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Manchester United: Mourinho publicly slams injured Luke Shaw as fear factor returns to Old Trafford
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho continues to win hearts and minds. The Times says United defender Luke Shaw, 21, was suffering from a groin injury during his side’s defeat at Watford. He was playing through the pain.
Shaw made an error that allowed Watford to score their second goal in a 3-1 victory. Mourinho, as ever, points the finger:
“I knew I had a task. But the first Man City goal [during the 2-1 defeat last weekend] and this second goal, you can find incredible similarity. [Aleksandar] Kolarov has the ball in a difficult situation in the corner and my player instead of going up and pressing decides to give him space. Today for the second goal, [Nordin] Amrabat on the right side, our left back is 25 metres distance from him, instead of five metres.
“But even at 25 metres, then you have to jump and go press. But no, we wait. This is a tactical but also a mental attitude. In a couple of weeks, everything like this becomes perfect. That’s my job.”
The defeat was not Mourinho’s fault. Blame Shaw. But when it is “perfect”, it will be Mourinho’s doing. Got it? When United win a match, Shaw should write his manager a letter of thanks.
Of course, Shaw has history with Mourinho. In 2014, Mourinho, the then Chelsea manager, said Shaw’s excessive wage demands put him off signing the 19-year-old from Southampton. The Star added:
The Special One didn’t make a good impression with Shaw’s family and the player felt intimidated, according to The Sun.
The Sun claimed:
LUKE SHAW felt intimidated by Louis van Gaal and he will be entitled to feel apprehensive about Jose Mourinho’s arrival. The Special One did not leave a favourable impression on Shaw’s family when they met for talks during his second spell at Stamford Bridge.
Shaw, 20, a Chelsea fan as a kid, had his heart set on a move from Southampton. But he changed his mind and opted to join United after meeting with Mourinho.
Two minutes after Watford’s second went in, Shaw was substituted two minutes later by Mourinho. Did the chippy Portuguese manager know Shaw was carrying an injury when he criticised the player to the Press?
The Times recalls that Shaw has already suffered many hamstring and groin-related injuries and suffered an horrific broken leg at the start of last season. Readers learn that he has had “regular sessions with a sports psychologist after admitting to struggling with the pressure of playing for United.”
Cue Mourinho.
Former Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce is unimpressed. “He blamed Luke Shaw for the second goal [against Watford],” Pearce told Sky Sports. “You think he’s probably better off not having a pop at the youngsters. What he needs to do is probably pull [Shaw] aside, get him in front of a video and educate him on how to play the game. It’s difficult for me to tell Mourinho how to coach and educate – he’s the best in the world at it.”
He is? If he is, then expect lots of film nights at Old Trafford. United have lost their last three matches.
Movie Night with referee Michael Oliver (Defeat 3): “The referee’s and the linesman’s mistake is not under my control.”
Movie Night with referee Jesus Gil Manzano (Defeat 2): “Feyenoord you know that goal was in an offside position, we are punished by these mistakes.’
Movie Night with Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mhkhitaryan (Manchester City): Mourinho was talking about “some really poor individual performances” after their 2-1 derby defeat.
But with the right money spent and lots of hard work, United will give Mourinho reason to rejoice in his own abilities. The fear factor is back at Old Trafford – the fear of being singled out for blame.
Posted: 19th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United endorse Michael Oliver’s magic foam party
Enjoy the game, then? We watched mediocre Watford take on gilded Manchester United in hope that the hubris that pricked so many Premier League egos last season would continue. We were not disappointed. Moneyed Jose Mourinho’s ‘galaticos’ were defeated. Seeing Mourinho beaten is delectable. The ‘One’s’ ties to branded watches, executive cars, endorsed teas and official casino chains were a little loosened by Troy Deeney, a man unlikely to seduce punters to dress in his line of lingerie.
Of course, everything in the Premier League is now gold covered in more gold – the aforesaid Deeney is on £100,00 a week.
And what, then, of Michael Oliver, the match referee, a budding personality surely desirous of the now traditional post-match career as a media expert employed to run the rule over working refs? No referee has secured a job as front-line pundit sat by an illuminated coffee table on the main TV panel, but it can only be a matter of time before one does.
Signs are that Oliver is positioning himself as the fun one, the bubbly Ian Wright figure to Mark Clattenburg’s egotistical Gary Neville and Graham Poll’s hyperbolic Robbie Savage. As Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his way into the United wall, Oliver, doubtless realising he was in the presence of the TV cameraman’s go-to figure, squirted the vanishing foam into his own face.
Brilliant. The Gillette contract is his to own, as is a role as the official face of the Ibiza Foam Party industry:
Posted: 19th, September 2016 | In: manchester united, Sports | Comment
How Chelsea’s Conte and Manchester United’s Mourinho manage failure
Following Chelsea’s home defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League, the BBC says Blues’ manager Antonio Conte “subjected his players to an angry dressing-down”. Conte “accused his players of failing to play as a team.”
The Times says Conte read the “riot act to his players after the Liverpool loss”. He and the team took part in “an animated post-match exchange in the dressing room”.
But Conte is no Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea coach who explained his Manchester Untied’s 3-1 defeat to Watford by blaming the players publicly. “Some individuals probably feel the pressure and responsibility too much,” said Mourinho. We started the season very well… I was completely aware that we were not perfect, with lots of players who are not end products and can make their own mistakes.”
And after Manchester United lost to Manchester City, Mourinho was pointing the finger:
“I had two or three players in the first half that, if I know what is going to happen, I don’t play them. This is football, though, and sometimes players disappoint managers.”
Compare and contrast to Conte who told the Chelsea FC website:
“I’m guilty because I’m the coach and it means I have to work more. We must feel the danger in every single moment of the game if we want to win and think like a great team. We must pay attention and be focused.”
Is it better to criticise your team in public or in private?
Matthew Syed notes:
“When pilots experience a near-miss with another aircraft, or have been flying at the wrong altitude, they file a report. Providing that it is submitted within 10 days, they enjoy immunity…Openness and learning rather than blaming is the instinctive response – and system safety has been the greatest beneficiary.”
Conte the pilot?
“Contrast that with the healthcare scene, in which mistakes are very threatening to surgeons who have big egos, and the culture is very litigious – preventable medical error is now the third-biggest killer in western countries.”
Mourinho the surgeon?
Syed concludes:
“We love to think of ourselves as smart people, so we find mistakes, failure and sub-optimal outcomes challenging to our egos.”
We love to look around for someone else to blame. But the smart listen to advice, look at the data and learn not to repeat mistakes.
Posted: 19th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, Key Posts, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United earned £515.3m in 2015-16
Ker-ching! Manchester United earned £515.3m in 2015-16. They are the only British club to break half a billion quid.
On the other side of the accounts, there is net debt of £260.9m.
As an aside, Louis van Gaal and his coaching staff were paid a fortune to leave the place – £8.4m in compensation.
The club also wrote off £6.7m because Schweinsteiger is no longer a first team player.
Profit: £36m
@JakeFCohen looks at the band: “Football still comparatively small business – Manchester United’s annual earnings amounts to 8 days of Nike earnings.”
Posted: 12th, September 2016 | In: manchester united, Money, Sports | Comment
Chelsea Star calls Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho ‘The Gifted One’
One Watch: a look at Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho’s branding. The Sun calls him ‘The Gifted One’.
THE SPECIAL SCHLONG Jose Mourinho has a big tackle… in his trousers, says Jamie Redknapp on Manchester United manager
Adding that Redknapp heard the news from his cousin Frank Lampard, who player for Mourinho at Chelsea. The Sun then coins a new ‘One’.
United boss is nicknamed The ‘Gifted One’ by his players for being so well-endowed
The Sun then adds:
Jose Mourinho reportedly is the Special One in more ways than one
Add it to the list.
Posted: 11th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Chelsea and Manchester United delight Griezmann’s agent
Transfer balls: how much is Atletico Madrid’s France striker Antoine Griezmann worth? The BBC says Chelsea manager Antonio Conte “wants the club to sanction a world-record bid” for Griezmann.
As negotiating tactics go, telling Atletico they should expect no less than the £89.3m Manchester Untied paid for Paul Pogba – and you are willing to pay it – is not exactly canny.
The Sunday Express says “Conte is ready to go above the £86million release clause in Griezmann’s contract to head off interest from Manchester United.”
Of course, it’s not Conte’s money. And as for release clauses, well, are they rally worth their salt? And there is another factor. On September 8, the BBC reported:
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have lost appeals against Fifa bans on signing players in the next two transfer windows. The clubs contested a decision by world football’s governing body to punish them for breaching rules over the transfer of foreign players under 18…
“Both clubs are to serve a transfer ban that prevents them from registering any players at national and international level for the next two complete and consecutive registration periods,” said a Fifa statement.
The Spanish sides will now appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. If that fails, will Atletico sell the France international who signed a new five-year contract with Atletico in June 2016?
These bans have form. In 2014, Barcelona were banned from signing any players in 2015 after their appeal against a transfer ban was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Barcelona were, like Real and Atletico, found guilty of breaching Fifa’s rules on the transfer of players aged under 18.
Of course, there are ways:
Barca went on a summer spending spree this year while the suspension went on hold during the appeals process, splashing out more than 150m euros (£117.5m) on Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Thomas Vermaelen, Claudio Bravo, Jeremy Mathieu and Alen Halilovic.
If you drag any appeal out until the next transfer window opens, look out for Atletico not selling big but buying bigger.
The Manchester Evening News says Chelsea will get no clear run at splurging massive amounts of cash on one player.
M.E.N. Sport understands United have earmarked Atletico Madrid goalscorer Griezmann, 25, as their primary target for the 2017 summer transfer window.
Griezmann’s agent must be delighted.
Posted: 11th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United and Manchester City create an instant Classico
The Manchester Derby was a cracker. Writing in the Sunday Times, Jonathan Northcroft muses: “An instant Clasico? It felt that way… For once, in our overhyped world, an event lived up to its billing.”
There was interest all over the pitch:
Bravo – deemed to be much better than England’s Joe Hart – dropping the ball to give Zlatan Ibrahimovic a well-taken goal.
Bravo taking a poor touch with his fabled feet before flying into Wayne Rooney and getting away with it. It looked a clear penalty.
Marouane Fellaini giving Aleksandar Kolarov a reminder of the day by knocking his tooth out.
Referee Mark Clattenburg having the biggest ego on the pitch.
Kevin de Bruyne playing superbly well.
And then there was the “WAR” between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. That never came. The two men high-fived and hugged one another.
After the match, Mourinho was reflective and finger pointing:
“I had two or three players in the first half that, if I know what is going to happen, I don’t play them. This is football, though, and sometimes players disappoint managers. It’s my fault because I’m the manager and it’s always my fault because it’s my choice.”
Adding:
“The two halves were completely different. In the first half we were below the level to play this match. You have to be completely ready in terms of the speed of your thinking and decision-making. The second half was completely different. We were a team that had the courage and honesty and dignity to chase with pride the result which I think we deserved – we deserved a goal in the second half.”
Nothing out of the ordinary there, then. Mourinho did not rant and rave. He thought his team deserved two penalty kicks, neither of which was given. His skill is in galvanising players to want to join him in giving it all for the cause. The “aggressive” approach he takes towards winning gives fans reason to believe.
The Telegraph says Mourinho branded his players “bottlers”.
The Express says Mourinho is “moaning”. It might have said that the referee made a crucial error.
Anyone who enjoys football will look forward to February 25, when these clubs are scheduled to meet again. The media has a few months to whip the match into a war.
Posted: 11th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Watch Ibrahimovich score for Manchester United after Claudio Bravo clanger (Video)
After all the hype, Manchester untied and Manchester City eventually played the world’s richest ever football match. With City 0-2 ahead, the Citizens’ news goalkeeper Claudio Bravo dropped the ball. Zaltan Ibrahimovich pounced to make it 1-2.
Zlatan ibrahimovic’s goal for Manchester united. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/lShxCGUJF9
— Red Related (@RedRelated) September 10, 2016
On Sky, Gary Neville (formerly Manchester United), lays into Bravo, who was making is United debut.
Barry Glendenning tweets:
Gary Neville slaughtering Claudio Bravo on Sky, much like he did with David De Gea when he arrived. Joe Hart generally got a free pass
Joe Hart, or course, was shunted out of Manchester City. The thinking is that he’s now laughing his socks off. Claudio Bravo has a reputation as being a keeper with reliably nimble feet but how good is he with his hands?
What next for Bravo? Well, if it means anything, there players all made their debuts in the United – City derby:
Ah…
Posted: 10th, September 2016 | In: Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Peace breaks out before Manchester United and Manchester City war
It’s Manchester Untied v Manchester City in the Premier League. It’s WAR! It is. The media has told us as much.
In the Mail Jose Mourinho tells Pep Guardiola “WE’RE READY TO RUMBLE”.
It’s WAR says the Sun:
The Week sums up: “Man Utd vs Man City: Mourinho and Guardiola prepare for war”
Or as the Express puts it:
And Henry winter writes in the Times:
Such was the public love-in of Mourinho and Guardiola yesterday — and the Premier League insists that no missive was launched from London demanding common courtesy — that it would be little surprise to find half-and-half scarves featuring the pair for sale outside Old Trafford.
It’s PEACE before the WAR.
Posted: 10th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Real Madrid resign four Manchester United players in clickbait frenzy
The BBC says Real Madrid players Cristiano Ronaldo, 31, Gareth Bale, 27, midfielders Toni Kroos, 26, and Luka Modric, 30, are all on course to extend their contracts with Real Madrid.
The Daily Mirror agrees.
That’s the Mirror that just two days ago thundered: “Manchester United have made a staggering wage offer to Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale in a bid to lure the Welshman away from the Bernabeu.”
The Mirror that reported in the summer of 2015: “Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to return to Manchester United... Sunday Mirror Sport understands that Ronaldo is excited by the prospect of once again wearing United’s red shirt… Madrid know that the world player of the year will seek a new challenge next summer.”
The Mirror that reported in December 2015: “Manchester United on alert as Toni Kroos seeks Real Madrid exit.” Adding in April 2016: “Manchester City set for transfer battle with rivals United for Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos.”
The Mirror that reported in 2013: “Luka Modric still has his heart set on a move to Old Trafford this summer, after he has struggled for first team action at Real Madrid.”
Manchester United never did sign any of them.
Posted: 9th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United v Manchester City: war points to a bore draw
It’s Manchester United v Manchester City. It’s the game between Pep Guardiola v Jose Mourinho, what the Guardian calls a “poisonous rivalry”.
The media is awash with hype and hoopla. The game will be cagey, and very probably not all that thrilling. But to the Sun it is “WAR”.
As Zlatan “swipes” Maroune Fellaini sharpens his elbows. “It will be a war, with a lot of intensity,” says the big Belgian. “I expect it will be a beautiful match in a special atmosphere. I do not dare speak out about who will win. It’s really 50-50.”
Not exactly Churchillian, eh. We will fight them on the beaches and, at the end of the day, it will be 50-50.
The Guardian leads with the handbags:
Paul Hayward writes in the Daily Telegraph.
“The United-City duel arrives without the political intensity of the Clasico, but a league which feeds on personality clashes was never going to pass up the chance to frame Saturday’s protagonists as two warring princes who moved their battleground to England.”
Oliver Kay hones in on the money in The Times.
“In the land where cash is king, prepare for the ultimate demonstration of the Premier League’s wealth and power. For all the inevitable focus on the geniuses in direct conflict in the respective dugouts, the one record that Saturday’s Manchester derby is certain to break is for the two most expensive starting line-ups, which at a total of just under £600m are set to make it the most expensive match in history.”
As for the actual football, Jonathan Wilson has insight:
If both managers go in as they have until now, it will be United’s 4-2-3-1 against 4‑1‑4‑1, two shapes that match up straightforwardly for marking purposes…
It’ll be a thriller, then.
Posted: 9th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United’s Academy is full of soft lads, says Nicky Butt
Former Manchester United stalwart Nicky Butt is talking to Henry Winter in the Times. Butt is now runs the Manchester United academy. It;s a good read, but the pick is what Butt has to say about today’s youth, schooled by helicopter parents and indoor sports:
“I see players in our academy and they can’t move. Our lads don’t know how to fall, roll, and you should see the amount of injuries we get from popped shoulders or their arms. I probably fell out of a tree 15 times and never hurt myself. I don’t think my son’s ever climbed a tree.
“Body mechanics lose so much when you’re not climbing trees, not playing basketball, cricket, rugby. I played rugby, cricket, football, basketball…
“I’m a softie parent. I don’t let my kids go anywhere. My daughter’s 12, I don’t think she’d be able to cross a road. The whole life now is middle class: all kids have iPads and PlayStations. Social media’s a massive problem. We had a player who put his address on Facebook and gets a knock at the door from people asking why he’s chatting up this girlfriend. We reiterate to them every six weeks about what to do and not do on social media.
“They’re not streetwise. We’re looking for leaders on the pitch, so when you’re down, they fight back, somebody like [Paul] Scholes who was playing football on the streets at 12 and knocking around the park at 15. They get a lot of street knowledge through that.”
Is it because these children see football mainly as a way to riches, not as a sport to play for fun?
Former United youth player Danny Higginbotham:
I learned so much from the responsibilities I had as an apprentice at Manchester United. I made the orange squash for the players and was anxious watching Peter Schmeichel take his first sip in case it was too weak or too strong. I had the privilege of cleaning the boots of Roy Keane and Brian McClair. I was so proud of it that I would tell all my mates. I would be pleased when the pitch was especially muddy because it meant that I could do an even better job. It meant the world to me.
If I had done a good job, the first-team players would be grateful, and we would be given a bit of cash – just £10 or £20 – at Christmas, and at the end of the season. If we had not done a good job we would know about it too.
This mattered, first, because it taught us apprentices – players like Wes Brown and Jonathan Greening – about the importance of responsibility. But it also mattered because it was a shared rite of passage between us and the senior pros…
That does not happen in football any more. That old bond is broken…
The fact is that young players today do not need to do that sort of thing. When I was an apprentice at United I was paid £40 per week. When I played for the A and B teams we got a £4 win bonus and £2 if we drew. That was only 20 years ago.
Teenage players at top clubs can now hope to earn £20,000 per week before they’ve even made themselves noticed in the first team.
That sounds a tad cynical. Academy players are not all on great salaries:
How many new young players does a club like Liverpool or Arsenal sign every season? The answer is very few. The fact is that most trainees will never make the grade.
Trainees released from scholarship schemes are put into a central pool which allows other interested clubs to come in for them. And former Fulham scout Roger Skyrme believes there’s nothing wrong with lowering your standards. “Never lose faith in your ability, but do be prepared to move down a level,” Roger told BBC Sport.
Your parents can take you there and keep you in a cosy bubble, but they cannot make you want it and go for it.
Posted: 8th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal’s Wenger unseats Manchester United’s Mourinho in ‘raging battle’
At a coaching conference in Switzerland, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho were both in attendance.
Spanish newspaper Marca recalls the following exchange as Sir Alex Ferguson is scheduled to speak.
Mourinho: Can I sit next here?
Wenger: “No, it is not possible.”
And how does the Press reports on that?
Daily Express: “Arsene Wenger owns Jose Mourinho in latest bust-up at coaches conference – ARSENE WENGER and Jose Mourinho have reportedly clashed yet again.”
Mourinho reportedly wanted to sit next to Paris Saint-Germain’s Unai Emery and Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane for Sir Alex Ferguson’s opening speech, with Wenger close by.
Metro: “Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger told Jose Mourinho he can’t sit next to him at coaches conference”
Daily Mail: “Arsene Wenger’s feud with Jose Mourinho rages on as ‘Arsenal boss refuses to let Manchester United manager sit next to him at conference”
And in Marca, the root of a story that sounds like it began as a joke: “Wenger wins latest battle against Mourinho”
Next week: It’s WAR as Jose serves Arsene green jelly at his party.
Posted: 7th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Derby balls: Manchester United and Manchester City fight The War Bitchy Comments
Why don’t Manchester City’s Pepe Guardiola and Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho just duke it out. The Mail previews the big United v City match by drooling over the prospect of violence:
“Police fears for Jose v Pep,” screams the headline.
The usually harmonious Manchester derby is causing police to be scared?
“The explosive rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola – and the increased tension it may bring to the terraces – are part of the police’s planning for the Manchester derby. Sportsmail understands that officers on duty for Saturday’s clash between the two sides, the first battle between the feuding managers with their new clubs in England, will be told of the pair’s feisty history and the effect that may have on their operation.”
It’s war. We’ve had the War of Jenkin’s Ear, the War of The Stray Dog and The Pastry War. Prepare yourselves for The War of The Bitchy Comments. It’s gonna be bloody (marvellous).
Posted: 7th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, Manchester City, manchester united, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Manchester United balls: Paul Scholes is middle-aged
Paul Scholes says, “‘I would rather watch Salford than Man Utd.” Well, that’s the Daily Mirror‘s lead sports story.
Can the former Manchester United star be dissing his old club? Yes.
Paul Scholes says he would rather watch Salford City than Manchester United in damning assessment of Premier League
It’s not that Salford are that good; it’s that United are that bad!
Over in the Mail, we get to know what Scholes said;
After taking over at Salford City, alongside his old United team-mates Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs, the 41-year-old has been able to take in more games from lower down the league pyramid.
He enjoys watching his business and investment.
He says:
“I probably do enjoy watching Salford more,’ he wrote in a new book – Class of 92: Out of our League – Our Journey Back to the Heart of the Game – currently being serialised in The Guardian. “I don’t know if it’s as much that I don’t like the hassle of going to the game, getting in, sitting in traffic. Going to Salford, I park up behind the goal and get out of my car.”
Conclusion: can United let middle-aged Scholes park in the players’ car park and get him a travel rug?
Posted: 6th, September 2016 | In: manchester united, Sports | Comment
Allardyce copies Manchester United and lets Wayne Rooney play wherever he wants
The England football team laboured to a 0-1 win over the mighty Slovakia, who made the challenge simpler by reducing to ten numbers after their thuggish captain was red carded. England’s new broom, Sam Allardyce, had a few words to say about match and his own side’s captain, the tiring Wayne Rooney, nominally a striker but now playing so far back he could well challenge panicky Joe Hart for the goalkeeping slot.
Said Allardyce:
“It’s not for me to me to say where he’s going to play. He can play wherever he wants to be, because he was brilliant. I can’t stop Wayne if he thinks that’s the right place to be. We aren’t going to make a big deal about it are we?”
How’s that for management, eh?
Of course, before brilliant Wayne picked his own slot between the centre backs, Sam Allardyce said on August 30:
“Should we say attacking midfield player or should we say striker? Wayne’s position’s changed at Manchester United and that’s the sort of position I’d be looking to play him.”
The rest of world football is quacking in its boots.
Posted: 5th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Manchester United sign Antoine Griezmann (next summer)
Bingo! Having been first with the news of Paul Pogba’s transfer to Manchester United – they beat everyone, including the lawyers, the player, his agent and all clubs involved by three weeks – the Daily Mirror brings news of who United are buying next summer.
In “Manchester United transfer news”, the news is: “Manchester United plotting Antoine Griezmann move next summer as Red Devils plan to spend big again.”
The Sunday Mirror’s John Richardson declares
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has already made French star Antoine Griezmann his number one target for next summer’s quest for more galactico signings. By then Mourinho will be confident of offering the much coveted Atletico Madid star Champions League football as he prepares to make another Paul Pogba style swoop.
Number of facts to support this claim: zero.
But there is some mind-reading because we’re told Jose Mourinho “believes the 25-year-old would be a sensation in the Premier League”. Well, if an expert thinks the top scorer at Euro 2016, the man named as the Uefa Euro 2016 player of the tournament, would be able to score in the Premier League, who are we to argue with such insight.
The Mirror’s conceit is, of course, that when Manchester United come knocking, no player can refuse them. But last season’s Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid only signed Griezmann on a new contract last June, the deal keeping him at the club until 2021.
PS: what the Mirror does not mention is that it was pipped to the post by The Bleacher Report, which tweeted yesterday:
B/R Exclusive from @DeanJonesBR | #MUFC want Antoine Griezmann in 2017—possible long-term replacement for Rooney.
Number of facts in that article: zero.
Posted: 4th, September 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United ‘hero’ Marcus Rashford shames Man City’s ‘obscene’ Raheem Sterling
Do the Press build them up to knock them down? The Sun writes about Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford who “proves he’s a top guy after buying his mum £800,000 home”.
The story continues:
“Manchester United’s latest hero Marcus Rashford has moved his mum and two brothers to a luxury £800,000 house in the leafy Wythenshawe suburb of the city. The English striker, 18, grew up in that area of Manchester and was quick to give his mum a more comfortable pad after bursting onto the scene last year and earning himself a bumper pay day of £25,000-a-week.”
Buying your mum a big house is lovely. But he’d better not get too rich or fail to score for England.
When Raheem Sterling showed everyone the house he’d bought for his mother, the Manchester City player was castigated by the Sun. The front-page headline screamed “Obscene Raheem”, noting “England failure steps off plane and insults fans by showing off blinging house”. A source opined: “Any normal person would hang their heads in shame after how they performed in France but these guys come home and show off about how rich they are.”
A “friend of Sterling” told MEN:
“Raheem and his family are really upset that the fact he’s bought a nice house for his mum is being used to hammer him by the media and make him the scapegoat for England’s failure… He bought her the house as a thank you for all her support and help. Now to have his mum’s private life and house being mocked and thrown into the public spotlight has left him furious and frustrated.”
Enjoy it while it lasts, Marcus, you hero.
Posted: 30th, August 2016 | In: Back pages, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comments (3)
Manchester United: Luke Shaw on the tackle that nearly ended his career
Manchester United’s Luke Shaw has been talking with the Guardian. His return from a badly broken leg has been arduous – a double break caused by a tackle when United played PSV Eindhoven on September 15 2015.
Is he angry with the tackler, PSV’s Héctor Moreno?
“I partly blame myself. I’d run into their penalty area and I should have shot with my right foot but I wanted to come inside. I wanted to be on my left foot. And then, obviously, the tackle. I don’t even want to think about the tackle, to be honest. At the time I thought: ‘Give him the benefit of the doubt, it wasn’t actually a bad tackle.’ But the more I’ve seen it since, the more I think: ‘You know, that was actually a really bad challenge.’..
The memory has not faded.
“To be fair to him, he did come to say sorry. He came to the hospital and I saw him face to face in my room. I was quite sympathetic at the time – ‘Aah, look, you can come in, it’s fine’ – but at the end of the day it was me lying there with a broken leg, and I went through so many bad times since then I did start thinking about it some more. It really annoys me they [Uefa] gave him man of the match. Some people were saying it was a good challenge, others were saying it was a bad challenge. For me, it’s a bad challenge.”
Immediately after the tackle, Shaw felt little or no pain.
“Then, that night, lying in hospital, I swear to God the pain was something else. Oh God, the worst you could ever imagine. My mum was next to me and I remember saying to her: ‘They have to do something because I actually can’t keep going with this amount of pain.’ They had to open up my leg to pull out all the clotted-up blood. They put me to sleep, but it didn’t stop the pain when I woke up again.”
And now?
“I still get aches. I don’t go a day without feeling it. It’s 100% better but it’s normal, apparently, to feel it after such a bad injury. In the first three or four weeks when I started training outside it felt good, but then all of a sudden it started aching. It didn’t hurt, but it was aching and aching and even before I went out I could feel it and I was thinking: ‘Fuck … is it ever going to go away?’”
Such an horrendous injury affects the mind.
When Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsay had his leg broken in a bad tackle from Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross, he told the Indy:
“I realised how much football actually means to me. When you are watching all the games, while sitting on your settee, you think: ‘I should be there’. That’s one of the most difficult parts of it.”
Posted: 26th, August 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment (1)
Transfer Balls: Arsenal, Manchester United and a ‘row’ over Phil Jones
The narrative that Manchester Untied boss Jose Mourinho and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger are not best pals backs the Standard’s story: “Manchester United to snub Phil Jones bid as Jose Mourinho refuses to do business with Arsene Wenger.”
The paper says Arsenal are “believed” to have enquired about Jones, 24, as they search for a central defender.
Jones’ career has stalled since he was being hailed as the new Duncan Edwards. In 2011 the Manchester Evening News wrote: “When no less a judge than Sir Bobby Charlton talks about the striking similarities between Phil Jones and the late, great Duncan Edwards, you know United have secured a special talent.”
Jones is now a United squad player. There is no proof that Arsenal want him. The Standard says the Gunners first pick is Skhodran Mustafi, available for the a mere £43m from Valencia. It’s an absurd amount of money for a very good but far from brilliant player.
As for Jones, well:
Mourinho is already under pressure to trim a bloated squad having made four summer signings and the arrival of Fonte would place further scrutiny on Jones’ position, having become a peripheral figure since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
In April of that year, Ferguson made the remarkable claim that Jones could become the best player in United’s history but although he has started 58 Premier League games in the subsequent three seasons, he has not featured since January through injury and Mourinho has since signed centre-back Eric Bailly for £30m from Villarreal.
So what next for Jones?
Standard Sport understands Mourinho will not sanction the sale of Jones to his bitter rival, even if he is not central to his plans for the season ahead.
The story is total balls, then. Mourinho has not said he won’t sanction any sale because he loathes Arsene Wenger. Mourinho has said nothing. Arsenal have made no bid for Jones. The Standard has produced a story from dust. But other news sources are keen to pick up unchallenged:
Man Utd news: Phil Jones was not allowed to leave for Arsenal because of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho’s feud – Metro
Football transfer rumours: Arsenal to sign Phil Jones from Manchester United? – Guardian
The Guardian adds:
José Mourinho needs to sign the extra defender that he wants for Manchester United. Except the urge to act vindictively is so strong, and the opportunity to act vindictively is so available, so Mourinho has decided to do what he does best, refusing to sell a player to Arsène Wenger, even though he’s not bothered about having him.
That would be the same Guardian that just two days ago reported: “Phil Jones is content to stay at Manchester United, and José Mourinho has no desire to see him leave, despite Stoke City being the latest club to express an interest.”
From being loyal to his player, Mourinho is now “vindictive”.
As we marvel at that, the Mail says: “Manchester United defender Phil Jones could depart for Stoke.”
But he won’t do because the Sun said back in June: “Jose Mourinho tells Phil Jones he has a future at Manchester United and wants defender to become club’s own version of John Terry.”
No hint of spite. Mourinho just wants a talented player to stay and work hard for the team.
As for Arsenal making a move for Jones, well the Mail also said: “Manchester United have told interested clubs that Phil Jones will stay at Old Trafford. Stoke, Watford and Hull City are among around a dozen clubs to have made enquiries for the 24-year-old”.
No mention of Arsenal. And we are left to wonder if Mourinho hates Mark Hughes and the manager’s of all those clubs he won’t let Jones join?
More transfer balls every day.
Posted: 25th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
One Watch: Manchester United’s Mourinho gets another one
One Watch: a look at mentions of Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho being a ‘One’.
The Sun tells readers:
Jose Mourinho confessed he became the ‘Nervous One’ before winning his first Premier League game in charge of Manchester United
Add it to the list.
Posted: 16th, August 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United balls: Paul Pogba rewrites history
So influential is Manchester United’s ‘Paul Pogba that he is rewriting history. Compare and contrast the Sun and Daily Mail’s stories on Pogba’s new routine:
“Paul Pogba settles back in at Manchester United by teaching team-mate Jesse Lingard his Dab dance celebration” – The Sun, August 9.
Only the Mail says Lingard knew the Dab before Pogba joined Cheslea:
“Jesse Lingard teaches Manchester United team-mates Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson how to dab as the craze continues to spread” – Daily Mail, July 28.
Next week: How Pogba inspired United to victory in last season’s the FA Cup.
Posted: 13th, August 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer Balls: Paul Pogba signed for Manchester United 3 weeks ago
And so a mere 19 days since the Daily Mirror told us Pogba had “signed” for Manchester United, the paper reports that Pogba has signed for Manchester United.
Lest anyone think the Mirror was ahead of the pack in anything other than guesswork, in the intervening days its reader have read a lot of stories about the Pogba.
August 9: “Manchester United announce Paul Pogba signing in the middle of the night and Twitter is completely baffled”
August 8: “Paul Pogba flying to the UK for Manchester United medical as £110million deal edges closer”
August 7: “Paul Pogba set for £100m Manchester United return as Juventus give midfielder permission to undergo medical”
August 6: “Manchester United target Paul Pogba ordered to return to Juventus training as transfer saga continues”
August 6: “Manchester United transfer news and rumours: Juventus delay £100m Paul Pogba deal”
August 3 : “Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho hints at Paul Pogba transfer – ‘we will sign one more player'”
August 3: “Manchester United fans sent into meltdown as Paul Pogba says he’s STAYING at Juventus”
August 2: “Paul Pogba keeps up fitness in New York as speculation over Manchester United switch continues”
August 2: “Paul Pogba jets into New York and sparks fears that Real Madrid could gazump Man United’s £100m bid”
August 1: “Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho plays the waiting game as Paul Pogba parties in Las Vegas”
July 31: “Paul Pogba agent Mino Raiola insists a deal has NOT yet been struck between Manchester United and Juventus”
July 30: “Paul Pogba signs Manchester United shirt for fan in LA as £100m world record transfer looms”
July 28: “Paul Pogba to Manchester United betting suspended by bookmaker after flurry of bets come in”
July 27: “Manchester United agree to pay £112m for Paul Pogba? Transfer news and gossip from Thursday’s papers”
July 27: “Manchester United face Paul Pogba battle as Zinedine Zidane claims Real Madrid could yet win race for star”
July 20:
Total balls in the Mirror, then.
Of course, Sun readers know Paul Pogba plays for Chelsea.
Such are the fats in the trusty mainstream media.
Posted: 9th, August 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: 16 days after Paul Pogba signed for Manchester United, Mourinho declares war on Liverpool and Arsenal
Paul Pogba has not joined Manchester United. It’s been 16 days since the Daily Mirror told us Pogba had “signed” for Manchester United. Today the Telegraph says Juventus are “stalling” on agreeing for their player to leave the club. “They’re killing the mood, drastically,” says the paper.
It’s not killing the mood at the dire Telegraph, which also reports – and this comes on the same day the paper is telling its readers Pogba does not play for United: “Paul Pogba is a Manchester United player.”
Helpfully Fox News has an official version of events: “Jose Mourinho teases nearly-done deal for Paul Pogba at Manchester United.”
What did he say, teasingly?
“Pogba is a Juventus player until officially he isn’t. It stays like this. I think my club is trying to do everything to close our market before August 14. So hopefully by next week we will have our squad closed.”
In other words: no news.
But the Press is desperate for something. So instead of the Olympics and the start of the non-Premier League football season, the lead story is about Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba.
The Sun – the paper that told Paul Pogba plays for Chelsea – hears the “fury”.
The Star hears “rage”.
“Jose Hits Back,” says the Express.
The Mirror – “the intelligent tabloid” (self-declared) that told us Paul Pogba joined Manchester United 16 days ago – senses the “mind games”.
What did Mourinho say?
“I don’t like to speak about other players. Other managers like to do that. What matters to me is only what happens in my house, not the house of my neighbour.”
He also said:
“I heard two of my colleagues from other clubs talking about my team. [Klopp] was one of them, but I do not want to comment. He made comments about us but I will not make comments about him, or his team. I do not like [to talk about other teams]. It is not ethical…
“There are things that, when I do them, are not ethical and when others do them, everything is normal, nobody says [they should not have done them]. I do not speak about other [teams]. I only speak about us.”
And that’s it. The Times calls those words a “withering rebuke to Jürgen Klopp and Arsène Wenger”. Oh, come on. It’s just Jose Mourinho being snippy. Plus ca change.
The Premier League season cannot begin soon enough.
Posted: 6th, August 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: Paul Pogba joins Manchester United ‘today’ and Chelsea in August 2015
Paul Pogba has finally signed for Manchester United says most of the media. Well, maybe:
August 5 – Daily Telegraph: “Will Mourinho announce Paul Pogba’s signing today?”
No.
August 4, Daily Express: “PAUL POGBA will be confirmed by Manchester United today”
August 2, Yahoo!: “Manchester United to make official Paul Pogba announcement today”
July 29, Independent: “Paul Pogba continues to dominate the headlines and his world-record … will be confirmed once Pogba’s medical in LA is completed later today.”
He never did arrive ‘today’. Other sources wee just as wrong.
July 29, Daily Mail:
July 20, Daily Mirror:
Pogba to Manchester United was all beaten by the story of Pogba to Chelsea. It too was a done deal.
August 22, 2015, Daily Telegraph: “Chelsea transfer news and rumours: Blues agree £69 million deal with Juventus for Paul Pogba”
August 21 2015, The Sun:
CHELSEA have agreed a stunning £69million deal to sign Juventus’ Paul Pogba. The champions made the Italian giants an offer they cannot refuse for the French midfield powerhouse…
Barcelona were in pole position to sign him, with Manchester City also said to be in the running. But Chelsea gazumped everyone with a huge statement of intent from owner Roman Abramovich.
Since the Blues slumped to a 3-0 defeat at City on Sunday, the Russian has sanctioned a huge seven-day spree, signing Abdul Baba Rahman, Pedro and now Pogba.
Chelsea did not sign Pogba.
When he appears for Manchester United, then we’ll believe Pogba has rejoined the club he left four years ago.
Posted: 5th, August 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, Sports | Comment
