José Mourinho, regardless of how many times he may argue to the contrary, is a manager who wants to win trophies.
It could be said that ALL managers want to win trophies but, for some reason, Mourinho is wired up in such a way that his desire to win competitions trumps any other footballing emotion that may exist within his slight frame.
Arséne Wenger was driven to win trophies but it was also important to be judged on the style of his teams and the perfect example would be the “Invincibles”. That particular season is probably the one of which the Frenchman is proudest yet they only won the Premier League that year.
He never won the Champion’s League despite qualifying for twenty consecutive seasons and, in fact, only reached the final ONCE!
Sir Alex Ferguson won the Premier League title thirteen times but also failed to establish his team as a force in Europe, only winning the top prize on two occasions and one of those was on penalties!
His Premier League dominance was also, for the majority of his time, achieved when only having to compete with one other team. Initially that team was Arsenal, then Chelsea and, latterly, Manchester City.
He was a “win-at-all-costs” type of manager but most of his teams also possessed flair and style and he was always conscious of his duty in keeping the supporters happy.
Sir Alex Ferguson – Hated losing as much as Mourinho does
Even serial winner Pep Guardiola places massive importance on how his team plays and how they are perceived. Yes, winning cups is ultimately what he will be judged on but the style of play is also very important to him.
The impression with Mourinho is that he doesn’t really care how his teams are perceived aesthetically and, as long as they follow his instructions and don’t lose, then he is happy.
The fact that he is in another cup final which, if he wins it, will mean that he has added four trophies to United’s collection in his two seasons at the club yet there are still supporters who would like him replaced due to the type of football United are playing says everything about him!
United fans are split. Some want a return to the exciting attacking days of the sixties during which time the club won very little and some want to see their team collecting silverware. In this day and age, with José Mourinho in charge, it would seem that having both is not a regular option even though the team have produced some excellent football in patches.
The majority of fans, however, will be quite happy to see the Portuguese collect another cup and finish the season as Premier League runners-up. That is progress on last year.
Goodbye Arséne…..
Stubborn Old Man is finally ceasing to be stubborn. He has announced, albeit five years later than he should have, that he is stepping down as Arsenal manager at the end of this season.
He deserves a good send-off for all that he has achieved at the club even though there are still some who feel he should have won more and, with apologies for repeating outselves, after all his Champion’s League qualifications the fact that he only reached ONE final is a pretty miserable statistic.
Arséne Wenger – Better late than never as he finally makes the right decision on his future!
He is another who is now finding it hard to keep up with the younger generation of managers at United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs.
When the rivalry was just between him and Ferguson he could dedicate all of his time and effort to overcoming his nemesis and bringing in great players whilst also concentrating on playing quality football. This is really why he failed in Europe. He was facing many good managers, not just one and so he failed there, as he is now doing in the Premier League for the same reason.
Sir Alex Ferguson got out at the right time. Arséne Wenger should have left with him.
Still, he didn’t and we wish him good luck in his next assignment, whatever that may be.
And finally…..
Chelsea beat Southampton to book a place in this year’s FA Cup final where they will face Manchester United at White Hart Wembley. Unlike Tottenham, poor old Chelsea only have the advantage of playing the game in their home city, not their home ground, so it’s only very unfair and not completely unfair.
Oh, and we almost forgot. Manchester City were awarded the Premier League trophy. Congratulations to them!
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 