WAYNE CAN’T COPE
Captain cracking, claims Mourinho
JOSE MOURINHO claims that England captain Wayne Rooney is being worn down by constant criticism of his performances.
Manchester United manager Mourinho warned Rooney last night that he will only be picked on merit and not reputation at Old Trafford.
But the United boss went on to make the extraordinary claim that one of the most experienced and battle- hardened players in the Premier League is being affected by what his manager believes is excessive criticism from outside the club.
Mourinho said last night: ‘Honestly, I think there was a Wayne before the Slovakia game ( for England three weeks ago) and a Wayne after
IT’S not like a manager of Manchester United to take criticism lying down. Through the Sir Alex Ferguson years to today’s rather less glorious days, the occupant of the big red chair at Old Trafford has tended to take unkind words like a good boxer takes a right to the chin. If you’re hit, hit back harder.
Strange, then, to witness Jose Mourinho purporting not to care yesterday.
‘I’m lucky,’ he said. ‘I can’t be upset with anything. I’m upset with nothing.’
Mourinho can rightly claim to be an amusing and relatively sophisticated orator. He already has a new gag. The media, from now on, will be ‘Einsteins’ and it is not a compliment.
The Portuguese is a far less accomplished actor, however, and yesterday he had irritation written all over him. This, after all, has not been a particularly good week.
What he makes of the contents of Rob Beasley’s book — serialised in Sportsmail yesterday and today — one can only imagine.
What we do know is that he knew it was coming — sources have suggested he has seen a copy — and it was notable yesterday that he chose not to deny any of its content. Certainly, United’s first game against Arsene Wenger and Arsenal this season — at Old Trafford on November 19 — already has a new sub-plot ready and waiting.
One undoubted truth, meanwhile, is that they all get surprised when they arrive at United. No matter who they are and where they have been, the men who have followed Ferguson have all received a jolt when they have arrived here.
David Moyes became a shadow of what we thought he may be pretty quickly while Louis van Gaal’s determination to prove the world wrong took a quick and disastrous toll on his ability to make simple and rational decisions. In his case, a once great manager was undressed before our eyes.
Now we have Mourinho, twice of Chelsea and once of Real Madrid.
Even he, though he would never admit it, has been a little startled by the scrutiny he finds himself under at England’s biggest club. Even he has emerged from his first proper month in charge a little bemused by it all.
Yesterday, he arrived for his weekly press conference — he chose not to do one after Wednesday’s win at Northampton — with some ideas set in his mind. He developed his Einstein theme nicely and it is certain we will hear more of that in weeks to come. Then a moment of faked humility.
Talking about today’s opponents Leicester City and their chances of retaining their
hold on the Premier League title, he said: ‘One of the teams that did it was of course Manchester United. Another one was some team managed by the worst manager in the history of football.’
As often with Mourinho, it was a nice line but we all knew what was driving it and once the discussion broadened out beyond the confines of his own script, United’s manager proceeded to make some very clear and very surprising claims.
We know all about Mourinho’s admiration for his captain, Wayne Rooney. He tried to buy him for Chelsea and, according to Beasley’s book, would happily have taken him to Madrid, too, given the chance.
Yesterday, though, Mourinho seemed to suggest clearly that Rooney was struggling under the weight of recent criticism.
The Old Trafford skipper, one would imagine, would have been as
Jose said: I’ll find Wenger outside a football pitch and break his face Fighting talk: Mourinho’s threat reported in yesterday’s Sportsmail
surprised to hear that as anybody. Rooney may not be everybody’s favourite but he is as mentally rigid as they come.
His response to negative feedback has traditionally been from the Ferguson manual. Shut people up on the field and when they subsequently come to you for a favour, make sure you remember their names.
Mourinho’s motivation was clear at Carrington yesterday. He was seeking to protect. In essence, however, he merely hinted at weakness that nobody else would ever have considered.
Rooney may well not play today. His form has been poor but regardless of his team selection Mourinho faces a game he really needs to win.
The United manager said yesterday that his team started the season better than people thought and subsequent results have suffered by comparison.
There, he may have a point. Of the three games United have lost, one was against the best team in the country and another was in a competition nobody connected with the club remotely cares about.
So, yes, some of this week’s chatter has been a little over the top. There is no crisis yet. But this is not Chelsea, it is Manchester United. Everything is relative. Einstein will tell you that.