United's Far East tour is washed out

MANCHESTER United are heading home after their taxing pre-season trip to China came to a shambolic end.

Bureaucracy, disorganisation and bad luck meant their money-spinning International Champions Cup involvement was far more of a hindrance than help to recently-appointed manager Jose Mourinho.

The United boss was clear that the trip to the far from ideal conditions of China was a necessary evil, but the cancellation of yesterday's eagerly-anticipated friendly against Manchester City raised fresh doubts over the wisdom of such pre-season tours to the Far East.

A two-hour delay at passport control upon landing in Shanghai on Wednesday got United off to a frustrating start, throwing their tight schedule, given their sponsor commitments, off kilter.

The heat and humidity made it more difficult for Mourinho to mould his new side in training and United were soundly beaten 4-1 at a half-empty Shanghai Stadium by a Borussia Dortmund team admittedly far more advanced in pre-season.

That section of the trip proved relatively straightforward compared to the second leg, though, with even the journey to Beijing proving troublesome.

One of United's two chartered planes was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Tianjin due to the bad weather, leading Memphis Depay to post a video saying they were "lost somewhere" in China.

Eating dinner at 1am in the morning was hardly ideal for the players, who at the last minute saw training switch from the Bird's Nest to the nearby Olympic Sports Centre on Sunday.

A clearly bemused Mourinho had to do his pre-match media activity outside as the tiny, sweltering press conference room was deemed unsuitable, with security staff having to hold back many autograph-hunters.

The United boss will have been relieved to board their plane home.

United officials hope to return to China to give their hands what they want. Whether Mourinho will be open to that suggestion is another matter entirely.