Time to stop moaning and whining, Mourinho
IT is said a team is a mirror image of the manager. Right now that is the case with Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho is totally flat and so is his team.
I cannot remember the last time I saw him smile. There is no energy or spark and certainly none in his team right now.
He acts like the whole world is against him.
Mourinho has pointed to penalty appeals in each of the three draws that have totally derailed their season over the festive period.
I would point to the overall performances in each of those three games against Leicester, Burnley and Southampton – simply not good enough.
They did not do enough to win any of them and you could say they were fortunate to get a point against Burnley with an injurytime equaliser.
Yes, United had the majority of the play against Southampton, yet who made the save of the game? David De Gea.
While I wasn’t at Old Trafford, watching the live feed in the MOTD studios I did sense the first real grumblings among the crowd.
There was a great sense of anticipation before the season started. After all, it was the second season under Mourinho when things have always kicked in at his previous clubs.
Yet they sit just four points better off than at this time last season.
Mourinho has been at pains to deflect the blame. Not least over to the blue side of Manchester and their amazing spending ability.
It’s not like he hasn’t shelled out the cash in the transfer market – all £300mil (RM1.6bil) of it!
It was he who bought Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Victor Lindelof, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Who broke the then world record transfer fee to get Paul Pogba?
But he is not getting the best out of any of them right now.
Mkhitaryan would struggle to get in any Premier League team at the moment, let alone United’s. Look at what Mourinho already had at his disposal as well: One of the best attacking rightbacks in the country in Antonio Valencia.
The best keeper in the world in De Gea. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard – all very good players.
Pep Guardiola has added to what he had but also made what he inherited better. Yet the message from the Manchester United manager about his players is a negative one – that they are simply not good enough.
For me the problem all came down to the Manchester derby.
At that point there was a chance to close the gap to five points. It was a game United had to win. Yet on the sidelines, the reality dawned on Mourinho.
The City team were simply on a different planet. This was not a team they were going to beat or catch. They were so much better.
For a manager used to winning, it will have hurt.
Even with a team that is not as good as the opponent, he was a manager who could always find a way.
I had no problem with the way he set up on that day.
You cannot take this City team on at football, although Crystal Palace deserve great credit for having a go on Sunday and almost becoming the first team to beat them.
But what Mourinho realised is you cannot simply park the bus and stop them. That does not mean you wave the white flag, though, but that is what he is doing.
Injuries, referees, money, all written on a flag of surrender.
In his defence he started from a poorer place than Guardiola who had the likes of David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne already installed at the club.
That is why Mourinho has said the £300mil was not enough.
But the fans are sick of the excuses, they want action and right now that is in short supply with this side.
It is time for Mourinho to pick himself up and this team – or things are only going to get worse.