The Mourinho Thread

[Oscar 441]

No signing was ever going to transform the shit on stick we've been playing on months into a side reminiscent of Brazil 1970. Lack of signings definitely don't explain the football we play. Look at City, only Sterling has been inserted into their side so far & look at how well Pellegrini has them playing.

PSG is the worst possible fit for Mourinho. They play an extremely high brand of possession oriented, technical football. He'd have to sell half the players there to implement his ideals.

They play possession football?

look at the guys on their team. they can play counter attacking football with ease and press like dogs.

Lucas, di maria, lavezzi, cavani, luiz, silva, marquinhos, aurier, kurzawa, matudi, raibot and verratti. Their general makeup is south americans on psg mainly brazilians and argentinians. Only player they would sell is Zlatan and maxwell (maybe Motta)....(For some reason zlatan keeps saying he wants to play for Jose, but it makes 0 sense on both their styles).

PSG is the best fit for Jose out of the bigger teams imo...It's also a huge upgrade from that incompetent fool Blanc.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Just saying I would have absolutely no regret or hate towards him if we end the season 2nd or 3rd without any trophy, but under condition that the likes of Baba, Kenedy, Rlc, Zouma get alot of play time and improve noticably.

I would love that. We won PL last year, I would sacrifice one year to develop some of our young players. It would be great, especialy if Ruben develops well.

But if we end season trophyless, and Mou plays Iva ahead of Baba, Ramires and Mikel over Rlc, Falcao over Remy, and partly Willian over Kenedy, plus there is absolutely no sign of improvement, I will go nuts.

I would seriously consider releasing Mou, despite for everything he has done.

All that said, I think we will be average in PL (better say city too good) but we will win CL. Regardless of how shit we play now, I feel we have all the chances and talent to completely focus on CL and win it.

[CMS 382]

Are people genuinely not allowed to critique anything Jose does or?

Does it look like anyone's stopping you and the likes? lol. Go ahead, lol, we are enjoying the show.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

PSG is the worst possible fit for Mourinho. They play an extremely high brand of possession oriented, technical football. He'd have to sell half the players there to implement his ideals.

Wrong imo. JM obviously wouldn't have them play their possession based football like Blanc does, but that team could easily transform into a lethal counter-attacking team. Just like his 2011/2012 Real Madrid team.

That 2011 Madrid team and current PSG side have a lot of similarities. Verrati-Modric. Di maria-Di Maria (lol), Cavani-Benzema. Marcelo-Maxwell. Lavezzi-Callejon. Ramos-Luiz.

I know we haven't seen JM's best football for ages now, (not even trying to refuting that) but I haven't lost faith that he can have us playing properly for an extended period of time just yet.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Does it look like anyone's stopping you and the likes? lol. Go ahead, lol, we are enjoying the show.

I haven't said anything personally but you need to stop thinking its a JM hater's convention just because there's been a bit of critique against Jose from others. I don't see you rushing to the Ivanovic thread saying the same.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Wrong imo. JM obviously wouldn't have them play their possession based football like Blanc does, but that team could easily transform into a lethal counter-attacking team. Just like his 2011/2012 Real Madrid team.

That 2011 Madrid team and current PSG side have a lot of similarities. Verrati-Modric. Di maria-Di Maria (lol), Cavani-Benzema. Marcelo-Maxwell. Lavezzi-Callejon. Ramos-Luiz.

I know we haven't seen JM's best football for ages now, (not even trying to refuting that) but I haven't lost faith that he can have us playing properly for an extended period of time just yet.

Mourinho just needs a mixture of technical and mobile/athletic players.

Which means fast centerbacks,

fullbacks that can dribble past their man like maicon/marcelo,

box to box cm who can drive through the middle like essien/vidal/matuidi,

passers who can defend like Sneijder/modric,

one dribbling winger, and one who makes runs behind the defence to score.

And a technical striker with proper holdup play and aerial ability like drogba/Milito/benzema

The only similaires between this our team and the normal type of teams he has is we have wingers hazard and pedro. We don't meet the above conditions in any other area of the team. Psg have players with every condition Mourinho teams normally have: (fast centerbacks thiago silva/marquinho, dribbling fullbacks, tackling passer Verratti, box to box matuidi, dribbling winger Lucas moura/lavezzi, Cavani to make runs from wings to score, and Ibrahimovic with the holdup play of drogba and Milito) Mourinho would destroy teams in Europe, most of those psg players are excellent at keeping balls under pressure and have the physical requirements to cope with Mourinho's tactics.

[CMS 382]

I haven't said anything personally but you need to stop thinking its a JM hater's convention just because there's been a bit of critique against Jose from others. I don't see you rushing to the Ivanovic thread saying the same.

Talk about double standards. So its OK for for them so say whatever they want about how much they dislike Jose and want him fired, on a daily basis, 24/7 and you can call that "Critic", I said they are having a convention of like minds (Jose haters) and I should stop thinking? lol. Amazing!

[manpe 10,861]

I`m getting the vibe due to not only bad start,but infighting and the board`s lack of success in getting transfer targets that can make a difference which has turned into shopping at poundland. that Jose may not be here much longer.

hope it`s not true but all indicators are pointing that way..we don`t tend to come together when under pressure,we start firing coaches.

If that is the case then our board has gone from genius to moronic in a fingersnap. Why offer him a new long-term contract if you're not going to invest time and trust in him? Instead fire and pay yourself silly, leaving less funds to improve the team for the next Avram Grant-type donkey. Changes need to be made in the board, not the manager. Before Mourinho we had tons of good and not-so-good managers, and without exception they all failed "long-term". I don't believe for a second all of them were incompetent fools (including Mourinho). The board seems to always screw something up past the first or two seasons that a) fucks with team balance, hinders the manager's work. Still too early to say anything though, hopefully no rash decisions will be made.

Still no excuses for playing Ivanovic this much though. The guy is shot physically, he can barely run anymore. Hence all the backing off, he knows he will never keep up with his pacey opponents. Full-backs need to be QUICK and SHARP, because wingers are just that. I'd go as far as to say that our full-backs are the biggest hindrance to our toothless attacking play. Open your eyes Jose, this cannot continue. And if it does, then the board have every right to question his position.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Talk about double standards. So its OK for for them so say whatever they want about how much they dislike Jose and want him fired, on a daily basis, 24/7 and you can call that "Critic", I said they are having a convention of like minds (Jose haters) and I should stop thinking? lol. Amazing!

I'm not talking to you as a moderator, I'm talking to you as a fellow forum member, and honestly, yes it's okay for people to be disgruntled with Jose over the start of the season, we haven't done well at all, that's fully understandable, it's been a horrible start to the season and even Jose himself knows he's massively responsible for that, as are the players. There has been plenty of fair reasoning on both sides of the coin - bar a few extreme views here or there, there has definitely been a decent discussion going on in here.

A convention suggests that everyone in here is a Jose hater, because they're expressing their views of discontent. I'm sorry, I don't agree with that whatsoever. People are well within their rights to not be happy with Jose and the team. Talk of him being fired is not the norm at all here, and they've been shut down comprehensively by plenty of people, with good, reasonable discussions and opinions. You're acting like Jose is the only person getting stick on here when that's not the case at all, hence why I brought up the Ivanovic example. Like I said, haven't seen you go over to that thread to defend him... I wonder why that is?

There is no double standards from me at all. There's a massive difference between telling someone to stop thinking full stop, and telling one to stop thinking that just because some are critiquing Jose, they're automatically haters.

You don't have to like a player or a manager by force. It doesn't make you more or less of a fan at all. Applies to everyone, even Jose.

We've not been good enough at all and if you don't think Jose has a significant part to play in that then it's definitely best to agree to disagree.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Honestly, the more I think about it the more I think that the board have actually tied Jose's hands here. With the rumours of him giving the board exactly what we needed as a team way back in April, and then us trying to buy players at a last ditch attempt because results weren't going our way... It's quite disturbing. The quite random signing of Michael Hector done it for me.

Would we have signed Pedro if we had a good start to the season? I actually don't think so, which is very worrying. Time will tell.

[manpe 10,861]

With the rumours of him giving the board exactly what we needed as a team way back in April

Those aren't rumours, he said it himself in post-match interview.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Those aren't rumours, he said it himself in post-match interview.

Which solidifies my thoughts even more.

[It's too big 625]

Mourinho gave the board his opinion on the players in April, but he couldn't have predicted how quickly Ivanovic, Fabregas and Terry's form would dissipate.

[Stats 7,152]

Just saying I would have absolutely no regret or hate towards him if we end the season 2nd or 3rd without any trophy, but under condition that the likes of Baba, Kenedy, Rlc, Zouma get alot of play time and improve noticably.

I would love that. We won PL last year, I would sacrifice one year to develop some of our young players. It would be great, especialy if Ruben develops well.

But if we end season trophyless, and Mou plays Iva ahead of Baba, Ramires and Mikel over Rlc, Falcao over Remy, and partly Willian over Kenedy, plus there is absolutely no sign of improvement, I will go nuts.

I would seriously consider releasing Mou, despite for everything he has done.

All that said, I think we will be average in PL (better say city too good) but we will win CL. Regardless of how shit we play now, I feel we have all the chances and talent to completely focus on CL and win it.

You can't seriously be insisting that Kenedy plays over the likes of Willian just based on the one came you saw of him? When we played Barca in pre-season, a lot of members were criticizing him IIRC and now he has a little decent cameo against Palace and people assume he should be one of the first names on the team sheet. I would rather wait until our COC game against Walsall to give him a start. Apart from that I would rather see him as a impact player from the bench.

[manpe 10,861]

Mourinho gave the board his opinion on the players in April, but he couldn't have predicted how quickly Ivanovic, Fabregas and Terry's form would dissipate.

Yes, he could have and probably did. I literally don't remember any games where Ivanovic didn't play, being shot is a natural outcome for a slow and old CB being forced to run up and down the field every second day. He was shit already in the second half of the season, alarm bells should have been ringing by April. Fabregas the same, you can't expect him to be in mesmerizing form all the time while being overplayed - cover is needed, which we don't have. Terry, afaik, played every single PL minute last season, which is crazy for an oldie like him. People expecting him to be at his best until his 40s need a reality check, and Jose has had that considering he openly admitted seeking for a long-term replacement.

Tbf the players seem still fatigued either physically, mentally or both from last season. What is our fitness team doing?

[Reddish-Blue 2,513]

You can't seriously be insisting that Kenedy plays over the likes of Willian just based on the one came you saw of him? When we played Barca in pre-season, a lot of members were criticizing him IIRC and now he has a little decent cameo against Palace and people assume he should be one of the first names on the team sheet. I would rather wait until our COC game against Walsall to give him a start. Apart from that I would rather see him as a impact player from the bench.

Willian runs hard for the team, but his end product and finishing ability for a CAM/RAM is well below average.

I'm not suggesting that we start using Kenedy...but I would love to see Mourinho change things up and try playing Remy & Costa together, or Falcao & Costa together...it's just frustrating to see the same attack fail to create chances game after game...

[Reddish-Blue 2,513]

Yes, he could have and probably did. I literally don't remember any games where Ivanovic didn't play, being shot is a natural outcome for a slow and old CB being forced to run up and down the field every second day. He was shit already in the second half of the season, alarm bells should have been ringing by April. Fabregas the same, you can't expect him to be in mesmerizing form all the time while being overplayed - cover is needed, which we don't have. Terry, afaik, played every single PL minute last season, which is crazy for an oldie like him. People expecting him to be at his best until his 40s need a reality check, and Jose has had that considering he openly admitted seeking for a long-term replacement.

Tbf the players seem still fatigued either physically, mentally or both from last season. What is our fitness team doing?

Not sure if it's fatigue but the players aren't as determined/ "hungry" as they were last season. I saw a number of occasions against Crystal Palace, where certain players looked content to pass it around, rather than force the issue and test the away team's defense.

[nadavTKL 1,787]

Honestly, the more I think about it the more I think that the board have actually tied Jose's hands here. With the rumours of him giving the board exactly what we needed as a team way back in April, and then us trying to buy players at a last ditch attempt because results weren't going our way... It's quite disturbing. The quite random signing of Michael Hector done it for me.

Would we have signed Pedro if we had a good start to the season? I actually don't think so, which is very worrying. Time will tell.

If they tied Jose's hands, how come we were after a 21 year old CB "worth" 30m pounds since July?

And if we showed interest in Pogba since the beginning of the summer (as reported, if anyone forgot), Mourinho thought we need some kind of reinforcement in midfield.

Did the board told him "No, you cant sell Mikel and get a replacement"? i very much doubt it.

We could have gone for a different CB who isnt inferior to Stones + CM who's better than Mikel/Ramires - in the region of those 30m pounds, maybe 40m max.

I am sure that something changed since our bad start with all those late bidding, and im sure the board wasnt the most willing to spend the all summer until this last week, but i think that something was lacking with Mourinho's targets list as well. No real plan if the 1st targets for CB and CM cant come. If Everton are difficult, try different CBs at the same time, its not rocket science.

When people say the market was awful, it sounds like something very big, but in reality it isnt - we only needed a good CB and a CM to make this summer from "awful" to "very good". Its little details and with slightly better desicions it would have happend.

Thats why i think that the first one at fault is Mourinho. If we got that CM and sold Mikel we'd be talking very differently about this summer. IMO he just didnt see the need in this area, Mikel and Ramires are fine for him. Fact is that in July-Augost, i dont recall exactly, Mikel was interviewed saying Jose wants him to stay and transfer talk is not true.

[Oscar 441]

Another good option for Jose would be the current inter team.

Medel-kongdobia-melo are ideal for jose. Athletic/strong cbs in miranda and juan.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

Mourinho gave the board his opinion on the players in April, but he couldn't have predicted how quickly Ivanovic, Fabregas and Terry's form would dissipate.

Was it really quickly?

Ivanovic had problems at many times last season.

Terry is in his mid 30's

Fabregas has been shit, for the most part, all of 2015.

The writing was definitely on the wall.