Five transfer windows, 370 million pounds and three pre-seasons later… these are the fruits.
To be honest, this started during Mourinho’s first campaign at Old Trafford. Whilst Pep Guardiola’s Man City were trying to shake off the feeble clutches of Claudio Bravo from under their studs, it was at least clear that they had a plan and that they were progressing. It was clearer that part of that plan was to progress even more. It wasn’t a good first season and nobody said otherwise from a City point of view but, by the end of it, on the other side of town, Jose was on an aggressive offensive to boost the credentials of the Europa League.
A trophy’s a trophy, fans said – the same ones who hounded out Louis van Gaal 12 months previous after lifting the FA Cup.
And it hasn’t gotten any better since then. The football’s been worse, the spending’s been more frivolous and there’s been no silverware to paper over the cracks with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A996N0MVTF0
It’s two and a half years later and the man who Manchester United fans and board members happily gave up their tradition of attacking football for because he could bring short-term success at whatever cost, takes one of the biggest clubs in the world to their biggest rivals Liverpool on Sunday, and he takes them there 16 points behind them after 16 f**king games.
It’s not about defensive or entertaining football. It’s about a plan. If Mourinho was still able to do what he did at Chelsea the first time around – set up the most solid team in the league and exploit weaknesses – and if he was able to get consistent results without playing The United Way, the case against him would be weak. He’s not able to do that anymore though. He’s not able to do many things.
The reason it took so long for everyone to finally turn and accept the reality of what they were seeing – and, indeed, what they weren’t seeing – is because Mourinho was openly admitting that he was shite at everything, so it was hard to pin him down on one thing.
His first assault was to imply that his coaching and management counts for sweet nothing. Either he gets money or he can’t do anything and that’s the bottom line he was constantly feeding.
Then, of course, when he actually got the money and spent a fortune – he even bought centre backs – it wasn’t enough money because the players he had at his disposal weren’t good enough. He needed £70m for Harry Maguire because he’d rather play Scott McTominay at centre back than the dross that was there. The dross he spent £73m on, Bailly and Lindelof. So, his second attack was to hide in plain sight. He told everyone that the players he spent a lot of money on weren’t good enough and you’re in dreamland if you expect him to compete with these dead beats. Amazingly, that actually worked. It turned a fraternity of Old Trafford on poor Ed Woodward whose biggest crime to date has been to allow Mourinho to spend £370m and to bankroll Alexis Sanchez’s wages.
So, Mourinho needed money. Then, when he got money, he wanted more money because he had wasted so much money. Then he played McTominay and Matic and Herrera at centre back to prove a point but the only point he was proving wasn’t that he needed more money, it was that he couldn’t be trusted with money.
All the while, United haven’t progressed in any way. They never look like they’re working on anything, they never seem to have a plan other than get men behind the ball and work hard. The contrast between them and Liverpool or City is depressing – even Chelsea or Spurs.
So the manager was asked how far away are they from playing the way he wants them to play. His response wasn’t the tough, this-guy-takes-no-shit, perfectionist soundbite that he thought it was.
“Far,” he said.
He said they’re far from playing how he wants to play but all it has ever looked like he’s been trying to do is to flood his own box and question the mentality and character of his players in an attempt to garner some sort of response – not a tactical or technical one, but just somebody to show him that he’s up for it.
Alas, Mourinho admitted that it’s not all about the money.
“It is not just about spending money and reinforcing the squad, a football team is more than that, a football team is not just about spending the money,” he explained.
A shame that they let those two and a half years slip by. He could’ve actually been working with what he had and what he brought in along the way. Imagine that.
Remember, he took over a squad that had De Gea, it had Valencia who was flying at the time and did so for another bit, Shaw, Martial, Rashford, Herrera, Mata. He added to that with £370m and some of the most expensive free transfers in history and still his key players are guys who were there under Fergie and his only actual game plan for attack – when he absolutely has to get involved – is Marouane Fellaini, a signing David Moyes was ridiculed for.
If anything, all Mourinho is doing when Ashley Young is one of his most consistent players and Chris Smalling can’t get out of the team and he’s giving Fellaini new contracts, he’s proving himself that he inherited a better team than he likes to admit and he’s leaning on the work of those who went before him because he’s just pissing away money like it’s nobody’s business.
Now, in December 2018, he’s talking about laying foundations again.
“A football team is a little bit like a house too, a house is not just about buying new furniture. You have to do work in the house and when the house is ready, then you buy furniture.
“You spend money on the best possible furniture and then you’re ready to live in an amazing house.”
He’s talking about what everyone knew all along and what everyone just assumes a manager does the minute he walks in the door.
But Mourinho has just had this epiphany.
Too bad he refuses to sit on the furniture he’s buying though.
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