How much longer can this go on?
Surely the Glazers are asking themselves this very question as they’ve now watched Manchester United stoop to its joint worst ever start to a Premier League season just days after losing to a Championship side in the League Cup.
The Red Devils are on a highway to hell. At the end of the summer, Paul Pogba — back as a World Cup Winner — was eager to perform the way he did for France. But neither he nor Manchester United have been playing with the caliber they know they can. They're currently seventh in the Premier League (having only won three of six games). They drew with Wolves on Saturday. They lost to Derby in the League Cup yesterday, getting knocked out in the third round for the first time since 2007.
Forget MTV or TMZ, one need not look further than this Pogba Mourinho stuff at Old Trafford for some of the most eye-popping, high-profile drama of 2018.
There has been trouble abound in paradise for England’s most storied club in recent weeks as the Red Devils have stumbled early on in the season with a less-than-stellar start in domestic play, a manager who is feeling the pressure and discontent in the locker room.
Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho hasn’t always seen eye to eye with his most expensive player, Paul Pogba — of this, there is no secret.
Mourinho has benched the Frenchman in the past and transfer rumors swirled around the powerhouse midfielder before the close of the summer window.
Pogba is still arguably the best player Manchester United has, so Mourinho is a bit stuck with him for now. But that doesn’t mean he has to enjoy it.
Manchester City did not sweat a lot to destroy Fulham 3-0 on Saturday. It was an easy ride with the sunroof open for every fan at the Etihad stadium, as the team was leading 1-0 (Leroy Sané) by the second minute and bombing Fulham’s 18-yard box the rest of the game.
It was just one of those days for Manchester United; one of those days were crosstown rivals Manchester City absolutely decimated an opponent to climb to the top of the table while United reverted to the slapstick pantomime version of the world’s biggest club.
A late Paul Pogba penalty made the scoreline much more respectable, but Brighton fully deserved its 3-2 win over Jose Mourinho’s men at the Amex Stadium.
18: Andy Cole
Though he never had much of a career with the English national team, Andy Cole racked up 187 goals for six different clubs in the Premier League, ranking him third all time. He scored a record 34 goals for Newcastle United in the 1993-94 season.
The English striker’s most successful stint was eight years with Manchester United, winning five league titles while scoring 93 goals in 195 matches.
17: Tim Howard/Brad Friedel
Between the closing of the Premier League transfer window and last Friday's match between Manchester United and Leicester City, we learned that the Red Devils intend to keep Paul Pogba. We also realized that Jose Mourinho is finally doing something right — Pogba captained the team. What we have yet to learn is this: Is Pogba set on staying with United?
90 days. That’s how long you had to rest and recover between the finish of the last Premier League season and the start of the new one.
The football obviously never ends, but at least the World Cup gave us a much-needed break from Manchester City rolling everyone and Arsenal giving us a very real glimpse into the experience of eternal damnation.
On August 10, we do it all again!