Such has been the drawn-out nature of Jose Mourinho's decline at Manchester United, along with the fact that we've seen a lot of this before at Chelsea, it's become rather difficult to say anything new or original about the Maddening of Mou.
Former Liverpool, Newcastle and Germany midfielder Didi Hamann, however, has a take that we hadn't heard before. Speaking to Eamon Dunphy on The Stand podcast, Hamann agreed that it is a matter of 'when', not 'if' Mourinho loses his job at Old Trafford, in light of Monday's shellacking at home to Spurs.
Hamann was extremely critical of Mourinho's press conference after the 3-0 defeat, and pointed to Mourinho's living situation as an indictment of the amount of leeway given to Mourinho at United. Mourinho has been living in Manchester's Lowry Hotel since taking the job in 2016.
He came to the club two years ago. If you're a player at a club like Manchester United, there are people in charge to look for houses for you and help you settle and be happy. If you go to a hotel, the club will tell you, 'Ok, look for a flat or a house, and if you don't find anything in four weeks then we will find you something. You're not staying in a hotel because it sets a bad example'.
Now if somebody is at the club for more than two years, I'm flabbergasted that a club like Manchester United lets the manager stay in a hotel for more than two years. What does it say to the players, and to the fans? It looks like he is just stopping off.
A club like Manchester United have lost their identity and their pride, in a way, to let the manager get away with things he can do. I think the comments in the summer, when he said that '70% of these players you won't see this season', are just the extension of what the club have let him get away with in the last two years.
Mourinho recently explained why he has been content to stay at the luxury hotel since becoming Manchester United manager.
If the fans want me to be comfortable, that’s the way I feel very comfortable.
I don’t want anyone to be worried because I live in a two square metres room, I am living in an apartment inside of a hotel, where I have all the comfort, the support, where I have everything I want like I am living in a house.
The full podcast, featuring Liam Brady along with Dunphy and Hamann, can be found here.
