‘Mourinho is setting awful mood at United’
AS MUCH as anyone at Anfield, Graeme Souness helped put Liverpool on the lofty perch which so infuriated Alex Ferguson.
In due course, Fergie got his way and the roles were reversed to the extent that United have enjoyed 25 years of dominance over their neighbours along England’s M62. Not now.
As Liverpool light up the Premier League, and Europe too, with flowing football under Jurgen Klopp, the mood around Old Trafford is glum.
Jose Mourinho is more Jose Moaninho these days, his players are lacking brio, and the club’s huge support is wondering what in the world is going on.
Just two games into the season, United have been written off by every pundit as candidates for a Premier League title they last won in 2013.
Souness, now a sharp analyst for Sky Sports and Virgin Media, can understand the exasperation levels among the Stretford End legions.
‘These are difficult times for United, the spotlight is on them. The criticism after two games is harsh but it’s Man United, arguably the biggest team in the world,’ he said.
‘That’s not to say if they were to beat Tottenham in their next game, win well and play very attractive football, that the spotlight goes somewhere else.
‘It’s now out there on Mourinho, and I don’t expect it to go any time soon. But I wouldn’t talk about him leaving Manchester United yet.
‘I’ve been in a dug-out opposite him but I don’t really know him. He looks unhappy in his job.
‘The manager sets the tone at the football club. Every day he turns up for work it’s all about the mood he’s setting. Right now, the players are not enjoying that environment.’
So how does Souness see things playing out at football’s Theatre of Dreams? ‘I see a bumpy ride for the foreseeable future,’ said the former Liverpool midfielder.
‘I was at their game at Brighton on Sunday and they looked a very, very ordinary squad.
‘You take each part of their team — forget [David] de Gea, he is a top goalkeeper — their defence looks shaky, their midfield has no real creativity and up front, there is no energy,’ he added. What needs to change? ‘The players have to find a spark, whatever they might feel about any other individual at the club.
‘If you’re a big player, you’re playing for yourself, first and foremost. Anyone else is secondary. Get your own game sorted first.’
From the outside, it appears the players are not exactly an alldancing gang under Mourinho, who seems keen to move some of them on, even ones he signed.
‘He [Mourinho] is obviously unhappy he didn’t get to spend the money he wanted to. I understand it from the owners’ perspective,’ remarked Souness.
‘They signed two centre-backs who have not turned out to be the players they were expecting, [Victor] Lindelof and [Eric] Bailly. I can understand why Ed Woodward said no to any more money for centre-backs. Now it looks like Mourinho is gone into a huff over that.
‘On the other side of the coin, if you’re one of the players in the dressing room and the manager is trying to find someone in your position, I’m not sure how that would go down.
‘It never happened to me, but it would be interesting to see how that would feel,’ he said.
As for what halt may United’s jarring ride, Souness sums it up succinctly: ‘Winning games.’
But it doesn’t help United, he says, that it is Liverpool, as well as neighbours City, who have the media fawning over them for their style and swagger.
If Arsenal, Chelsea or Spurs were holding the high ground, the heat on the United boss wouldn’t be so intense.
‘Mourinho’s problems are being compounded by what is happening up the road and in Liverpool. Those two clubs are not just winning more matches, they are doing so with a better brand of football,’ he said.
Souness, who managed eight clubs, knows the management gig is complex. ‘It just drives you mad,’ he said.
Does it affect your personality? ‘Well, it did me and it should do to anyone who cares. You can’t close your office at the end of every day and leave it behind you. You take it home with you. The feeling I got from winning a game didn’t counter the feeling I got from losing a game.
‘For Mourinho, it will be doubly difficult because he is a winning manager and used to getting his own way. All of a sudden, he’s not successful, he’s being compared to other managers unfavourably and he isn’t allowed to get the players in he wants to.
‘Manchester United is not an easy job. The newspapers talk about them more than anyone else. But he’s used to doing big jobs. He’s arguably in the biggest one that has not gone well for him.
‘I don’t know if he can change. I can only pass judgement on what I saw on the weekend. And what I saw was a group of players who look jaded already. They were waiting for Brighton to throw the first punch but that is not the United way.
‘Going back to my time, they always came to Anfield with the expectation to take us on. Last week, they looked like a team who were counter-punching. That’s not Manchester United.’