Mails: Without success, what is Mourinho?

Mails: Without success, what is Mourinho?

We can feel a great Mailbox week coming on. We’ve gone so early with this that Ed hasn’t even got up yet. Mail us at theeditor@football365.com

A solution for Jose
I think they should just let Man United referee their own matches from now on because Jose isn’t getting the decisions he deserves.

I feel for Jose, I really, really do, so unlucky this season and it couldn’t happen to a nicer chap.
Strevs, Afc, Canada

It doesn’t matter but…
It’s a moot point, but Utd are closer to relegation than they are to us at this moment.

Kick all the bottles you like, that’s pretty satisfying.
Barry, LFC, Cape Town

Without success, what is Jose?
Has there ever been a football manager as fractious, disrespectful, and belligerent as Jose Mourinho? I would be happy to be proven wrong but his litany of deplorable actions is unsurpassed by any. The worst of which include (but is not limited to):

1. Causing a referee to retire due to death threats because of his false remarks.

2. Gouging the eye of an assistant coach

3. The Eva Carneiro case

4. Calling a fellow professional a voyeur and “specialist in failure”.

Truth is, these actions do not just draw criticisms from the camp of the self-righteous where any small controversy is purposefully picked up to display indignation.

These actions are not cheeky nor mischievous. He has done many other things that fall into this category.

These actions are utterly appalling and unacceptable.

And he has always gotten away with it (I presume many will want to point out that he was hit with censures but in my opinion, was nothing more than a slap on the wrist for him) for a very simple reason: Success.

When success is continuous and consistent, it is easy to paint an excuse for his actions with truisms such as “Well, he does what it takes to win.” or after the fact statements such as “It was his plan all along”.

His success, as he is so fond of reminding the press recently and not without continued digs at Wenger, Moyes, Van Gaal, has given him carte blanche to say and do things which I can imagine most people would hesitate given that they have to look at themselves at the mirror eventually.

His success has made many grudgingly accept that that’s the way he is and perhaps it’s necessary: “because he always wins. So who are YOU to say otherwise…”

So now begs the question: What happens when, after being sacked by his previous club, and now having amassed fewer points than Moyes or LVG despite spending more than either of them at this point of the season, success dries up?
Leonard, LFC, Shanghai

Jose out…again
I called for Jose’s sack in October and nothing has happened since then to change my mind. The press has been kind to Jose who, in anticipation of this onslaught, claims the press respects Wenger more than him. Yes, he has almost similar trophy cabinet to Wenger albeit in a shorter time but Wenger has not been sacked twice and has managed under a shoestring budget to keep Arsenal competitive for more than a decade.

In comparing himself with Wenger, he inadvertently has had a huge question mark put on his ability to manage a crisis, a la Pardew. Yes he won the title with Chelsea but let’s not forget that Ranieri took that team to third the previous season. Same can be said of all the clubs he has managed – they all have stable and almost good enough squad and he just bought to fill up the gaps.

Also unlike Wenger, he managed to midwife the worst title defense known in modern football by turning champions to chumps. Jose was a good coach who is in danger of ruining his fairytale career with his antics and blame game. Now the special one has been found out to be the lucky one and well, now the unlucky one. When a coach begins to hinge his team’s fortunes on luck then he should quit and go into fortune telling.

Manchester United deserve better than a coach who blows their fortune yet gives excuses, a coach who has turned promising stars into misfits, a coach who tarnishes the image of the club with his antics and behaviour. Fire Jose now and get a coach who believes in teamwork and understands the Fergie way.
Osama (Top four over. Top 10 next) Nigeria

Some observations on Man United
* For the Jose out brigade – remember the following Diego is just as defensive and hasn’t won that many titles. Ancelotti has similar problems winning titles and Tuchel has as many as Pochettino so we need to  give Jose another year or two.

* That being said he needs to start justifying his salary. I don’t think he deserved to be the early loser after that game but he does deserve it however for the recent run. Take out the first three games and thats 11 points from 10 games – that’s relegation form. He’s got a squad that’s as good as most of the top four (when you look at the players not getting picked for the squad you could say even better) he needs to find a system that gets the best out of them.

* Ibra has been much maligned and certain people have asked for him to be dropped yet he’s still one hat-trick behind the top scorer. Can we now start looking at his supporting cast and expecting more from them? Besides Mata I can’t remember anyone.

* First off, stop playing Rashford on the left – either play him as a striker or on the right with a remit to run into the box when Valencia crosses. He’s being wasted on the left – Mkhitaryan, Rooney and even Martial are better options on that side.

* Jose also needs to think a bit more when choosing his first eleven and squad for each match. I’m sure you’ll get hundreds of mails on why Mkhitaryan and Rooney should have started but another question is what was the reason why UTD had Fellani and Schweinsteger on the bench instead of another forward like Martial or Memphis.

* Overall something needs to be change that ensures we put more points on the board with wins instead of the last four draws. Over to you Jose.
Timi MUFC

Southampton-Everton thoughts
– Koeman was loved by Southampton fans and they were gutted when he came to us. Why? All I can see is the same system and the same tired garbage football Martinez served up in his second and third season, with the odd long ball thrown in. (Apologies for the caps) 4-2-3-1 DOES NOT WORK FOR US ANYMORE. Baines has lost the instinct to bomb on because Bolasie stays too wide, and Coleman isn’t adequately supported by players like Lennon so leaves gaps whenever he gets forward. Barkley is forced to drop back to support whichever inadequate CDM plays with Gueye, so leaves Lukaku entirely isolated because the wide players won’t get inside.

– I said this the other day, but this squad needs a serious overhaul. Many players just aren’t good enough, and Koeman insists on using players like Jagielka week in and week out. I love Jags, but he’s cost us at least five or six goals this season. I dread to think how badly he’ll be torn apart against the likes of Mane and Firmino.

– Lukaku needs to pack in this ‘jump vaguely in the direction of the ball and hope he gets something on it’ approximation of heading, and get closer to Barkley. They work well as a combination and all to often they’re 25-30 yards apart.

– Everton seriously lack the desire and guile to compete with any in-form or hungry team. Williams and Gueye are the only players willing to get stuck in, and no other player seems to want to get ‘at it’. The urgency we showed in the last ten minutes is how we should be starting games, not resorting to that when we’re chasing the game in the later stages.

A lot of gripes, but those are the main ones that spring to mind after watching the game. A change is desperately needed in the tactics and formation we play. I trust Koeman to get this right, but he needs to start soon rather than let things stagnate.
Joe, EFC

You want credit for that, David?
More classic “Pity me, I’m a British coach. No one praises me. I don’t get credit.” This time from David Moyes.

Talking about Denayer man-marking Coutinho in the Liverpool game:

“Maybe if I were a foreign coach I wouldn’t have been praised for that. We don’t have the same quality as Liverpool. I knew we had to come here and defend. They won 6-1 here the other week so we didn’t want to come here and get rolled over that easy.”

Praised for what exactly David? Praised for losing 2-0? Praised for having one shot on target? Praised for having 24% possession?

Now I’m not having a go at Sunderland’s performance. If you want to park the bus, park away. But the idea that a foreign coach would have been praised for the David Moyes masterclass we saw is laughable.

This is from the man that was actually given one of the biggest jobs in world football despite the apparent character flaw of being British! To hear David Moyes try to argue that foreign coaches get jobs above what they deserve is just about bordering on satire.
Mike, LFC, Dubai

No panic at Tottenham
So, D.Oyvind is exactly the kind of football fan that really annoys me and makes me think that every following generation is worse than the next.

Every team makes dumb purchases, not just Tottenham. Why did Man City get Gundogan or Sane? What did Chealsea spend half their money on? Why is Arsenal no playing Xhaka having paid as much as they did? Why did ManU buy almost everyone they bought for the past few years? The real game isn’t Football Manager, they buy and hope for the best, but sometimes it doesn’t work out.

Janssen was a top scorer in Holland (I know it’s not saying too much, but you never know if you’re getting a Van Nistelrooy or Kezman), so I have no problems with that signing. Sissoko was a gamble, and an expensive one, and unnecessary one. But if you compare it to how many dumb unnecessary signings all the other big teams made, it’s not so bad.

Basically, Spurs are seven points off the top, and four points off fourth place. And this is done having only just lost their first game in a pretty even game away at the Bridge. Chelsea was the better side in that game for about one minute before the break and the first 10 after the break. Let’s not overreact.

Also, this was done without their best striker for a month and a half (Kane), best midfielder of half the season (Dembele), best defender (Alderweireld) for the past month and a bit, world class goalie for the first few games (Lloris). Not too bad. You take out Sanchez, Ozil, Koscielny and Cech out of Arse squad and what do you get? Or Aguero, De Bruyne, Stones and Bravo from ManC? Or any top four players from any top team? We can’t buy replacements to sit on a bench for $40 mil a pop like let’s say Chelsea or Man City, because Spurs exist in a real world of budgets, wage limitations and etc. No finacial doping here.

Considering all those facts, I think it’s pretty impressive where we are and where we’re going.
Pat (THFC)

Peter G’s weekend thoughts
* I don’t think I could do justice to Swansea City-Crystal Palace, but then I couldn’t do justice to Armageddon either. The most indelible memory (and this should be Alan Pardew’s football epitaph) was Palace’s keeper getting booked for time-wasting in the 42nd minute of a tied game against the bottom club in the division.

* It was understandably overshadowed by The Lunacy at the Liberty, but the King Power Stadium saw an excellent match in its own right. Middlesbrough cast aside their usual caution and went right at Leicester City, leaving the back line exposed. Fabio, Maarten de Roon, and Gastón Ramirez were all outstanding, and although Leicester had the better chances (plus a very dubious penalty), Alvaro Negredo took his two superbly. Boro would have copped three brave points had not Wes Stanley Matthews Morgan popped up on the edge of the area in stoppage time. The Wizard of Swivel turned Fabio and was about to beat de Roon when he was dropped for the PK. It’s a funny old game.

* My favorite thing about the wonderful match at Stamford Bridge was the match-up of Kanté/Matic vs. Dembélé/Wanyama. Classic contrast in styles, Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier.

*Burnley-Manchester City was as disheartening as it was enjoyable. The Clarets went high press, high line, 4-5-1 with the five midfielders stretched across the width of the pitch. City started without their three best creative players, and the tactics worked beautifully. But Burnley were themselves without their starting keeper, lost a couple more starters in the first half, and two sloppy goals did them in. Even so, they came near to an equaliser. Would Heaton, Marney, and Gudmundsson have made the difference? A few billion dollars makes life a lot easier.

* I love Eddie Howe. On a weekend when David Moyes parked the bus and removed the gearshift, Howe got eleven Harleys and revved up Hell’s Angels. The result was the same, but which would you rather watch?
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA (Bob Bradley pronounces it Par-DEW)