Problems are mounting for Jose Mourinho after Manchester United’s latest shambolic display

18 September 2016 06:35

It’s official! Manchester United are even more boring under Jose Mourinho than they were when the widely reviled Louis Van Gaal was in command. And that’s saying something.

Whilst United were positively rotten in Rotterdam on Thursday night; they were equally woeful in Watford this afternoon. No shape; no plan; no idea.

United were a shambles in their defeat to Feyenoord and there was little or no improvement at Vicarage Road where United faces were as red as the shirts once worn with such pride and distinction in a bygone era.

Jose admitted as much in his post-match interview and he knows that, with his side already SIX points behind leaders and rivals City, he has an almighty job on his hands arresting this embarrassing slide.

Mourinho, when managing Inter, once described former Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri – now manager of Watford – as a ‘hard-working donkey who would never be a thoroughbred’.

Eeyore.eeyore.eeyore to know better than that!

Watford, with a well deserved back-to-back win, inflicted a third successive defeat on a United side who don’t seem to know their a**e from their elbow. As my later father used to say.

Marcus Rashford, their only shining light on a black afternoon, gave United hope of a comeback victory just after the hour mark after Etienne Capoue had given Watford a first half lead.

But after Hornets sub Juan Zuniga restored the home side’s lead after 83 minutes – 53 seconds after entering the fray – and Troy Deeney clinched the points from the spot in stoppage time, United were a team in disarray.

Mourinho can argue all he likes about the Watford opener, which came about when Miguel Britos ‘fouled’ Anthony Martial before setting up Capoue, but no excuses after that.

Not so much a case of ‘back to the drawing board’ as throw the old one away; get a new one and start from scratch!

Through gritted teeth, Jose told BT Sport’s Des Kelly after the 3-1 defeat: “We cannot control the referee’s mistakes; we cannot control the lucky moments in the game; all we can control are our individual mistakes.”

There were certainly plenty of those – all the way from David de Gea to Chris Smalling and all the way through to ineffective skipper Wayne Rooney and the non-existent Paul Pogba who doesn’t look worth £8.9m let alone £89m.

Mourinho continued on BT Sport: “I am always concerned when we don’t get the result we want. I wasn’t happy with the tempo and creativity in the first 30 minutes. We didn’t play well and that is something we have to improve on.”

Watford’s inspirational skipper and third goalscorer Deeney paid tribute to the quality players he has around him and the ‘real men’ who ‘roughed up’ a United side found wanting when the chips were down.

United can expect more of the same from future opponents who will have watched this latest capitulation with interest. And optimism.

Dave Smith

Source: DSG