Pep talk for Catalan political prisoners by Man City boss
MAN City boss Pep Guardiola has met jailed Catalan independence chiefs.
The ex-Barcelona manager – who has spoken in support of a split from Spain – visited Lledoners Prison where the leaders await trial.
Jordi Cuixart, facing up to
17 years in jail, tweeted a picture with Guardiola by the doors of the jail,
SO PROUD Pep with Cuixart at jail thanking Pep. He also met ex-Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras. Pep, fined £20,000 by the FA for wearing a ribbon in support of the jailed leaders, gave a talk at the prison. He said earlier this month: “There are people wrongly imprisoned for more than a year.” The Spanish government imposed direct rule last October.
WE’RE a third of the way through the season and Manchester United are eighth in the table, below Watford and Bournemouth, with a minus-one goal difference.
I witnessed the Manchester derby and it was unbelievable how far Manchester City were ahead of them.
I looked at the 4-3-3 formation, I looked at the midfield three of Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic and Marouane Fellaini, I looked at Marcus Rashford’s starting position (very deep), and I thought: Have they got a plan?
I believe manager Jose Mourinho’s biggest issue at Manchester United is his back four.
Look at the great United defenders of the past – like Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister,
Rio Ferdinand (right), Denis Irwin, Nemanja Vidic – and look at that back four now. There’s not one world-class defender at the club and that is a massive, massive worry.
How can they build a back four when Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Ashley Young are still there? Jones and Smalling weren’t good enough when they joined alongside established stars like Ferdinand and Vidic and they’re still not good enough.
United do not have one worldclass defender. They have a world-class goalkeeper but no world-class defender.
With the current defensive unit, Mourinho is a million miles away from winning the Premier League.
If you asked him why he selected that very defensive midfield against City, and if he was being honest, he’d say: ‘With that back four I needed to play those three to protect them. If I didn’t, we could have shipped five or six.’
In that team was there a world-class defender? No. A world-class midfielder? No. Matic has won the Premier League on numerous occasions but is he a great player? A very good player, but not a great one.
We’re talking Manchester United here.
Then look at the front three. Is there a world-class centreforward? No. A world-class wide man? Rashford is young and developing and may yet be great but not yet.
Anthony Martial is in a rich vein of form but doesn’t deliver anywhere near often enough.
You have to be a very good player, a player who produces week in and week out at the highest level, to play for Manchester United. Right now I see few there.
For Manchester United to win the Premier League they need a whole new back four and a whole new midfield.
On the evidence of Sunday’s derby, I can’t see Manchester United winning the title while Pep Guardiola is at City.
People say Mourinho should allow United to play with more freedom. He can’t because he hasn’t got the players.
Mourinho has been a great manager throughout his career. He has the silverware to prove it.
But since Guardiola pitched up at the Etihad football has evolved. The question is, has Jose evolved too? My answer is no, because he simply doesn’t have the players.
I think Mourinho could win the league with the City players but I don’t think Guardiola could win the league with the United players. They need to rip up the squad and start again. They need to bring in some world-class performers and that’s going to cost an awful lot of money.
You could get rid of Mourinho and replace him with Zinedine Zidane and still they would be miles off winning the league.
People can go on about making a change at the top but, for me, the most pressing problem is the lack of world-class players.
I think they should stick with Mourinho
– it’s the players who need to change.