Mourinho heading for a Chelsea-esque meltdown? Every player the Man Utd boss has publicly criticised in pre-season so far

Jose Mourinho has reached his third season in charge of Manchester United and the wheels look to be on the way off.

This is not the first time the Portuguese has suffered problems going into his third season at a club and it is almost becoming synonymous with the name ‘Jose Mourinho.’

The life cycle of a Mourinho managerial stint seems to flow the same way with most clubs he has stayed at longer than two years. A first building season which may or may not bring success begins his tenure, then a second year which had always brought trophies until last year with United follows, before the third in which he loses touch and alienates himself from the board, players and fans before eventually departing.

To paraphrase the Three Lions song by Frank Skinner, David Baddiel and the Lightning Seeds which rose to prominence during England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals:

“Everyone seems to know the score, they’ve seen it all before. They just know, they’re so sure. That Jose’s gonna throw it away, gonna blow it away…”

Only once in his managerial career has Mourinho made it past three full seasons in charge of a club, and even then, it was only slightly as he was sacked by Chelsea for the first time in September 2007 – the start of his fourth season.

After United’s 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in the International Champions Cup, Mourinho hit out at some of his players for numerous reasons which has led to talk of his third season meltdown beginning early.

But which players has he targeted so far and is the writing really on the wall for Mourinho?

Paul Pogba

Appearances in Mourinho’s two seasons: 88

Rating: 8/10

What was said: “I don’t think it’s about us getting the best out of him. It’s about him giving the best he has to give. I think the World Cup is the perfect habitat for a player like him to give the best. Why? Because it’s closed for a month, where he can only think about football,” (via The Guardian).

While, as a whole, Mourinho seemed to compliment his midfielder, the quotes on Paul Pogba’s performances at the World Cup had an aura of contempt.

Pogba has been good in his two years since returning to United but has come under criticism for failing to live up to the then-world record fee of £89m he commanded.

Mourinho has tried to play Pogba in different positions and different systems but none have yet seen the Frenchman return to the form he showed while at Juventus.

But, at the World Cup with France, Pogba was brilliant alongside N’Golo Kante as Les Bleus won the tournament, which included the midfielder scoring in the final against Croatia.

Mourinho’s comments were more “why can’t he do this for us” rather than “what can I do to make him this good for us,” and may be looked at in the future as a starting point should the Portuguese fail to see the season out.

Antonio Valencia

Appearances in Mourinho’s two seasons: 82

Rating: 7/10

What was said: “Antonio Valencia comes from holiday – I think too much holiday for him. His condition was not good when he was back, then injury and also go back,” (via Sky Sports).

Antonio Valencia is in line to be made new captain of Manchester United after Michael Carrick’s retirement at the end of last season. But that did not protect the Ecuadorian from the fire of Mourinho following United’s defeat to Liverpool.

The right-back is set to miss the start of the Premier League season through injury, adding to Mourinho’s woes with many absentees, and the Portuguese was quick to blame Valencia’s long holiday in his home country for the calf problem he picked up during United’s game against San Jose Earthquakes.

Valencia’s injury sees Mourinho without his first or second-choice right-back ahead of United’s Premier League opener against Leicester City on August 10 with new-signing Diogo Dalot also out injured.

Anthony Martial

Appearances in Mourinho’s two seasons: 87

Rating: 7/10

What was said: “Anthony Martial has the baby and after the baby is born – beautiful baby, full of health, thank God – he should be here and he is not here,” (via Sky Sports).

Anthony Martial has not had the best time at United under Jose Mourinho after starting so well during Louis van Gaal’s tenure and, as a result, is reportedly looking for a way out of the club this summer.

The Frenchman was a bit-part player last season despite showing his clear ability when on the pitch and missed out on a place in Les Bleus’ winning World Cup squad.

Despite his desire to leave, Martial was set to be key to United during pre-season and the opening weeks of the Premier League, owing to the club’s absentees due to World Cup duty.

But that may all be about to change after Mourinho’s comments on Martial’s slowness in returning from Paris to witness the birth of his son. Martial’s swift departure from the squad had initially been cleared up by Mourinho, with the Portuguese backing his man, but the defeat to Liverpool seems to have changed the manager’s mind.

Manchester United’s youngsters

Appearances in first two seasons: N/A

Rating: N/A

What was said: “The majority of the players that played are not going to play – some of them are not even going to belong to the squad. I know the ones that are not always ready – sometimes you need them and you don’t have them,” (via the Independent).

While not technically a single player, Mourinho also barred no holds when talking about the young players of the squad who were given a chance to prove themselves in the defeat to Liverpool.

United are in hard times at the moment with regards to their squad with several first-team players absent, and as a result have had to rely on some of their younger players to fill in specific roles during pre-season.

But, after the defeat, the Portuguese manager offered no support to the youths and chose to hang them out to dry. In stark contrast, the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have spoken highly of their youngsters during pre-season, even those with no immediate futures at their respective clubs.

How does this compare to the Chelsea fall-out?

In his second spell at Stamford Bridge, things had started so well for Jose Mourinho. Despite not winning a trophy in his first season, the Portuguese managed expectations of success without digging out his players – most notably the ‘little horse’ analogy he used when Chelsea were top of the Premier League before ultimately finishing third.

The second season brought a Premier League and League Cup double but then cracks quickly started to show during the summer, which would be the beginning of the end.

As a result of their title success, the Chelsea players were given a longer holiday during the summer of 2015 (something Mourinho has now castigated Antonio Valencia for doing this year) and were poor during pre-season.

The Blues did not win any of their matches, including a 4-2 defeat by New York Red Bulls before losing the Community Shield to Arsenal.

Looking back on the decision, Mourinho would say: “This season we tried to go in another direction with a slower start, a short pre-season. Clearly some bodies didn’t react as well as we expected.”

Chelsea’s poor form overflowed into the new season as they won just one of their opening five league games and Mourinho was gone by December, after accusing his players of “betraying” him.

At United, his successful seasons came the other way around, winning the League Cup and Europa League in his first campaign before finishing trophyless last term.

But the fallout of the summer including criticism of his own players is beginning to look similar, especially with the World Cup hampering his options and leaving his key players very little time to prepare for the Premier League.

Now we just need someone to play the role of Eva Carneiro for this to truly mark the beginning of the end for Mourinho at United.

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