Paul Pogba has finally said what literally everyone else has been saying for about two years.
Manchester United’s draw against Southampton at the weekend sparked what was been reported as a dressing room row between the players and Jose Mourinho.
So far have United fallen, that surrendering a 2-0 lead to them is enough to prompt a club to sack their manager, as shown by Saints’ decision to sack Mark Hughes on Monday.
José Mourinho’s team selection was widely scrutinised for its lack of creativity and that scrutiny was justified, as United looked bereft of ideas for much of the game.
Jose Mourinho sums up exactly where Manchester United have gone wrong over the last few years | @RobRedmond10 https://t.co/MAAeVwuzg7
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 3, 2018
Paul Pogba lost the ball on several occasions, often sloppily, while attempting to pull off an audacious piece of skill to evade danger. José Mourinho was vocally critical of Pogba after the game, reportedly calling the Frenchman a ‘virus’ in front of his teammates and telling him that he was disrespecting Manchester United by giving the ball away so much.
According to The Times, Pogba responded by telling Mourinho that his tactics restrict the movement of the team and do not give him enough passing options, which leads to him giving the ball away.
It has been reported that the discussion was not heated and remained respectful.
Mourinho claimed in an interview with RedeTV, the Brazilian broadcaster, that it would be “almost a miracle” if United finished in the top four this season thanks to their woeful start.
⚽ Jordan Pickford’s crossbar challenge 🥅
⚽ Ireland’s march to #Euro2020 glory 💯
⚽ José on the road to nowhere 🛣️#TheFootballSpin w/ @DionFanning @PaddyMcKenna @robredmond10 & @BeardedGenius in Manchester is out nowListen here on 🍏&🤖: https://t.co/2mdZkuzzrO
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 3, 2018
Asked what his hopes were for the rest of the season, Mourinho said, “to try to win as many points as possible and try what would be almost a miracle to finish fourth.”
Pardon the whataboutery, but David Moyes was crucified for saying United should aspire to Manchester City’s standards.
“Finishing second was a fantastic thing because of the qualities we had in comparison to the quality of the other teams that are fighting for the top four,” Mourinho said.
“And this year with more problems that we have had, it proves what I said at the beginning of the season, that it would be a very difficult season.”
It remains a huge mystery what the source of those problems is. But they seem to have been around ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and got significantly worse since 2016.
