If Pogba is the ‘virus’, what is United’s antidote?
Unai Emery has been dealt a difficult hand as Arsenal manager. David Moyes can tell you how hard it is to follow a dynastical manager, but Emery was inheriting a squad that had been watermarked by Arsene Wenger’s decline. While Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Maurizio Sarri and Jurgen Klopp would be given significant funds to improve their teams, Emery was never likely to be afforded such luxury.
But at the beginning of December, Emery has significantly over-achieved. North London derby victory over Tottenham, having ceded a lead and then been forced to come from behind, demonstrated a resilience that simply wasn’t present in Wenger’s final years. It takes Arsenal into the top four, deemed highly unlikely in August.
Arsenal are still a work in progress, but Emery was appointed amidst plenty of criticism. In the eyes of most reasonable supporters, he has earned himself a huge amount of good faith. If Arsenal can play like this at Old Trafford, they will hammer another nail into Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United coffin.
Tottenham were spooked at the start of the game and then battered aside in the second half by a rampant Arsenal. On both counts, Mauricio Pochettino must take the blame. His tactical switches in the second half, effectively leaving Spurs with a central midfield of Moussa Sissoko and Christian Eriksen, was a foolhardy move that cost his side the game.
He also failed to calm his players at half-time, because Tottenham lost their heads after the break. Jan
Vertonghen, a senior professional, deserves the most censure for his nonsense tackle on Alexandre Lacazette that saw him sent off.
One of the accusations against Spurs is that they fall into ill-discipline when things go awry. Here was proof.
Another week, another disappointing Manchester United result. Jose Mourinho has now led his team to five wins in their last 14 matches. League fixtures against Brighton, Wolves, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Southampton have produced a grand total of three points. This has long passed the point where United and their manager should be embarrassed.
But if you thought that Mourinho might accept some culpability for the current situation, you would be wrong. After the 2-2 draw at St Mary’s, Mourinho excluded only Marcus Rashford from the criticism, believing that Manchester United’s players lack the character to fight.
He refuted accusations that playing five central midfielders set the tone.
This act is now so tired and predictable that it barely merits headlines. Every time United win, Mourinho sends a message to his critics that he is still a champion. Every time United fail to win, he lambasts his players for their underperformance. If your manager did the same, would you be motivated to produce maximum performance?
If Manchester United’s squad were called out in public by Mourinho, Pogba was privately admonished. A source claimed that Pogba was called a “virus” by his manager in front of the other players, telling the Frenchman that he “kills the mentality of the good, honest people around you”.
Pogba is bang out of form, and Mourinho will have deliberately picked such a high-profile target.
But it is worth looking back to Pogba’s World Cup form and wondering what it is about Manchester United that brings out the worst in him. When so many key players are performing so badly, perhaps it’s worth looking higher up the food chain.
As for Pogba, it’s hard to see how both he and Mourinho survive this distasteful power battle and hard to predict which of the two Manchester United supporters choose to put their weight behind. But surely a new manager gets more out of United’s most valuable asset.
Sean Dyche was always likely to become a victim of his own success. Even if Burnley are relegated this season, their manager will have overperformed in his role. Burnley are a Championship-level club that has made the Premier League a home.
But Dyche knows how this works: a manager is only as good as his last season. Right now, Burnley are struggling to hold back the tide. They have taken one point from the last 18 available, and have won two of their last 23 matches inside 90 minutes. The away record is appalling: victory at Cardiff was their only away win in all competitions since April 7.
With Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal to come in their next four league fixtures, Dyche is left searching for good news as his team slide into the bottom three. Has the dream died?
On September 29, after losing 2-0 at Manchester City, Brighton were in a little trouble. Their only league victory of the season came against Manchester United in August, and their only other points had been achieved against struggling Southampton and struggling Fulham.
Since then, Chris Hughton has reaffirmed his status as one of the Premier League’s great overachievers. Brighton have taken 13 points from their last seven league matches, never winning by more than a single goal but displaying more than enough resilience to persuade us that they still belong in the top flight.
Brighton are one place away from the top half and four points behind Manchester United after almost 40% of the league season. Hughton is achieving a mini-miracle all over again.
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