Shearer says: “Mourinho criticising players in public isn’t wise”
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It is still very early days for Man United but I don’t think Mourinho knows his best team yet and I’m not even sure he’s getting any closer to figuring it out. At this moment in time, it’s clearly not working for him and it’s taking him longer than he thought, and indeed everyone else thought, to find the right formation.
He needs to find a solution very quickly because the pressure will become huge if he doesn’t. He needs to find a way to get the best out of the players but going around criticising players in public isn’t exactly wise.
I don’t think Mourinho’s comments to the press last weekend, particularly regarding Luke Shaw, will go down well at all. He should’ve learned that from his Chelsea experience. He could’ve criticised Rooney or Pogba for their bad performances but to single out one individual in public is wrong. I think it also affects morale in the dressing room because players look at that incident and think one day that could be them. I’ve never been in a dressing room where a manager has done that, it’s always been done behind closed doors.
One of the big issues Mourinho has is knowing how to fit all his big name players into the team. Look at Rooney, he played him in the centre of midfield, he played him on the right of midfield. It’s all about finding the balance. However, I don’t think Rooney should be left out of the starting line-up. I still think he has something to offer but obviously you can only give someone so many chances. If he doesn’t improve, than Mourinho will have no option but to leave him out.
United can’t afford to drop any more points against Leicester on Saturday. I mean they are already playing catch up. It makes matters even worse when the team that is in form and playing really well, is the team that’s only a couple of miles away. City’s dominance will put even more pressure on Mourinho. I think it will be very difficult for United to get three points against Leicester though. You have to question United’s defence and looking at Leicester upfront, they will cause some problems. I think the champions can get a draw.
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