"Come gather around people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
And if your breath to you is worth saving
Then you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing..."
- 'The Times They Are A-Changing', Nobel Laureate Bob.
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
And if your breath to you is worth saving
Then you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing..."
- 'The Times They Are A-Changing', Nobel Laureate Bob.
I really hate to say "I told you so" but I've told you over and over and over and over and over and over and over again that I could as well say it one more time just because I have already - I told you so.
Not that it ever meant anything in the larger context of things but there's a certain catharsis documenting this now widely recognised anomalies and absurdities has provided me. I'll spare you the banality this time around.
On thing is for sure though. Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix, great manager he has been, has lost a few steps. Maybe more than a few. This is no longer peak Jose. I do not believe this is still up for debate. He really doesn't seem to have progressed very well with the times, tactically, as a manager. Gone (or going) is the clear thinking, decisive, ruthless, fearless, gutsy and strategic man. What is currently on show is an indecisive, foolishly stubborn, egoistical and mentally straight-jacketed coach who expects things to go his way almost on the singular basis that His Specialness has indeed picked the team. Even if the results have lied (No, they have not), the performances clearly haven't. This is not a wanton assessment but settled facts derived from verifiable data accumulated over the recent years.
Justifiably named last year as one of the top 10 greatest coaches since the creation of UEFA, Mr. Mourinho was also the first manager to exceed $1 billion in transfers. The others who have approached/crossed this threshold are Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola, also proven winners. This actually makes sense as club owners would understandably be willing to invest heavily in players fancied by these men knowing they are guaranteed certain returns. Money usually equates success particularly in the hands of a knowledgeable manager. And that's why this re-incarnation of Mourinho is so baffling. He still commands his Board's hefty investments but his methodologies, nay, his product, are not at all correspondent. How about the Europa and League Cup in his first season, you may offer. Good. But I resolutely believe that for a team of Manchester United's stature, coupled with the investments, both managerial and personnel-wise, that were made, that was the absolute minimum.
The return to the Champions League could have occurred in two ways; Make the Top 4 or win the Europa Cup. We chose the latter and came 6th in the league. Great but anything else would have been nothing short of catastrophic. Even then, the performances in the competition were jagged and sometimes fortuitous (and I'll agree that the latter element is part of the game but it wasn't any swashbuckling dominant glorious ascent to the throne is all I'm saying.) The euphoria was primarily about making the Champions League via winning the only cup not in our trophy room and then there are several good reasons why before now we rarely participated in that competition. There should be no garlands for that one.
We may mud-sling back and forth on social media on how Guardiola is not 'special' and is in fact a cheque-book manager (like virtually all other managers who have had sustained success. True) but there is a discernible, almost exact preciseness and clarity to his purpose. Except one wants to be dishonest, the upward trajectory and improving quality personnel of the noisy neighbours is evident. Mourinho has spent nearly half a billion in one and a half seasons without still knowing what his best side is. Like his predecessors, he has made purchases who look ill-fitting, unprepared and confused as to their roles in the team and this without even referring to the on-going civil war with the rebellious Pogba.
For instance, celebrated signing, Alexis Sanchez does not seem to have a defined role in the team and this has further disrupted the entire already iffy rhythm of the forward line. As he seems to play everywhere (and not in a good way), Lukaku has ventured deeper into the lost forest, Martial has become handicapped on the right and Lingard, our most in form player before Alexis' arrival, doesn't seem to know what he's doing on the pitch. This should not be the resultant effect of acquiring a world-class player. Something is dreadfully wrong.
I promised not to again dwell on the Smalling/Young/Pogba/Lukaku dilemnas so I wouldn't.
My fear is that the coach is going to insist on proving his point and shall, if not immediately, within the next couple of games, retain or revert to this dastardly set-up. Make your own conclusions on the implication of that. Sometimes the simpler it is, the better. Just put the red square peg in the red square hole and avoid playing Rubik's Cube.
The sad truth is that we have been sucked into the race to avoid 5th place. Third placed Liverpool are 2 points behind United. Chelsea is 4th and 3 points behind. Resurgent Spurs are currently 5th place and 4 points behind. Spurs have a lighter fixture list (on paper) than we have. It is almost a foregone conclusion at this time that Kompany has one hand on the Premiership trophy so one of those teams, United inclusive, will not make the Top 4.
For a manager who was engaged for a premium on the reputation of guaranteed success in his 2nd year, Mourinho has bitterly disappointed. His engagement, as evidenced by the heavy investments made by the club, was not one seeking gradual progress or youth development. One season is permissible as trying to figure out your team. Dead weights and surplus-to-requirements could have been released or sold over the next summer transfer window with preferred reinforcements brought in. Certain players have been correctly deemed 'not good enough' by a large majority of supporters over the preceding years and the only logical reason they still remain in the team is because the manager wants them. The blame, at this point, should no longer lie with the players - This IS Mourinho's team and he should bear the full responsibility.
If you visit my home on a Sunday and find it in an untidy state and the explanation I give to you is that Mr. XYZ was responsible for the mess, then perhaps, Mr. XYZ is an untidy person. But if you make a return visit on Friday and still find the house in the same level of untidiness, then maybe, perhaps, I am the untidy person.
My grouse is not at being unable to win every match or available competition. It is at the muddled, obstinate and regressive thinking that has enveloped our football.
I am tired of hearing all the deflection. We should all by now recognise what the real issue is. Perhaps the boss will have a turn of conscience. Perhaps he'll heed to common sense and 'simplify' things like he so eloquently offered over the weekend. I'm not holding my breathe.
"When you reach my level you don't learn from others, you have to learn from yourself. So I learn every day."- Jose Mourinho
For instance, celebrated signing, Alexis Sanchez does not seem to have a defined role in the team and this has further disrupted the entire already iffy rhythm of the forward line. As he seems to play everywhere (and not in a good way), Lukaku has ventured deeper into the lost forest, Martial has become handicapped on the right and Lingard, our most in form player before Alexis' arrival, doesn't seem to know what he's doing on the pitch. This should not be the resultant effect of acquiring a world-class player. Something is dreadfully wrong.
I promised not to again dwell on the Smalling/Young/Pogba/Lukaku dilemnas so I wouldn't.
My fear is that the coach is going to insist on proving his point and shall, if not immediately, within the next couple of games, retain or revert to this dastardly set-up. Make your own conclusions on the implication of that. Sometimes the simpler it is, the better. Just put the red square peg in the red square hole and avoid playing Rubik's Cube.
The sad truth is that we have been sucked into the race to avoid 5th place. Third placed Liverpool are 2 points behind United. Chelsea is 4th and 3 points behind. Resurgent Spurs are currently 5th place and 4 points behind. Spurs have a lighter fixture list (on paper) than we have. It is almost a foregone conclusion at this time that Kompany has one hand on the Premiership trophy so one of those teams, United inclusive, will not make the Top 4.
For a manager who was engaged for a premium on the reputation of guaranteed success in his 2nd year, Mourinho has bitterly disappointed. His engagement, as evidenced by the heavy investments made by the club, was not one seeking gradual progress or youth development. One season is permissible as trying to figure out your team. Dead weights and surplus-to-requirements could have been released or sold over the next summer transfer window with preferred reinforcements brought in. Certain players have been correctly deemed 'not good enough' by a large majority of supporters over the preceding years and the only logical reason they still remain in the team is because the manager wants them. The blame, at this point, should no longer lie with the players - This IS Mourinho's team and he should bear the full responsibility.
If you visit my home on a Sunday and find it in an untidy state and the explanation I give to you is that Mr. XYZ was responsible for the mess, then perhaps, Mr. XYZ is an untidy person. But if you make a return visit on Friday and still find the house in the same level of untidiness, then maybe, perhaps, I am the untidy person.
My grouse is not at being unable to win every match or available competition. It is at the muddled, obstinate and regressive thinking that has enveloped our football.
I am tired of hearing all the deflection. We should all by now recognise what the real issue is. Perhaps the boss will have a turn of conscience. Perhaps he'll heed to common sense and 'simplify' things like he so eloquently offered over the weekend. I'm not holding my breathe.
"When you reach my level you don't learn from others, you have to learn from yourself. So I learn every day."- Jose Mourinho
Next up: Huddersfield in the FA Cup on Saturday and then Sevilla in the Champions League. Here's hoping for much better performances and results...
Signing In (with a frown),
B.L...
Your Answers Are:
* The UCL is back.
Juventus (2) or Spurs (2)?
Basel (0) or Man City (4)
Real Madrid or PSG?
Porto or Liverpool?
Chelsea or Barcelona?
Bayern Munich or Besiktas?
Sevilla or Man. United?
Shakhtar Donetsk or Roma?
* A heated argument in the office. Would you consider Samuel Umtiti a "world-class" defender? Do you think he's better than Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta as a centre-back?
* Can the re-tooled Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the scorching Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals? Was Isaiah Thomas done dirty or his slow recovery and adaptation did him in?
* All hail Bayern Munich, perpetual champions of Germany. Any doubts?
* 'Breaking Bad' or 'Mad Men'?
B.L...
Your Answers Are:
* The UCL is back.
Juventus (2) or Spurs (2)?
Basel (0) or Man City (4)
Real Madrid or PSG?
Porto or Liverpool?
Chelsea or Barcelona?
Bayern Munich or Besiktas?
Sevilla or Man. United?
Shakhtar Donetsk or Roma?
* A heated argument in the office. Would you consider Samuel Umtiti a "world-class" defender? Do you think he's better than Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta as a centre-back?
* Can the re-tooled Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the scorching Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals? Was Isaiah Thomas done dirty or his slow recovery and adaptation did him in?
* All hail Bayern Munich, perpetual champions of Germany. Any doubts?
* 'Breaking Bad' or 'Mad Men'?
The Golden Question : Since the retirement of Sir Alex Fergusson, should we now say that his retirement brought to a close the domination of his Manchester United club? Simply put: Is ManU now a 'has been'?
ReplyDeleteTough one but certainly not a ‘has-been’. However the club is very far from the standards it has set for itself both in terms of big trophy competitiveness and its brand of football. That much is very clear.
Delete