Yesterday we asked you whether Jose Mourinho had past it as a manager, but now it’s time for FootballFanCast’s writers to have their say on the matter.
So is Jose past his best? Here’s what the experts think…
Christy Malyan
Yes – but he can still win titles
Take a look at Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea – the beautiful game has moved on from the 4-3-3 Mourinho mantra that was mimicked around the globe during the mid-2000s. Just as the Special One once made Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson look outdated, Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing, Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka and Antonio Conte’s battering ram football are now doing the same to him.
Mourinho’s sides have always been the best at playing on the back foot, but amid an era in which world-class defenders are becoming increasingly rare, the creativity, attacking flair and freedom of the opposition is proving too much for his physical, organised, defence-comes-first philosophy.
But that doesn’t mean Mourinho’s career at the top of the game is over. Trophies may be less frequent but the Portuguese has consistently proved throughout his career that he’s capable of achieving success with the best players and despite recent failings, he still carries that aura into big games.
It’s just a matter of how much Manchester United are willing to spend but based on current evidence, Mourinho will have a blank cheque in the transfer market. In the short-term, surviving from one window to another until he builds the perfect squad is Mourinho’s biggest challenge. He doesn’t have the seemingly unconditional backing of the press anymore, which is magnifying every poor result.
Chris McMullan
If we’re wondering whether Mourinho has had his day, maybe it’s better just to think of it as a changing era. He is a canny coach who knows how to organise a defence, preferring to leave the side’s cutting edge to one or two key attackers whose flair can add something extra to his team. In a way, you could describe him as the Tony Pulis of the elite.
On the other hand, tactical decisions are incredibly important, and Mourinho’s one dimension plan has often come unstuck. Replacing the in-form Juan Mata with the more defensively-minded Morgan Schneiderlin showed his lack of nuance. Getting an extra defender on the pitch isn’t always a help in holding onto a lead. It allowed Arsenal to pour forward without fear of being ripped open by Mata, and disrupted United’s rhythm, giving them no link between defence and attack.
When Chelsea lost to ten-man PSG in the 2014/15 Champions League, Mourinho made a similar sub with five minutes to go. He was leading 2-0 and going through on aggregate, but brought Kurt Zouma onto the pitch to shore up the defence. In an instant, that allowed PSG’s centre backs to push up the pitch and spread the ball around more easily. David Luiz equalised and Thiago Silva scored in extra time to take PSG through on away goals.
This isn’t a new problem with Mourinho.
Josh Challies
For me, Mourinho was last at his best when he left Inter Milan after winning the treble. He didn’t really succeed at Real Madrid and, despite winning the Premier League upon his return to Chelsea, he quickly ran the club into trouble the following season and ended out tossed out again.
That’s why I was surprised Manchester United appointed him, they need someone for the long-term and he’s never looked like that sort of manager.
He doesn’t have the connection to his players that you need to succeed in long-term, which has been shown by his treatment of Luke Shaw, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Danielle Joynson
At the age of just 53, it seems premature and too definitive to state that Jose Mourinho is past his best, but the evidence in front of us leans to the contrary.
What surprised me the most was that plenty of fans and pundits alike seemed to brush aside Mourinho’s horror season at Chelsea when he was appointed at Manchester United in the summer. He was dubbed as somewhat of a saviour for the Red Devils and his arrival at Old Trafford put United right back up to title contenders, even though he won just four of his 16 Premier League games in charge of the Blues last season.
In fact, the Portuguese coach has overseen just nine top-flight wins in 28 outings since the start of last season. If that record belonged to a manager lacking Mourinho’s pedigree, then big questions would be asked.
We all know that Mourinho has rubbed people up the wrong way in the past, but for me, the controversy at Chelsea last season – the conflict with former team doctor Eva Carneiro and losing the dressing room – has taken its toll on the man.
He no longer has control of the press room, journalists don’t pander to his every line, and he seems to approach the media in a defensive manner. Mourinho comes across to me like a man who feels hard done by, perhaps because of the public criticism that he has faced, as well as the regular bashings he gets from the FA.
Despite all of this, Mourinho is still tactically astute – we saw that when his team stifled Liverpool in the goalless draw at Anfield in October, so he is still more than capable of winning big games and titles, but it appears that the aura of ‘The Special One’ is no more.
Steven Riley
In a word: yes.
Jose Mourinho’s was the best manager in the world between 2003 and 2010 and his achievements showcase it.
He won back-to-back titles with FC Porto and a Champions League against the odds, dominated his first two seasons with Chelsea and then brought two more league successes and another European title with Inter Milan.
The latter achievement was arguably his crowning glory – the semi-final win over favourites Barcelona was the blueprint of a Mourinho defensive performance – but the game has moved on.
Mourinho’s success came when a strong defence almost guaranteed victory – Greece won Euro 2004 the same year the Portuguese masterminded Porto’s European triumph – and he undoubtedly changed the game as playing a lone striker became the norm in the Premier League.
Now the ultra-pressing of managers Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp is in vogue, with the former two also not afraid of experimenting with the three-man backline that has brought Antonio Conte success.
Mourinho meanwhile is rigidly sticking with the 4-2-3-1 that fell flat in his last 12 months at Chelsea and failing to shoehorn the world’s most expensive player in at Manchester United.
Jose’s time has come and gone, and if he fails to move with the times, he risks becoming another footballing dinosaur.
Have your say…
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