Manchester United can’t put too much faith in Jose Mourinho
Any Manchester United supporter who believes Jose Mourinho is at Old Trafford for the long haul is an absolute fool. If the Red Devils prioritize their mercenary manager over a transcendent talent like Paul Pogba, they deserve to endure a decade of mediocrity.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Mourinho again took to the press to criticize Pogba after his club’s pathetic 1-0 loss at West Brom this weekend. He accused the Frenchman of overcomplicating the game. In Mourinho’s language, that means he tried to be a clever attacker despite occupying a midfield position.
You can see the summer conflict between the star player and Mourinho coming a mile away. The Special One will gradually increase his moaning about Pogba until the summer transfer window opens. Then he’ll up the criticism of his midfield star another level to encourage bids from other clubs. Finally, Pogba will leave Old Trafford in a cloud of controversy for another rich European club. Mourinho will then somehow criticize Ed Woodward for fouling the entire thing up despite his desire to see Pogba leave.
If that happens, United deserve to wallow in Manchester City’s shadow for years to come. It would be a mistake of truly epic proportions. Even if you think the two men are somewhat equal in terms of their importance to United, the scales must be tipped in Pogba’s favour due to his potential longevity.
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Mourinho is almost certainly on the downside of his United tenure. He has a long-standing tradition of serving big clubs for three seasons. Just ask Chelsea or Real Madrid fans how he likes to operate. Even if he is likely to beat that mark at United, it’s not like he’s going to become the club’s next Sir Alex Ferguson. If Mourinho makes it five years at United it’ll be a significant surprise.
Pogba, in sharp contrast, has at least five years of his football prime left to play. At 25 years of age, he should be entering the real apex of his career. United should expect to see his play improve for at least another three or four seasons. If you believe in his talent, which I clearly do, that means he’ll probably become one of the best players in the Premier League.
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It’s a simple choice really. Would United fans rather have a manager who constantly whines about his squad or a potentially world-class midfielder? No matter how ruthlessly effective Mourinho can be as a manager, choosing him over a talent like Pogba would be complete idiocy.