The 2016/17 season is barely a month old, but there already seems to be unrest in the Manchester United camp.
Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge began promisingly, with three wins from the first three Premier League games, but defeat at Northampton in tonight’s League Cup third round tie would amount to four straight defeats in all competitions.
Sunday’s defeat against Watford has been followed by an exposé in The Telegraph, bringing Mourinho’s treatment of some of his squad members into question.
The Portuguese’s public criticism of the likes of Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Luke Shaw has been raised, and former United captain Gary Neville seems to have suggested someone – be it a squad member, staff member or someone else at the club – is responsible for leaking stories to the press.
While not naming names, or even speculating about the identity of the individual responsible for sharing the inside information, told one Twitter follower that he “[C]an sense a piece that’s had info passed on and one that’s speculative!”
The situation echoes Mourinho’s final season at Chelsea, where he was subjected to similar leaks – thought to have been from players – after comparable public criticism of the on-pitch displays of his squad.
That campaign ended early for the former Real Madrid boss, who was relieved of his duties before Christmas, though we are some way away from that sort of crisis point.
United remain seventh in the Premier League, just one point adrift of the Champions League places, but back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Watford (as well as a 1-0 Europa League reverse away to Feyenoord) has seemingly provided enough ammunition for someone to voice other, unrelated concerns about Louis van Gaal’s successor.
