It is a familiar old stick with which to beat Jose Mourinho.
He is a chequebook manager, he buys titles, he never has a long-term vision, he ignores the young players he inherits as he flits from club to club.
At his unveiling as Manchester United boss at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Mourinho – looking for all the world as happy to be there as a hostage – defended his record.
“I knew that was coming. You know how many young players I promote to the first team from academies? 49? Do you want to know who they are? I can give you that,” said the Portuguese, seemingly offering to share his list of nearly a half century of players handed senior debuts.
But then he didn’t share the list and the best we can do is rustle up 39Â of the 49. Here are their life and times (from Wikipedia) in Mourinho’s biographical order.
Porto (3)
Chelsea (7)
Internazionale (5)
Real Madrid (17)
Chelsea II (6)
Four England Under-21 internationals and two full internationals blooded at Chelsea in the last two-and-a-half seasons. You can take that as a sign of his faith in youth or, on the other hand, the sky high standards he expects from academy talent.
Would he have given Marcus Rashford a game last season?
