What’s the point of Jose Mourinho at Man Utd?

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Poles apart
This really shows the difference….

At the point Manchester City took the lead, Manchester United had attempted only 11 passes. IN 12 MINUTES. And only five of those had been successful.

City had made 104 with 92% accuracy.
Jimmy (Utd have a lot of catching up to do) Spain

Would Guardiola want any of that Man United side?
I was thinking after the game about the gulf in class between United and City, and it’s a pretty sad state of affairs. If you offered Guardiola anyone from United’s starting line-up yesterday, I doubt any of them would make his preferred first eleven. While I still see De Gea as being the better keeper technically, Ederson’s attributes with the ball at his feet would automatically make him the number 1 choice for the way City play out from the back. Other than that, Guardiola might be interested in Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial, but they would have to be content with a place on the bench. Lingard? A possibility for meaningless cup games and end-of-season matches against relegation candidates. But no-one else would get anywhere near that City team. Which is pretty much how the game played out yesterday…
Gregg (do I really need to add my surname?) Cocking, MUFC

What’s the point of Jose Mourinho?
Watched the argument between Souness and Neville on Sky Sports following the embarrassing display yesterday at City.

This is my take. Everything was terrible under LVG and Moyes. The football was poor. The players were poor. Jose was brought in to sort out the mess. We didn’t expect it to be easy or fast. We just expected visible signs of progress. And after winning the Europa League in his first season, we saw progress. And were happy. Despite coming second last season, the progress if it exists, has not been visible. We’ve spent almost as much as City, but we might as well have the budget of Cardiff for all the difference it makes. Old players haven’t improved. Some have regressed. New players are performing way below par. Worse than at their former clubs. There were only two Jose players in the starting line up, yesterday. The football is drab. Everyone acts like they’d rather be anywhere else. Atmosphere looks toxic. At least from the outside. I accept it’s not all Jose’s fault. Woodward shares some of the blame. However, since Jose’s done nothing to improve the situation, what’s the point of him?
Tunji, Lagos

Man United had more chance under LVG
A few thoughts while watching:

1) Perhaps I’m the only one but it seems that United were much better drilled under LVG when it came to games against the big six. There was a definite aim to defend as a team and even the offense was structured around a particular game plan even if it was as basic as isolating Fellaini and Rashford on the left and aiming long balls for a knockdown. Apart from the usual games that United donated to Chelsea, I seem to remember positive results against City, Liverpool and Arsenal. Under Mourinho this season, our defense has been anybody’s guess while we’re still stuck in the same attacking rut that we were five years ago.

2) I wonder how much of an impact Rui Faria’s departure has made on the defensive organisation of the team. It’s abundantly clear that the one thing Mourinho teams were good at has now also disappeared and the timing of Faria’s departure makes me wonder whether he was in charge of that side of the organisation.

3) The Pogba question remains – when he plays, there are flashes of brilliance marred by periods of aimlessly jogging around. When he doesn’t United lack leadership, vision, creativity and any sort of semblance to a football team. How do you solve a problem like Pogba?

4) It’s easy to criticise Sanchez but playing with Lukaku doesn’t help his confidence or attitude. The Chilean has always been a street-fighter sort of player who loves to run with the ball, exchange
passes and depend on quality from his teammates. There was an instance before the third goal for City when he tracked Mendy’s run back, got the ball, chipped it over to Lukaku – and stopped short in frustration as the Belgian let the ball bounce off his thigh and to a City player. I don’t know whether it’s his confidence or an injury but right now he doesn’t resemble anything close to a striker for a Premier League club.

5) So United enter the break with some intriguing results for the future of both the club and Mourinho. They entered the last break with that victory over Newcastle that suggested that the players were ready to fight. They came out firing, should have got a result at Chelsea, surrendered meekly to Juventus at home, dug deep to beat Everton, Bournemouth and Juventus away and now re-enter the break with this loss. Can Mourinho really claim that the results are improving? Can Woodward be forced into releasing funds for the winter break and more importantly – are there any players out there who can make a difference in this squad (apart from a CB perhaps)?

6) It’s hard to see where this season is going. Two seasons ago, United were stuck in sixth but went all the way in the Europa League and could use that as an excuse to be so far behind. Last season, United remained way off the pace in second and Jose saw his tactics backfire against Sevilla. Assuming United make it out of the group this season, can he really prioritize the UCL this season over finishing top four? Will a quarter-final or semi-final appearance save his job? Will a top four season save his job?

Congratulations to City – there’s always a bitter taste when you lose and especially when you lose to silky flowing football while offering up your best impression of nothing. But there was a little bit of hope after the Martial penalty which was mercilessly stamped out with ruthless effectiveness – something that Jose himself was known for in another life.
Budhaditya

No Big Six…just Man City and the rest
As I await 16 Conclusions I sit here and watch the post-match breakdown on Sky, and once again a team is being heavily criticised after losing to City… Monday before last it was Tottenham, today it is Manchester United. The problem is this City side are going to make the majority of teams they face this season look pedestrian.

Earlier today we saw Liverpool sleepwalk their way to a routine win over Fulham, and once again questions were being asked as to whether Liverpool can go on to win the league after their very impressive start to the season.

Here is how I see it – any team that finishes second this season will likely have to put together a points total that is in the top 5 of the Premier League era. Even then, they are likely to be found wanting and potentially still 5-6 points behind City come May.

Last season City lost at Liverpool and at home to United, this season they have taken four points from those games. They dropped 14 points throughout the whole of last season and a third into this one they have dropped four. It is possible their two draws this season were victories last season but that is the point – they have made up for it and are on course to match last season. ‘Ah but so are Liverpool’ I hear you cry – indeed, but we have no idea how long they can keep this up, Klopp’s change in tactics (and thus less exhausting pressing) or not – we know City can.

Chelsea probably deserve a mention too, their squad is not too dissimilar to the one that broke records the season before last, and indeed putting together one of the highest points totals in Premier League history – so they are certainly up there, but dropping points at home to Everton is not something they can afford to do in a race against City.

City are simply head and shoulders above everyone else and if Liverpool or Chelsea do end up running them close that would be a phenomenal achievement. The game out there today was typical of the ‘men against boys’ cliche, United were no way near and the scoreline flattered them hugely after a very poor mistake from Ederson.

There is no Big Six, there is simply Manchester City and then the rest fighting it out for whatever scraps are left.
Tim Harrington (QPR), London

16 Conclusions
We
are
not
good
enough
to
beat
this
Man
City
Team
and
we
don’t
deserve
anything
Peter (gutted but not surprised) MUFC

Man United carrying way too many passengers
I was going to do a bunch of conclusions on the game, but I think I can sum it up in one: City are better than United because their manager is better, their tactics are better, and their players are better. Good enough?

Okay, on to my actual points. Firstly, if Rashford and Lingard weren’t homegrown players, from areas relatively local to United, they would not be getting anywhere near as easy a ride as they are right now. Both players were pathetic yesterday, utterly godawful. Rashford is so woefully far from being of the standard to play up front for either his club or his country. I don’t even know what he’s good at – he’s fast and…yeah, he’s pretty fast. This is not a criticism based on one performance, he has been absolute garbage for way too long now. I’m sure it’s not helping that he’s not getting a consistent run in one position, but can anyone genuinely say he deserves it? He needs to go out on loan for the good of his own career, otherwise a potential bright light of United’s academy is going to waste away to nothing.

And Lingard has reverted back to the mean, maybe not necessarily forever, but it’s certainly not looking like changing any time soon at the moment. His last goal for United was the winner against Chelsea back on 25th February, which suggests that it’s not a blip – it’s just what he’s actually capable of. In fact, it’s fairly safe to say that his good form was the blip, and everything since is more likely to be what we’ll get from him. Maybe there are ways we can get better from him, but I have no idea what they are because, again, I’m not really sure what he’s good at, beyond being fast. It’s not just that he was rubbish yesterday, it’s that he was so utterly anonymous that I don’t recall him doing anything at all.

When the team isn’t playing at top form you can’t afford to have passengers, and one of United’s biggest problems right now is that there are far too many of those; Rashford and Lingard being just two. Add to that list Sanchez, Matic, Smalling and Lukaku (though there are mitigating circumstances there in that we barely create any chances for him), and it’s no wonder we’re constantly trying to ice skate uphill. For all the talk of needing a central defender in January, which we quite clearly do (to partner the ever-improving Lindelof), we desperately need some creativity and thrust on the right side, and someone who can actually create a chance or two instead of just running down blind alleys or tw*tting it against the legs of the first defender they encounter.

The other quick point I wanted to make was about 16 Conclusions point 13. So, if I understand it right, it’s alright to completely flout the rules of financial fair play as long as you play well? Credit should be doled out where it’s due, but it absolutely isn’t due when you have previously and consistently continue to break the rules so flagrantly. Yes, City play good football, but if they had lived anywhere near to within their means then would they be able play such good football? Could City really hope to play in the way they do without the players who so clearly wouldn’t be playing for them if not for the ridiculous money involved? Well we’ll never know, since it’s never likely to happen when people keep brushing it under the carpet because of the pretty passing. If United are the people who go out and blow all their wages on useless crap on payday, City are the people who took out 200% mortgages they didn’t have the income to support, and brought about the recession. It might sound like sour grapes but I don’t care. It’s not; it’s just a reaction to the apologists who think it’s alright to break the rules as long as you do it well.
Ted, Manchester

Asterisks by their name
I have to say, I’m surprised at how City’s FFP travails were swept under the carpet a bit in your 16 Conclusions. Yes they are brilliant players, and Guardiola is a brilliant manager. No-one can deny that. They’ll win the league this season, and more in the next few years, and possibly even add a Champions League or two.

But the amalgamation of these players and this manager has been brought about by cheating, financial doping, whatever you want to call it. For my money (wahay!!!) they did buy all those passes, because they also bought the man who coached the team to do it. City will win a lot of trophies in the next few years, and there will be no asterisk beside their name in the history books. But all the pretty football in the world can’t make the rotten core at the heart of the club.
Kevin, Dublin