I have to say I did not see Jose Mourinho’s justification of his time at Manchester United until last night. The 12-minute press conference was the Red Devils boss being honest about his team’s shortcomings.
Mourinho is usually one for mind games and trying to get an advantage over his opponents anyway he can. However, for all those who are saying that he is just making excuses for his failure at United, Mourinho made some very valid points.
United in decline in the last five years
Mourinho talked about how the club has been in decline since 2013 when Sir Alex Ferguson guided United to the Premier League title. In seasons since United have failed to do a credible impression of a title challenging team, the reason being that the players have just not been good enough.
Ferguson’s successor David Moyes, inherited a poor squad of players, despite the Red Devils side winning the title the previous season. Somehow, in a great feat of managerial achievement, Fergie had guided United to the title. That was just what he did through sheer force of personality and character.
The players in that squad were fading or just not good enough. A number of bosses have been at the club since including Dutch boss Louis van Gaal. The former Barcelona boss moved the team forward, but again the players he managed were not great.
Mourinho has no doubt improved the squad, even if the style of football is not great. The Red Devils should achieve their highest finish in the Premier league table this season since that title-winning campaign.
Looking at the current United squad, it is still not great despite Mourinho spending a lot of money on the likes of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku. However, as he stated in his extraordinary self-defence, the next boss will likely benefit from having these players available to them.
United do not have the players to compete with the best teams in Europe. For much of the last five years as a club, they have been stumbling around in the dark. Mourinho has at least now guided the team towards the light switch.
Jose Mourinho is a top boss
My opinion on Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has flickered back and forth from love to hate at times in recent years. It is hard to explain, as I have not had a similar situation with any other boss.
Usually, I like them or I do not, for their style of play or personality. However, with Mourinho, it is hard to question his managerial acumen or achievements. Quite simply on trophies won, the Portuguese boss is one of the modern managerial greats.
His teams do not always play great football. However, Mourinho always finds a way to win trophies. Winning is all that matters in football. We all like to see attractive, free-flowing football, but winning trophies is the be all and end all of competitive football, and Mourinho does that.
He may not win a trophy this season. However, the team are in a far better position now than when he first arrived in Manchester.
Not a disastrous season
Manchester United as a club are massive. However, the reality is that the team are good enough to live up to the clubs former glories. Mourinho is attempting to fix that. A Champions League exit at the last 16 is not good enough for the club of United’s size. However, looking at the players on the pitch it was not a surprise.
This season has not been a disaster. The Red Devils could still finish second in the Premier League table. They may be miles behind arch-rivals Manchester City, but so far most teams in Europe.
Mourinho’s team can still win the FA Cup this season. The Red Devils host Brighton at Old Trafford this evening in the quarter-final of the competition, a game United are odds of 3/10 to win.
All in all Manchester United have moved forward and what Mourinho said was honestly, what he thought. United fans may not appreciate his style of play, but who would they rather have in charge, a winner like Mourinho or a loser like David Moyes?
Was Jose Mourinho right in what he said in his 12-minute press conference?
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