19 Feb 2026 13:53:55
Mourinho, what a clown. Apparently Vinicius brings all this racist abuse on himself. Seriously, I know he can be erratic but this is a new low, unless he's suggesting he makes it all up.
On a completely separate subject, Alonso hasn't come up in our discussions yet, views?
19 Feb 2026 14:21:39
Jose is doing standard Jose stuff. It's what the Spanish media has done to Vinicius for years. I'm not a fan of trolling celebrations, but he gets abuse because of his skin colour. It's what Ian Wright was saying about Bellingham: if you're black and not completely humble, you're seen as fair game.
As for Alonso, given his ties to Liverpool and his preferred system, I don't see him as an option. Tbh, I suspect that he's waiting for Slot to be sacked.
19 Feb 2026 22:57:24
His mitigation was nothing short of disgusting, and a new low for him.
20 Feb 2026 10:19:16
I hope it was something he said in the moment without fully thinking it through and that he now regrets saying it. The fact that it even crossed his mind and that he thought it was an acceptable thing to say though brings his character into question.
As for Alonso, I think he's a great young manager who achieved phenomenal success with Bayer Leverkusen. However, like all young managers he is far from the finished article and he will make mistakes over the next few years, how successful he becomes will depend on how well he learns from those errors.
I fully understand why he took the Real Madrid job, but most clued in football fans/pundits all thought it could be a mistake when he first took the job. Much like Amorim his success at Leverkusen was built around having the right players who all bought into his system/style of play.
The question at the time was whether he chose the system because that was his preference or whether he chose a system that he thought would get the best out of the players he had available.
He was forced to use a different system at Real Madrid, and while he was effective with how he had them playing, he seemed to struggle with the egos and with getting the best out of their biggest players.
In essence he went from a club where it was team first, players second at Leverkusen to a club like Real Madrid where it's players first, team second.
Which just caused tension and ultimately led to his sacking. His next club has to be chosen very carefully. There will be obvious questions in the media as to whether he goes back to the system he used at Leverkusen or whether he adapts to something new. No doubt he'll have that question in his own head. Ultimately whatever he chooses to do has to be the right path otherwise he'll face the media backlash.
Personally I think at his next club he has to play a system that gets the best out of the players he has available as he needs success more than he needs his philosophy to be proven right. I would say that is the same for Amorim.
However, if he feels strongly about returning to the philosophy/style/system that brought him success at Leverkusen then the best solution is to find a club where the players suit his preferred way of playing. Marrying up both his preferred style with what is best for the players he has.
For that reason I don't think he's the right fit for Manchester United in a post Amorim landscape. He won't be able to use a three at the back system without heavy skepticism from fans and pundits, and would need instant success with it. Likewise if he chose to use a different style and wasn't instantly successful with it then people would question his decision not to go back to what made him successful in the first place. He would also need quick success as his Liverpool affiliation would mean he probably won't be given much slack by the majority of fans.
I still really rate him as a manager, and I would support his appointment if he was given the job (as I would whoever gets it even if it's not my preferred option). However, given how the last 18 months have gone for him and that he is on a slight downturn rather than an upward trajectory, the pressure and expectations at Manchester United, and the limited grace he would be given due to his past with Liverpool, he does represent a risk.
However, history does have a habit of repeating itself within football, Sir Matt was a former Liverpool player and he was a pretty successful Manchester United manager.
20 Feb 2026 12:23:47
Jeez Shaps, it must be school holidays. ?
20 Feb 2026 12:34:03
I don't want to defend Mourinho, but when I heard what he said, I assumed he was saying that Vini Jr was lying about it being racist abuse, and that, in his opinion, Vini Jr is jeered because he's just dislikable rather than it being anything to do with his race. Just because Mourinho can be a prat, I don't think this approach of saying he is condoning racism is fair, or indeed is the correct interpretation of what he was saying.
My interpretation is probably wrong, but I do think everyone should cool their jets. As for Prestianni, Mbappe is verifying what Vini Jr has said. I think he should face a very serious ban. Banning him for the rest of the season would show people that - finally - people are taking racist abuse seriously (that is assuming the allegation stands up, which I expect it will).
21 Feb 2026 07:19:26
Is he only racist towards Vinicius, or towards his ~10 teammates and other Real players as well? Is he racist every day, or just in that one minute where he said SOMETHING (and we do not really know what). I mean, it gets thrown out there so easily these days. To me, it is starting to have the opposite effect. What is racism and what is an insult? If he called him a "monkey", is that racism? What if he called him a "donkey"? Would that be too? What would you call it if he told him he was a little girl? I personally dislike Vinicius, but it has nothing to do with his skin color; it has everything to do with his behavior on and off the pitch.
Mbappe is probably lying; he could not hear what was said. I also would not trust Prestianni or Vinicius, just as Mourinho said.
21 Feb 2026 11:28:32
Can you be a racist if you're not racist to everyone around you, every moment of your life?
Or can you only be racist when you cover your face to say something to a black man, who then says you racially abused him?
If he called him a long established racial slur with the clear historical connotation that black people are less evolved that everyone else, is that racism?
What if he called him an insult without racial connotations, would that be racism?
Who's to say in this crazy world.
Anyway, I think the black people are lying, but that's nothing to do with racial bias.
21 Feb 2026 11:48:50
Trololo, if he called him a monkey that is absolutely racism. It is not the same as calling someone a donkey. That's a shocker of a comment fella
21 Feb 2026 12:32:06
Trololo, go and educate yourself, you donkey.