Liverpool legend Jan Molby has a regular column with Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, and this week it has all been about Jose Mourinho.
Molby believes Mourinho is struggling rather early at Manchester United, explaining the Portuguese manager is acting like he usually does towards the end or his period with a club, rather than at the start.
Instead of protecting his players, Molby believes Mourinho is doing the opposite, especially given the perceived Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw criticism recently: “It may well be that it’s a sign the two players are not part of his long-term plans for the team, but he cannot change all the players right away, so he’s going to have to get them on board. At least temporarily. So what has Jose Mourinho tried to achieve?”
Whilst a decade ago Mourinho was ‘the man’ and the future of coaching, Molby believes he’s now looking like a traditionalist compared to the new era of coaches. In an era that sees Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp expend energy on the sidelines with huge enthusiasm – Molby thinks Mourinho seems ‘sour and moody’ and resembles a disgruntled ‘old man’.
Questioning whether Mourinho has lost his magic, Molby has pointed out that new ideas need to be fed through to the team, rather than public criticisms, and the Manchester United manager has to get that done quickly to maintain his status.
Molby is of course Liverpool through and through, and he’s got to be happy that Manchester United have been struggling, and Mourinho feeling the pressure, at the same time his old club bounces forward under Jurgen Klopp.
