Watching Jose Mourinho march out of his post-game media conference on Tuesday made me giggle.
Tottenham Hotspur had just completed a 3-0 whitewash of his Manchester United team that sent social and football media into a spin.
Many have labelled the club as being in crisis with some even calling for the dismissal of perhaps the most famed and enigmatic manager in world football.
Mourinho held up three fingers in the direction of a journalist who had alluded to some rather obvious elephants in the room. United sit 13th in the very early stages of the season and in itself, that shouldn’t be a problem.
In a purely mathematical world and considering his squad of stars, a couple of settling wins could have them back on track very quickly, however the team looks to be in something of a rut.
There is a growing belief that Mourinho’s generally reactive and conservative approach to the game is putting him well behind the modern football curve.
Throw in his increasingly erratic behaviour and commentary that has always been hard to follow, along with the rumoured tensions between the manager and some key officials at the Red Devils and the future looks grim.
Jose Mourinho storms out of a press conference, demanding respect
Mourinho stormed from the presser citing respect; specifically, the respect he deserved for winning more titles than all of the other Premier League managers put together.
Without any personal disrespect intended, I almost wet my pants. We all look at the world through a different lens and the uniqueness of the individual is something to be celebrated.
However, Mourinho appears to be looking through a lens about as functional and reliable as the glasses worn by Piggy in Lord of the Flies.
He has lost the plot.
The greatest tool in overcoming distasteful hubris, is a clear dose of perspective. Or, as an Anglican Minister preached at an awards ceremony I attended some years back; what you see depends on where you stand.
Of course it is all a little bit Mr Keating from Dead Poet’s Society but the point, I think, is fair.
Mourinho has thrown the rattle, teething ring and blankie from the cot and mum and dad aren’t patting him back to sleep. The Portugese earns a reported £15 million per season to mentor one of the biggest and most expensive teams in world football.
He has been given somewhere around £400 million to build and mould the current crop of players and has lived in a bubble of adoration for much of his managerial career.
Appointments in Portugal, Spain, England and Italy saw everything he touched turn to gold, until now.
To most of us here in the contrastingly humble A-League world, Mourinho comes across as an elitist sook.
The ten A-league teams work off a frustrating salary cap of around three million Australian dollars whilst Mourinho manages a team worth somewhere near A$1.3 billion. That is actually kind of funny.
Jose Mourinho (Supplied)
His big summer signing, Fred, arrived after a £52 million transfer arrangement with Shakhtar Donetesk; a figure that almost buys the entire A-League playing stocks twice over.
While Australian football struggles to grow attendance figures and attract world class talent as often as it would like, Mourinho finds it difficult to answer a tough question about a team whose value is in excess of the GDP of many nations.
If Mourinho thinks he has reason to go home and slam a few doors in frustration, perhaps he should take a look at football through an Australian lens.
The never ending domestic challenges in Australia are far more significant than those faced by a team of millionaires that has managed only three points from its first three matches.
As I wrote on Tuesday, the Australian domestic competition grapples with the question of the Wellington Phoenix; both its value and long term place in the competition.
Moreover, the new expansion teams, whoever they may be, will have significant battles early in their existence.
The development of a fully professional second tier where the elite NPL clubs from around the country have graduation rights to the A-League presents further structural and governance challenges. As valuable as it will be in the long term, there will be no saloon passage and casualties along the way are inevitable rather than undesirable.
The Premier League is an industry around which clear turnover and profit statistics are difficult to gauge. Perhaps the best measuring stick is the £2.42 billion that was shared between the clubs in the off-season.
Sadly, that money appears to be feeding the egotistical nonsense of the world’s most controversial football manager.
Plagued with self-interest and narcissism, he reminds me of a Liberal Party leadership candidate; so distanced from reality and the ultimate altruistic purpose that should occupy his thinking.
He can take his three titles and shove ‘em. I’ll remain more concerned about A-League membership numbers, crowd figures and the quality of play on the pitch, than whether or not Jose Mourinho will one day grow up.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
3' - Hawks on top. Richmond 0.0 0 Hawthorn 0.0 0
Stuart Thomas
Expert
3’ Pressure in the front third is enormous from Richmond. Hawks under the pump. Hawks 11.6 72 Tigers 14.2 86
Stuart Thomas
Expert
3’ Pressure in the front third is enormous from Richmond. Hawks under the pump. Hawks 11.6 72 Tigers 14.2 86
reuster75
Roar Rookie
"Maybe, it’s because Mourinho has always had zero regard for courting the media, that has now morphed into utter contempt for those who make a living from writing about the Game." More likely it's the constant barbs at opponents, eye gouging opposition coaches, constantly whining about not getting things his own way etc. etc. What caused his reaction in the press conference was he was arguing about the meaning of a result saying that Utd didn't lose the game tactically or strategically when a journalist (from the Guardian so not someone looking to deliberately win him up) not unreasonably pointed out to him they still lost 3-0. Over the years the English media have been very kind to Mourinho (the Italian and Spanish press were a lot harder on him) but it's got to the point whereby when he's constantly moaning that his players aren't good enough they are asking the reasonable question of why hasn't he improved them given that's his job.
Nick Symonds
Guest
NEWS - Soccer: FFA urges $100m fighting fund to improve facilities - Football Federation Australia is calling for the establishment of a $100 million fighting fund to help improve grassroots facilities as concerns over the growing number of kids being turned away from playing the sport reach crisis point. - The report says Victoria will need an extra 420 pitches to meet expectations of a huge rise in registered players by 2026. FFV chief executive Peter Filopoulos revealed clubs in Victoria were forced to turn away more than 12,000 kids this season because they could not cope with the demand. - “We are already the No 1 club-based participation sport in Australia with more than 1.1 million participants,” it says in the report. “If football continues to grow at current rates, it will have around three million participants by 2030.” - 3 MILLION BY 2030! - https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/football/soccer-ffa-urges-100m-fighting-fund-to-improve-facilities/news-story/5f098fd53155ce8d6eb47161437993e3
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Nem - I think you just lifted the lid on the crux of the matter. Pre Sir Alex, the club won the cup and performed fairly well at times but lived in the shadow of their merseyside rivals. That all changed of course and they became the benchmark for English clubs. Trying to maintain that position gets harder and harder and it isn’t just about money. Whilst older fans may be more forgiving, younger ones who have been used to their dominance have less patience and then there are the owners/sfareholders to consider and how much Leeway do they allow? I do believe there is a fair bit of baiting that goes on though and JM is an easy catch!
Nemesis
Roar Guru
Jose Mourinho seems to attract inordinate amount of petty barbs. I've never understood why. Even when he coached Chelsea, I thoroughly enjoyed Mourinho's personality. Maybe, it's because Mourinho has always had zero regard for courting the media, that has now morphed into utter contempt for those who make a living from writing about the Game. I like him. I like his personality. I like his trophy winning mentality. Above all, I liked watching him host Special1 TV. For sure his negativity has me frustrated at times, but United were not negative against Spurs. They played with a freedom & fluidity that I'd be happy to watch every week. They lost 0-3 because Spurs were clinical in 3 moments but, over a 38 match season, if United play that style of football the true Man United fans won't be upset. True Man United fans followed the club Before Ferguson. If you followed Man United Before Fergie, then you know how to appreciate football even without trophies.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Stuart, the reason why I prefer to focus attention on the A League and local football and not EPL is more about the reality, or how far removed tbe EPL has moved from the reality of daily life and Jose kind of sums it up better than most. It is a different world. To some I suppose it is a real world but not the vast majority and the antics of super rich “playboys / spolit children “ really is of little interest. The only interesting part of the Old Trafford machinations right now is peeping to see whether or not the hugely expensive squad assembled can play some good football? There is a theme buried in there though that I enjoy discussing and that surrounds The need for JM to demand respect as he has won 3 league titles albeit at another club. I argue that a team and a coach are as good as their last result and maybe what has gone on before. In sport we live for the moment and it is all about current form. History counts for little in that sense which is why you must enjoy the success at the time reflect on it, bask in the glory and then move on. Locally we have just witnessed 2 seasons of SFC totally dominate the A League irrespective of whether they won the GF or not last year. They have been the benchmark and nobody has got close. However, change of coach, change of playing personnel and change of grounds all coming at the same time mean a fresh new challenge and when the kick off finally comes, what happened last year counts for nothing. Likewise for JM. We respect he has done well in the past but is he performing now. Personally I thought and said it was totally the wrong fit at Man United and stand by that argument. Winning League Cup and UEFA only helps to mask the inherrent problems at the club in the post Fergie era.