Jose showed fans BOOS the real boss!
HAD a midfielder replaced Marcus Rashford as United looked for a winner against Tottenham on Saturday, then Jose Mourinho might have understood the booing from the Stretford End.
The Reds boss asked for an ‘explanation’ from supporters during his post-match chat with MUTV, before he advised some of his critics to ‘relax’ at his press conference.
His tune changed again in later interviews where he defended supporters’ right to boo him, albeit with a sprinkling of sarcasm. “They can boo a player that is working like an animal,” he remarked.
Mourinho had not completely misinterpreted the reaction to Rashford’s withdrawal.
It is unlikely United supporters who applauded and serenaded Anthony Martial as he limbered up - would have resorted to boos had Romelu Lukaku, who was poor, made way for Martial.
Mourinho felt compelled to defend Lukaku, even though United fans had not explicitly booed him, and that misunderstanding appears to have caused Mourinho to question their support.
The irony was Mourinho had praised United’s support, albeit their away following, for the ‘incredible’ noise at Swansea last Tuesday night. Mourinho has shown appreciation for the Reds’ travelling followers since his first game at Wigan.
Mourinho had also urged the natives to ‘really get behind the boys.’
United were outsung by Spurs’ contingent - one of the best away sets in the Premier League - for the majority of the match and the only sections that appeared to really make an effort throughout were J Stand and the 3103 section in the Stretford End. The problem - apart from Old Trafford’s dated acoustics - is those sections could hardly be further apart. However extreme Mourinho’s reaction was, it was understandable.
Did United supporters really expect him to keep Lukaku, Rashford and Martial on together?
There is an idealistic thinking that a three-pronged attack should be adopted amid Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s malaise when United’s Premier League record with Martial and Rashford in the starting line-up is woeful: Played five, drawn four and lost one.
Mourinho did not alter the 3-4-1-2 formation with the Spurs game goalless, so how would he have crowbarred Martial into the fray having already replaced Mkhitaryan with Jesse Lingard?
Rashford was admittedly the busier and more active of the front two, but Mourinho has rotated him and Martial successfully for two months, and the tactic paid off. “Same position as Marcus, but Martial’s more comfortable than Marcus dropping in between the lines,” Mourinho explained. Rashford was too square with Lukaku, whereas Martial was moving into pockets to avoid mismatches with Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld. He was never likely to outdo them in the air, but had the advantage on the deck and had the foresight to drop off or move forward, depending on Lukaku’s positioning. Judgement and luck collaborated as United, forced to go narrow in a set-up which isolated the wing-backs, went down the middle again, Lukaku out-jumped Alderweireld, Martial anticipated it, Dier didn’t and United won the game. Mourinho might also have felt aggrieved at the lack of appreciation. After his air of negativity had culminated in that Huddersfield aberration, he went for it against one of the Premier League’s best teams by keeping two up top, injecting the frontline with Lingard’s and Martial’s energy. Mourinho showed positivity – and was rewarded.