Graeme Souness calls bullshit on Jose Mourinho’s most common complaint

Graeme Souness spoke like a man who just lost an evening of his life watching the non-event between Manchester United and Southampton.

Souness, like anyone unfortunate enough to watch the Premier League game on Wednesday night, will never get those 90 minutes back. The goalless draw was an awful match, devoid of any quality or entertainment. To make matters worse, the viewers, if there were any left following the game, then had to listen to Jose Mourinho complain. https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_UK/status/864926981208641536 He complained that United have to play Crystal Palace three days before the Europa League final against Ajax, and asked his pal Sam Allardyce to go easy on his team at Old Trafford on Sunday.

"I hope that Big Sam shows he's a good friend and he goes slow. He tells to (Wilfried) Zaha to go slow, he leaves (Christian) Benteke at home. I hope he goes soft on us."

That's Mourinho asking Palace, who only recently confirmed their Premier League place for next season, to do Manchester United a favour. Mourinho's numerous complaints wore thin about 10 years ago, yet they still seem to be tolerated by many. Including Gary Neville, who said that the United manager needs "eight to 10" players next season. However, Souness isn't buying Mourinho's complaints about fixture congestion, his most common complaint this season. United have played over 60 games this season, across four competitions. But they also have a large squad, which should offset the strains of competing on several fronts. The former Liverpool captain pointed out the flaws in Mourinho's argument. "We've all done it, we’ve all been there," Souness said on Sky Sports on Wednesday night.

"It's the price on the ticket if you’re winning trophies. If you get to the later stages of European cups, you have to deal with it. It's nothing new in football.

Souness also said that Mourinho's moaning gives players an excuse to under perform. "The more success we (Liverpool) had, I couldn't wait for the next game to come along," the former Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers manager said.

"The last thing I would want is a manager continuously telling me I'm tired. You're handing an excuse to your players to not play well. I talk from experience. People say the game has changed, but has it changed that much?"

Souness also rightly pointed out that United's last few games in the Premier League haven't exactly been the most physically taxing.

"Was that a difficult game of football tonight? No it wasn’t. Was it a tough game against Tottenham at the weekend? It wasn’t a terribly demanding physical game. I don’t see it."

You can watch Souness' analysis here: