Mourinho moans kick off new season

The fixtures had been out little more than 24 hours when it was reported that Jose Mourinho was unhappy. All six of Liverpool’s games on the weekends after Champions League matches are at Anfield. Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City have an even split of three home, three away. And although that does appear an avoidable anomaly, why does Mourinho again offer his players an excuse? Management is surely the removal of reasons for failure. Yet in moan mode, even before his team report back for pre-season training, Mourinho provides mitigation for falling short. The schedule can never be an exact science. Who is to say Liverpool’s home fixture with everton after Champions League matchday five will be any easier than Manchester United’s trip to Southampton? Merseyside derbies are rarely strolls. equally, one of United’s away fixtures is at Manchester City. A hard game, for sure, but no different from a home match in terms of travel. After the final group game, United face Liverpool, little more than 30 miles away. If they play on the Tuesday, they’ll have at least five days to recover; if they do their job in europe, the midweek fixture could be a dead rubber by then. So much is unknown at this stage. Last season, until visiting Anfield on October 14, Manchester United had not played a team in the top 12 of the league. It wasn’t arranged, just how it panned out. When United’s first seven opponents were named as West ham, Swansea, Leicester, Stoke, everton, Southampton and Crystal Palace, nobody at Premier League hQ could have predicted these teams would all have poor starts. They are administrators, not fortune tellers. For all we know, Liverpool could be playing the surprise form team of 2018-19 when they face Fulham after the fourth Champions League game. Nothing is guaranteed. Apart from Mourinho’s dissatisfaction. That seems to be standard these days.