Who will be the next big-name signing? How strong is the bond between José Mourinho and Ed Woodward? As United embark upon a gruelling pre-season tour of the US, here’s what will shape the club’s upcoming campaignFor £75m (plus £15m add-ons) José Mourinho acquires a proven prolific Premier League goal scorer in the Belgian and throws the gauntlet down to Manchester United’s home-grown starlet: can the 19-year-old Marcus Rashford continue his upward trajectory despite Lukaku starting as the first choice No9? Rashford has played most of his 71 senior appearances as a wide forward yet his natural position is in central attack. There may be a clue here regarding how he can prosper. When coming through the Old Trafford youth...
The Manchester United manager’s tactics mirror those of boxing’s former world champion: get your retaliation in firstMike Tyson has an interesting new book out called Iron Ambition. In it he talks about his violent childhood, explores his relationship with his late coach, the great Cus D’Amato, and kicks the whole thing off with a passage about wandering around his old Brooklyn neighbourhood, marvelling at the gentrification, tourists and, above all, the sight of people taking selfies all over the place.Like many other grouchy middle-aged men Mike hasn’t, you sense, fully engaged with the selfie craze. “Imagine trying to do that with the people I was hanging out with in Times Square,” he writes. “‘Hey man, let’s take a selfie!’ Motherfuckers...
The 2016-17 season still had its drama – moments of brilliance and booming narrative arcs to be resolved – but it was less title race than well-ordered title jogFarewell, then, to the year that almost was. This was a Premier League season that sparked with a controlled excitement, never quite caught fire but still dished up another digestible slice of high-end product.Things kept on almost happening. Leicester City almost completed the most dramatic title-plus-relegation act of all time. But then it was all sort of OK. Marco Silva almost pulled off a minor managerial miracle – but somehow not quite. To great fanfare Tottenham Hotspur pulled to within one victory of being quite close to creeping up on Chelsea’s shoulder at...
Manchester United’s manager was perfectly relaxed after Arsenal defeat but there is little doubt he missed an unexpected second chance to sneak into the top fourNever apologise, never explain. There is no doubt a view José Mourinho functions best when he is under pressure, when the vice begins to bite around his temples. This, though, was a self‑inflicted shunt a little further into a José-shaped corner.Mourinho was pointedly relaxed, unruffled, even jarringly smiley after this 2-0 defeat by Arsenal, massaging the debate around both United’s selection and also their lack of drive against a team they have traditionally spent 90 minutes trying to throttle. Related: Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck rises high to finish off Manchester United Related: Arsène Wenger’s decline drains...
José Mourinho hasn’t really mellowed, it’s just that his old enemy Arsène Wenger, whom he will face when Arsenal host Manchester United on Sunday, no longer seems a threatUnfortunately for Arsène Wenger, it is not necessarily a good sign that José Mourinho is no longer talking about him with a curled lip and the overwhelming sense that he has made it a personal mission to see how close he can push his old adversary towards the brink of spontaneous combustion.If it is true, as both managers have said over the last few days, that a truce has been called, it is some turnaround bearing in mind it is not so long ago that the two men could barely bring themselves...