Goodbye Jose, and thanks for the memories
In many ways, the outcome was inevitable, the result of an increasingly toxic and volatile atmosphere created by Jose Mourinho, who began digging his own grave when he dropped Paul Pogba for the Round of 16 Champions League clash against Sevilla. From thereon began the end of The Special One's reign at Old Trafford.
An enervated Manchester United, lacking star names, went into pre season with Mourinho already in a twitchy mood. Constant complaints, including the lack of first team players, reached a nadir when he publicly criticised Anthony Martial for leaving for France to be with his new born son and partner, and not coming back on time to help his team. Martial was fined for that incident.
Transfers, or the apparent lack of it, also unnerved Mourinho. When asked about transfers, this is what he said to ESPN, "One thing is what I would like. The other thing is what is going to happen."
This mood was not resolved in the coming days, despite spending £50 million on Brazilian midfielder Fred, from Shakthar Donetsk, and £19 million on Diogo Dalot from Porto, stating that he had given five names to the board, and he still wanted at least two more players. As days went by, it became clear that it was the centre back position that Mourinho was desperate to address. Thus began what would ultimately be an abortive search for that elusive centre back, with Tottenham Hotspur not willing to negotiate for their Belgian centre back Toby Alderweireld, United's preferred choice for the position. While Alderweireld is, by all means, a good player, perhaps amongst the top centre backs in the league, Spurs were demanding nearly £50 million for a 29 year old, injury prone centre back, and United, in my opinion, wisely backed out. (Alderweireld's contract expires next season. However Spurs have an option to extend that contract by one more year. If they exercise that right, it automatically triggers a release clause in his contract, of £25 million.)
While all the hula was going on around Alderweireld, United began scouring for other targets. The next favourite was Leicester City's Harry Maguire, England's latest darling after a World Cup in which he endeared himself to the public. Leicester thus capitalised on his new found stardom, demanding a record breaking fee of nearly £80 million. United refused. By this time it was common knowledge that United were in the market for a centre back. Now, if the richest club in the world wants a player, then that's £10-15 million added to the original price. If they desperately want a player, for a particular position, then that's just a veritable treasure lying out in the open just waiting to be looted. Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng, who had already been told by the Bavarians that he could leave the club, respectfully refused to join the club, informing Mourinho of his decision by a private phone call. Other targets that were considered were Inter Milan's Milan Skriniar, Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly and Freiburg's(now of Leicester City's) Caglar Soyuncu. In the final day of the transfer window, out of sheer despair, United triggered 32 year old Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin's release clause of £18 million, only to be rejected by the player. Thus, the window ended with the issue unresolved, leaving Mourinho scathing.
The season began unconvincingly, with United beating Leicester City 2-1, at home. According to understat, expected goals predicted a more even outcome, with a 1-1 on the cards. Then came a run of topsy-turvy results, culminating in an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to West Ham, after which emanated the news of Mourinho getting the boot. He stuck on, though, with positive results, including a historic 2-1 defeat of Juventus at Turin in the Champions League group stages finally culling some of the criticism. That was all false dawn, though. The Liverpool loss was the straw that broke the camel's back. United let their arch rivals take 36 shots, the most by any team this season, in a 3-1 loss symbolic of the Mourinho reign. No Paul Pogba, no Anthony Martial, lumping the ball, route one, to Lukaku, while playing two defensive midfielders and a three man defense. Mourinho had burned all his bridges, and gone to a place from where there was no coming back.
One of the primary reasons Mourinho was sacked was because he had lost control of the dressing room. This began with his treatment of Luke Shaw, which his teammates thought was borderline bullying, continued with his well publicised spat with Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, with sprinkles of jousting with other members of the squad as well. The club's best defender, Eric Bailly, was dropped for reasons unknown. Nemanja Matic, whose form fell off a cliff this season, started every game, while new signing Fred did not even make the squad. Pogba was dropped on a consistent basis, with his vice captaincy stripped off as well. Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, Marcus Rashford, all came before the firing squad at some point. The miasmic, morbid atmosphere of Old Trafford increased manifold.
Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri joined Arsenal and Chelsea respectively, at the start of this season. Yet, both teams already play with a style symptomatic to their coaches, with a set identity. Yet United, despite Mourinho being there for two seasons prior, could not cultivate that any identity under Mourinho. There was no set formation, with the Portuguese already trying out 11 different formations this season, ranging from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-1-2. There was no set centre back partnership, with Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, and Bailly all getting minutes and being tried out. David de Gea, United's crown jewel, and Martial, refused to sign new contracts. Meanwhile, Chris Smalling and Marouane Fellaini, two players much ostracized by fans, signed new ones.
No identity, no coherence, no form and ultimately, no idea. A man perhaps refusing to move ahead with the time, stuck in the past, The Special One, brought in to bring back the glory days and backed with nearly £400 million and 11 players, has become The Special Once. Manchester United had to face the negatives of the third season Mourinho without ever getting to see the positives of the second season.
An enervated Manchester United, lacking star names, went into pre season with Mourinho already in a twitchy mood. Constant complaints, including the lack of first team players, reached a nadir when he publicly criticised Anthony Martial for leaving for France to be with his new born son and partner, and not coming back on time to help his team. Martial was fined for that incident.
Transfers, or the apparent lack of it, also unnerved Mourinho. When asked about transfers, this is what he said to ESPN, "One thing is what I would like. The other thing is what is going to happen."
This mood was not resolved in the coming days, despite spending £50 million on Brazilian midfielder Fred, from Shakthar Donetsk, and £19 million on Diogo Dalot from Porto, stating that he had given five names to the board, and he still wanted at least two more players. As days went by, it became clear that it was the centre back position that Mourinho was desperate to address. Thus began what would ultimately be an abortive search for that elusive centre back, with Tottenham Hotspur not willing to negotiate for their Belgian centre back Toby Alderweireld, United's preferred choice for the position. While Alderweireld is, by all means, a good player, perhaps amongst the top centre backs in the league, Spurs were demanding nearly £50 million for a 29 year old, injury prone centre back, and United, in my opinion, wisely backed out. (Alderweireld's contract expires next season. However Spurs have an option to extend that contract by one more year. If they exercise that right, it automatically triggers a release clause in his contract, of £25 million.)
While all the hula was going on around Alderweireld, United began scouring for other targets. The next favourite was Leicester City's Harry Maguire, England's latest darling after a World Cup in which he endeared himself to the public. Leicester thus capitalised on his new found stardom, demanding a record breaking fee of nearly £80 million. United refused. By this time it was common knowledge that United were in the market for a centre back. Now, if the richest club in the world wants a player, then that's £10-15 million added to the original price. If they desperately want a player, for a particular position, then that's just a veritable treasure lying out in the open just waiting to be looted. Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng, who had already been told by the Bavarians that he could leave the club, respectfully refused to join the club, informing Mourinho of his decision by a private phone call. Other targets that were considered were Inter Milan's Milan Skriniar, Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly and Freiburg's(now of Leicester City's) Caglar Soyuncu. In the final day of the transfer window, out of sheer despair, United triggered 32 year old Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin's release clause of £18 million, only to be rejected by the player. Thus, the window ended with the issue unresolved, leaving Mourinho scathing. The season began unconvincingly, with United beating Leicester City 2-1, at home. According to understat, expected goals predicted a more even outcome, with a 1-1 on the cards. Then came a run of topsy-turvy results, culminating in an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to West Ham, after which emanated the news of Mourinho getting the boot. He stuck on, though, with positive results, including a historic 2-1 defeat of Juventus at Turin in the Champions League group stages finally culling some of the criticism. That was all false dawn, though. The Liverpool loss was the straw that broke the camel's back. United let their arch rivals take 36 shots, the most by any team this season, in a 3-1 loss symbolic of the Mourinho reign. No Paul Pogba, no Anthony Martial, lumping the ball, route one, to Lukaku, while playing two defensive midfielders and a three man defense. Mourinho had burned all his bridges, and gone to a place from where there was no coming back.
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| Paul Pogba |
Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri joined Arsenal and Chelsea respectively, at the start of this season. Yet, both teams already play with a style symptomatic to their coaches, with a set identity. Yet United, despite Mourinho being there for two seasons prior, could not cultivate that any identity under Mourinho. There was no set formation, with the Portuguese already trying out 11 different formations this season, ranging from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-1-2. There was no set centre back partnership, with Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, and Bailly all getting minutes and being tried out. David de Gea, United's crown jewel, and Martial, refused to sign new contracts. Meanwhile, Chris Smalling and Marouane Fellaini, two players much ostracized by fans, signed new ones.
No identity, no coherence, no form and ultimately, no idea. A man perhaps refusing to move ahead with the time, stuck in the past, The Special One, brought in to bring back the glory days and backed with nearly £400 million and 11 players, has become The Special Once. Manchester United had to face the negatives of the third season Mourinho without ever getting to see the positives of the second season.
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