How Manchester United are getting affected by Jose Mourinho’s reliance on past glory
Manchester United have made a lacklustre start to their Premier League campaign under Jose Mourinho this season, with 2 losses out of their first 3 games. United looked pretty much like a mid-table outfit in their shocking 3-2 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion. However, the 3-0 humiliation at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford should be enough to engulf the 55-year-old Portuguese in a blanket of criticism.
Mourinho has been unable to extract the best out of the squad at his disposal. A loss to any team on a given day can be termed as a bad day at the office for the manager but it was the manner of the defeat that should raise eyebrows. Calling it a defeat would be an understatement. In fact, it was more of a resounding thrashing that will dent the confidence of the entire team.
In the game against Spurs, United looked like a spent force with no hunger or desire to compete. They never looked like they wanted to get themselves back into the match after conceding the first goal. The players visibly lacked motivation and after conceding the second, it was rather about going through the motions to complete the agonizing ninety minutes.
Mourinho has been one of the top names in the list of elite managers in Europe for the past fifteen years or so. He has won the Champions League twice – once with FC Porto in 2003/04 and the other with Inter Milan in 2009/10. He has been honoured as the FIFA World Coach of the Year, Premier League Manager of the Year and the UEFA Manager of the Season numerous times. There are few accolades that have eluded his grasp.
Mourinho has previously tasted Premier League success with Chelsea thrice in the 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2014/15 seasons. He is no stranger to the most competitive league in the world. However, his methods have not suited Manchester United and have often been contradictory to the type of players he has at the club.
Despite losing to Brighton in the second game, Mourinho did not experiment with his team dynamics and the changes he made to the playing XI did not make a difference. Mourinho switched the centre-back pairing of Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof to Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. However, the players could not face the heat of Spurs’ attack after being forced into the team all of a sudden.
When Mourinho tried to change things around, he did so in a bizarre fashion. The decision to play Ander Herrera as a makeshift centre-back proved to be a joke as the player looked totally confused regarding his position in the park and left acres of space at the back for the opposition to exploit.
Mourinho seems to have only one way of getting goals – using Romelu Lukaku as the target man from crosses. Marouane Fellaini seems to be his lone trump card in times of desperation and the way that United have gone about their attacking play in the three games has been rather predictable.
Not arguing the fact that Mourinho has been let down to some extent by his players, the manager cannot shrug off his share of the blame either. Another fact that needs to be mentioned is that Mourinho has primarily relied on transfer moves for his success throughout his managerial career. And that is something that has been contradictory to the set-up prevalent at Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s philosophy was based on nurturing youngsters from the academy and slowly exposing them to football at the highest level. While the club did rely on transfers to some extent, the flourishing academy players held the key to their success as a team. It was all about building a set-up with a strong foundation and not about instant fame with big transfer moves.
Mourinho’s calibre as a manager has been limited by his rigidity. While Manchester United have a squad that would suit a free-flowing style of football, the Portuguese boss has stuck to his own style of football.
He hasn’t made sense with his transfer moves either. The move to sign Diogo Dalot came as a surprise as United already have plenty of options for the full-back position. Signing a centre-back and a right-winger would have made more sense as the club are currently short of options in those positions.
It is not often that a manager of Mourinho’s esteem is sacked. It would be derogatory, in fact. Hence, he must take matters into his own hands and step down gracefully. United need to do something to avoid a disastrous season. And with the current results, it seems like a matter of time before they ultimately choose to replace him.
