Blind puts boot into Mourinho
OLD TRAFFORD
DUTCH legend Danny Blind has launched a blistering attack on beleaguered Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
Blind, the former Ajax captain and father of ex-united defender Daley Blind, blasted Mourinho’s tactics, lack of playing style and poor recruitment strategy in a forensic dismantling of the Portuguese’s Old Trafford reign.
He reckons United are on the road to nowhere under a manager who has won multiple titles and European titles during a glittering coaching career in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.
And he has pinpointed Mourinho’s mishandling of Paul Pogba as proof that the United manager has lost the plot.
Blind, 57, (inset) who coached Ajax and Holland’s national team after hanging up his boots, said: “Jose can’t even get the right formation any more.
“He has not bought the right players and the football is not based on a playing style with clarity for the players.
“For example, he is always changing his line of defenders. One match he has five at the back, then four and, when I look at some matches, he is actually playing with six players in a straight line at the back when they have the ball.
“The positioning of United’s players is shocking.”
Pressure is growing on Mourinho after his failure to mount a sustained title challenge in his third season at the club.
And, off the pitch, the Reds boss has been waging war with £89million recordsigning Pogba over the Frenchman’s poor performances.
Blind, whose son was sold back to Ajax by Mourinho for £14m in the summer, claimed: “Jose should have bought a proper passer for his midfield. At FC Porto, he had Beto, at Inter he had Wesley Sneijder, at Chelsea he had Frank Lampard.
“What does he have at United? Pogba.
“But he is not a passer. It is the wrong choice by Jose.”
Blind added: “One thing Jose has to do with Pogba is instruct him to play simple.
“He is the kind of player who wants to come up with complicated solutions.
“In midfield, he wants to have 100,000 touches of the ball.
“So make him pass direct and simply.”