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Manchester United endured a humiliating loss at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Sunday. United had started their new Premier League well, defeating Leicester City 2-1 in their opening game. They were the favourites to dismantle Brighton, who had not started the season well.
Instead, Brighton inflicted a 3-2 defeat on the Red Devils, ripping them apart in a fascinating display of pressing football. United had 67% possession and attempted 572 passes with 84% accuracy. Brighton, on the other hand, played 283 passes with 64% accuracy. Brighton had 6 shots in the game, with 3 on target and scored 3 goals. United had 9 shots, with 3 on target and scored through Lukaku and a Pogba penalty in the dying minutes of the game.
What the statistics do not show is that United were clueless in attack, disoriented in defence and uninspired in the middle. They showed a lack of intent that was alarming, to say the least. While all the players were at fault, it is only fair that the manager’s tactics and preparations be questioned.
Mourinho has been sulking since the start of the summer and seems to be headed the only way he knows in his third season. While it is just the second game of the season and fans and critics can get carried away, we cannot ignore the 5 signs which indicate that he could be counting his days at Manchester United.
#5 Signs from the past
Mourinho wants a defender and a frontman in and wants a winger out of the club. He is aghast after his club’s failure to fulfil his wishes. Sounds familiar? Well, it happened in Chelsea at the flag end of Mourinho’s first stint with the London Club.
Before he left Real Madrid, there was reports of dissent with star players, public criticism of underperformers. Before he left Chelsea in his second stint at the London Club, there were similar signs. Mourinho might be the Special One, but he could also be called the Consistent One when it comes to termination of contract.
This summer, Mourinho has cried out loud for a defender and a front man in the mould of Perisic; he also seemed to want Martial out of the club. As such, United fans cannot help but notice the recurrence of the sour, foul-mouthed Mourinho of old, as the Portuguese has been venting out his frustration since the start of the preseason.
If history is anything to go by, and with Mourinho history has been repeated again and again, we might be seeing the start of the end of the Special One at Old Trafford.
#4 Board doesn’t trust his signings and transfer targets
Mourinho famously claimed that he had submitted a 5 man list of the players he wanted to sign, to the United Board months ago. Yet United ended up having a really poor summer, where they only signed Diogo Dalot, Fred and Lee Grant.
They were linked to Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire and Jerome Boateng, yet United signed none of those. Mourinho desperately wanted reinforcements in the defence, yet the two central defenders who started both games in the new season, Bailly and Lindelof, were signed by the man himself.
Since coming to United, Mourinho has spent £388.89 million in players, yet his approach has been questionable. He signed Mkhitaryan, misused him and ultimately let him go. This season, he apparently wanted to go for a swap deal to bring Willian in place of Martial.
Whereas City and Liverpool seem to back their Manager efficiently in the transfer market, United seemed reluctant this year. It could be because the Board no longer trusts Mourinho’s transfer selections?
Another indication of this could be the fact that Manchester United are looking for a Director of Football who would look into the transfer business. Are United reluctant to pursue United’s targets because they do not see him last the season? Only time will tell.
#3 Differences with players building
Mourinho no longer seems to have the trust of his players. It started with his hard love treatment with Mkhitaryan and Luke Shaw. While there seemed to be initial results, Mkhitaryan never fulfilled his potential and left as a player disillusioned.
Shaw has put his head down and worked hard, but even then Mourinho’s repeated public criticism of the young left-back left a bad taste. He had his differences with Pogba last season and things do not seem to have changed for the good. The Martial episode in preseason blew the lid off the Portuguese manager’s poor treatment of the Frenchman.
Even his derogatory comments about the United youngsters in preseason showed a lack of class. And the most baffling of it all - how is it that one of the stars of the World Cup winning side looks so ineffective under Mourinho?
While it is too soon to draw any conclusions, the number of players who are falling out with Mourinho seems to be increasing swiftly and if this continues, it won’t be long before he loses the dressing room. Against Brighton, the players were extremely poor, but it seemed that they were not responding to Mourinho anymore. That in itself looks like a bad sign.
#2 Negative tactics and lack of consistency
Mourinho’s defensive style of play has irritated football lovers and United fans right from the start of his stint as the coach of Manchester United. His desire to park the bus at every available opportunity has invited a lot of criticism, but the man has not changed. He also expects his wide men and strikers to defend deep and this has caused loss of form, lack of attacking intent and also loss of the player’s inherent qualities.
He refuses to nurture the players to their strengths and instead, expects them all to be the quintessential Mourinho players. Another frustrating facet of his game is the use of Fellaini as a plan B or a last resort, something that has caused a lot of unrest among supporters.
Players such as Pogba, Lukaku and Rashford were a part of attractive attacking teams in the World Cup and yet, have to adjust their games back at the club. These negative tactics could ultimately be his bane.
Last season, United defeated all of the top 6 at least once but dropped crucial points to lower ranked sides. United lost away to Huddersfield, away to Newcastle, at home to West Brom and away to Brighton. They drew at home to Burnley and Southampton and away to West Ham and Stoke City. Those were 20 points that could have easily been won.
City won the league by 19 points. It is this lack of consistency that has haunted Mourinho at United so far. There is an uncertainty with his team, they could win one and lose the next, and this is something that cannot be expected of Manchester United.
#1 The Manchester United style of play is missing
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United were the flagbearers of attractive attacking football. They were reinforced with Sir Alex’s never say die attitude. They did not win all the games they played, but you could be guaranteed swashbuckling football that would excite you off your seats. United were coated in an attacking philosophy that made them famous.
After Sir Alex, it is this United that the fans miss the most. Louis van Gaal was widely criticized for his long ball philosophy, his restrictions to shooting from distance and his defensive ideologies. With Mourinho’s arrival, little has changed over the seasons.
While Pep Guardiola’s City is creating the benchmark of attractive football, United’s decade-old style of play is gradually disappearing in the abyss of Mourinho's tactics. City play with a lot of intricate passes, the Pep Guardiola way. Liverpool are shaping up into a typical Klopp team now, fast in counter-attacking and strong in the middle. Sarri has been at Chelsea for less than a month now and the Sarriball already looks vibrant. Tottenham, even without reinforcements, are a typical Pochettino team.
Mourinho has stepped into his third season and his style is the boring football United are playing, which is no longer effective. United have lost their footballing identity under Mourinho and this alone could be the biggest reason why the Special One could be saying goodbye.
