Manchester United: Mourinho finds a new attacker to criticize
Players can never relax at Manchester United
Manchester United fans have grown accustomed to manager Jose Mourinho berating midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan this season. Now it seems the Special One has moved on from the Armenian attacker to criticize another United star.
The latest target for Mourinho is Anthony Martial. The United boss has recently hit out against the Frenchman calling his fitness into question. Specifically, Mourinho doesn’t believe Martial is ready physically or mentally to cope with the pressures of playing every week.
As a subtle reminder, Martial did manage to find the back of the net in the first half against Watford this week. He was substituted off after 65 minutes, but it’s not as if he wasn’t impactful. Interestingly enough, Whoscored.com awarded Martial a 7.65 rating for his hour of action against the Hornets.
It’s plain to see this is just another example of Mourinho using the press to motivate his players. He clearly knows that Martial is playing good football at the moment, but he believes there’s even more potential to the Frenchman’s game. Mourinho is trying to scold Martial publicly in an effort to get every ounce of performance he can from the talented wide man.
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Time will tell whether or not this proves to be an effective strategy. Certainly, using the press to publicly slate some players can be a useful motivational tool. On the other hand, it can also cause some players to become so angry with their manager they stop trying altogether. The point here is that Mourinho is playing a very dangerous game with Martial.
Undoubtedly, Mourinho has come to the conclusion that Martial can either improve his play/fitness level or simply be sold. There would be no shortage of suitors across Europe if Martial found himself on the open transfer market. United could easily expect to receive a transfer fee in excess of £40 million for Martial’s services.
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At some point, players and United fans will get tired of Mourinho’s antics. If Martial isn’t the last straw, some other player will be. It’s only a matter of time before The Special One alienates everyone at Old Trafford. United fans just hope he’s won a plethora of trophies before that day comes.