Jose is under pressure
THE Barclays Premiership has been a thrilla-minute as most fans would have come to expect from the world’s most competitive, popular and exciting league.
As clubs head toward match-day 3, the usual suspects such as defending champions Manchester City, Chelsea and of course Tottenham Hotspur, are all settling fairly nicely and laying down firm markers.
One particular club though, statistically the best team in English history, seems to be at a proverbial watershed moment. Manchester United, a team who were decidedly quiet during a busy transfer window, is struggling.
Seemingly continuing from where they ended off last season, the Red Devils stuttered to an opening home win against Leicester City, only to be embarrassed this past weekend against the minnows of Brighton and Hove Albion.
Jose Mourinho cuts a worried figure on the touch-lines and is quickly losing the support of the fans, the boardroom and even his players. Talk of a rift between him and skipper Paul Pogba have fuelled speculation of the latter’s impending move to FC Barcelona.
Mourinho lamented after the match: “We made incredible mistakes and were punished.”
To compound matters, the once feared club next has the daunting prospect of tackling an in-form Spurs team on Monday (August 27), who will go into the Old Trafford game as favourites.
Anything other than a victory will add to the pressure on Mourinho, as well as the team’s star players. Spurs, on the other hand, will be looking to build on the momentum gained from their first two fixtures and will go all out for the win.
Die-hard Spurs fan Sheldon Govindsamy from Northdale, Pietermaritzburg, told that he was quietly confident of his team going all the way this season: “I am proud to be a fan of this club. We always come up short, but this time it feels different. We are destined for success this time around.”
This past weekend also saw some other interesting results taking place and provided more clues to how the overall league picture could eventually turn out.
City proved to have too much class and power for a hapless Huddersfield team, who were soundly beaten 6-1. Chelsea edged Arsenal 3-2 in a tense thriller at Stamford Bridge to enhance their title credentials, while Everton managed to get the better of Southampton 2-1 in a home fixture.
The next round of fixtures could prove to be just as exciting as fans gear up for a truly bumper English footballing season.