The Warm-Up: Third-season syndrome about to go nuclear without ‘good cop’ Rui Faria
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Updated 20/08/2018 at 11:59 GMT
Plus long-ball Manchester City are mocking us now, Zlatan’s knee still isn’t right and Gianluigi Buffon’s ridiculous relationship with time.
Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United looks on during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United at American Express Community Stadium on August 19, 2018 in Brighton, United Kingdom.
Image credit: Getty Images
MONDAY’S BIG STORIES
United without Rui Faria is going to be explosive
The premise of a good cop, bad cop routine sort of falls apart when the good cop leaves town. Since Rui Faria left his role as Manchester United assistant manager, Jose Mourinho, bad cop, has been without a good cop to counter his confrontational style of leadership.
And without Faria, Jose Mourinho’s well-documented Third-Season Syndrome might be about to go fully nuclear. The 55-year-old has already endured a vexing start to the season; he has been baited by Paul Pogba, demoted as manager to coach by Ed Woodward while Sunday’s defeat at Brighton was a manifestation of what has been a ramshackle build up to the season.
There is a touch of Brexit about the whole situation – it is an untenable, self-inflicted (see 2020 contract extension) mess. Much like Brexit, United were directionless, abject and, most damning of all, beset by basic errors against the Seagulls.
As is his default, Mourinho lashed out post-match. However, his vitriol was reserved for members of the media in the wake of his of a wretched performance. The Warm-Up wonders what sort of criticism was knocking about inside the United dressing room.
If Diego Torres’ controversial biography of the Manchester United manager is anything to go by, Mourinho will not have held back. However, without his trusted second in command to temper his acerbic nature, a dressing room already beset by nerves and fear, could completely crack.
It is not a stretch to say the task facing Mourinho represents the biggest of his career. How he manages it without the steadying hand of Faria will be fascinating. And most probably explosive.
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Jose Mourinho and Rui Faria
Image credit: Getty Images
Long-ball City mocking us all now
It's not about the long ball or the short ball, it's about the right ball.
Bob Paisley knew a thing or two about association football.
As does Pep Guardiola. The Spanish coach has won 27 bits of silverware in a managerial career that has spanned just over 10 years.
Yet on some corners of the world wide web, Guardiola remains a cheque book manager. A fraud. A guy who, without Lionel Messi or the financial backing of some of the biggest clubs in the world, would have won nothing.
And yet, Guardiola continues to revolutionise the beautiful game. He and City were at it again against Huddersfield on Sunday when they utilised the much-maligned route one, long-ball football to break the deadlock against a terrier-like Terriers side. The only side to hold them scoreless at the Etihad last season.
Yup, City went long. However, this being City, it was stylish. Ederson, who let’s be honest, could probably do a job at centre-mid pinged a filthily gorgeous, flat ball all of 80 yards on to the foot of Sergio Aguero to bag the opener in a 6-1 rout.
It's about the right ball, indeed.
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Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring their fifth goal.
Image credit: Eurosport
Lions can’t and won’t play on astro turf
Zlatan Ibrahimovic reportedly did not turn out for his LA Galaxy side against Seattle this weekend as their astro-turf is not compatible with his surgically re-built knee.
The Galaxy, also missing Jonathan dos Santos, Giovani dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini, were handsomely trashed 5-0 by a Sounders side making a late push for the play-offs.
Zlatan has been low-key brilliant since his MLS switch, hitting 15 goals and registering eight assists in 16 appearances. However, for a guy who has branded himself a lion, it seems well un-lion like to duck a game due to the type of pitch.
On a more serious note, it does suggest that Ibrahimovic has not fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered at United.
IN OTHER NEWS
Gianluigi Buffon – not just mocking Father Time but probably controlling it too
When the Warm-Up stumbled across the below fact, it felt that Italian great Gianluigi Buffon was mocking Father Time. The 40-year-old’s continued defiance of the aging process was, the Warm-Up thought, rather neatly summed up by the fact that the sons of his contemporaries are now his contemporaries. Now the Warm-Up knows that makes no logical sense but neither does Buffon’s career.
However, it then came to the Warm-Up that perhaps Buffon was not mocking Father Time but actually controlling it. Don’t believe the Warm-Up? Look at the evidence below – the game appears to slow down to Buffon’s pace as the ball takes a deflection before he swats it away.. Utter madness.
HAT TIP
In a not so tenuous link, Buffon began his career at Parma, who have had a few tumultuous years recently. However, they are back.
And Rory Smith’s look at their rise from the fourth division of Italian football is well worth your time.
Few, though, expected the club to be here quite so soon. Some doubted it would ever see the bright lights of Italy’s top division again. Three years ago, Parma’s soccer team had ceased to exist, had been declared bankrupt. A successor organization — legally, it was a separate entity — was founded and forced to start life again in Serie D, the amateur fourth tier of Italian soccer.
HEROES AND ZEROS
Hero: whoever came up with this chant
Right, for the uninitiated, West Brom have introduced football’s worst mascot: the boiler. It is ludicrous.
In fact, the Warm-Up suggests it is probably the second worst thing in football right now. The worst, the Warm-Up hears you ask? Well QPRs first eleven, as articulated here by Baggies fans this weekend.
Bravo.
Zero: People who do not know when to put the camera away
Call the Warm-Up old fashioned but how about people just enjoy the moment rather than taking a photo of said moment they should be enjoying to show people at a later date how enjoyable said moment was despite the fact that taking the photo detracts from their ability to enjoy said enjoyable moment. Tut, tut.
Scandalous.
RETRO CORNER
Last week, the Warm-Up brought you a collection of O Fenômeno's greatest hits, the natural follow up is this man: Ronaldinho
COMING UP
Dust off the 'showing the men how it's done' clichés, England's U20 Lionesses bid for a World Cup final spot against Japan in France this afternoon - and, naturally, you can watch the semi-final action LIVE on Eurosport.
Tomorrow’s edition will be brought to you by one Nick Miller, whose talent and laid back demeanour is on a par with Ronaldinho.
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