Don’t be too swift to bury José Mourinho – the monster may be stirring

Oct 24, 2016

Manchester United’s manager has seemed too conscious of how he is expected to behave in his latest job, to the detriment of his team, but the petulant criticism of Antonio Conte was a sign the fire is returning

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United took some fearful hidings over the years. “Even in the most successful campaigns, there always seemed to be one match when it went horribly wrong,” wrote Gary Neville in his autobiography, Red. “A nightmare match that reminded you success never comes easily.” Such games would prompt an orgy of schadenfreude around the country.

At Ferguson’s United, the only laugh that mattered was the last one: his team won the title in various seasons despite losing 5-0 against Chelsea, 4-1 against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur – not to mention 5-0 against Newcastle United and 6-3 against Southampton in the same week. They made a virtue out of a crisis.

Tags: Football José Mourinho Manchester United Sport