Craig Bellamy spoke an awful lot of sense on Thursday night after Manchester United’s draw with West Ham.
Finishing in second position is never good enough for Manchester United, it’s never good enough for Jose Mourinho. A badly beaten second is even worse for both and with the Red Devils trailing Man City’s wake by 19 points going into the final weekend of the season, that’s exactly what they are.
Manchester United have had their moments under Jose Mourinho this season but for the most part it’s been far too inconsistent and unpredictable. Their defence has been shaky, so uncharacteristic for a Mourinho outfit and their attack has been disjointed and out of sorts for much of it.
The main problem with United is that they haven’t really settled on a team all year. They’ve been chopping and changing all over and have been unable to establish a rhythm or to get into any sort of groove or pattern. It’s been a one step forward, two steps back kind of season and the 0-0 draw with a vulnerable West Ham in the second last game of the season really sums up what it’s been like.
Jose Mourinho has been his prickly self, but he hasn’t been as slick as what we’re used to. He’s committed some cardinal errors in his man-management of certain players, namely Shaw and Pogba, and he hasn’t looked as bulletproof in front of the press as what we’re used to seeing with him.
Craig Bellamy, speaking on Sky Sports’ Debate Show on Thursday night attempted to put his finger on where it’s all gone wrong for Mourinho. The Welsh man made some great points in his analysis, especially when he claimed that other managers have latched onto the counter-attacking tactics that had set the Portuguese apart in years gone by.
“The Mourinho we see now is different to the Mourinho we saw when he first came to the country,” began Bellamy.
“When he was 4-3-3, how many teams played that then? He was able to go and buy the best, so he could go buy Drogba, he could go buy pace. They played counter-attack football because they looked after the back four. They were defensively well drilled but on the counter-attack they would hurt you.”
These organised, conservative tactics worked a treat in Europe at first attempt too, with the Special One going on to win a Champions League with Inter Milan.
“Okay, he did well in Europe and you have to give him credit for that,” continued Bellamy.
WATCH: “The Mourinho we see now is different to the Mourinho who arrived at Chelsea.”
Craig Bellamy says that Mourinho's time at Real Madrid changed him and has resulted in the negative football that Manchester United now play.
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The hubbub of Real Madrid broke him with Mourinho unable to tap into the brazen egos that dominated the team and the club as a whole. After failing to win a Champions League and eventually leaving on a whimper, it’s fair to say that his own pride and his own confidence must have taken a bit of a dent.
“Real Madrid, I think hurt him. That’s where he got hurt, that’s when he got questioned. Everyone believed he was the one and he was the best manager in the world bar none, no one was even close to him. Then at Real Madrid he got questioned by players as well.”
And then Bellamy fell into the trap that so many do when they talk about Mourinho at United.
“For me, I’ve always said, he’s not the Manchester United fit, the way he plays and the way they expect to see football, it just looks that way to me,” added the 38-year-old.
Success is undoubtedly of greater importance to their supporters than this ‘Manchester United way’ that so many fawn over.
Former glories always seem better upon reflection with wishful amnesia and irrationally and carelessly sourced fugue taking over. Nostalgia is a powerful drug.
Because let’s not forget, even Sir Alex Ferguson went through the wringer in his early days at the club. As Brian Kerr pointed out during one of his typically brilliant recent columns, he nearly fell asleep when watching a Fergie team featuring Beckham, Scholes, Cole, Sheringham and co. stumble their way to a 1-0 loss away to Monaco in the Champions League.
Indeed, that would be one of a number of times that the renowned trailblazing identity that was Fergie’s United flattered to deceive. But we forget about the deceiving when it’s in the rear-view mirror and the success has come in its place.
Cluj, Zalaegerszegi, Maccabi Haifa and Gothenburg were among the list of teams Ferguson’s United team fell to on the road in Europe.
