Manchester United beat Leicester City 2-1 Friday night in spite of all the drama that currently surrounds the club. There is certainly no shortage of news topics to discuss today, so let’s take a spin through the latest news and notes items making the rounds on the internet right now.
Obviously, we start with Paul Pogba, who made a very cryptic Instagram posting just after leaving the stadium. The Frenchman has done nothing to try and extinguish speculation that he’s unsettled and unhappy at Old Trafford.
Although he hasn’t said anything to further inspire more exit talk, he hasn’t done anything to make it go away either.
Pogba was asked by reporters Friday night if he is “happy and comfortable” at the club, but his answer neither confirmed nor denied the tension that is being widely reported by the media right now.
“There are things, and there are things that I cannot say, otherwise I will get fined,” Pogba said. “I always give my best for the fans, for the teammates and for the people that trust me.”
It’s been widely claimed for quite some time that Pogba doesn’t get along with Jose Mourinho, who made comments after the victory that appear to verify some tension between the club manager and CEO Ed Woodward. United didn’t sign a single player in the summer transfer window after July 3rd, and Mourinho spent a good chunk of the preseason complaining about not getting the support he desires in the transfer market.
Mourinho even warned, as the window drew to a close, the club was is in for a difficult season if no more deals came over the line. Transfer deadline day came and went, with no new additions and this Mourinho hit out the club board for not giving him the ingredients that he believes he needs to cook.
He even went so far as to say that his job is more as a coach than a manager, and that this transition can be generalized to football at large.
“We have big coaching staffs and I think we are more the head coach than the manager. That is the way I think football is going,” said Mourinho in an interview with Sky Sports.
“We have to wait for end of November, beginning of December to understand how things are going and if we can fight for the title. Or you believe in the pundits and go with what they say. We play against a team that invest more than us.”
“They (week one opponent Leicester City) spent more money than us, so in the Premier League we must get used to teams with players of the same quality that we have.”
“Forget the name, the history, the shirt, every match is difficult.”
Can’t imagine that comments like this went over very well with the board. Mourinho seems to be at odds with some important figures at the club.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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