The Manchester United manager has drawn criticism over his handling of the player – but there is a more pressing issue. Manchester United supporters would, in the main, love to see Luke Shaw thriving in the left-back role. And plenty, no doubt, would be happy if that success came about as a result of the player grafting hard and his manager Jose Mourinho offering constructive, positive support. Whatever the failings of the player, his treatment from the man managing him has left a sour taste with lots of Reds – and, reportedly, some of his senior teammates. But the furore around his relationship with the player, apart from providing an opportunity for Mourinho haters to sharpen their knives, has been a mask to disguise a wider malaise. If United’s hierarchy harbour any misgivings about the Portuguese’s handling of the young full-back, they should perhaps be keeping an eye on a bigger picture.
It has been suggested there are concerns within the club that the current situation – born out of Mourinho’s harsh public criticism of the player following the FA Cup win – could leave United with ‘damaged goods’ if they do decide to sell him on this summer. The player’s personal welfare should also be in their thoughts. But the United manager wouldn’t be the first to use a flashpoint issue as a smokescreen to a bigger problem. Whether Mourinho’s rant about Shaw and other players at the weekend was a deliberate attempt to claim the narrative of United’s story this season or not, it should only be taken as a temporary diversion. If United chiefs were wincing at the manner of the hammering of Shaw and others and the ‘don’t blame me’ message behind the manager’s comments following the Champions League exit to Sevilla, they should surely be starting to view the state and style of United’s football as a bigger worry. The true story of United’s season, is that they have – largely – been awful to watch. In victory and especially defeat.
Those who like to remember every minute of Sir Alex Ferguson’s football as a two-and-half-decade-long festival of swashbuckling, brilliance are kidding themselves. It wasn’t always. But it was never as relentlessly cautious, conservative and plain dull as most of what Reds have watched this season. On top of that, it isn’t particularly effective. The Shaw issue is a concern and shines a light on a side of Mourinho many are uncomfortable with and plenty must wonder if Paul Pogba is in danger of heading down the same path. The fact Alexis Sanchez is starting to resemble a sticking plaster that has already peeled off is also a worry.
But United fans want entertainment to go with their success – and at the moment they are getting neither, despite a squad that harbours plenty of brilliant attacking possibilities. The manager must carry the can for that – whatever the reasons for it are – and fans can only hope he gets the players he wants in summer to allow his team off the leash in the way he did (the first time round) at Chelsea and later at Real Madrid.
