Mourinho has made United second-rate
SOME PEOPLE are blessed with the patience of a saint - childcare workers, those dealing with irate customers in call centres, factory staff that complete repetitive tasks and last, but not least, my good wife.
I say that because at the weekend we enjoyed a brief hotel break to celebrate the significant milestone of our tenth wedding anniversary. When you add in the few years of courtship beforehand it’s a long haul, and anybody that can put up with me for ten years plus significant VAT has good reason to be beatified.
The least the better half deserved was a night away from our adorable, yet demanding, kids, and sure I thought I might as well tag along as well, given the day that was in it.
Anyway, when we arrived back to the homestead refreshed and invigorated, I happened to be just in time for the FA Cup final, although the dullness of the game predictably kicked the verve out of me with all the ferocity of an Alan Shearer piledriver.
The first thing I noticed is that, unlike myself, Antonio Conte and José Mourinho had the look of two men who won’t be celebrating any significant long-term anniversaries with their clubs.
It looks like the divorce papers have been signed, sealed and delivered to end Conte’s fractious relationship with Roman Abramovic, while the honeymoon period is definitely over for Mourinho, and unless things dramatically change you couldn’t imagine him lasting more than another season, despite his protestations that Manchester United are progressing nicely under his tutelage.
Some deluded Red Devils fans may express their delight in finishing comfortably ahead of arch-rivals Liverpool in the final Premier League standings, but if the truth be known most would surely swap second place for fourth and a place in the Champions League final.
Of course, like United, Liverpool may also end the season without a trophy, but at least it’s been an emotional, thrilling rollercoaster ride and not a complete borefest.
Saturday’s FA Cup final was Mourinho’s last chance of redemption, one final opportunity to salvage something from a below-par season.
They may have finished second but it’s been done in a second-rate fashion.
As it turned out, the Wembley showpiece was pretty much United’s campaign in a microcosm, generally flat and uninspiring, with a few flashes of inspiration here and there when the shackles were forced off, having fallen behind.
However, we all know that everything surrounding football is fickle and if the result had gone in United’s favour it would have papered over the yawning cracks.
An FA Cup win allied to finishing second wouldn’t have seemed like a bad return, but in the cold light of day ending the campaign a country mile behind your city rivals, trophy-less and with the entertainment factor of watching a freshly varnished fence dry, just doesn’t cut it at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
The most worrying thing for United fans is that Mourinho still doesn’t appear to have any clear vision of where he wants to take the team after two seasons, and the squad seems as disjointed as it was when he first joined the club and was heralded as some sort of saviour.
In the same time at the helm, Pep Guardiola has clearly set out his stall at Manchester City.
He is piecing a squad together like a jigsaw and fans must be confident that if any player makes way, another similar star can slot in seamlessly to the system.
Mourinho is nowhere near being in that position, despite being in charge for the same timeframe, and although he tries to give it the pauper act, Manchester United have plenty of financial clout.
At least Antonio Conte is left with something to smile about after a largely disastrous season.
Chelsea’s title defence was as feeble as a weak, malnourished kitten, but if the Italian exits stage left as expected, a Premier League and FA Cup win in a couple of seasons in London will look pretty good on his glittering C.V.
Mourinho, on the other hand, needs to reinvent himself and his team if he doesn’t want to further tarnish a reputation that has seen him sink from a time when he oozed confidence as the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ to now where he seems to wear a permanent scowl that mirrors the sullenness of his side.
He even had the audacity to criticise Chelsea for being overly-defensive when dishing out his usual backhanded compliments in his post-match interview after Saturday’s defeat.
The pot calling the kettle black certainly springs to mind.