José Mourinho muddles United’s thinking but Ed Woodward shares blame | Daniel Taylor


The Portuguese’s obsession with his own importance is wearing but what qualifies Ed Woodward to consider that his judgment of a player’s ability outweighs that of the manager?

What do you imagine Ed Woodward will be thinking, from his seat in the Bob Lord stand, when a plane flies over Turf Moor this afternoon and the message trailed in the skies makes it clear there are Manchester United supporters who prefer to hold him responsible for the club’s current predicament rather than subjecting José Mourinho to any real form of mutiny?

It will need the thickest of skins, presumably, when the plane’s banner will read “Ed Woodward – specialist in failure” on the same weekend, 10 years since Abu Dhabi’s royal family seized control of Manchester City, that so many column inches have been devoted to the shift in power in this divided city.

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