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Tottenham vs. Manchester United: Jose Mourinho needs to stop whining

By Gary Pearson

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 07: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on May 7, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 07: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on May 7, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /
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Spurs enter their last home game with an aura of invincibility, knowing a win or draw would secure an unbeaten record at White Hart Lane in their final season at the historic stadium.

Mourinho needs to stop the petulant, whining act

And while the competition is stiff, Tottenham should go into the match feeling extremely good about themselves and the prospect of playing United at this stage of the season.

Jose Mourinho has curiously all but given up on United’s aspirations of a top-four finish. That much was clear with the starting 11 he decided to go with in United’s insipid away loss to Arsenal last week.

Try disregard his constant excuses of fatigue and a busy schedule for a minute. Because they are exactly that, a bundle of excuses to form a side narrative, one that takes pressure off his team.

Former United star Paul Ince was not best pleased by the way a negative, bemoaning Mourinho approached the Arsenal match. In an interview with the Express, he referred to Mourinho’s management as “naive”.

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I’m not sure it was naive, but it certainly lacked a winning or expansive aura expected of such an enormous and storied club. It felt like Mourinho conceded defeat before his team even took to the Emirates pitch.

United are only five points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, but you wouldn’t know it by the way Mourinho carries on. The way he capitulated against Arsenal while lauding his team’s “great performance” was an embarrassment to the red side of Manchester.

Playing for a draw before a match kicks off rarely works. You think Jose would know that with his wealth of experience.

Of course you didn’t win because United failed to score, Jose. That’s how football works. But I guess he’s used to his team failing to score against elite opponents. At least he should be by now.

"The self-pronounced “Special One” rants about his team’s injured players and frenetic match schedule like a petulant pre-pubescent team."

Get on with it Jose. Every other top team does.

Most teams can only dream of being in the position you’re in, what with your bottomless pockets, star-studded lineup while on the cusp of another European final. You won’t be offered any sympathy from Spurs supporters, of that much I’m sure.

United can’t beat top opposition away

While United are the third most proficient away team in the top flight, they have all sorts of difficulty scoring against England’s big clubs. Their four away games to top competition resulted in a loss to Arsenal (2-0), a comprehensive shellacking to Chelsea (4-0) and listless, scoreless stalemates with both Liverpool and Manchester City.

Going back to the pre-Mourinho reign last season (though with a manager in charge, Louis van Gaal, whose propensity to be just as negative was plain to see), United lost 3-0 at White Hart Lane and 1-0 at the Etihad. If my simple arithmetic proceeds me, that’s six on the trot without a goal against their closest rivals.

United last scored against élite competition in hostile territory against Chelsea on Feb. 7, 2016, although they only mustered a single goal in a 1-1 draw.

The Red Devils are the top away team in the form guide, losing only one of their last six. However, those four wins came against Burnley, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and a Claudio Ranieri-led Leicester team who were embroiled and entrenched in disarray, a state of disrepair.

We’ll have to wait patiently to see United’s team sheet before making judgement. But if Jose thinks he can swagger pridefully and insolently into White Hart Lane with negative intent and play for a draw, he’s sorely mistaken.

He’ll soon find out that Spurs, who have kept seven clean sheets in nine at home and are playing their last match at White Lane with a chance to go unbeaten all season, is an entirely different beast.