Jose mourinho

After Marcus Rashford introduced his new dog to the Twitterati the pup became a meme. Saint Rashford's hangdog expression emerged two days after United had lost 1-0 to 18th-placed Newcastle, where Jose Mourinho fielded the same side which was schooled by Tottenham 11 days earlier in the same formation. "Me when I see Mourinho's 4-2-3-1 crab," was one of the wittier replies to Saint Rashford's unveiling. Mourinho has not started the Paul Pogba-Nemanja Matic axis since but he he has opted for two central midfielders in the last three games and Pogba was a non-starter against Liverpool, Sevilla and Brighton. Two holding midfielders stifled Liverpool but were stifling as United were ejected by Sevilla three days later. At times in that tie Marouane Fellaini was so advanced the set-up appeared more 4-1-4-1 and United became looser once the rogue Pogba replaced the Belgian. Just like against Newcastle and Tottenham, they lost with Matic and Pogba side by side. Mourinho responded to the … [Read more...] about Why Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is starting two holding midfielders

The trend of Jose Mourinho's first summer transfer windows with Manchester United was targeting forwards to maximise Paul Pogba's qualities. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a Mino Raiola stablemate, Antoine Griezmann his international teammate, Alvaro Morata a former club colleague and Romelu Lukaku a friend since Pogba was warming United's bench aged 18. Even the defensive-minded Nemanja Matic was bought with attacking intent and the Serbian made the reservations about Mourinho's 4-2-3-1 formation moot in the opening month of the campaign alongside Pogba. The axis reunited ruthlessly on Pogba's comeback against Newcastle in November, plundering four more goals two months on from the auspicious August of West Ham and Swansea. Pogba's clout and focus have plummeted in the wake of Alexis Sanchez's arrival and he has started four of his last seven on the bench behind Scott McTominay and Marouane Fellaini. MUTV producers owe Pogba one after he assisted Kylian Mbappe and struck a masterful … [Read more...] about Jose Mourinho is rebuilding Manchester United around his best signing

Romelu Lukaku’s value has almost doubled since his £75m move to Manchester United. That’s according to a study estimating the price of every player from Europe’s top clubs. In a summer when Jose Mourinho hopes to spend heavily to turn United into genuine title contenders the CIES Football Observatory estimates that every one of his signings at Old Trafford have increased in value. Lukaku is the stand out player after less than a season at the club. The Belgian striker’s 30 goals for club and country since arriving from Everton have seen his price tag rise to £142m. That will be music to the ears of United’s executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, who will green light Mourinho’s next spending spree. Club record signing Paul Pogba’s price has also inflated despite being dropped by Mourinho in recent weeks. The £89m Frenchman could command a fee of £127m according to the study. And Alexis Sanchez’ troubled start at United … [Read more...] about Every Jose Mourinho transfer has increased in value at Manchester United

Out of Europe, 16 points adrift of champions-elect Manchester City and just nine games left until the end of the season. There is not much to shout about for Manchester United fans at the moment. There' has been a big improvement in the league this season as Jose Mourinho's side look set to finish second - their highest position since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013. But United aren't the sort of club who should be measuring the success of a season based on 'progress'. They might still be a described as a club in transition but finishing second in the league and being embarrassingly dumped out of the Champions League isn't much cause for celebration. It's not all doom and gloom. There is still a potential FA Cup final on the horizon, with just a small matter of another away game against Tottenham to contend with first. Should United lose to Spurs again, it is no reason for concern according to former United defender David May, who claimed winning the FA Cup isn't the 'be all and end … [Read more...] about Manchester United claim will rankle fans and Jose Mourinho

Manchester United changed their stance over Jose Mourinho in the space of little over a month - paving the way to the summer overhaul he insists will be necessary to challenge Manchester City’s supremacy. Over the space of a few weeks between December and January, Mourinho cemented his place at Old Trafford when handed a one-year extension to his contract - and confidence to take on even the biggest names at United. That is evident in his treatment of Paul Pogba since the turn of the year - dropping the club’s most expensive player of all time, before publicly panning the majority of his squad. Mourinho is convinced he has the support of executive vice chairman Ed Woodward to carry out a summer of dramatic change following that critical period around the turn of the year. High level sources at United had insisted before Christmas that there was no hurry to address his contract that still had 18 months to run. That was despite the Portuguese’s public flirtations … [Read more...] about Manchester United changed Jose Mourinho stance over Christmas