19 May 2017 08:30:33
I know some posters are very happy with how the season has gone and I respect their opinion. Me! Not so happy.
We started horrible, Jose was not sure what his best team was and we fell behind quickly. People took time to settle and our form was not great.
There was a spell in the middle of the season when it looked like things were coming together, we dominated games but couldn't score and this cost us a lot of points. it didn't last though, we fell back again and despite being handed several opportunities to leapfrog Arsenal, Liverpool, and even City, we didn't.
Stats can be misleading but ours this year are horrible. Our home form has been dreadful dropping a lot of points to teams we should have put away, against the top 6 we have (mainly) looked short of ideas, the Chelsea game being an obvious exception.
At the start of the season who would have predicted we would finish 6th? Nobody who entered the predictions competition had us outside of the top 4 with many having us 1st or 2nd (red tinted glasses perhaps) .
And so to Jose. Regularly criticising players in public, looking like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, some very odd pronouncements. At least he seems to now have a first 11 that he turns to for big games and hopefully he is clear where we need to strengthen.
However, one of my concerns is is continual focus on shiny new names. I read a quote from Klopp this morning where he said it's not about buying new players, it's about working differently with the ones you already have. We have seen some improvements in from from a few but I genuinely think out team and squad are a lot better than 6th.
I enjoyed a lot of games through the middle of the season but lately they have started to become hard work again. Yes, yes, through think and thin and all that but I still don't see a plan.
If this season was an exam I'd be giving Jose a B minus, we won the League Cup and are in a European final but I don't believe that masks a very average campaign.
19 May 2017 08:50:17
Jose, miki, pogba, zlatan and bailly added in the summer, I was expecting a lot more .
It's our lowest win total ever in the EPL worse than moyes .
Our form since Xmas been very average and that's a concern because you want to see improvement over the season and we have seen the opposite .
This is probably the best squad we have had in a while which is the reason no one had us outside the top 4.
Some of the football of late hasn't so much been defensive it has boarded on defeatist.
Has Jose lost his mojo? After last season and this that's the question.
19 May 2017 09:04:17
Good post AJH. I thoroughly agree with most, if not all of that.
It's been overly evident that we must do better next season in terms of our overall performance. I am not asking for the 'swashbuckling' performances every week. But I do want to see more of an identity within the team and the players as right now they look void of that at times. Maybe that is down to Joses tactics and somewhat bizarre behaviour at times but we need to see an identity to the team.
My takeaway from this season has been quite simple, although we went on a bit of a run, showed flashes of what we should be and possibly 2 cups better off, Jose, simply does not trust the squad that he currently has at his disposal. Even though that probably isn't good enough due to many fans and pundits believing us to have a very strong team and squad, Jose clearly did not trust this squad enough. I think that was very evident in how he set up the team.
I can only be hopeful that once Jose has bought his typical spine, a strong CB pairing, an all destroying CM and of course a CF, that we will start to see a more trusting mourinho and one who let's his attacking players off the leash a bit more.
But as I said, we must do better and I think we will do better. It's been a decent season but I am under no illusions as to the problems facing both the squad and manager going into next season.
First things first though, we must secure champions league football. It will be a welcomed springboard into the summer transfer window.
BTW I don't listen to anything Klopp says as I believe he has shown himself to be quite inept at times. He speaks of working with the players he has because he has never had the financial backing like Jose has. He has no choice really.
19 May 2017 09:30:30
I think this has been a challenging season for both Jose and the players. I think it has surprised him how much the players have struggled to adapt to his way of training and playing.
He now has the knowledge of who he can trust and keep and who he will get rid of. I think this will be a busy summer on all fronts.
I am sure that with a full summer of no international tournaments and Jose getting players In early that we will be much joined up next year.
A clinical striker (we have made enough chances), a midfield destroyer to also free up Pogba and another solid CB alongside Bailly and we will have the making of a title challenge.
19 May 2017 09:30:47
Good post AJH, my view is that Jose needs to start working with the players rather than dictating to them. He has fallen out with half the first team at various points this season, for one reason or another, and you can see that some of the players are so focused on following Jose's instructions that their creativity is suffering. On paper we have some top class attacking players, but they look completely shackled over the last few months.
It's true that we need a few new additions, but we should be close to challenging for titles with the players we have. If you look at Spurs you can see a team thriving under the manager, with us it's the opposite. Jose seems that have internalised the us against them attitude that has worked in the past, to the point that he thinks his own players are out to sabotage his plans. I think a frank sit down with the players is needed after the Ajax game to see how to work together next season. If Jose doesn't learn how to work differently, he won't last another season here.
19 May 2017 09:41:06
Danny I think that's a really good post as well as ajh.
Some very good points in there and a lot I agree with .
Things need to change for next season.
19 May 2017 09:57:29
Jose's record is great a proven winner but how much better is he when he's cocky, arrogant and confident instead of all the negative stuff both what he says and how he sets the team up to play, he's like a man who needs a kick up the backside off someone he knows well when he starts his defeatist stuff.
19 May 2017 10:24:45
Agree completely.
Even the League Cup and Europa League have been very hard work, Southampton were far the better team in the final (that Semi against Hull was far too close for comfort and they ended up relegated) . We have hung on in the Europa League against some rank awful teams. It was touch and go at one point whether we would even get out of our group! Who have we played of any substance in that competition as well?
He gets a C from me. Our expected straight A student has been smoking too much pot and hanging around with the cool kids too much, next year he needs to get back to his books and knuckle down or he will be expelled very quickly.
19 May 2017 10:54:12
It wasnt the season that we all expected but i think mourinho has done an ok job
People talk about managers working with the players they have and by going off the sharkopod and how busy our transfer window is expected to be, maybe mourinho doesn't see much in quite a few of the players in the squad, possibly why we have been so defensive, especially in the big games. don't forget that at the start of the season, bailly was new and i don't think anybody rated any of the other cb in the squad. Maybe mourinho doesn't either.
I definitely expected a title challenge this year and we fell way short. If our transfer window is as busy as expected then there can be no excuses next year as this will definitely be mourinhos squad. Europa league final next week is a huge game for us, i hope mourinho has a plan and the players execute it, we need to be back in the champions league
Next year is a big year for mourinho, let's not forget that this is the guy that won the league just 2 years ago, i don't see how you can lose the magic that quick.
19 May 2017 11:14:30
Also remember that the second year where nearly all of Jose's teams kick on and are successful. He has said recently that he likes the transition from year 1 to year 2. The players know what it expected. The board does and he does.
Rose tinted I know but we should feel confident.
19 May 2017 11:52:08
I never realised there were so many people on here who wanted Jose out.
19 May 2017 13:11:36
Good he gets a C from you beast. An F means you want him sacked, right? Oh wait.
19 May 2017 13:41:02
Anything less than an A deserves the sack, B at a stretch.
We are the Oxbridge of Football, not Glyndwr University.
19 May 2017 15:50:12
Some really good comments. Stevie, I'm notvdaying U want him out, I just want him to stop being so negative. It's almost a self fulfilling prophecy, if you keep banking on about how tired everyone is then that's all they are thinking about.
Underwhelmed is a good word Shappy, I expected so much more this year. I'm not exactly confident we will see Ajax off either, I hope he is being positive but I fear he will approach it with an "avoid losing" mentality.
19 May 2017 16:00:57
Tony. I was referring to the fact that even mild criticism of Jose on here, can have you labelled as being in some sort of anti-Jose camp, or being one of the, 'usual suspects'. Just be careful.
19 May 2017 17:11:19
Toxic Tony!
19 May 2017 18:12:56
The anti Mourinho clan out again I see! 😜.
19 May 2017 20:05:07
It's the same if any body critices fellaini some people just jump to defend him 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Jose has lots to improve upon there is no doubt about that.
I don't get annoyed about some of the things that annoy others about Jose.
But some of what annoys me will not annoy others.
Lots to improve but a win on Wednesday and it's been a good season trophy wise. I think this squad is really poor. It lacks leaders, goals, balance, and outstanding match winning talent. I'm Hoping next year will be a big improvement.