Does the Brighton defeat signal the Mourinho meltdown?

by Ryan Conway

Two goals in as many minutes and a late first half penalty was enough for Brighton and Hove Albion as they inflicted another defeat on Manchester United at the Amex Stadium. Chris Hughton’s side were excellent and saw out the game in a mature manner, save for a last-gasp penalty which Paul Pogba converted. The 3-2 defeat on a day when Manchester City thrashed Huddersfield Town 6-1 will irk Jose Mourinho. The familiar symptoms are there, is this his ‘third season syndrome’ at work again?

The Special One has used the media to throw barbs at rivals and supposed allies. He criticised Manchester City following the release of their All or Nothing documentary series, this after his constant hints to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward that he needs a new centre back. Mourinho may have a point as all three goals conceded at Brighton were, in part at least, the fault of his centre back duo Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof.

After their first defeat of the season Mourinho took a sly dig at both his players and the media.

“When I speak about individual performances and sometimes when I am critical of my players you just don’t accept it, said the United boss.

“The press, the pundits are very critical of me when I go in that direction. So please don’t ask me to go in this direction because it is not good for me.”

He went on to criticise referee Kevin Friend in a manner befitting his prickly interviewers.

“When we are winning we are used to the referees letting things go and let that ball end in the box, but Kevin looks like he was in a hurry to finish the game,” critiqued the 55-year-old,

“When De Gea had the ball and the team was ready for that long last ball Kevin finished the game. Congratulations obviously to Brighton.”

Half-hearted praise for the opposition was undercut by waves of critical overtones and smattering of self-defence. This path has been trodden before.

There is a case to be made that Woodward is right to be cautious with providing the current Man United boss with even more funds considering Bailly and Lindelof were both signings made by the former Chelsea manager. The former has had some encouraging performances, but his showing against the Seagulls strengthened the case for more defensive reinforcements. Lindelof has looked off the pace since his arrival from Benfica last summer. It is clear Mourinho does not trust his centre backs. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have also been inconsistent and hampered by injury problems.

Paul Pogba spoke candidly after the game about the mentality of the United players:

“The attitude that we had was not like what we wanted to beat them,” the France midfielder told Sky Sports.

“I put myself first. My attitude wasn’t right enough. We’ll keep trying and keep pushing and obviously it’s a lesson for us.”

Such words do not bode well going forward.

Player and manager attitudes have been questioned at Mourinho’s previous managerial stops – most noticeably Eden Hazard during the first half of the 2015/16 campaign. During his tenure at Real Madrid, it was reported that several players revolted against the regime of the two-time Champions League winning manager.

Eyebrows were also raised when Anthony Martial was fined a reported £180,000 for not attending United’s USA pre-season tour following the birth of his son. Martial has been on the periphery of Mourinho’s plans since he took over the Red Devils and their relationship is supposedly at breaking point. Martial was withdrawn during the 3-2 defeat on Sunday and was less than impressed.

Left-back Ashley Young was also in the crosshairs of his manager as he was on holiday during the USA tour following England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.

“He is on holiday and I don’t know if he fancies being back before that to put himself available for the team – or if he prefers to stay on holiday,”  the Portuguese said to a stunned American press pack.

The signs have been there throughout the pre-season and have spilled into the early league campaign. There is a tendency for these irritations to build up and cracks in the dam soon cause for it to burst.

A power struggle between Mourinho and the board, as well as Pogba and his agent Mino Raiola, seems to be ongoing. Past fights for supremacy have always ended with the three-time Premier League winning manager winning small battles but losing the eventual war.

Usual meltdowns come following league triumphs, giving Mourinho some leverage for a short time. However, he does not have the same silverware to fall back on. The Europa League and Carabao Cup triumphs of 2017 seem a distant memory.