Mourinho has gone from the ‘Special One’ to the ‘Boring One’ News

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Mourinho has gone from the ‘Special One’ to the ‘Boring One’

By Daily Sports on January 2, 2018

Ever since Manchester United’s 1-2 home loss some weeks ago to Manchester City, there seems to have been a sense of resignation amongst the Red Devils camp about their ability to lift the English premier League title this season.

Before that meeting, United were 8 points behind table toppers City and there was some measurable hope from United that if they were able to stop Pep Guardiola’s troops from winning then the premier League title rave would remain could still be won. But City were in no mood to give up their long winning run and ran away convincing winners at United’s Old Trafford.

Since then Man City have continued winning and now are a mammoth points away from United. Man United seem to have let their heads drop and they haven’t been able to put on a winning run since. In their last four games, the club have lost one, in the League Cup to lower League side Bristol, and have drawn 3 including their last two home games to Burnley (2-2) and Southampton (0-0).

In truth, Man United have played very boring football recently. Perhaps, it’s keeping in line with the conservative style of manager Jose Mourinho who has never been know in to give his teams the creative freedom to play expansive and attacking football for a long stretch of games.

For years gone by, this conservatism has been praised, if not very much admired, for its effectiveness. After all it is the style that has fetched Mourinho lots of titles in the round leather game. His self-acclaimed status as the ‘Special One’ seemed to have much weight until recently.

There’s a distinct feeling amongst United faithful that what they are witnessing from Mourinho’s United now is not what they know of the DNA of the club. In the Sir Alex Ferguson years, United were much feared for their attacking football, spiced with killer crosses from the wings and great finishes. But now, the club is not as exciting to watch, and that's to use an understatement.

With the so-called noisy neighbors Manchester City playing with superb style, suffocating opponents with superb passing moves and winning with panache, not just Man United but Mourinho himself has begun to look and sound boring.

If he isn’t complaining about City’s wealth, forgetting that he was also handed vast sums of money to build an exciting winning side, he’s deflecting criticisms by blaming referees for his team’s limp performances. Speaking after United failed to win against Southampton, and after hearing his side being roundly booed at the end of the match, Mourinho said of referee Craig Pawson’s refusal to hand his team a first half penalty after Southampton’s Maya Yoshida handled the ball: “I watched on the touchline and it looked for me very clear but there was 50m distance so I [at first] give the referee the benefit of the doubt. I know my players so when I see people like [Juan] Mata almost in hysterics I know, no doubt, and then at half-time I watch it.

“It is a penalty like [Marcus] Rashford against Leicester, [Ander] Herrera against City. [Jonathan] Moss, [Michael] Oliver and Craig tonight are good referees. So the referees’ performances in these matches were good – these were unlucky decisions that punished us.”

It’s quite true that such decisions may have cost United in those games, but the fact remains that Man United have continued to look boring, if not more so, under Mourinho as they were under his predecessor Loui Van Gaal. And hearing Jose always complaining about the referees when it’s clear he’s not addressed the stale football that United are playing despite their riches, makes the Portuguese manager sound boring as well.

Source Daily Sports

Posted January 2, 2018