Following their shock 3-2 defeat at the hand of Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has come under sharp criticism, including from former United winger Lee Sharpe who noted that Mourinho wasn’t the right man for the job.
Mourinho has had a difficult summer that has seen him complain of lack of transfer activities in the club and even noted that this season will be a difficult season from the club. Manchester United scrapped up a win in the opening game of the season and suffered early-season crisis when they lost to Brighton in only the second game of the season.
Sharpe who was at United from 1988 to 1996 criticized Mourinho’s style of football, “(Mourinho) is the wrong man for the job. When he came to Chelsea the first time he was quite charming and fun, but now he just seems dour and fed up. He’s moaned about not signing new players and not bigging up the ones he’s got. The football’s not entertaining and what makes it twice as bad is that their two biggest rivals, Man City and Liverpool, do play exciting football.”
Sharpe added that he doesn’t expect the manager to last at the club for a long time, “His negative style does not fit in with the expansive football that United fans want. I think he’ll be gone before Christmas.”
Manchester United next face Tottenham Hotspur on Monday 27 August with the kick off time slated for 10PM.
Sharpe joined Manchester United from Torquay United as a youngster in 1988, playing for the club up until 1996. He won a total of eight caps for England, but his later career failed to live up to its potential after leaving Manchester United in his mid-twenties.
Sharpe moved to Leeds United in 1996, but persistent knee injuries kept him from making an impact on the squad, and he was loaned to Sampdoria at the start of the 1998–99 season. Another loan to Bradford City in March 1999 turned into a permanent deal at the end of the season.
He stayed at Bradford for three seasons, but he gradually slipped down the league ladder, eventually moving to Iceland to play for Grindavík in 2003. He retired from professional football in 2003, but achieved renewed fame after a number of reality television appearances. He briefly returned to football in 2004, playing for Garforth Town, but his return was short-lived