It seems as though Sir Alex Ferguson was some sort of a magician. After all, he managed to win the Premier League in 2011 with perhaps the worst squad he had at his disposal since taking over the club.
Five years down the line, Manchester United have one of the most star-studded rosters in the world which is certainly better than the one that won the Premier League in 2011. Yet, when it comes to getting the result and playing with spirit, this team is far behind from any Alex Ferguson team.
First came David Moyes, then Louis van Gaal—and both of them had a tenure to forget. While the former was never really big enough a name to manage a team like United, the latter’s stubbornness and underwhelming playing style disgruntled many fans.
And then came Jose Mourinho; a bigger name to manage the biggest club in England. Despite not being in the Champions League, the Portuguese managed to lure Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and the crown jewel Paul Pogba to the club.
The results were supposed to get better, but if only theoretical analysis automatically reflected on the pitch. Thus, the former Real Madrid manager has some big decisions to make, and here are 5 of them…
1) Respecting the limitations of his players
Right after getting the loss to Manchester City at the Old Trafford, the former Chelsea boss was quick to throw the blame on his players.
“Look, I have two or three players in the first half who if I knew what was going to happen I would not play them. Sometimes players disappoint managers.
“They didn’t give me what I want. It’s their fault, it’s my fault."
Mourinho was right; the players didn’t give him what he wanted—and that is precisely why they don’t have the ability to do so. The Portuguese expected his fish to climb a tree and bring fruit to him, but it wasn’t possible.
The former Inter manager must respect the limitations of his players and carve a system accordingly. He might have said that he was also at fault, but he emphasized the blame more on his players than himself.
But, truly, as a manager, it is his duty to know he limits of his players and respect them.
2) Tactical tweak
Manchester United are playing like a glorified version of Stoke City under Tony Pulis. If Stoke had the spending power and bought the players United did in this window, we might have seen the same thing at the Britannia.
Almost every player in Mourinho’s preferred XI is over 180 cm tall and physically imposing; be it Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Paul Pogba. This has resulted to somewhat of a displeasure for the fans as the direction towards which Mourinho is heading is apparent: and it is not all that beautiful.
The system in place now doesn’t do justice to the creativity of players like Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan or use the explosiveness of Anthony Martial to full effect.
A laid-back defence, strong and rough tackles, long-balls and quick counters—the self-proclaimed Special One is leaning towards the approach that brought him the treble with Inter. However, what he has to realise is that he doesn’t have the privilege or the necessary midfielders to play the glorious 4-2-3-1 that he applied at Inter.
Even if he had the players, he still can’t use it because of Paul Pogba. Mourinho shattered the world record fee to land his target, so playing him in a confined role in a 2-man double pivot doesn’t make any sense. In fact, he has to play a…
3) Three-man midfield to accommodate Pogba
Paul Pogba is perhaps the best midfield talent in the world. At the very least, he is definitely the most complete player in the world as there is nothing he can’t do. Be it making amazing dribbles, making inch-perfect through passes or a crunching tackle to save the day—he has the ability to do anything.
And this is where the problem lies. Since he can defend, Mourinho has used him in front of the defence in a holding midfielder role for most of his United career thus far. It is baffling to think that the Portuguese spent £89 million to play a player in a restrained holding midfield role when he could do wonders as an all-action box-to-box midfielder with license to roam.
However, for the Frenchman to have that license, Mourinho must revert to a 4-3-3 to make full use of Pogba’s talent. At Juventus, he had Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal and then Sami Khedira and Claudio Marchisio covering for him in midfield. At the Old Trafford, he is the one who has been shouldered with the responsibility to do the dirty work.
You don’t spend a fortune on one of the best prospects in world football to play him in an out-of-position reserved role; Mourinho must make amends here. And for that he must…
4) Drop Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney is like that fish that you can’t swallow because of the sharp bones, but the taste is so good that you don’t want to throw it out. These days, however, the sharpness of the bones is getting a little too hard to bear.
The conundrum that surrounds him has gotten out of proportion. One would have thought that if there was a manager who had the cojones to drop him, it was Jose Mourinho. However, even the Portuguese is looking for ways to fit the square peg in a round hole.
The England international is no longer a striker, neither does he have the creativity to play as the number 10, nor does he have the intelligence to operate as the midfield general. So, then, what is he? In simple terms, he is a hotchpotch that is nearly good enough to play anywhere, but just not great enough to operate everywhere.
For a long time now, managers have tried to find a place for him in the team. But all they have managed to do is slow the team down with his presence on the pitch. Granted, on his day, he is the best English player on the planet, but those days are as rare as witnessing stars in the morning.
And now, with youngsters like Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford raring to go, Jose Mourinho must do the near-impossible.
5) Making Marcus Rashford a regular
He might only be 18 years old, but those who have watched him play know that he is the real deal. Some might have a frown on their faces after reading this, but Rashford is a better option for the forward position and Ibra’s partner-in-crime than Wayne Rooney.
For one, he is a better finisher, at the moment, than most-capped outfield player for England. Rooney, in his prime, had very few peers when it came to goalscoring ability, but now finds it really hard to get into scoring positions and hit the ball in the net.
Rashford, on the other hand, is more nimble footed and agile. He has a clever head over his shoulder that allows him to push towards the scoring zones as he almost always finds himself at the right place and in the right time.
The fans at the Theatre of dreams claims that Rashford is the future of the club. And that future begins now.
