Mourinho - Appreciation Thread

[Random Task]

It's even better that we did it playing slightly shit.

We didn't play shit at all, though. The players peformed precisely as instructed by the manager with the intention of stopping Ajax from playing their natural game. We sat deep, with very little pressing, basically telling the Ajax players to bring it. They didn't have an answer.

Say what you like about Jose, but tactically he is up there with the best managers in history. His record in the big games, finals in particular, is evidence to that fact.

 

[RedTiger]

We didn't play shit at all, though. The players peformed precisely as instructed by the manager with the intention of stopping Ajax from playing their natural game. We sat deep, with very little pressing, basically telling the Ajax players to bring it. They didn't have an answer.

Say what you like about Jose, but tactically he is up there with the best managers in history. His record in the big games, finals in particular, is evidence to that fact.

I meant the season as a whole

 

[sugar_kane]

Love these quotes of his yesterday,

"The poets are the ones that win every match," Mourinho said sardonically. "I think I'm going to try to have one of these jobs in a few years because you win every match and I never manage in my career to win every match, I always lose matches.

"So some guys win every time, I don't, but in a bad season, in a season where sometimes I felt that my team was the worst team in the world, where I felt I was the worst manager in the world, we win three trophies and go to the Champions League by winning a trophy, not by finishing fourth, third or second.

"And we have the honour to play the European Super Cup against the new Champions League winner, so I think the season was really good.

"Tonight was the victory of pragmatism, the victory of the humble people that respect the opponents, that try to stop the opponent's qualities, that try to exploit the opponent's weaknesses.

"For me it was a victory for a fantastic group, based on pragmatism and based on humble principles, not poets, just humble people."

 

[Android1974]

His negative tactics need to be fecked off but I'll judge him more after this summer and how his tactics are laid out there after.

As a personality I love the cnut!

In December, even beginning January, we were playing some nice attacking football, specially when Mkhitaryan went to #10 and Martial was showing some flair. But then the home draws and big injuries made Mourinho decide for pragmatism, how would he save the season? And, by the way, last night or Chelsea at home shouldn't even be considered negative tactics. If the team starts performing better attacking wise, he can rely less on his reactive management.

 

[Android1974]

Great video. The part where he says dealing with fragile players is his biggest weakness as a manager is interesting. Apparently he doesn't understand their way of thinking, deals better with players who share a same mentality to him ie; win at all costs. Says he loves Rashford so much because he can keep on pushing him and Rashford will respond.

Yeah, that was interesting. And you understand why Shaw and Martial, even Mkhitaryan sometimes, might be struggling.

 

[JJ12]

In December, even beginning January, we were playing some nice attacking football, specially when Mkhitaryan went to #10 and Martial was showing some flair. But then the home draws and big injuries made Mourinho decide for pragmatism, how would he save the season? And, by the way, last night or Chelsea at home shouldn't even be considered negative tactics. If the team starts performing better attacking wise, he can rely less on his reactive management.

Chelsea home certainly not on the list. Last night I didn't care. It almost back fired and ruined the season vs Anderlecht - way too negative. He's the man for us and I think we will play a better brand next years.

In Jose I trust.

 

[Android1974]

He keeps calling Community Shield a trophy though, that's a bit embarrassing.

An unimportant trophy is still… surprise, a trophy!

 

[Android1974]

Chelsea home certainly not on the list. Last night I didn't care. It almost back fired and ruined the season vs Anderlecht - way too negative. He's the man for us and I think we will play a better brand next years.

In Jose I trust.

That I understand, those Anderlecht or Celta home games were not very brave, but the context was hard, we were risking too much and Mourinho was not feeling that confident, also because of the injuries and the number of games, so he took no risk and it might even had backfired then. But from now on I think he will be more confident on the team and impose some free flowing attacking football.

 

[Catt]

Tbh he said it so quickly it seemed he wanted to duck that question.

white text

Yep, clearly hates kids.

 

[Lentwood]

You will notice the "style vs substance" debate only ever crops up when a team actually wins stuff.

All I am going to say is that I found winning the Europa League without breaking out of 3rd gear pretty entertaining even if the neutral fan didn't

 

[whatwha]

He put all his eggs in one basket and it paid off for him. He must be the most relieved man in the world.

 

[Adisa]

He put all his eggs in one basket and it paid off for him. He must be the most relieved man in the world.

To be honest, it's been obvious our best route was the EL since December.
No matter how close we got, we simply couldn't score goals.
If you can't score goals, you're nothing in this league.

 

[charlenefan]

 

[EyeInTheSky]

Was I dreaming it or were there imbeciles trying to argue that the FA Cup is more Important than the Europa League/Cup and automatic Champions League qualifcation?

 

[pseudo_canadian]

Couldn't be happier that Mourinho is our manager, I was over the moon when we first announced him. After last night, and this season as a whole, he is unequivocally the one to lead us forward.

As some other posters mentioned, I feel vindicated for never doubting him this season.

Onwards and upwards! Exciting times ahead for the club.

 

[breakout67]

We didn't play shit at all, though. The players peformed precisely as instructed by the manager with the intention of stopping Ajax from playing their natural game. We sat deep, with very little pressing, basically telling the Ajax players to bring it. They didn't have an answer.

Say what you like about Jose, but tactically he is up there with the best managers in history. His record in the big games, finals in particular, is evidence to that fact.

That is not how we played at all. We played man for man on their midfielders for large parts of the game and forced them to play long ball or through Sanchez who was identified as a weak link in the team. Younes was considered a threat and was forced wide and doubled up on to neutralize him. When we werent man for man in midfield we played a 4-2-3-1 with Fellani as no.10 who would act as an outball.

Passing is Ajax's strong point, so we were set up to put pressure on key players if they ever got the ball and force Ajax's play through weak points. The only person that did something for Ajax was Traore with his dribbling and strength, which goes against the instincts of every other Ajax player in the team. Our physicality meant that we rarely sat deep because we were always able to push up the field through Fellaini and Pogba.

 

[charlenefan]

Was I dreaming it or were there imbeciles trying to argue that the FA Cup is more Important than the Europa League/Cup and automatic Champions League qualifcation?

The Europa League is the 3rd most important trophy a club can win, it's only behind the domestic league and champions league. It's far more important than any domestic cup

 

[EyeInTheSky]

The Europa League is the 3rd most important trophy a club can win, it's only behind the domestic league and champions league. It's far more important than any domestic cup

Exactly. Also, add the importance to the Europa League cup because we were outside the top 4 which in this context made it extremely important for us.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

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lol, when do you think he did that??

 

[Android1974]

By the way, two of the Einsteins just chipped in…

Michael Cox in The Guardian, can't hide his sour grapes: “Ajax started extraordinarily nervily, making defensive errors and misplacing simple passes inside their own half. It is doubtful whether Mourinho actually asked United to push up and press in the opening stages but they were nevertheless encouraged to by Ajax’s sheer carelessness, forcing repeated spells of pressure.”

Jonathan Wilson, another factious proponent of joga bonito, also in The Guardian: “Mourinho is not a manager who occasionally adopts a policy of pragmatism to achieve a specific goal, before switching to something more expansive. Rather, he revels in discarding aesthetic expectations, in scorning ‘the poets’ whose idealistic abstractions ‘win every match’. This season Mourinho attacked the ‘Einsteins’ who were opposed to him; railing against the arts and the sciences, he truly is a man under siege. Wednesday’s win, Mourinho said, was ‘a victory of the pragmatism, a victory of the humble people, a victory of the people who respect the opponents, a victory of the people who try to stop the opponents and exploit their weaknesses’. […] You can’t be one of the two richest clubs in the world, with a noodle deal in every territory, and pretend your reactive football is a necessary gambit in the face of an overwhelming inferiority of resources. / Similarly, United will accept the ‘humble’ approach for as long as it seems necessary. The four seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement have been turbulent. If this is what it takes to get the club back on track, so be it. But if this is, as seems likely, another summer of significant expenditure, directors and fans will soon start to expect at least a little poetry to enter Mourinho’s soul and United’s play.”

Just imagine what these two would have wrote if United had lost…

Anyhow, end of the season and nobody seems to remember those series of draws at home with ±25 shots on target… Call that reactive! Paraphrasing and correcting Wilson, Mourinho is a manager who adopts something more expansive, before switching to to a policy of pragmatism to achieve a specific goal.

 

[Gause]

lol, when do you think he did that??

it was from Lipton ads series. quite funny tbf

 

[EyeInTheSky]

it was from Lipton ads series. quite funny tbf


ha pretty slick

 

[Akshay]

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There was a serious problem with things being leaked to the press back then too. Around that time one senior figure came out of the team and pretty much stayed on the sidelines ever since. Whilst another went into the team and played an important part in the good run that United then went on.

I assume the player who came out of the team was Rooney. Who was the one who went in? Carrick? Jones?

 

[clarkydaz]

I assume the player who came out of the team was Rooney. Who was the one who went in? Carrick? Jones?

Carrrick wasn't starting early in the season.

 

[Stretford Red1978]

He's got a scam going with a big plate...

have you got yer big plate Jose?

 

[Akshay]

Carrrick wasn't starting early in the season.

This is supposed to be a player who wasn't playing before but started consistently from November-ish onwards (article isn't too specific about exactly when).

 

[Runner]

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[Toblerone92]

His family are still in London iirc, probably lives in a hotel because a house would be overkill by himself.

Why bother with a house though? He can be right in the city centre with quick access to Old Trafford and Carrington and whatever else he needs. He can stay in the best suite on offer and eat like a king, all while forgetting about any other menial tasks and be focused purely on football. I highly doubt it's a long term plan, I believe he didn't want to unsettle his family immediately but wouldn't be surprised if we see Mrs.Mourinho house hunting in Alderley Edge in the coming months.

Besides, he'll be needing a bigger place to store all the trophies we're going to win.

 

[el3mel]

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Great article. Don't know if all things he mentioned are true or no but enjoyed the reading.

 

[thegregster]

Jose Mourinho teams have made it to 14 cup finals.

He has won 12 of them.

 

[Android1974]

I'm still pretty impressed by Mourinho choosing Smalling over Jones, something I couldn't understand beforehand and, having seen the game, had a major effect. The thing is the manager might have picked him because of the marking of Dolberg, but Jones might have done it as well, so I gather the real reason was Smalling's height and aerial prowess, something that was fundamental to our attacking game, as seen in the second goal.

 

[led_scholes]

The Europa League is the 3rd most important trophy a club can win, it's only behind the domestic league and champions league. It's far more important than any domestic cup

Agreed only if we are talking about the top leagues. Give the chance to any team from Belgium, Turkey, Russia, Greece, Switzerland to win the Europa instead of their domestic league and I m sure they will prefer the Europa League.

 

[totaalvoetbal]

@totaalvoetbal

What do you think about his quote on poets not winning much?

There is nothing much to say. Mourinho is the modern Helenio Herrera.

 

[Zii]

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I think it's massive that the final played out like he said. As a player you would think "damn this guy knows his stuff". Trust goes up another level

 

[Womp]

There is nothing much to say. Mourinho is the modern Helenio Herrera.

Not sure if that's a compliment or an insult.

 

[kotha]

This is supposed to be a player who wasn't playing before but started consistently from November-ish onwards (article isn't too specific about exactly when).

Think it's Carrick.. But somehow the logic he uses to say the leaks stopped is weird.. I mean one goes into the team so stopped talking, one goes out of the team so stopped talking to the press..

 

[Akshay]

Think it's Carrick.. But somehow the logic he uses to say the leaks stopped is weird.. I mean one goes into the team so stopped talking, one goes out of the team so stopped talking to the press..

Yeah, not sure I got that either. I can understand the player who became a regular starter quitting leaking but not the player who was dropped.

 

[Dembeza]

Currently Jose is the best fit for the United job, he makes me remember how we used to play under Sir Alex and how good we can become.

The fact that when we go to big matches, even as underdogs, people always talk about how mourinho will pull a masterclass or there's no way mourinho will allow us to lose tells you everything you have to know about the man. Even with a weak team, we hardly focus on that (state of the team) prematch but everyone and even the opposite fans will be saying "Yes Man Utd is weak but they have Jose". The guy is the best signing we made last season.

I love the act of defending, one of the reason I fell in love with United was that we were hard to beat. It didn't matter who we played as our MDs but you always had the assurance that we won't be conceding. The defence partnership of 2008 was the best I have ever seen.

Under Mourinho we hardly conced, we have the second best defence record and we are tied for first in the cleansheet department, progess. It must suck as the opposite coach knowing that even with a world class front line it's near impossible to score against Mourinho, we win the match before we even get on the field.

I love a direct team (counter attacking), yes it's also a system. I don't mind having a 40% ball possession as long as we do damage when we have the ball. We played some explosive football when we had Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo and that's the football I would rather watch United play.

I see alot of people having a meltdown about Silva going to Man City, and how City will now dominate the EPL. I'm not too bothered that we didn't get Silva and honestly I didn't want him, I would rather have someone like Sane, Lucas Moura, Di Maria, D Costa, Bale guys with pace who don't mess about, they get the ball and they fly down the other end.

Man city are building a team that will be similar to Barcelona, and ours is gonna be in the mould of R Madrid. I would take the R Madrid version of soccer everyday of the week.

This will also show in the players we will buy, we won't be buying players like B Silva and people should start getting used to it. Real Madrid don't even have a player in the mould of B Silva in their front 3 and they have being killing it in the CL.

This season has been a rebuild and I already love the direction we are going, add a few signings (not necessarily big names) that will fit into the system and we will be killing it.

 

[darioterios]

Think it's Carrick.. But somehow the logic he uses to say the leaks stopped is weird.. I mean one goes into the team so stopped talking, one goes out of the team so stopped talking to the press..

I wouldn't trust this article, most likely some sensationalist piece to seek attention. Based on how events actually happened this season, all senior players and Jose had strong mutual respect.
I don't want to point the finger of suspicion, but I just notice the poster who shared the link to this article also happened to share an article on the very same page about a supposed 'revolt' at United sometime around November. Otherwise nobody would actually pay attention to this little-known page at all

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

Currently Jose is the best fit for the United job, he makes me remember how we used to play under Sir Alex and how good we can become.

The fact that when we go to big matches, even as underdogs, people always talk about how mourinho will pull a masterclass or there's no way mourinho will allow us to lose tells you everything you have to know about the man. Even with a weak team, we hardly focus on that (state of the team) prematch but everyone and even the opposite fans will be saying "Yes Man Utd is weak but they have Jose". The guy is the best signing we made last season.

I love the act of defending, one of the reason I fell in love with United was that we were hard to beat. It didn't matter who we played as our MDs but you always had the assurance that we won't be conceding. The defence partnership of 2008 was the best I have ever seen.

Under Mourinho we hardly conced, we have the second best defence record and we are tied for first in the cleansheet department, progess. It must suck as the opposite coach knowing that even with a world class front line it's near impossible to score against Mourinho, we win the match before we even get on the field.

I love a direct team (counter attacking), yes it's also a system. I don't mind having a 40% ball possession as long as we do damage when we have the ball. We played some explosive football when we had Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo and that's the football I would rather watch United play.

I see alot of people having a meltdown about Silva going to Man City, and how City will now dominate the EPL. I'm not too bothered that we didn't get Silva and honestly I didn't want him, I would rather have someone like Sane, Lucas Moura, Di Maria, D Costa, Bale guys with pace who don't mess about, they get the ball and they fly down the other end.

Man city are building a team that will be similar to Barcelona, and ours is gonna be in the mould of R Madrid. I would take the R Madrid version of soccer everyday of the week.

This will also show in the players we will buy, we won't be buying players like B Silva and people should start getting used to it. Real Madrid don't even have a player in the mould of B Silva in their front 3 and they have being killing it in the CL.

This season has been a rebuild and I already love the direction we are going, add a few signings (not necessarily big names) that will fit into the system and we will be killing it.

Good post, echoes how I feel too!