Souness pull no punches on United: 'They looked a very, very ordinary squad'

By Liam Mackey

From the boardroom to the dressing-room to social media, Manchester United appear to be fighting on all fronts except where it matters most — on the pitch.

Certainly that was the case last Sunday when they lost 3-2 at Brighton and “capitulation” was one of the kinder words used to describe the visitors’ ragged display in the face of what was — and, incidentally, this should not go unrecognised — a terrific collective effort by Chris Hughton’s team.

Enlarging the picture, Paul Ince has even reached for phrases like “total mess” and “laughing stock” to sum up the state of affairs at Old Trafford.

With friends like that… Liverpool legend Graeme Souness would never have been identified as a good buddy of the other Reds but this week mustered enough sympathy to suggest the wave of criticism after two games is “harsh”.

But then, he was also quick to add, “it’s Manchester United, arguably the biggest team in the world. And that’s not to say if they were to beat Tottenham on Monday, win well and play very attractive football, that the spotlights goes somewhere else. It’s now out there on Mourinho, and I don’t expect it to go any time soon.”

In Dublin for the launch of Virgin Media Sport’s coverage of the Champions League and Europa League, the player-turned-manager-turned-pundit cast a wintry eye on United’s prospects going into the autumn.

I see a bumpy ride for the foreseeable future,” he said. “I don’t think a couple of games will take the spotlight off them. The critics always want to go back and focus on their problems.

"I was at their game last Sunday. They looked a very, very ordinary squad. I said it on TV. You take each part of their team — forget the goalkeeper, he is a top goalkeeper — their defence looks shaky, midfield no real creativity, and up front, no energy.

“The players have to find a spark, whatever they feel about any other individual at the club or if they’re not happy with the manager. If you’re a big player, you’re playing for yourself, first and foremost. Anyone else is secondary. Get your own games sorted first.”

Mourinho, maintained Souness, has to lead by example. “He looks unhappy in his job. The manager sets the tone at the football club. Every day he turns up for work it’s all about the mood he’s setting. Right now, the players are not enjoying that environment. He’s obviously unhappy he didn’t get to spend the money he wanted to. I understand it from the owners’ perspective. They signed two centre-backs who have not turned out to be the players they were expecting, Lindelof and Bailly. So I can understand Ed Woodward said no to any more money for centre-backs. Now it looks like Mourinho is gone into a huff over that and it has spread into the dressing-room.”

Souness has a keen understanding of the intense pressure which can envelop a gaffer when the going gets tough. “It just drives you mad. Does it affect your personality? Well, it did me and it should do to anyone who cares. You can’t close your office at the end of every day and leave it behind you. You take it home with you. Ultimately that’s why the feeling I got from winning a game didn’t counter the feeling I got from losing a game. Permanent unhappiness.

For Mourinho, it will be doubly difficult because he is a winning manager, a very successful manager, and he’s used to getting his own way. All of a sudden he’s not successful, he’s being compared to other managers unfavourably, and he isn’t allowed to get the players in he wants to.

“I don’t know if he can change. What I do know is that a manager sets the tone around the place. I can only pass judgment on what I saw last weekend. And what I saw was a group of players who look jaded already. They weren’t full of sparkle or early season energy or spirit. They were waiting for Brighton to throw the first punch and that is not the United way. They are normally a team who set about you. They fancy themselves against anyone. Going back to my time even, they always came to Anfield with the expectation to take us on. Last week, they looked like a team who were counter-punching. That’s not Man United.”

The solution?

Winning games. His problems are being compounded by what is happening up the road and in Liverpool. Those two clubs are not just winning more matches but they are also doing so with a better brand of football.

Meanwhile, Souness can only doff his cap and wish the best of luck to the new generation of ex-players taking their first steps in management.

“Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will find it hard,” he said. “They will come across players who they will feel are not as dedicated or have the same will to win as they did. Roy Keane had that problem as well. Fair play to them. They could have been doing the punditry stuff for the next ten years and been welcomed with open arms. But they’ve taken the plunge and had a go. It’s not an easy job, management. Because of their careers in football, the expectation level goes higher.”

Ask Souness if he misses management and he almost spits out the answer. “Do I fuck! Do I miss toothache? I’d eight jobs, got sacked in three, so I think I did OK. After I got sacked at Newcastle — and really I found that a very difficult job — I thought, ‘That’s me.’ I remember doing a game for RTÉ and being in a car with Johnny Giles. And he said, ‘It’ll take you a year or 18 months but one day you will ask yourself, why did I ever do that job?’ And that’s exactly what happened. He was right, he was spot on.”