IthacaMatt
Old Timer / Unofficial Contributor for 25+ years
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Mourinho had more subterfuge going into this one than an episode of the Borgias. His courting of Rooney. His statement to the press that it was Moyes who unsettled Rooney in the first place by calling him a "second option".
But Mourinho also undid himself a bit by not playing Mata (AGAIN!). I guess he does not like that Mata doesn't track back enough to win the ball, but we really could have used his creativity last night. Not starting a striker was also an obvious appeal to Rooney - "look - we have no one in your place!"
After the game, Mourinho said, Rooney, the fans still love you here. I understand if you now want to stay. We never started this; it was you who wanted away, came to Cobham to play golf with our guys at that exclusive club. Now man up and either tell them you still want out within the next 24-48 hours, or we move on. Finish what you started.
Defensively, playing John Terry and Gary Cahill is stout English defending, but Terry was shown to be too slow against European competition. Despite Mourinho starting him all 3 games within 8 days, Terry is not an every game player anymore.
Neither is Frank Lampard. Despite that screaming 30 yard strike last time out, Frank slows down play in the midfield, and he's not a great tackler. He can thread a nice long pass, and he can still hit the net from distance. But he's selfish about taking every spot kick (missed 2 of his last 3) and every set piece. Mata and Hazard deserve chances, too, and there ought to be rotation.
Mourinho, though, knows how to manage to win a league, and that's what last night was all about - getting a point away at the Champions' place, meaning that United lost 2 available home points. That's a trade that Jose will make every time against teams who are title contenders. Even though it was a draw, it was effectively a point advantage for what United lost in not defending their home field.
I don't get why he didn't start Lukaku last night at striker, instead of Schurle. Real head scratcher, since we lacked a target man, and Lukaku scored 3 against United in the second half as a substitute at the end of last season. He clearly could have caused problems to their aging back line.
All in all, I'll take the point, knowing that United dropped two. Moyes is going to be a little more conservative than Fergie, who would have tried harder to win the game last night. I would not be surprised to see Mata move before the window closes, and that would be a shame. He has been Chelsea's best player for 2 years now. You don't throw that away. We could have used him and Lukaku last night, and I think we could have nabbed the win.
One thing I'm concerned about is that DiMatteo started out last season the same way - he relied on the same players, with very little rotation of the side, through the first 7 or 8 games. They got off to a great start, but then guys started to tire, and they began to fizzle. I hope Mourinho avoids the same mistake.
But Mourinho also undid himself a bit by not playing Mata (AGAIN!). I guess he does not like that Mata doesn't track back enough to win the ball, but we really could have used his creativity last night. Not starting a striker was also an obvious appeal to Rooney - "look - we have no one in your place!"
After the game, Mourinho said, Rooney, the fans still love you here. I understand if you now want to stay. We never started this; it was you who wanted away, came to Cobham to play golf with our guys at that exclusive club. Now man up and either tell them you still want out within the next 24-48 hours, or we move on. Finish what you started.
Defensively, playing John Terry and Gary Cahill is stout English defending, but Terry was shown to be too slow against European competition. Despite Mourinho starting him all 3 games within 8 days, Terry is not an every game player anymore.
Neither is Frank Lampard. Despite that screaming 30 yard strike last time out, Frank slows down play in the midfield, and he's not a great tackler. He can thread a nice long pass, and he can still hit the net from distance. But he's selfish about taking every spot kick (missed 2 of his last 3) and every set piece. Mata and Hazard deserve chances, too, and there ought to be rotation.
Mourinho, though, knows how to manage to win a league, and that's what last night was all about - getting a point away at the Champions' place, meaning that United lost 2 available home points. That's a trade that Jose will make every time against teams who are title contenders. Even though it was a draw, it was effectively a point advantage for what United lost in not defending their home field.
I don't get why he didn't start Lukaku last night at striker, instead of Schurle. Real head scratcher, since we lacked a target man, and Lukaku scored 3 against United in the second half as a substitute at the end of last season. He clearly could have caused problems to their aging back line.
All in all, I'll take the point, knowing that United dropped two. Moyes is going to be a little more conservative than Fergie, who would have tried harder to win the game last night. I would not be surprised to see Mata move before the window closes, and that would be a shame. He has been Chelsea's best player for 2 years now. You don't throw that away. We could have used him and Lukaku last night, and I think we could have nabbed the win.
One thing I'm concerned about is that DiMatteo started out last season the same way - he relied on the same players, with very little rotation of the side, through the first 7 or 8 games. They got off to a great start, but then guys started to tire, and they began to fizzle. I hope Mourinho avoids the same mistake.
