UNITED ARE A LAUGHING STOCK
Ince tells Jose’s men to put house in order
FORMER Manchester United captain Paul Ince claims his old club are becoming a laughing stock.
United are in turmoil, with boss Jose Mourinho complaining about a lack of transfers and his team suffering an embarrassing 3-2 defeat at Brighton on Sunday.
Ince, who won seven major honours at Old Trafford, has told them to put their house in order or face the consequences.
He said: “Other clubs and fans are having a field day at the minute, seeing what is happening at Man United. They’re becoming a laughing stock, and falling behind.
“They finished second last season, and will probably make the top four this year, but is that what they should be striving for? No. Realistically, their goal should be to
win the Premier League. But they just cannot compete with Manchester City or Liverpool at the minute.
“If they lose against Tottenham on Monday, for example, they could find themselves six points behind City with just three games gone.
“When you look at City and Liverpool, you see settled players and a settled club. At Man United, everything, from top to bottom, is in turmoil, and it shows.
“Everyone – from Jose Mourinho not getting his transfer targets to the players and fans – looks unhappy.”
With Mourinho at war with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, skipper Paul Pogba hinting at unhappiness and his agent Mino Raiola firing off barbs on Twitter, Ince believes United are a mess.
Questions are already being asked about Mourinho’s future. But Ince believes it would be a mistake for him to leave Old Trafford.
Sacking
He said: “Should Mourinho leave? No. Should Man United, as a club, get their house in order? Absolutely.
“That’s the whole lot, from the top down – Ed Woodward, Jose Mourinho, Paul Pogba, everything is a total mess.
“You would not have seen this with Sir Alex Ferguson and especially not in public.
“When you see Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham – they’re all playing the kind of football you expect from a Manchester United side.
“I watched the game on Sunday and I couldn’t see what Mourinho was trying to do. There was no game plan.
“He is a proven manager but the style he’s playing at United doesn’t suit the club and never will.”
Ince believes United could even be heading for a season like Mourinho’s last at Chelsea, when the Londoners finished 10th after sacking him.
He said: “I could see why it would be playing on the minds of supporters, that this season might end up like the Chelsea 2015-16 one.”