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Jose Mourinho is not the coach he was once before. He is stuck in a black-hole and seems reluctant to come out of it. He looks broken and depressed and is becoming more anxious under Pep Guardiola's shadow.
United's performances have been so muffled, albeit winning, that mirrors the boss' dullness.
The situation at the Old Trafford is like a volcano which can go off at any time. An FA Cup and Champions League exit will United's title hopes this season, it is, therefore, imperative that Manchester United sack Jose Mourinho before things go south.
Do you think it as a foolhardy decision to sack him? Do you think it is unfair to sack a manager who has won 20 of his 28 games this season so far?
Here are a few compelling reasons.
#1 Old Trafford is the most boring venue in the Premier League
A football equipment website Forza, in October 2017, came up with a framework to figure out the most entertaining venues by combining the key facets of the game like the number of goals, shots, corners and red cards registered between 2013 and 2017. Based on the facts, they concluded, Old Trafford is the most boring venue in the Premier League.
Can you believe this? Yes, one of the world's richest clubs is the most boring side in the Premier League. Though David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal must take a fair share of the blame, Mourinho hasn't improved the entertaining factor at Old Trafford in the last one and half years.
There were so many dull draws at Old Trafford last season. Even this season, except for a few games, United have not been an exciting team to watch.
Mourinho's philosophy of parking the bus after scoring a goal is not going down well with the Old Trafford fans. To put things in context, Forza chose City's Etihad Stadium as the most entertaining venue in the last four years.
Louis Van Gaal, recently, slammed Mourinho for his boring style of football and many of the football experts and fans are not happy with United's style of play.
The fans, at the least, deserve to enjoy interesting football games. Fans are not paying skyrocketing ticket prices to see a boring game. If Jose cannot provide fun, he must leave the club.
#2 United in danger of losing young football fans to Manchester City
Have you ever wondered why Manchester United is still the most valuable club in the world? The answer is simple; United boasts one of the world's largest fan bases.
The club under Sir Alex Ferguson inspired youngsters. Under Jose Mourinho, the reverse is now the case and while United is struggling to inspire young fans, Manchester City is doing exactly what the Red Devils did in the past.
Guardiola's men have comprehensively beaten Mourinho's men on and off the pitch. Guardiola and Mourinho took charge of the rival Manchester clubs at the same time last year. While Guardiola has transformed City into a force in Europe, Mourinho has not been able to create the same magic at Old Trafford.
Mourinho's tactics of defensive style are shaking the underlying principles upon which United's empire was built.
#3 Young stars from other clubs are too scared to come to United because of Mourinho
When a youngster is given a chance to choose either Mourinho or Guardiola, he will most certainly choose Guardiola. While starlets like Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane has become superstars in Manchester City, United's starlets Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial & Marcus Rashford are struggling under Mourinho while Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Andreas Pereira are out on loan.
Jose's rigid style is hindering the youngsters from exhibiting their talents. On top of this, they get a public bashing from their manager for whenever anyone has a poor display. His public ranting has unsettled players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mike Smalling, and Luke Shaw.
Luke Shaw rejected a switch to Chelsea for one simple reason; Jose Mourinho. Similarly, United missed out on stars like Gabriel Jesus, Kylian Mbappe as they were not so positive about playing under Mourinho.
It was Mourinho who kicked Kevin De Bruyne out of Chelsea Football club. Under Guardiola, he looks set to challenge Lionel Messi and Cristiani Ronaldo for the Ballon d'Or award.
United is losing out on future talents by having Mourinho as their manager. United must look for a manager who can groom youngsters like Ferguson.
#4 Awful records against the top teams
Manchester United has just one Premier League away win against fellow title contenders since Mourinho took charge last year.
In eight games away to Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham or Liverpool, United have won only once and secured just six from a possible 24 points. United's only win came against Arsenal and in that match too, United had a paltry possession of 33%.
More than the loss, United's defensive play has garnered a lot of criticism. Although Mourinho has achieved in the past by using this style of play, the approach seems outdated for the fast evolving game.
United's bad away results don't mean they have done well at home against these teams. United has lost both matches against City and they could manage only a draw against Arsenal and Liverpool.
In Europe too, United away records are far more dismal. They have lost to teams like Feyenoord, Fenerbahce, Basel.
How on earth can Manchester United face teams like PSG, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich?
#5 Mourinho's reliance on direct/long-ball football is unattractive for ardent football fans
Whenever Manchester United is down by a goal, Mourinho will bring in Fellaini as a super substitute. His only Plan-B which we have seen so far is his direct style of football. The wingers will either cross the ball for Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku to head towards goal, or there will be a long ball from Paul Pogba towards Lukaku.
There is no style or substance to direct football. It may bring results but is unreliable. Mourinho must remember football is a game and not an examination. Guardiola even took a slight dig at him for following a long-ball approach during important games.
Jose's long-ball approach has irked fellow football managers like Jurgen Klopp and Mark Hughes. These tactics may work against Championship teams; but not against teams of Premier League and Champions League standards.
Mourinho had great success stories in the past; he may have a great future too. However, the combination of United and Mourinho is not working.
