#Jamie specifically is the one who breaks character after being rejected to ask when he gets to be happy. VIRGIN

[rppik]

Naow, I meant the uwu-speak downward spiral of a conversation o_o . I was relating that aspect of the post to our own interactions :>

do you ever say something and then think "wow this isnt even a bit. im just like this"

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 39

Spoilers, obv.

And we collapse forward on the keyboard and twitch a while. This has been nightmarishly hard. I suspect the last arc will be hard (as nothing in WicDiv is easy) but the things we were juggling here were something else.

Before we dive in, some top-level thinking. The advantage of the way WicDiv is constructed is that we know what we're doing. A friend was just rereading the first arc, and noted how certain elements and approaches simply changed as the tone of the book solidified – while also noting that every direction we did take was there from the off. We knew the What We Were Doing but not always the specific How.

(Not least, as I was a hot mess in 2014. I'm amazed the WicDiv scripts weren't just bahsjasjfaglagsfk.)

But the problem with knowing the direction of the book is you're tied to ideas you may wish you hadn't put in play. Because a five year book is enough time to change significantly in what you consider a good idea or not – and even if you still think it's a good idea in the abstract, it doesn't mean it's an idea you would necessarily want to do any more.

At this point, there's various things flying around. Firstly, Laura has rejected her godhood. That's great. That's clearly the arc of the book. Secondly, Ananke is running her own eternal scheme with its eternal rules. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Ananke (and I'm using “Ananke” for “Ananke and Minerva” here) is significantly deceiving people on some key matters, and using the holes in their knowledge to her advantage. At this point in the story the same thing happens to her. We see that her own perception is also incomplete.

So – what's the thing she's missing?

I fell upon Maiden/Mother/Crone as a structure to create a relationship between Ananke/Persephone/Minerva. What action would Ananke buy?

It has to be archetypal and mythic. Cheaty postmodernism doesn't work. Myth is brutal and basic and ugly and wrong.

So – if the Mother archetype has a child, Ananke's doomed forever. It breaks the little eternal circle and Ananke thinks herself trapped in that sensory void forever.

There's nothing in the above specifically and individually which worries me too much. It's how they intersect with the rest of the plot, and how we can chart a line between them all without saying anything we don't want to say, or without causing undue emotional distress in a way we're uncomfortable with.

We end up with our solution, which is merely our best solution, which means it's far from perfect. We do as much as we can, and try and touch on stuff as gently as we can to avoid any fair misreading of the story. Even so, there's resonances in there I dislike.

There's a sentence that is said all the time in writing room situations: “This is the bad version.” It's said when people are brainstorming, and asking the audience to know this isn't good, but they are good enough writers to make it better – it's just a structure of the sort of things that the narrative could delineate.

It's easy to imagine The Bad Version of this plot. Laura finding out she has to have a kid to save the world! Baal and Baphomet fighting over who's the father! An issue cliffhanger where you think Laura's own choice has doomed the world! I shudder. Like, someone with a different aesthetic to me would have done all of the above.

Instead, what we try to do is what we have to do to make the story work, and do it in the safest way possible. It's the guiding aesthetic of most of this issue, in terms of separating the two key threads – namely not confusing Laura's choice to have an abortion and Laura's choice to reject godhood.

But still – I spent four years trying to think of something that Ananke would buy, based on our implicit story, which wasn't this, and failed. I'd rather not have gone this way. I'm happy with the issue, but it was a heartbreaking amount of work as I take all of this intensely seriously.

So, to return to the opening, the problem with being as structured as WicDiv is means that you are tied to decisions you made years ago, without which the story simply breaks.

DIE (aka Project Spangly New Thing) rejects this kind of plotting. It's just as messy emotionally as WicDiv (hell, even more so) but leaves the characters a lot more narrative freedom. I'd have done it anyway (because I hate to repeat myself) but the experience on arcs like this certainly feeds into it.

Anyway – I'll be talking some specifics in this as we go through, as I suspect it may be useful for people thinking about the impact of choices.

Jamie's Cover: Ananke in her cavewoman chic. That means 2 “persephone”, 2 “minerva” and 2 “Ananke” covers for this arc. The symmetry seems fun.

Phil Jimenez's Cover: I first saw Phil's work in his pop-thrill issues of The Invisibles, an obviously influential work on yours truly. We worked together on Angela: Asgard's Assassin together, which was a thrill, and this glam-metal take on her. He's also very lovely. As such, Minerva in full-on catwalk mode is a great take. I love these kind of maximalist high-thrill ones. And LIZ's ‘When I rule the world’ has just come on my WicDiv shuffle at this point, which seems appropriate for Minerva stomping down a lightning-catwalk. Also, Dee Cunniffe (who has flatted nearly all of WicDiv) provides colours. Nice work, Dee.

Page 1-2

Black spaces. Like the opening of the arc – C's idea, I believe. Also, ensuring we get our page turns right. We dropped the recap for once. Normally we'd drop it in the mid-point of the issue instead of the first interstitial, but it would have broken the space.

Obviously mirroring the start of this arc.

The first obvious bit of delineation: this is ten days after the end of last issue. Laura stopped being Persephone 10 days ago. As such, anything that happens now is not connected to that.

The biggest reading we wanted to avoid: “Laura's abortion is the ritual by which she rejects and escapes the Persephone-Mother archetype”. Especially if people, either pro or anti choice, could make an argument we're saying we're saying the act is human sacrifice – a reading which seems especially possible in a story that already has human sacrifice in it.

Page 3-4-5-6

Reestablishing what folks have been up to in the gap – in short, bits and pieces, bits of information the characters should exchange, etc.

The Cass/Woden dialogue is stuff I'd have liked to get into issue 33, but was cut due to space and focus. It was Mimir's scene, and as he's been silent for the whole book, he gets to speak. The “He stole my life/I stole his” was all that was required. This is detail. Interesting detail, but detail. And, yes, loaded.

There's a lot of “starting other stuff” in this sequence – clearly the “ritual” is going to be important next arc.

I love what Jamie is doing quietly with Mimir and the boxes at the back of the room on page 4. Like, I wonder what's in each of those boxes, right? There's some horrible pure objectification here. Like, Pokémon. Got to catch them all.

You can tell that Woden is more chill with Minerva, right?

It was originally written with Minerva noting that mind-controlled-sex-is-rape at the end of page 4. That felt frankly aggressive, as if we were using it as a punchline. Instead, we soften it, and move it mid-panel, which changes the feeling around it, hopefully.

On page 6, I really like the “Hmm. You're learning.” It still makes me laugh.

Making the gun's controls REALLY VISUALLY OBVIOUS is not exactly subtle, but 100% needed to make sure the scene make sense.

Page 7-8-9

With a month gap between issues, it's possible that the reader may not have noticed that we've changed the issue structure from the rest of this arc. It's not “past stuff then present stuff” like the others. It's at least one reason why we didn't give a preview – that and that the first pages of the issue are entirely non-characteristic in terms of where the issue goes.

Anyway – first page is a pure repeat from issue 34, so a free page. This issue is a little longer than normal, due to normal cheats. It's actually 20 new pages long... plus one new panel.

Page 8 is very peak Jamie, plus Matt, for a certain mode. I never get bored of seeing what they do with blood together. Ananke's expression in panel 4 is just particularly well chosen. This isn't how Minerva feels last issue – that's after thousands of years of dwelling on it. This is first exposure. You don't go straight to AGRGRHRHRHRHH.

And back to the still angle on the third panel. Like, the static nature of these seems important in terms of mood.

I really hope Ananke isn't licking that knife.

Page 10

I spent the best part of a day trying to work out what to name this interstitial, after naming it a few things previously. That we end up with a very limited Bowie nod says everything. Anything else seemed to create resonances we were trying to avoid. Once more, the aim is to separate the two decisions from Laura as much as possible.

Page 11

I know drawing London kills Jamie, but I'll miss seeing stuff like this monthly when it's gone.

We don't know Laura's walked out of a clinic for a few pages, but it was important to just give her space here.

Researching locations in London, in terms of placing the events, the timing, what would be available, and Laura's condition after an abortion and trying to find a way to be sensitive to all of that as a writer. Ideally, I was looking for an option around Highbury & Islington, as I always prefer to reuse settings. In practise, this was best.

Page 12

I basically described Beth's crew as Valkyrie-plusses. As in, the mini-bosses in a videogame. Elite models for a basic troop type.

Toni pushes to the front, as he's always been the most talkative of the Other Two. Writing this I realised who he is here – he's basically “Imagine Marvel Boy, if Marvel Boy was a total idiotic dipshit.”

(Instead of the “mostly idiotic dipshit” he was in YA. Love you, Noh-Varr! KISSY FACE.)

I believe Jamie laughed at this a fair bit.

Page 13-14

I considered various captions for Laura here, but no matter what they did, they blurred the line between her abortion and her abandoned godhood. As such, the relative silence was considered more effective.

13-14-15-16

A lot is packed into this space. In an ideal world, I'd like another page for it, to extend Beth's choice to shoot or not, but it's all there.

Key delineations here: obvious restatement of the 10 days since she's been a god, to ensure it's clear. “Panel 3”; Beth never knowing (nor caring) where Laura has just been; Robin actually being human; Laura's privacy being respected; the “I've got more imminent problems” to separate her being shot from this; most importantly, Laura never knowing that this decision was important to Minerva, and never letting Minerva's mistaken beliefs impact her decision. Laura' abortion is her choice and doesn't need a bunch of mythic stuff attached to it for her.

The “shame” line resonates with another, more optimistic, line on the first page of Young Avengers. This speaks to the books, and the choices and the attached psychology.

Page 17

Oddly, the “no cameras in the bathroom” information we've set up allows this scene. Minerva isn't someone who would vocalise much if someone could have hear. You can imagine her looking in each booth to see if someone's around. I did consider moving to captions for a page, but Minerva getting captions for this one event seemed aesthetically off.

Page 18

Self-evident interstitial, and so long a bit of text I can hear designers wincing.

Page 19-20

Earliest scene so far in WicDiv. I did consider having it set after the murder, with the grandson coming back to hear her last words, but the “alive-dead-alive-dead-alive-dead” was getting a bit silly. A quietly magical breakfast conversation seemed the way to go.

I think the bleakest and darkly funniest thing in the issue is the “Eventually, we'll learn. It may take a thousand years, but someone will figure it out.” Oh, you total optimist, you.

I do like the mood of the colouring for this.

Okay – the key structural bit for safety-proofing this plot? The absolute minimisation of the gap between discovering the fourth rule, discovering Laura has had an abortion and then discovering that the fourth rule is just a lie. The longer it hangs, the more it is letting people live with an idea we find reprehensible. The thing I knew when starting this arc is all of this had to happen inside the same issue – the problem there being, that it also had to be foreshadowed enough to not come out of nowhere. And if you foreshadow too heavily, it's as same as saying “this is where it's going”.

Anyway – that wrapped up, we move towards the end...

Page 21-22-23-24-25

The continuation of last issue's end. Laura and her captions.

Some perfect McKelvie expressions, and some key beats. Like, this also adds shade to last issue – I forget if I mentioned that one of the key beats of the series (Laura rejecting her godhood) being dramatised by her swapping a SIM card seems absolutely key to where we are.

Two key expressions – the glance to camera with “I'm not a god” and “So what? So do you.” I could marry Jamie for these.

Matt working the blacks and the ochres here is fascinating.

Thought experiment: originally the layout on page 21 had two captions in panel 3 and two in panel 4. I moved the first from panel 4 to panel 3. Why? A single caption always has more weight in a given space. Having two in each was effectively giving no extra weight to any individual caption. Instead, three in one makes that the conversational beat and the one over the spiral-staircase means the latter just hangs there.

(In short: less dialogue/caption in any space makes the line more important. SPACE=MEANING is what I've been saying all along, usually with panel size. As in, “bigger panels read as more important.” But the same sort of thinking applies to lettering in terms of the space it is allowed to “control.”)

End of page 21 – a final restating of the two events being separate. Laura choosing to have an abortion is something she decided when starting to put her life back together. It's not a cause of her stopping being a god – if anything, it's something that's resulted from her new state of mind.

Lots in terms of mode in 22, but I love how Jamie has handled the nudity in the second panel. As in, she's a girl changing for bed, but she's never presented as something to be objectified, to looked at. Laura is always someone we're meant to be. We are meant to inhabit her, and her us.

The panel at the start of 23 is the extra panel we squeezed in. One panel for this amount of extra material, leading to the better reveal seemed a good choice.

Did I mention I lost a line I really liked last issue? The “At long last, I know what I'm not” was originally “I know what I am/and I know what I'm not.” Which is pretty and elegant, but also confusing with this ending – the “what I am” is “not a god” and what I'm not” is “a god”. Prettiness only goes so far, especially as it's not as if Laura's going to stop and explain that.

Lots of key bits of dialogue in these pages, obviously. “I distrust anyone who tells me who I am. Especially if I agree” and all that.

Obviously in storytelling choices, this is reprising, in an inverted way, the end of The Faust Act. Instead of a flash of light, fading into darkness, darkness emerging from light. Also, really strong choice of expression in that final panel.

26

Referencing ‘Dancing In the Dark’. Springsteen's is obviously great, but I'm thinking of the Downtown Boys' cover which is much closer to where WicDiv is coming from.

I choke up at all this scene. Been a long way to get here, Laura. Onwards.

The trade collection for Mothering Invention is out in October. We have two Specials before next arc, WicDiv: 1373 (out at the end of September) and WicDiv: The Funnies (out in November.)

We're then back in December, where we begin our final arc.

It's called – “Okay”. Including the quotation marks. Yes, we're going out on another Bowie reference.

Thanks for reading.

[minijenn]

Soooo... Soos And The Real Girl Notes? (Since you said you would post the notes for every chapter after you complete them)

Under the cut

Characters: Soos, Steven, Mabel, Dipper, Connie, Jamie, Garnet, Giffany, Stan, Amethyst, Wendy, Melody, Soos’ Abulita other minor charactersSetting: Mall, Mystery Shack, Gem TempleEpisodes to look at: Soos and the Real Girl, Love LettersTone: Romance, action, humor, generally lighthearted with some horror elements thrown in

• Start off humorously at the shack, with some fun/fluffy character interactions (extend this part a bit, specifically with stuff between Soos and the kids) • Still, keep it rather short as Soos leaves for the day, leaving everyone to (somewhat) wonder about what Soos does when he’s not working at the shack • From there, cut to Soos at him with Abulita; she informs him that his cousin Reggie’s engagement party is coming up and encourages him to get a date to take to it; Soos assures her that he’ll be able to find one, before realizing that this task might be much more difficult than he hopes • Cut to the next day at the shack once more, this time with some fun, cute interactions between the kids (again keep in mind the stuff from the past several chapters but don’t necessarily bring it up that much); generally though, show that this is kind of a sign of things returning to peace/normality • After a while of this, Jamie the mailman arrives, much to Steven’s excitement (the other three don’t really know him, seeing as how he left to study acting in Kansas relatively early on into the summer); have some humor in initial interactions in here and remember to show just how overdramatic Jamie tends to be • After some fun with this, Garnet arrives (be descriptive about her arrival here) and Jamie instantly “falls” for her; in this bit, Garnet brings up that she was searching the lake to try and come up with a way to split Malachite up (something that Dipper in particular takes immediate interest in) but she confirms that the fusion is inaccessible due to a thick layer of ice Malachite set up just a few feet down into the water (much to the kids’ shared disappointment) (don’t spend too long on this) • Give Jamie some initial interactions with Garnet here (who’s rather deadpan, as usual), but make sure to show just how lovestruck he is, something that the kids (particularly Mabel and Connie) pick up on • Meanwhile, cut to the inside of the shack, where Stan is trying to sell customers on “Old Goldie”, though humorously, kids only seem to be outright frightened of it; Wendy suggests that he get rid of it, but Stan staunchly refuses, until it ends up backfiring on him (make this bit funny, fairly close to the episode, though perhaps with some deviation) • At the same time, show Soos trying to land a date for the party, only to humorously fail; the kids happen to notice this and, upon learning more about the situation, they decide to help Soos in finding a date, with their first step in this to be heading for the mall • However, as they begin to set out, the kids are stopped by Jamie before they can leave, who anxiously hands them off a letter intended for Garnet before rushing off; after a bit of deliberation, the kids decide to split up, with Steven and Dipper accompanying Soos while Mabel and Connie go to deliver the letter to Garnet • Cut to the mall, where Stan heads off to find a replacement for Goldie while Dipper and Steven start (humorously) coaching Soos on how to get a date; of course, once again Soos fails to more funny results as the boys begin to question whether or not they’re up to this task • Meanwhile, the girls hand the letter off to Garnet, only to find that it’s a love letter from Jamie (show what it says); the girls excitedly realize that Jamie wants to ask Garnet out, only to realize the issues with this plan as the remember Garnet’s a fusion and therefore is already “a relationship” in and of herself • All the same, Mabel and Connie help Garnet write out a response for the letter, which turns out to just be a flat “no”; while somewhat disconcerted, the girls head off to deliver the letter anyway • Go back to Stan as he trashes Goldie, only to notice the animatronics at Hoo-Haw’s Pizza Jamboree; he immediately realizes that they’re a viable money-making tool, but the restaurant’s manager haughtily laughs off hits attempts to buy one, leading Stan to want to get even and steal one for himself (imply that he’s going to recruit Amethyst’s help for this) • Go back to Soos, who has hidden away at the video game store to try and avoid his cousin and his fiancé when the boys find him and try in vain to encourage him; at this juncture, Soos happens to find a copy of “Romance Academy 7”, a video game designed to improve anyone’s dating skills (make this a bit ominous, but not too much) • Despite the store cashier’s warnings against buying the game, the boys are quick to realize that Soos defiantly needs the help, and so they go ahead and rent it (imply that this is a dangerous choice, but again, not too overtly yet) • Go back to Mabel and Connie as they attempt to deliver Garnet’s response to Jamie, only to find him in a complete state of bliss over his infatuation; he tells them about how he was rejected over and over again in Kansas, and how he couldn’t bear the possibility of being rejected once more • After hearing this, the girls agree that they can’t give Garnet’s harsh rejection to Jamie, lest they break his heart; so instead, the decide to write up a different letter of their own, one that’s much more wordy and flowery and indirect than what Garnet wrote; end this part with them sending it to Jamie, confident that it will get the message across • Cut to Soos that evening as he sits down to play Romance Academy 7; introduce .GIFfany here and be rather descriptive about her; all the same, show that her and Soos hit it off in several humorous beats • End this part off rather ominously though, with the implication that .GIFfany might not be just a game… (maybe do a bit more to imply this) • The next morning, Steven and Dipper arrive to see that Soos is still playing the game, almost obsessively so; concerned, they pull Soos away from .GIFfany, but show that she intends on following after them through a string of electrical devices (be descriptive/ominous about this) • Go back to the girls as they inform Garnet that they delivered her response to Jamie (even though they didn’t; also have a bit of humor in here of Garnet nearly forgetting about the whole matter entirely, showing how it kinda doesn’t really matter to her) • However, not too long after this, Jamie arrives, still passionate about his love for Garnet as he misinterpreted the note the girls sent him; the girls try to gently tell him that wasn’t the case, only for Garnet to rather harshly and bluntly shut him down, sending him running off in distraught tears, much to the girls’ shared alarm • Go back to the mall where the boys are still struggling to find Soos a date; eventually, they end up getting separated from him, so show Soos’ anxiousness to try and find a date on his own, only for this to be capped off by him reuniting through .GIFfany • Upon Soos’ confusion, .GIFfany explains that she’s not an ordinary program, and that she ended up “Getting rid of” the programmers who tried deleting her (again, make this ominous); while Soos is somewhat alarmed by this, .GIFfany appeases him by claiming that he’ll never have to talk to real girls again as long as he has her   • So show some humor in here as Soos and .GIFfany spend time together, only for this to be interrupted by Soos meeting a young woman named Melody; extend this part a bit, make it very cute and endearing, and have it end up with the two setting up a date at Hoo-Haw’s before parting ways (primarily show how they hit it off and have a thing for each other from the get go, establish their relationship strong) • Immediately after this, the boys return, celebrating that Soos managed to get a date on his own; Soos is somewhat hesitant though, since he doesn’t want to turn his back on .GIFfany, though the boys assure him things will be fine (imply that they won’t be, as .GIFfany watched the entire exchange and is far from pleased…) • Incorporate an original scene in all this between the kids as they all meet up once more; as Steven and Dipper report on their (loose) success with getting Soos a date, Mabel and Connie lament on not being able to help Jamie and instead only making things worse • However, in the middle of this, Mabel gets the idea to help smooth things over between Jamie and Garnet by having them meet up for an “apology date” that night at Hoo-Haw’s; while the others (especially Connie) are hesitant on this idea, they decide to go through with it nonetheless • Cut back to Soos as he attempts to hesitantly break up with .GIFfany, only for her to completely lose it on him; realizing that she’s crazy and obsessive, Soos takes her disc out and plans on returning her after the date; However, show that .GIFfany’s still around and has every intention of claiming him as hers alone • Go back to Stan’s subplot after this and show him preparing to take the animatronic badger, despite Wendy’s attempts at dissuading him; Amethyst comes in during this, so have a little humor here as they two profess their confidence over their latest Revenge Trip, before humorously setting off • Cut back to the mall as the boys are prepping Soos for his date, so make this pretty humorous; after a while of this, Soos meets up with Melody, so remember to keep things cute and fluffy between them for a bit • At the same time, show that Garnet has shown up to talk to Jamie; the girls attempt to coach her over what to say, but she assures them that she already knows what’s up (also imply that she’s there for more than just to reconcile with him, as her future vision showed her the whole .GIFfany fiasco) • Build tension in the next part as .GIFfany returns, much to Soos’ distraught shock; she shows her disdain for Melody and her desire to get rid of her, something that alarms Soos enough to flee and go tell the boys (have a little humor in here, but mostly remember to play things straight) • In the midst of this, Jamie (who is immensely depressed after Garnet’s rejection) meets up with her, expecting her to confirm her rejection; Garnet begins to, but before she can get out what she really intends to say, the evening is interrupted as .GIFfany takes control of the animatronics on stage • Make this part dark and alarming, with the other patrons of the restaurant quickly fleeing as Soos tries in vain to rescue Melody from .GIFfany’s wrath; at the same time, Garnet jumps into action to try and take on this newfound threat • At the same time, show Amethyst and Stan successfully and humorously making off with one of the animatronics, only for it to come alive and start attacking them; have some beginning action in here before cutting back • Show that .GIFfany’s taken full control of everything electronic in the restaurant, trapping the kids, Soos, Melody, Jamie, and Garnet in; keep the action running high and frantic in here as everyone tries to escape while Garnet fights .GIFfany (make this kinda confrontational, as .GIFfany kind of disgusts Garnet for her complete lack of understanding of the concept of actual love) • Eventually though, Garnet is distracted by Jamie, who attempts throwing himself in harms way to protect her; in the midst of this break in the action, Soos runs forward to gain .GIFfany’s attention • At the same time, Stan and Amethyst are struggling to hold their own against the animatronic (have some funny banter in here); they end up being saved by Goldie, of all things, in the trash, which ends up subduing the animatronic • Keep things climactic as Garnet continues trying to protect everyone from the restaurant’s attacking facets, only for her to quickly start to be overwhelmed • In the midst of this, everyone else is surrounded, including Soos; .GIFfany proceeds to urge him into loving her, as real girls will only reject and scorn him; she claims that she can download him into the game with her so they can be together forever • In the end though, Soos boldly rejects this offer, putting her CD into the oven; be descriptive as .GIFfany meets her supposed demise • With the animatronic defeated, Stan and Amethyst celebrate, deciding to take the machine on a tandem trip to Vegas (Make this funny, add more onto it) • In the aftermath of all this chaos, Garnet finally sits Jamie down and speaks her piece about love at first sight not existing, and that it takes time and work for it to really happen; she also compliments how he was able to fool himself into thinking he loved her, and encourages him to take up community theater before leaving • The girls head over to ask if Jamie’s ok, and he assures them that he is, thanking them for all their help (even if it was more along the lines of meddling) • At the same time, Soos comes clean to Melody, who surprisingly isn’t that bothered by everything that just happens; Soos asks her to his cousin’s party, and she accepts, though claims that she won’t be in town for much longer; still, show that sparks of bubbling romance are certainly still there as they intend to carry their relationship on via long distance • End the chapter on generally good feelings as the kids reconvene and reflect on their triumphs/failures in matchmaking; let the final beat be a bit of humor as Abulita shows up, revealing that she’d been watching Soos’ endeavors the entire time

Cryptogram (keyword: GIFFANY): A mind of bits, a heart of bytes, Her pixely smile is a beautiful sight,But something about her isn’t quite right,Stand her up and you’re in for a fright

Untranslated: G UNSD BD HQYX, A UCGZY TF OWZMXMEE NOFJQY FKOTJ NS N ZKIZYISSR ANLHGZAB XTMRRNQSL AOMAB MJR VQT'B VZIGC XQLMTFRGVI MEE SV ISI YBS'XM NS FBP G NWNGUR

[ultrasfcb-blog]

Jose Mourinho: What's going on - and does he need out of Man Utd?

Jose Mourinho: What's going on - and does he need out of Man Utd?

Jose Mourinho: What’s going on – and does he need out of Man Utd?

Manchester United completed 19 factors behind champions Manchester Metropolis final season

A month in the past, when England had been trying ahead to a World Cup semi-final and as pre-season coaching for Europe’s main golf equipment was simply getting began, Manchester United’s ultimate US tour match towards Actual Madrid had a serious query mark over it.

Gareth Bale can be concerned. However for whom?

Quick ahead 4 weeks and, although England didn’t discover their utopia, Bale is completely satisfied sufficient, laughing and joking along with his Actual team-mates in Miami, his short-term future on the Bernabeu assured by new coach Julen Lopetegui.

However as they put together for Wednesday’s recreation, the query mark over United stays. If something, it’s larger than earlier than.

Supervisor Jose Mourinho’s feedback within the labyrinth of rooms on the Michigan Stadium on Saturday after a 4-1 loss to Liverpool noticed to that.

So, it’s time to ask the query. What’s going on with Mourinho and Manchester United?

In case you are viewing this web page on the BBC Information app please click on here to vote.

Why does Mourinho appear so sad?

In entrance of the cameras, Mourinho has not been a jovial character for a while.

One thing – most likely the scars of coping with the Madrid media throughout his time as Actual boss – occurred between his first stint at Chelsea and his second. No matter it was, it has taken away the general public geniality of the self-proclaimed ‘Particular One’.

However, the breadth of the targets he fired at throughout his tetchy 10-minute post-match information convention after the loss to Liverpool was jaw-dropping.

He lamented the absence of senior gamers, decried the usual of a few of the youthful ones who’re right here, wistfully mirrored on a switch goal he is not going to get, highlighted inactivity on one he nonetheless expects to, expressed frustration at accidents, invited senior gamers to return to coaching early, and questioned why supporters would pay to observe his staff.

In a much less well-publicised a part of his information convention, he thanked defender Eric Bailly for stepping in to interchange one other senior participant – Chris Smalling – on the weekend, then instantly rejected the Ivorian as a pacesetter. Chatting with United’s TV station, he accused new captain Antonio Valencia of coming back from his summer time break out of practice. As well as, he ridiculed the usual of a referee who gave two penalties towards his staff.

Broad-ranging is an effective description.

The important thing level is that this: does Mourinho harbour a rising sense of real unhappiness in any respect these supposed sources of irritation, is he making an attempt to make factors, or is he trying to deflect consideration from a heavy defeat by the hands of a serious rival?

If it’s the final of these, it’s a long-established managerial tactic. The center one might go both means. But when it’s the former, then a stereotypical full-blown third-year explosion – the kind Mourinho is at all times so fast to reject when requested about – is on the way in which.

Mourinho desires two signings, however solely expects one

Is his relationship with the membership strained?

There are two reactions to what Mourinho did on Saturday.

One is to lift an eyebrow, say it’s typical of him, specific sympathy along with his scenario and transfer on.

That is precisely what quite a lot of influential folks throughout the membership are doing. In any case, the Portuguese signed a brand new contract in January that not solely improved his phrases, however prolonged his tenure to 2020.

The connection between Mourinho and government vice-chairman Ed Woodward has repeatedly been described as sturdy by each males, so, presumably, potential battle areas inside summer time switch dealings would have been coated throughout the negotiations. It is usually possible a imaginative and prescient for the short-term future would have been agreed. Why would that all of a sudden change as a result of one switch goal was missed – which is barely what has occurred within the earlier two summers?

An alternate view, and there are different long-standing United figures who’re leaning in direction of this, is Mourinho desires out, and that is the beginning of his exit technique.

One factor that’s sure is that, for the primary time in his illustrious managerial profession, Mourinho is not going to have Rui Faria by his facet this season.

The pair have been inseparable since Mourinho appointed Faria – a person he describes as “a brother” – assistant at Uniao Leiria in 2001.

Nevertheless, final season, Faria – feeling he wasn’t attending to see sufficient of his household and exhausted by the pressures of day-to-day involvement on the very high of the sport – determined to take a break.

Mourinho has opted not to usher in a direct alternative. In Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna, he has added each a membership stalwart who has large data of the sport and an urge for food to study, and somebody whose status at each United and former membership Tottenham is big.

Given United completed final season 19 factors behind arch-rivals Manchester Metropolis – whose supervisor Pep Guardiola vies with Mourinho for the title of biggest supervisor of their technology – and haven’t accomplished a lot to recommend the hole will be closed, Saturday’s feedback are being interpreted by those that have adopted the exit-strategy concept as the beginning of an extended goodbye.

Are United prone to falling behind their rivals?

United’s solely vital signing to date this summer time has been Brazil midfielder Fred. One other central defender is anticipated, though who that’s stays unsure.

However, each males will probably be among the many high six most costly gamers United have ever purchased.

Of the opposite 4, solely Argentina ahead Angel di Maria is now not on the membership. In midfielder Paul Pogba and ahead Anthony Martial, two stay who haven’t come near acting at their high degree on a constant foundation.

Mourinho was not accountable for Martial’s arrival from Monaco. His view is the Frenchman goes lacking at key occasions, therefore his keenness to signal Croatia’s Ivan Perisic, each final summer time and this, from Inter Milan.

The 55-year-old was accountable for Bailly, fellow defender Victor Lindelof and ahead Alexis Sanchez – for a mixed payment of slightly below £100m. They’re but to make a big impression at Previous Trafford.

On the similar time, there is a component of the unknown about all United’s main rivals.

Manchester Metropolis’s solely summer time signing is Riyad Mahrez, an attacking participant the champions arguably don’t want. Tottenham have signed no-one but. Arsenal’s most costly addition of the transient Unai Emery period to date is Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira who, at £26m, price simply over half the £47m United have spent on Fred. Chelsea didn’t even appoint their new supervisor, Maurizio Sarri, till after pre-season coaching had began.

Of all the key golf equipment, Liverpool are those who seem to have vital ahead momentum. But three of their 4 main signings – midfielders Naby Keita and Fabinho, and goalkeeper Alisson – have by no means performed within the Premier League earlier than.

So, whereas it’s simple to really feel United are going backwards, it may be argued that if Mourinho will get extra from the gamers he has already invested a lot in, they will not be far-off from the key prizes.

What does it imply for United’s season?

As with all golf equipment, outcomes can shortly change perceptions.

The Crimson Devils open the Premier League as a complete once they entertain Leicester on 10 August.

Mourinho has already highlighted how a lot simpler the build-up to the brand new marketing campaign has been for Foxes boss Claude Puel, given so few of his gamers had been on the World Cup in Russia.

That is true. However Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire had been away with England till the semi-final stage, and Mahrez has been bought.

Will they trigger an upset on the opening day? Maybe not; it’s so lengthy since Leicester received at Previous Trafford the match-winner, in 1998, was Tony Cottee.

The Foxes might have received the Premier League extra not too long ago than United, but nothing that has occurred since suggests they’re near the extent Mourinho’s facet are able to reaching on residence soil.

After that, United have journeys to Brighton and Burnley, who may very well be going into the sport on the again of a sixth successive Thursday evening look within the Europa League.

Between these two away fixtures is a Monday evening date with Tottenham on 27 August. In addition to not making a signing to date this summer time, Spurs had eight gamers concerned on the final weekend of the World Cup, in comparison with United’s seven.

So of all the large golf equipment anticipated to be difficult for main honours, Spurs are arguably in a fair worse scenario than United in relation to their preparation for what lies forward.

As Arsenal have matches towards Manchester Metropolis and Chelsea over the primary two weekends, it leaves Liverpool as the one ‘big-six’ membership who don’t meet a rival earlier than the primary worldwide break.

So, whereas Mourinho has reliable grounds to grouse on the troublesome build-up he’s having to work round, most of his managerial adversaries are in an identical place.

By the point that Burnley journey is completed and the top-flight season halts for its first worldwide break, way more will probably be identified about the place United – and everyone else for that matter – really are.

From there, Mourinho’s pronouncements could have way more that means.

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