For a club captain, Antonio Valencia seldom acts like one. The Manchester United skipper was positioned by the tunnel at full-time and planned on disappearing down it upon the referee’s final shrill. Only a member of the United coaching staff pointed towards the 2,500 supporters getting a nosebleed in the steep Mestalla stadium.
Those who played out the game made their obligatory gesture to the United following before they hurried out of the stadium.Paul Pogba ‘moved quicker through the mixed zone than he did on the pitch’, according to one observer.Phil Jones winced when asked to spare a couple of minutes, mindful fans probably did not want to hear what he had to say even though he was still the top trend on Twitter on Thursday morning.
Jones has scored nearly as many own goals during his United career as he has for the club – five for and four against. It will doubtless happen again.
United should also brace themselves for more Marcos Rojo horror shows, more fecklessness from Pogba and Romelu Lukaku trapping the ball farther than he can kick it, to quote that old Tommy Docherty adage. Some of the current players must evoke memories of Docherty’s relegated Reds for older followers.
How times have changed. Back in February 2017, Ed Woodward said: “Are we happy with the roster at this point? Yes. I think there’s a happiness from the manager at this point, as you can tell in all [the manager’s] recent interviews. I think we aren’t necessarily in a position where we have to churn a large number of players.” They are now.
Woodward has to be held to account on some of the comments he made during that conference call, such as: “I think there is always going to be continual improvement. Even if you win everything you still want to improve the squad, that’s the nature of the dynamic and industry that we are in.”
United won nothing last season and, as Mourinho noted this month, have not improved whereas others have. The happiness has turned to sourness.