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Jose Mourinho - SACKED

I didn't expect things to go great straight away, this is more of a project than people think and also our form has been abysmal since February. Because of the man at the helm there is an impression that Mourinho was hired to turn things around instantly into gold. But the reality is our squad simply isn't up to the job and this is more Spurs hiring to save the season from not qualifying for the Champions League.

I'm surprised people expected a win, I personally had my doubts due to our suspect defence, Utds random 'lets only play well against good teams' form and being unbeaten at home since August.

Either way, 3 wins and 1 loss is a good start especially when you consider the faults we have still seen even during wins and the abysmal performance we saw tonight (when thinking about United should've added healthily to their goal difference).
 
He has got work to do for sure but going to Utd ( for us) is never easy, i have left their ground more times then i remember with a loss and it happened again.:( Add the link between Jose and Utd and the Olle last chance saloon and it was always going to be a massive game.

If those fans ( who wanted Poch out) thought that way because our team was not doing it then it stands to reason that we had/have problems and they were not going away after 4 games ( 3 which we won).

Work in progress.
 
Mourinho tried things that he thought would work and didnt. You can bet your bottom dollar he wont be making those mistakes again and thats fine with me. He needs to see some of these things that Poch encountered not working himself - problem was that Poch continuously did the same things regardless and was too stubborn to change it up.

A positive is that we have played Man U,Man C,Leicester,Liverpool and Arsenal all away from home so second half of season most of our big games are at home. Obviously doesnt make them easy games but could be crucial.....
 
Jose has been saying that he wants to offer the players stability, and the chance to perform.

Hence a relatively consistent selection, and a consistent shape that suits them in terms of positionally and with minimal tactical instruction.

There was a lot of talk the last couple of weeks in the press about how he is setting up etc, always from the view that thats it, thats how we play, which seems utterly bonkers to me.

Seems obvious it was all about getting them playing again, settled, and with a base line to work from.

Particularly considering the minimal time with the players, its really all he could actually do.

I would be amazed if in a month or two we are still playing like this though. IMO its all a work in progress, and over time he will be able to sharpen up aspects of the way we play.
 
Mourinho tried things that he thought would work and didnt. You can bet your bottom dollar he wont be making those mistakes again and thats fine with me. He needs to see some of these things that Poch encountered not working himself - problem was that Poch continuously did the same things regardless and was too stubborn to change it up.

A positive is that we have played Man U,Man C,Leicester,Liverpool and Arsenal all away from home so second half of season most of our big games are at home. Obviously doesnt make them easy games but could be crucial.....
Particularly as the team develops under Jose
 
“You cannot work on intensity when you are permanently playing matchers every two to three days,” Mourinho said.

“You can work on other things, you can work on principles of play, you work on tactical positioning, but intensity, aggression is something you cannot work on.

“How can I work on these items of the game when I have to play Saturday again. I just can't do it. So it's has to be in time and try to influence the profile of the players and their concentration levels too, because today the throw-in is a total lack of concentration too. The team only reacted after Rashford had the ball and after he started facing the first defending. That was when we started reacting and before that is why we were not there.

“We need to work on concentration levels but the players are fantastic. Very good players, very good professionals. They want and they will.”


I thought his face was a picture last night, and remembered his words about losing having to be painful.

I suspect the squad will be getting a wake up call very sharply after that.
 
“You cannot work on intensity when you are permanently playing matchers every two to three days,” Mourinho said.

“You can work on other things, you can work on principles of play, you work on tactical positioning, but intensity, aggression is something you cannot work on.

“How can I work on these items of the game when I have to play Saturday again. I just can't do it. So it's has to be in time and try to influence the profile of the players and their concentration levels too, because today the throw-in is a total lack of concentration too. The team only reacted after Rashford had the ball and after he started facing the first defending. That was when we started reacting and before that is why we were not there.

“We need to work on concentration levels but the players are fantastic. Very good players, very good professionals. They want and they will.”


I thought his face was a picture last night, and remembered his words about losing having to be painful.

I suspect the squad will be getting a wake up call very sharply after that.
Very solid comments from Mourinho. I think he's spot on.
 
“So it's has to be in time and try to influence the profile of the players and their concentration levels too, because today the throw-in is a total lack of concentration too. The team only reacted after Rashford had the ball and after he started facing the first defending. That was when we started reacting and before that is why we were not there.

“We need to work on concentration levels but the players are fantastic. Very good players, very good professionals. They want and they will.”
Precisely my reading of the 2nd goal as well, was so avoidable.
 
Both goals were.

I realise there will no doubt be a flippant "you can say that about any goal" response pending, but really those were two give aways due to our poor play/concentration/reaction.

Without two self inflicted goals we come away from that with a draw - if not a win.

Utd were there to be beaten and clearly werent the same team when we started to apply pressure of our own.

I think they are greatly flattered today in the press, to be honest they werent really that good.

The difference was in aggression/intensity - and even then they only just won the game (thanks to us gifting them goals)
 
Both goals were.

I realise there will no doubt be a flippant "you can say that about any goal" response pending, but really those were two give aways due to our poor play/concentration/reaction.

Without two self inflicted goals we come away from that with a draw - if not a win.

Utd were there to be beaten and clearly werent the same team when we started to apply pressure of our own.

I think they are greatly flattered today in the press, to be honest they werent really that good.


The difference was in aggression/intensity - and even then they only just won the game (thanks to us gifting them goals)

Hopefully enough people will believe the hype and there's enough weight to keep Solskjaer in the job for longer. Ultimately, that will keep Man Utd below us for longer.
 
My concern is the mentality and intensity were issues Poch constantly raised too. I can understand how they might be an issue for a lower league team but on a derby or a big game like United it’s not acceptable.

That aside their goals came from mistakes, given his quote on this being the most important part of the game I’m hoping Mourinho will be able to address this and make some ruthless decisions as required.
 
“You cannot work on intensity when you are permanently playing matchers every two to three days,” Mourinho said.

“You can work on other things, you can work on principles of play, you work on tactical positioning, but intensity, aggression is something you cannot work on.

“How can I work on these items of the game when I have to play Saturday again. I just can't do it. So it's has to be in time and try to influence the profile of the players and their concentration levels too, because today the throw-in is a total lack of concentration too. The team only reacted after Rashford had the ball and after he started facing the first defending. That was when we started reacting and before that is why we were not there.

“We need to work on concentration levels but the players are fantastic. Very good players, very good professionals. They want and they will.”


I thought his face was a picture last night, and remembered his words about losing having to be painful.

I suspect the squad will be getting a wake up call very sharply after that.

He actually thinks he can teach Aurier and Sissoko not to switch off
 
Both goals were.

I realise there will no doubt be a flippant "you can say that about any goal" response pending, but really those were two give aways due to our poor play/concentration/reaction.

Without two self inflicted goals we come away from that with a draw - if not a win.

Utd were there to be beaten and clearly werent the same team when we started to apply pressure of our own.

I think they are greatly flattered today in the press, to be honest they werent really that good.

The difference was in aggression/intensity - and even then they only just won the game (thanks to us gifting them goals)

Agreed!
Old Aurier was back, Sissoko ended up covering him most of the time which took him out of midfield and left Winks struggling to get anything going.
I think between Aurier's fartiness and another Lucas appearance with no real plan, Mou will have crash-coursed in our true problems.
 
A positive is that we have played Man U,Man C,Leicester,Liverpool and Arsenal all away from home so second half of season most of our big games are at home. Obviously doesnt make them easy games but could be crucial.....

Was thinking about this during the Utd game. As you say, it could be important on the run-in if we are anywhere near top 4 and our form has lifted.
 
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