Jose Mourinho’s scathing analysis of Luke Shaw’s impressive cameo performance against Everton in April being a consequence of his tactical knowledge, channelled through a physically and technically talented brainless surrogate, told us as much about how much the England international has struggled to live up to his £30million price-tag as it did the sceptical mindset of the Manchester United manager.
Three years on from a summer transfer battle between Chelsea and the Red Devils that saw the latter club shell out a then-world record sum for a full-back who was just 19 years of age, Shaw has not become the world-class No.3 for club and country the majority of English football expected. Injury problems have been a factor – particularly the double-leg break against PSV in September 2015. Overall, the seven-cap defender has missed 91 games through injury over the last three seasons.
Yet, Shaw hasn’t met expectations when fit either. During his first summer at Old Trafford, Louis van Gaal told reporters the then-teenager had arrived at his new club unfit. Likewise, Mourinho’s declaration back in April wasn’t the first public swipe the Portuguese has taken at the former Southampton starlet – a few days prior, the Red Devils gaffer had questioned Shaw’s commitment and focus in training.
Whilst that’s a worrying indictment of Shaw’s professionalism and mentality, insinuating it’s not at the level required for a club of Manchester United’s stature or his level of ability, it’s also the latest in a line of condemning acts and soundbites Mourinho has directed at young players. Back in March, he described the new generation as ‘boys’ rather than ‘men’ and perhaps most accusatively of all, as ‘brats’.
“I had to adapt to a new world. To what young players are now. I had to understand the difference between working with a boy like Frank Lampard, who, at the age of 23 was already a man, who thought football, work, professionalism, and the new boys who at the age of 23 are kids. Today I call them “boys” not “men”. Because I think that they are brats and that everything that surrounds them does not help them in their life nor in my work.”
It’s certainly true that the current cohort of young players emerging are cut from a different cloth than the last. Their predecessors came from an era in which players were still connected to the fan base, entertained themselves with boozy nights out rather than social media campaigns and were treated as footballers rather than rockstars. Young footballers nowadays grow up in a mollycoddled bubble; one bursting at the seams with sponsorship deals, the ultra-materialistic luxuries of capitalism and multi-million salaries that distance them from the wider world. They don’t have that same contact with normality, and that can stunt their growth when it comes to taking responsibility on the pitch.
Clearly, it’s something Mourinho has struggled to come to terms with. He described Frank Lampard as a man at the age of 23 in March and less than two weeks later, labelled Shaw as a talented footballer without a brain.
It’s reflected in his transfer policy too; rather than investing in youth in the way that has largely become the norm in the Premier League, Mourinho signed a 28-year-old Cesc Fabregas and a 26-year-old Diego Costa in summer 2015 to turn Chelsea into champions, whilst his first transfer window at Old Trafford saw the arrival of a 34-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Mourinho clearly holds maturity of mind and character in equal importance to talent and ability. Furthermore, he wants that maturity ready-made through experience both on and off the pitch – rather than being something he must instil in his own players.
Of course, Mourinho’s scepticism of youth is nothing new; that criticism has hung around his neck for much of his career. But the Portuguese has made no secret of his begrudging acceptance of how the world is changing and for all the fear of naïve, young minds like Shaw’s, Mourinho clearly feels there are some exceptions to the rule – chiefly Marcus Rashford.
“I had to adjust to all that. 10 years ago, no player had a mobile phone in the dressing room. That is no longer the case. But you have to go with it, because if you fight that, you are bringing about conflict and you put yourself in the stone age. If you stop a player from doing something, even something a little stupid, on social media, you are going against nature. I admit that having a son and a daughter at that sort of age has helped me to understand the way they function and what the world is today.”
The England international’s game-time last season was a common subject of debate at both club and international level, particularly in regards to the central striker role. But across all competitions, the 19-year-old actually made the most appearances of any United player last term (53 including 30 stars) and clocked up the tenth-most league minutes of any teenager across Europe’s five leading top flights, trumped by only two goalkeepers, Empoli’s Assane Diousse and seven players from Ligue 1 – very much the continent’s breeding ground for prodigious talent these days.
Similarly, for all the mistakes and misguided performances Paul Pogba produced last season, Mourinho continued to keep his faith in the 24-year-old, who will surely benefit from that in the coming campaign when he’ll be expected to make himself a more consistently crucial figure in United’s starting XI. And perhaps most uncharacteristically of all, Mourinho has invested in two young centre-backs over the last two summers, snapping up Eric Bailly a matter of months after his 22nd birthday and 22-year-old Victor Lindelof in June this year.
Yet, for a club that prides itself on a heritage of giving chances to young players, Mourinho’s interpretation of Shaw’s performance against Everton is a worrying insight into the mind of a manager who has never truly trusted youth, even when he thought they were ‘men’ rather than ‘boys’. If Mourinho wants to make himself something more than simply a trophy-winner at Old Trafford and leave a legacy behind, he’ll not only have to come to terms with but also learn how to tap into the idiosyncrasies of footballers who belong to the era of spoilt millennials.
After all, the quality of player at his disposal, mentality and mindset included, will have as much a say on the success of the remainder of Mourinho’s managerial career as he will.
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