The Game is Up: Why Jose Mourinho had to Go

In news that may not come as much of a surprise, Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Manchester United. The controversial Portuguese presided over the worst ever start to a Premier League campaign for the “Red Devils,” eventually suffering for his star-studded team’s poor performances. A 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday was the final nail in the coffin for the “Special One.”

Mourinho leaves United in sixth place in the EPL, 19 points behind the impressive league leaders, Liverpool. United have appointed former super-sub, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as interim boss until the end of the year. The Norwegian will not be expected to radically change the fortunes of the club, but simply steady the ship until a permanent boss has been appointed. Needless to say, if Solskjaer exceeds all expectations, he could find himself in the reckoning for the permanent role.

Despite having been sacked in his last two roles, Mourinho is still a manager that should find himself in the hot seat of a top European club next year. It is unlikely that we will ever see Mourinho manage in England again, but there should be ample opportunities for the controversial coach in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and possibly Germany. However, the ignominy of having lost two dressing rooms – and an arrogant refusal to adapt – may haunt the 55-year-old for years to come.

Where Did It All Go Wrong?

The final act of Mourinho’s career was the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Dec. 16. This was the fifth loss of the season for Manchester United and the 29th goal conceded in just 17 games. Given United conceded just 28 goals in the of 2017/18 campaign, something had to change. Evidently, Mourinho was that thing.

Somewhat embarrassingly, the Portuguese chose to compare key members of his team with their Liverpool counterparts following their loss on Sunday. Rather than deflecting any blame, Mourinho argued that he had no control over his players’ physical and technical attributes:

“You cannot improve or make them have [those qualities]. I will give you an example,” Mourinho said in the post-match press conference. “Robertson, Mane, Salah, Wijnaldum, Keita, Fabinho. They are physical players and, on top of that, they are good players technically.”

The Right Decision

Given that Mourinho had been living at the Lowry Hotel – reportedly paying £600 per night for the privilege – the argument is that he was never really settled in Manchester. Whatever the reasons for Mourinho refusing to even rent a house in Manchester, there is no doubt that speculation will continue to gather traction that he was only there for the money. United’s decision to fire him cost £15 million, on account of a new contract that was signed in January of this year.

Manchester United’s reputation as a global soccer brand over the past few decades was built on a foundation of attacking football. Mourinho’s boring, negative gameplans not only reduced spectators to tears but also deprived many of the club’s most talented attacking players of their individual flair. Or, so it seems. The theory is that the polarizing coach restricted his key men to strict roles in the team and completely nullified the attributes that would have brought them to his attention in the first place.

The “Virus”

Mourinho labeled star signing Paul Pogba a “virus” and accused the French World Cup winner of being a contributor to the black cloud over Old Trafford. Unfortunately for the coach, most will surely regard him as the true cause of the bewildering negativity and sense of gloom that has seemed to envelop the squad. After all, Mourinho has a track record of upsetting players and staff everywhere he goes.

Mourinho could simply not do the same, as his public spats and criticisms against the likes of Shaw, Martial, Jones, Sanchez, and Rashford clearly demonstrate. Of course, there might be a whole host of other players at the club who will have breathed a sigh of the relief when informed that their manager had been kicked out of the club. Mourinho’s reluctance to embrace the role of the modern player might have been his downfall.

If Pogba is indeed a “virus,” then Mourinho is the sick patient that did not possess the immune system capable of withstanding the attack. Ultimately, the Portuguese appeared to have no idea in how to adjust or accept the inevitable.

Was Mourinho Backed by the Club?

Much like a broken record, Mourinho constantly criticized the United board for what he perceived to be their reluctance in providing ample transfer funds to bolster the team. United pay more in wages than any other club and Mourinho has a higher net spend than the manager of the league leaders, Jurgen Klopp. Despite the finances, United and Liverpool couldn’t be more unique.

United’s freshly departed coach cannot accept the full blame for United’s slip in mediocrity, however. Since Ferguson departed in 2013, David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, and Mourinho have presided over six seasons, with not a league win between them. The club under the last three managers has a .522-win percentage, 16 home losses, and the worst finish of 7th. Contrast this with Ferguson’s 13 titles in 21 seasons, his .756-win percentage, 34 home losses and the worst finish of 3rd, and it is easy to see why the Scot is so revered.

Could things have been different if the United board caved in and handed Mourinho a blank checkbook? Were they reluctant to provide the coach with more money, considering that he spent almost £400 million (around $500 million) and the 11 players he did buy were far from groundbreaking? There is certainly an argument that this was the case.

The Dinosaur?

Soccer is a sport that evolves pretty quickly. Everything from a player’s shirt, to boots, team formations, tactics, and everything in between has changed over the past couple of decades. For example, there are few teams who play in any formation other than 4-5-1 whereas 4-4-2 was the formation of choice just ten years ago. Guess what else has changed? The modern manager, something Mourinho failed to completely appreciate.

Seen by many as the savior of Old Trafford and a man that could write a long lasting and enduring script in the “Theatre of Dreams,” Mourinho instead played the part of a Wes Craven or George A. Romero. The nightmarish slump into mediocrity this season was the natural culmination of a greater problem that he contributed to, rather than tried to fix. He had given up and was simply there to collect a sizeable check.

There was no attacking flair or any indication of there ever being attractive football on offer further down the line. Much like Ferguson’s other successors in Moyes and van Gaal, Mourinho was defense-minded and this will never be a philosophy that excites a club that will always be considered as the greatest English team of the 1990s and 2000s. Dinosaur tactics? Is it fair to brand Mourinho’s input in that terminology? Maybe.

No Congruity?

When assessing the relationship between the Portuguese and the board, there are a few discernible differences of opinion that stood out like a sore thumb. While Mourinho inherited attacking flair in players like Martial, he also purchased Lukaku and Pogba – even if many believe that his decision to bring the latter in was not entirely his own. Nevertheless, combining marquee signings and big egos into his philosophy was always going to be a problem.

There was a lack of congruity between the board and Mourinho, that is for sure. From the manager’s perspective, he was not being backed in the transfer market and would have turned United from underperformers into league winners overnight if he had the cash to bring in the right players. The board obviously disagreed, given that the almost $500 million already spent should have yielded some results.

Mourinho’s disastrous final season at Chelsea and lack of real challenge for the EPL trophy obviously put him in a position where this attitude was seen as nothing but negative and a means of deflecting any blame from himself.

The Blame Game

Mourinho’s obsessive compulsion to blame everything and anyone around him lost him a lot of respect. For a man that broke the world-record transfer amount when he signed Pogba, spent heavily on Lukaku and Bailly, you would be under the impression that his finger pointing at the board was the act of someone allotted no money at all. Blaming the board seemed petulant, at best.

The blame game does not work well in an age where these players are expected to act as missionaries, moving from club to club multiple times. This is a money game and managers often come second to the star players, something Mourinho seemingly failed to appreciate at his time at Chelsea and Manchester United. Even if he was given all the money he desired, there is a big chance that the players he could have signed would have invariably failed to perform for him.

What’s Next for Mourinho?

Bookies have been scrambling for prices on the next destination for the recently departed Manchester United coach. While Mourinho will look forward to a Christmas break with his family in London, there are a few opportunities that might be open for him in the new year.

While on the subject of Portuguese men, Mourinho is also being touted as the next boss of the national team. Given that there are plenty of reasons to deter many of the major club teams in Europe away from his services, this might be a smart move. Then again, with his former clubs, Real Madrid and Internazionale rumored to be keen on securing his services, there is a big chance that he could find himself returning to old territories.

No one quite knows what the next step is for the highly controversial manager, but it will be exciting to see just where he ends up. Will Mourinho stick to his guns and stick to the same old act, or will the latest closed chapter on his career give the Portuguese the impetus to reinvent himself?