The Kubler-Ross Model – lionised in popular culture thanks to ubiquitous Hollywood and TV shows – states there are five stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
The Kubler-Ross Model – lionised in popular culture thanks to ubiquitous Hollywood and TV shows – states there are five stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Most Manchester United fans are firmly now in the fifth stage (acceptance), forced to swallow the bitter red pill that not only neighbour Manchester City, but also Liverpool are firmly a peg above them.
United fans, who’ve spent the better part of the last three decades mocking their Northwest rivals Liverpool, have to admit that not only are Klopp’s side better than them but are playing a brand of football that was once the hallmark at Old Trafford.
While United were racking up league titles under Sir Alex in the late nineties and noughties, Liverpool only came close twice – once in 2008-09 when Rafa Benitez had his ‘fact-outrage’ and in 2013-14 when Mourinho’s Chelsea denied Liverpool after Steven Gerrard had his Karna-like slip.
But since then the proverbial tables have turned, literally and otherwise.
Sunday’s showdown between Klopp’s Liverpool and Mourinho’s Manchester United reiterated that difference between the haves and the has-beens. In fact, any neutral observer will tell you that Manchester United were undeniably lucky to just lose 1-3, and it could’ve been a cricket score.
Startling defeat
By winning, Liverpool went back to the top of the table while United slumped to 6th, an astonishing 19 point-gap after just 17 games. However, it wasn’t just the defeat, but the manner in which United showed the white flag.
Klopp’s men had 36 attempts on goal to United’s 6, 64% percent possession to United’s 36. Mourinho came with a plan to park the bus, but United couldn’t even defend properly with Eric Bailly – in for the injured Chris Smalling – flailing about wildly like a fish out of water.
After the match, Mourinho claimed his team were ‘unable to cope with Liverpool’s physicality’, a startling pronouncement given the monstrous size of most of the United players.
Forged in fire and ice
The thing is that while Klopp finally has his team playing in his own image – the personification of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, all fire and ice, United look less and less like a Mourinho team.
Over the years, if you could do a Mourinho team to do one thing right, that was defend like their lives depended on it.
The board’s refusal to let him have new centre-backs seems to have robbed Mourinho of his basic coaching USP.
What should startle United fans, even more is the fact that Klopp’s team has been forged with a lot less money than Mourinho has spent. While Liverpool, since 2016 when Mourinho took over at United, have a total net spend £121.9m with a total spending of £411.55 and receiving £289.65m, the Red Devils have a net spend of £307.25m.
Clear plan of action
Liverpool seem to have a clear plan of action by getting Naby Keita in the summer and replacing the error-prone Karius with Alisson for £65m. Even though the new Liverpool number 1 did make a mistake to allow United an equaliser, he was solid throughout as he has been for much of the season.
Much of the credit goes to sporting director Michael Edward, who backed his manager in the transfer market getting the all-action Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri – yesterday’s match winner who was once called the Alpine Messi – for only £13m.
Fabinho (£39.3million) also adds some steel to the midfield, that has been missing since Javier Mascherano left for Camp Nou.
Not missing Coutinho
They also haven’t missed Coutinho, perhaps the most talented Brazilian to ever ply his trade in the Premier League, and their forward line of Mane-Salah-Firmino is perhaps the best in Europe right now, challenged only by Barcelona’s Messi-Suarez-Coutinho and PSG’s Neymar-Mbappe- Cavani.
Defeats to Klopp have often hastened Mourinho’s departure in his signature third-season burn-outs. Mourinho was let go from Real Madrid after Klopp’s Dortmund ran riot in the Champions League semi-final while he was sacked from his second tenure at Chelsea after Liverpool hammered them 3-1 in 2015.
Mourinho – the dementor
While Klopp seems to have his ‘heavy metal’ team finally in place, Mourinho looms like a Dementor at Old Trafford, sucking the life out of everyone around him.
Paul Pogba sat in the stands frowning, GBP 93 million worth of talent who can’t be trusted as United were overrun from front to back. Romelu Lukaku, on whom United spent an eye-watering 90 million, spent the match running into an impenetrable wall called Virgil Van Dyk.
Pogba and Lukaku’s travails is even more frustrating considering the summer they had, stamping their class on the World Cup with France and Belgium respectively. They are not the only ones. Anthony Martial, United’s best attacking forwards this season, only got 12 minutes on the pitch.
Not just Mourinho
Of course, it’s not just on Mourinho. The board clearly failed to back him during the summer, but the problem runs longer. United’s approach post-Fergie has been a scatter-gun approach, signing talented players without being able to bed them in.
At the moment, the only place Mourinho is actually interesting is off-the-field where his quote-a-philosopher rants appear to rake up pageviews and sell tabloids for countless publications.
But the problem just isn't Mourinho. To borrow his favourite phrase about Hegel, it's important to look at the whole picture.
United have failed to address the issues that have plagued them, even in the last Fergie years. Ferguson’s last few signings have come cropper, the worst of them being the idea that David Moyes could manage a club of such gigantic expectations. They have signed short-term fixes – like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Nemanja Matic and Alexis Sanchez. Of them all, only Ibra can be considered a success.
They have signed flashy players like Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez, Memphis Depay et al without putting place a proper foundation or spine. The greatest sides are built on a solid spine and United only have one World Class player in there – David De Gea.
United have been brilliant on the finance side and shoddily on the football side and the board needs to take a hard look because United is first and foremost a football club, not a commodity to monetise. If United’s football continues in the same vein, there will be nothing left to monetise.
Rumours suggest that this state of suspension is on because the Glazers want to sell Manchester United, which would mean the state of Sisyphean struggle will continue till that reaches its logical conclusion. If that’s the case, then it’s time for United fans can do nothing but swallow the bitter red pill and realise the real truth – United are far worse than their bitter rivals Manchester City and Liverpool. It’s time for us to watch from the side lines.
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