‘It’s Nothing Short Of Embarrassing’ – Roy Keane Shares Thoughts On Jose Mourinho’s First Season With Man Utd

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If you can fathom such a thing, Roy Keane has delivered a terse, negative assessment of Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge of Manchester United.

With United sixth in the Premier League, some 19 points behind champions-elect Chelsea and almost solely reliant on winning the Europa League to qualify for the Champions League next year, Keane has written off Mourinho’s debut campaign as “nothing short of embarrassing.”

Appearing on ITV Sport, Keane was asked whether two cup wins (the EFL Cup and the Europa League) would be enough to render Mourinho’s first campaign a ‘success’.

His response was as pessimistic as you might expect:

I wouldn’t go that far. I don’t care. For a club like Manchester United, winning the League Cup and the Europa League with the teams that are in it, you’d expect them to do that.

But to be so far behind in the league I think is nothing short of embarrassing with the players they have and the squad and money they’ve spent.

He (Mourinho) is coming out with plenty of excuses over the last few months.

This idea that they’re now sixth in the league, I think it’s what, 19 points behind Chelsea? I think the manager and the players should be embarrassed by that.

As wearisome as Keane’s joyless world-view can be, it’s hard to argue – and Mourinho’s constant reliance on preemptive excuses can be just as tiresome.

That said, two major(ish) trophies and a spot in the Champions League for next year would be far from an “embarrassment”.

Indeed, it’s actually a slight improvement on the utter morose tripe that has emanated from Old Trafford in recent seasons.

Posted in Man Utd, Managers, Newsnow

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10 Comments

  1. Bruno says:

    The team is playing much better than last season. They are not losing games and they don’t even have a good defense. Not everybody can do that. If 50% of the home draws were wins, United would be second in the league. I must agree that Mourinho gives a lot of excuses – he always does, every manager does – but you can’t argue that United are very, very unlucky with injuries, for example.
    Have you ever seen Zlatan injured? Mata? Pogba? Even De Gea got injured. I won’t even mention the always injured Jones, Rojo, Rooney, Shaw, Smalling, Bailly (injured twice and out to the African Cup for a month or so), etc etc etc. Mkhitaryan.

    Keane was part of the best Man United team ever. It’s easy to say that everything else is shit. And back then there was United and Arsenal, nothing else. Now there’s Chelsea, City, Tottenham (even Leicester won the league last year). Different times, Keano.

    With 2 or 3 players with a killer instinct coming in, and those already at United more used to what Mourinho wants from them, United should be in the mix next season. You can’t expect them to draw 0x0 at Old Trafford forever and if you think that a fantastic manager like Mourinho – with all the money in the world to spend – will keep finishing 6th – 5th – 4th, you’re very naive…

  2. SUPPER AB says:

    YES YOU ARE RIGHT ……I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU
    ….., JOSE IS THE CURRENT BEST FOOTBALL MANAGER IN THE WORLD. ……. AND AS WE ALL KNOW 2ND SEASON IS THE TIME FOR JOSE……. NEXT YEAR BY THIS TIME ,WE WOULD HAVE BEEN CHAMPION OF BPL+ FACAP+ LCAP …..AND REACH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINALIST…….

  3. Hotspur922 says:

    ^ LOL this guy funny shit

  4. Rob says:

    Bruno, “if 50% of the home draws were wins” they weren’t, that’s part of the argument, injuries? Come on is this Mourinho in disguise?

    • Bruno says:

      Rob, my point is, do you expect United to draw 15 times at home again next season with 3 or 4 four great players (probably) coming in? They are not losing, with a very unbalanced squad with players signed to suit Moyes and Van Gaal. This is the first step and Mourinho has managed to achieve it. The next one – after the transfer window – is to actually win those matches.

    • Bruno says:

      By the way, where’s City with the great genius Guardiola? 3 points above the worst team in the world, United. Out of the Champions League by the hands of a french side with 20 kids + Falcao. He has also done some fantastic signings like the goalkeeper that can’t catch the ball and the defender that can’t defend (Stones). There’s also Nolito, a fantastic player for the La Liga 2……. why does nobody speaks about that?

  5. Yardo says:

    “if we’d gotten more points, we’d be higher up the table!”

    Any club can say that, and any club in the top 6 is arguably just a few players away from challenging for the title. The point is, Utd are not there and they’re not close despite their rich history and immense financial investment.

    I’m NOT a Utd fan, and so I think the table looks great the way it is. If I were, I’d be expecting more.

  6. VieuxSang says:

    Shamrock Santa is right on. The boys of the city that chests of men built will prance the upper echelons again. Cue “it’s just a matter of time”.

  7. Doppleganger says:

    They are boring and negative, 6th is bang on what they deserve. I hope Ajax don’t retreat into their shell (see their semi second leg performance) and beat them in the final. I’ve been bored of Jose for a while now.

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