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Manchester United and Jose Mourinho have been the talk of the town for over a month now with many believing that Mourinho is perilously close to being sacked. These murmurs reached a crescendo before the game against Newcastle on Saturday, where it was rumoured that Mourinho was on his way out of the door after the game, irrespective of the result.
Manchester United, though, were spared having to make a tough decision in the international break as United roared back from 2-0 down to beat Newcastle. With his first home win since the opening weekend, Mourinho has bought himself time and one can hope to see him in the dugout come the marquee clash at Stamford Bridge.
With the red half of Manchester encapsulated in doom, numerous fans and pundits believed that United were a club on the verge of a meltdown. However, fortunately for United, there are clubs worse off currently than the Old Trafford side.
Through this article, we would focus on the other clubs who have gotten into a rut and have some tough questions to answer in order to stop the slide. Here are the three clubs currently worse off than Manchester United:
3. Newcastle United
The first on the list, is ironically, the club Manchester United beat to spare Jose’s blushes. After another rudderless display, the Tyneside club are in serious danger of going down to the Championship once again.
Over the summer, Rafa Benitez wasn’t accorded the support needed in the transfer market. Though they made outlays which resulted in the likes of Rondon arriving, it wasn’t nearly enough as Newcastle looked to consolidate their 10th place finish of last term.
At present, Newcastle is at loggerheads with itself. The fans want the owner to go whereas the owner is happy as long as he’s making profit. With the off-field tensions at an all-time high, their performances on the pitch have suffered.
On the pitch, they haven’t been as incisive as they would like. A lack of incision has led to them drawing blanks against the likes of Cardiff and Leicester. When presented with their best opportunity for a victory at Old Trafford, they stumbled after going two goals up and looked bereft of ideas once Old Trafford found its voice.
A few seasons back, Newcastle got relegated but they had the quality to bounce straight back into the league. However, this time round, it seems that a failure to avoid the drop would result in an uncomfortably extended time in the Championship.
Problems are aplenty on Tyneside, and inevitably the club has suffered. St. James’ Park which boasted one of the most raucous atmospheres has been silenced. Until their on-field and off-field problems are resolved, the silence could turn into mourning very quickly.
2. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich started the Niko Kovac era with a bang as they notched up 7 straight victories. However, over the last fortnight, Bayern have found themselves on the receiving end of two losses and two uninspiring draws. With the German giants languishing at 5th in the league; the alarm bells have started ringing at the Allianz Arena.
Their latest defeat included a shock 3-0 defeat at home to Borussia Monchengladbach. Earlier, a lucky 1-1 home draw with Ajax had sowed the seeds of discontent. Over the weeks, Bayern have looked toothless in attack. However, the problems run deeper than only the past couple of weeks.
The last season saw a similar pattern where Bayern failed to unlock stoic defences and were eventually punished for their defensive errors. The Champions League semi-final and the DFB Pokal final are prime examples. Kovac’s initial results promised a change from the trend but the old deficiencies have resurfaced.
Kovac is a man who pays a lot of attention to the finest aspects of the game and is a disciplinarian akin to Pep. Though Kovac has a long way to go before emulating the Catalan, their preparation methods have a lot of similarities. Yet, the results have not gone Kovac’s way and he finds himself under the pump, two months into his first big job.
Though Bayern are not embroiled in any off-field conflicts, their problems on the pitch are more than enough to cause a furrowed brow or two.
The future doesn’t look very promising for Bayern. ‘Robbery’ (Robben and Ribery) isn’t getting any younger and the pair of Lewandowski and Muller aren’t the same players they were a couple of years back.
In looking at short-term success, Bayern have not yet developed a young core that could lead them into a new era. Despite the experienced heads capable of springing a surprise or two, expecting them to carry it throughout a full-fledged season is a little too optimistic.
A lack of planning, a lack of a Plan B and a lack of ideas have placed Bayern in an uncomfortable spot. If the German giants are to recover their mojo, something needs to happen and happen quickly. However, as of now, Bayern are in more of a crisis than they would like to admit.
1. Real Madrid
Just 4 months after an unprecedented 3rd successive Champions League crown, Real Madrid find themselves in turmoil. A changing of the guard in the summer, the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and a manager’s inability to enforce his philosophy are the primary reasons behind their struggles.
For the first time this century and for the better part of three decades, Real Madrid have failed to make the net bulge in four consecutive games. A 3-0 hammering at Sevilla was followed by a 0-0 Madrid Derbi draw. However, over the last week, a pair of 1-0 defeats to Alaves and CSKA Moscow has left Lopetegui scratching his head more often than he would like.
Lopetegui has persisted with Benzema despite his apparent struggles in front of goal and Benzema has repaid his faith with two shots on target over the last fortnight. Additionally, the likes of Modric and Kroos look exhausted and could do with a week’s rest.
The problems were compounded at the weekend when their best player, Bale, limped off to an injury. In addition, Asensio has lost his early-season spark and Ceballos’ inclination to go for the spectacular has put undue pressure on the team.
However, the problems aren’t solely in the attacking third. Defensively, they have been shambolic with Ramos enjoying probably his worst run of games ever. Nacho has looked out of his depth at full-back and Varane has committed uncharacteristic mistakes.
Whenever a club like Real Madrid goes through a tough phase, you expect them to come roaring back. However, with Lopetegui not inspiring any confidence, the path ahead seems an extremely rocky one for Real Madrid.
Perhaps they are missing someone (Ronaldo?) or they are taking time to adapt under the new manager. Whatever the case may be, time is a luxury that isn’t afforded at Real Madrid. As the clock ticks down, Los Blancos need to serve a ‘timely’ reminder of why they are European champions.
