Richard Buxton: Mourinho's summer of discontent
Man United manager risks another implosion with his latest outrage
Insubordination is never far away from Jose Mourinho's thought process.
Conflict proves too great a temptation as all-encompassing diatribes point to yet another managerial end game for the self-styled Special One.
Manchester United now find themselves in the illustrious company of Real Madrid and Chelsea, twice, in this predicament.
Odds are already shortening on Mourinho outlasting his English Premier League counterparts after his infamous third-season syndrome prematurely kicked in at the tail end of last term.
Once more, he is fixating on the enemy within as much as those outside of Old Trafford.
No one is immune from his wrath on what could prove to be another job-ending rampage.
Even before a ball has been kicked, United's season is in danger of becoming a write-off due to Mourinho's latest outrage.
An inability to vent to his trusted long-term assistant Rui Faria, who resigned this summer, has only served to accelerate the current state of play.
A relative lack of activity in the transfer market has seen his ire directed towards the Red Devils' hierarchy, who have already sanctioned £71 million (S$127m) on two players - Brazilian midfielder Fred and Portuguese fullback Diogo Dalot - this summer.
But Mourinho's commitment to short-termism has made his latest gripe merely a self-inflicted wound.
Building for the future rarely enters into his lexicon, as a history of quick-fix signings attests.
Replacing players past their peak has never become an issue as he has rarely outlasted them.
It is why he signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic at 35 and sanctioned an extended 12-month stay. Other players whom Mourinho inherited have failed to move with the times under his watch.
Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia will both be 33 by the time the new campaign starts and will invariably expose United's chronic lack of dynamism from the fullback position.
STRAINING RELATIONSHIPS
His existing charges have also come under attack for their prominent absences from the club's pre-season tour.
Many of the senior players who are unable to travel to the United States, through a combination of World Cup commitments and personal issues, have not been spared.
What little relationship exists between Mourinho and the varying factions at Old Trafford is irreparably broken.
Supporters are already growing tired of a brand of joyless and uninspiring football which does not even provide routine silverware as a source of consolation.
It is a pattern that has become as predictable as it should become avoidable.
As soon as the trophies begin to dry up, he reverts to the time-honoured exit strategy.
A meeting with former club Real tomorrow morning (Singapore time) in an International Champions Cup match in Miami will bring his latest agenda full circle.
He publicly lamented a lack of warmth felt during three years at the Bernabeu.
Ultimately, he was and still is searching for the wrong thing in the wrong place and at the wrong time.
No club will ever compare to the mutual affection that he enjoyed in the early days at Chelsea.
Even when the net began closing in for a second time, supporter goodwill remained strong at Stamford Bridge with accusations of treachery levelled at the dressing room.
Mourinho has continually sought to recreate that special feeling, including with a second stint back in the English capital.
Rekindling that bond, however, proved far easier said than done.
If United continue to slide, Mourinho's insistence that he is still "loved" in England will soon be a half-truth.
Jose hopes players cut holidays short to help depleted United
Manchester United's World Cup participants should consider cutting their holidays short to help the depleted team in the opening stages of the upcoming English Premier League season, manager Jose Mourinho said.
United are now without 17 players because of injuries (nine, including midfield anchorman Nemanja Matic, after undergoing abdominal surgery in Philadelphia) and post-World Cup Finals holidays (eight).
England defender Phil Jones and forward Marcus Rashford are expected to shorten their vacations to help a struggling United squad prepare for the start of the season, Reuters reported.
Mourinho has suggested that others should do the same, ahead of United's opening league fixture against Leicester City in 10 days.
He wants them to return in the coming days, even though they have been away for just over a fortnight - a week shy of the recommended rest time.
"I hope that the boys on deserved holidays take care of themselves a bit," Mourinho said after United slumped to a 4-1 defeat by league rivals Liverpool in the International Champions Cup on Sunday.
"I also hope that somebody wants to do what Rashford and Phil Jones decided to do, which is to be back a bit earlier to try to help the team because, for the beginning of the season, we are going to be in trouble."
Injuries and World Cup break are not the only cause for the Old Trafford outfit's threadbare squad being stretched to breaking point.
Mourinho has also voiced his disappointment at United's failure to deliver on all his transfer targets he identified at the start of summer, the Daily Mirror reported.
TRANSFER SAGA
United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had signed three of the Portuguese's five targets but, with the Aug 9 transfer deadline looming, Mourinho fears Woodward may only manage one of the remaining two targets.
"I would like to have two more players, but I'm not going to have two," he said.
"It's possible I'm going to have one. I gave a list to my club of five names a few months ago and I'll wait to see if it's possible to have one of these players."
The pair are expected to get together in Miami, where the Red Devils will be looking to avoid another dismal result when they take on Champions League holders Real Madrid tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
And Mourinho's relationship with Woodward is now the focus of attention in what has been another frustrating transfer window - Mourinho's exasperation over the failure to add to his squad has led to increasingly tense public statements, which have turned the spotlight firmly on Woodward.
Mourinho is in the market for a right winger and a ball-playing centre-back but, with time running out, it is expected that he will settle for a defender should he have to accept just one more signing, Manchester Evening News reported.
With United not able to tempt either Leicester or Tottenham Hotspur to part with Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld respectively, Colombia's Yerry Mina has been touted as a cheap alternative.
The Red Devils face Bayern Munich in their final pre-season friendly on Aug 5 before hosting Leicester on Aug 10.
FIFPRO URGES CLUBS TO GIVE PLAYERS A PROPER BREAK
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now