Jose Mourinho is facing a Chelsea style player revolt at Manchester United
Jose Mourinho needs to learn from his mistakes
Quite a few Manchester United fans were embarrassed by the club’s 2-1 loss at Huddersfield this weekend. Jose Mourinho made his displeasure with his players crystal clear after the match. Unfortunately for The Special One, he may have taken things too far.
Reports from England claim that quite a few members of his United squad took offense to Mourinho’s post match rant. In particular, Mourinho targeted Ander Herrera for criticism after he questioned his team’s level of desire after the demoralizing loss. He called for the Spanish midfielder to further explain his words because he couldn’t possibly understand why the team wouldn’t be motivated to win the match.
If this story sounds familiar to you, it should. The conflict between Mourinho and his players is eerily similar to the circumstances that caused him to be summarily dismissed from his position in charge of Chelsea. He completely lost the dressing room at Stamford Bridge after an extended period of blaming various players for their inability to execute his orders.
The real question here is whether or not history is repeating itself. Optimistic United fans will point to the team’s success on the campaign as proof this is just a blip on the club’s radar. More pessimistic fans might see this as the beginning of the end for Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford.
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Per usual, the proof is likely somewhere in between. There are certainly some United fans irritated with their manager currently. A club like United doesn’t lose to Huddersfield without some significant irritation. That simply isn’t an acceptable result for a club of that stature.
On the other hand, it’s not as if United haven’t been playing good football for the majority of the campaign. Even after the stunning loss, they still find themselves second in the Premier League table. That isn’t where the club would like to be, but it isn’t a sin either. Finishing second wouldn’t be the end of the world for Mourinho’s squad.
The challenge for Mourinho going forward will be avoiding the same plight that befell him at Chelsea. He needs to stop the bleeding and infighting before it really gets started. If it’s allowed to fester, it could be fatal to his Premier League managerial career. It’s not as if we haven’t seen it happen before.
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The relationship between Mourinho and his United squad is certainly something to watch moving forward. At best, the tension will go away after United win their next match. At worst, we’re watching the beginning of a squad rebellion that will exile him from England sooner than he ever intended to leave.