WHEN THE BUBBLE BURST The moment Ed Woodward decided Jose Mourinho was wrong for Man Utd job
Manchester United chief muttered 'this is just not for us' after watching replays of 3-1 defeat at West Ham this season
Posted Wednesday, December 19, 2018 by Thesun.co.uk
JOSE MOURINHO sensed the sack was coming last week when he phoned three agents.
The Portuguese had told Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward of three players that he wanted in the January transfer window. If not then, in the summer.
The bubble burst for Jose Mourinho after Manchester United's loss at West Ham in September
But when he spoke to the agents of each player to see how things were developing, they were all perplexed. Not one of them had received a call from Woodward.
It was in the boardroom at West Ham’s London Stadium that Woodward properly realised it had all gone wrong.
Staring at the repeats of Manchester United’s 3-1 destruction at the hands of Manuel Pellegrini’s side in late September, Woodward shook his head and muttered: “This is just not us.”
Yesterday that was one of the reasons he gave Mourinho, too, as he bade farewell to his third manager in five years. They met in Mourinho’s office at Carrington ahead of players arriving for training.
Jose Mourinho watched his team get dismantled by struggling West Ham in September
Ed Woodward decided that Jose Mourinho was wrong for Manchester United after the West Ham loss
He had soon cleared it and was gone.
It was left to Woodward to address the players and tell them that Mourinho had been sacked.
No gasps. No tears shed. Just a sense of relief that the latest in a catalogue of meltdowns in The Special One’s career had finally come to an end.
The day before, Woodward had taken part in one of his regular conference calls and had advised owners the Glazers that a change needed to be made.
They listen to Woodward. After all, they hardly know what decisions need to be taken themselves when it comes to “soccer”.
Yet Mourinho was convinced moves had been made behind his back before yesterday. One person he was sure had received a call was former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.
As SunSport revealed on October 1, the Frenchman had been in touch with Mourinho to tell him that he was not plotting behind his back. Yes, his representative had asked him if he would be interested in the job were it to come up.
But Mourinho was convinced the man who took Real to three straight Champions League titles had been sounded out.
Jose Mourinho was convinced Manchester United sounded out Zinedine Zidane
There had been a growing sense of paranoia about the Portuguese this season as he sifted out who was for him and who was against him.
Not only in the playing staff but in the boardroom, in the media.
He wanted to know everything that was said about him, by who and why.
He, in turn, would lash out, calling for respect, and clutching at past glories.
He did so again last week when we revealed United were willing to pay £40million to get Mauricio Pochettino from Spurs. Increasingly, Mourinho was a man very much alone.
He had been since his long-standing No2 Rui Faria had decided that he’d had enough.
Jose Mourinho's former No2 Rui Faria decided he had enough earlier this season
The official line he gave was that he left last summer for family reasons.
Another take is that he had grown tired of acting as a buffer between the manager and a number of unhappy players.
Mourinho had told some players as recently as Sunday after the Liverpool defeat that those who were with him would continue to play and those who went against him would not.
The players felt demoralised and embarrassed after that 3-1 Liverpool defeat.
They felt there was no plan or strategy, just a desire to nullify the opponents.
Still, Mourinho was hopeful he might see out the season.
After all, he has put trophies on the table whereas Pochettino and Liverpoool boss Jurgen Klopp have not. Only Manchester City were better in the league last year. It was the style that began to matter as results went against him.
Jose Mourinho leaves Carrington after being sacked by Manchester United
He had also turned allies at the Carrington Training complex against him.
A big issue at the club historically has been about youth development. He worked closely overseeing that.
But in the summer, he ignored advice and took on the pre-season tour kids who, he was told, were not ready.
One source said: “He was just starting to pick fights with everyone.”
His mood has been dark since that tour of America. When he was asked if he was satisfied with the squad, he refused to answer.
After £400million had been spent on 11 players, he wanted more.
"More!” You could almost hear Woodward echoing the scene from Oliver Twist.
But it was what he spent the cash on that was the problem — or rather what he did with the ingredients after that.
What came out of the mix just was not Manchester United.
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