Banner/Hulk, Jeckyll/Hyde; that kind of thing.

What I'm trying to say (and the second language can be a problem here) is: maybe the truth about our manager (and about what we will have to endure) lies somewhere in the middle of A and B: The great manager that is prone to destroy things; the guy who only thrives on chaos; or something more simple: he has a "make or break" approach that doesn't always work because of his own ego (and he will never admit it).

No, I don't like the Mr.Hyde Mourinho, but I'm willing to tolerate him because the Jeckyll Mourinho is doing a good job. Could be better? Yes, a lot. Maybe the standards have lowered after de Moyes/LvG PTSD? Yes. But I'd rather give him one or two more seasons than start all over again with god knows who. More pragmatic than optimist, mind you.

If Mourinho self-destructs next season (or this season), ok, call someone. If don't, let the guy do his job. People backing him aren't necessarily stupid and people giving him stick aren't necessarily dumb. The guy is hard to understand, but whe don't need to pick fights to each other everytime Mourinhos does something good (or bad).

And for the love of Cantona, let Fergie and the supposed united way go. Its becoming a myth that no manager will ever surpass because IT'S A MYTH.

/rant

Good post.

 

[Trajanus]

There is a widespread image of Ferguson’s United that seems become more and more twisted. Above it is said "the right midset of old which was attacking football or bust". Yes, Fergusons teams were often attack-minded, but not always, and not equally so over time and never in a headless way. Over the years I would say his teams became more and more balanced, or more "continental". This description of the past seems to drift further and further away, as impatience with a difficult present grows.

 

[gavdim2002]

Mourinho is clearly trying to deflect the attention from himself and blame the players. It's a typical reaction one would expect from a person who has a slight bias to the malignant end of the narcissistic spectrum. If you read between the lines of his last two conferences, i.e. after the Sevilla game and before the Brighton game, one could conclude that he is bigger than the club. This is one of the many fears I always had about him being appointed as the Manager of this great club.

People who suffer from narcissism often also do suffer from depression. While coming across as arrogant and self-assured, there is a fragile self that is vulnerable when the narcissist is presented with the case that he is not as perfect as he hoped to convince the world that he was.
Anybody who comes to mind?

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Mourinho is clearly trying to deflect the attention from himself and blame the players.

Blame them for what @EmPeeKay? Having easily United’s best season since SAF left?

His team actually won the fecking game and are in the semis of the cup.

 

[Raees]

@Fuzzy Dunlop thing with this debate is Mourinho is an incredibly polarising figure and his career is all about extremes. Extreme successes followed by extreme failure and very rarely do you get anything in between and that is a compliment to the guy as he's box office (even if on the pitch it's anything but in terms of performances).

One way or another, one side will be proved right and it is unlikely we will be in a situation where it's abit of both (in the end). For me I agree, players also take the blame for some failings but I don't see this siege mentality from the side bar the odd game - any attempt to recreate this is falling on deaf ears and any chance to galvanise the squad through recent failures has been a failure as he has absolved himself of any tactical failings on his part which even his ardent supporters admit to and yet he will not. He's laid the blame on the players only and that my friend isn't going to lead to a siege mentality as when the players needed him - he protected his reputation and ego first and foremost.

 

[glazed]

Unfortunately the narrative is forming of bullying and blame and losing the dressing room. Jose's hotel check out is maybe closer than we think.

 

[Greck]

Unfortunately the narrative is forming of bullying and blame and losing the dressing room. Jose's hotel check out is maybe closer than we think.

Bullying builds character and a strong mind /s

 

[Minimalist]

FWIW, I genuinely hope Mourinho works it all out (whatever issues he has) and is a success here. I don't think it looks certain at present but I still hope it works out.

I would just prefer he didn't cause a scene (as I see it) with his off-field stuff. The league performance thus far is solid, I really hope hope we finish on 80 points and hopefully the league is more competitive next season (a season different to the City's dominance this time or Chelsea's in 04-05.)

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Going to quote my self from another thread as it's more relevant here. These are some examples of when the great man himself did a "Mourinho".

If the players don't react well to this, screw them. Maybe the tactics aren't great for you all but the lack of energy and heart is what kills me. Most of us have had arsehole coaches and kind coaches, but did you sulk and your attitude turn to shite if you don't like your coach?

I know it's his job to get the most out of them but maybe he's exasperated as I am when they don't fricken show any urgency out there.

 

[Galactic]

And to think most of us thought Moyes and LVG were bad.