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Oh dear. It was a mauling at Anfield. 36 shots, with 11 of them on target, 64.3% possession and 3 goals conceded. One can be forgiven for thinking these stats were produced from a game of PES. Manchester United have been in a mini-crisis all season. It is safe to say that this has escalated to a full-blown crisis.
If the stats from this game make for dim reading, then stats from their entire league season are incredulous. This 26 point haul after 17 games is the lowest United have accumulated since the 1990-1991 season. Manchester United have conceded more goals (29) this season than they did in the whole of last season (28).
They have already suffered 5 league defeats in 17 games. To put this into context, United were only defeated 7 times in the whole of last season.
The squad seems to be in disarray. Players are lacking in confidence and the coach seems to be taking shots at everyone from Ed Woodward to the board, his players, the press and even the opposition.
The club is in dire need of intervention somehow. Here's a look at three options for the Manchester United board to take to halt their rapid descent to mid-table mediocrity.
#1 Sack Jose Mourinho Now
This has to be it for the United boss. He has been one game away from the sack on many occasions this season. This defeat to Liverpool has to be that game. There is a way to lose a football match and still go home with heads held high. Jose Mourinho has lost far too many points this season in disparaging fashion.
United has lost to three (Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool) of their top six rivals and have been outclassed, outfought, outwitted and outcoached on all three occasions. They managed to get draws against the other two (Chelsea and Arsenal) of their top six rivals.
The issue with Jose Mourinho's United team is that they seem to have no pattern or style of play. They almost always require a mistake from their opposition for them to be in business. This can no longer be acceptable.
David Moyes' short tenure at the helm of Manchester United was viewed by many as the lowest ebb in United's history. Jose Mourinho's 2018/19 team is breaking all those unwanted records and are on course for their worst season this century or even longer.
Also, Mourinho should be sacked now because of the toxic environment he has created around the club. He has taken a swipe at Martial, Rashford, Pogba, Bailly, Fred, Jones, Smalling and some other players this season alone.
If the board let him stay, some of their prized assets like Pogba and Martial may decide they cannot take it anymore and leave. An exodus of that nature will render United even less attractive a destination for potential players.
If the board exercise this option, a caretaker boss can be appointed till the end of the season and the permanent managerial appointment announced in the summer. Legends of the Old Trafford club like Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes or any other willing legends can be given the job on a temporary basis with a view to a permanent appointment in the summer.
#2 Keep Mourinho now and sack him at the end of the season
Top coaches are a rare commodity and an even rarer commodity in the middle of a season. Manchester United board have been in this situation twice in recent memory and they have acted in two different ways.
David Moyes was sacked four games to the end of the season. Louis Van Gaal was allowed till the end of the season and he even won the FA cup at the end of that season but was still sacked. In Jose Mourinho's turn, the Van Gaal precedent may be the better option to follow.
Jose Mourinho can be allowed to try to salvage this season. A top-four finish is still mathematically possible but highly unlikely. They are still in the Champions League and can win it.
Their round of 16 draw against PSG does them no favours there. The FA cup is another trophy they can lay their hands on. All in all, they are still in three competitions and can mathematically still make the top four.
The sack at the end of the season is because Mourinho is the wrong fit for Manchester United. He does not play the United way, neither does he possess the style, charisma and affability required to be the boss of one of world football's biggest clubs.
#3 Keep Jose as the manager and back him in the transfer market
Jose Mourinho is a top manager and one of the greatest in football history. Not many coaches have won the number of trophies he has and in the different countries and conditions. There are also very few coaches that one can back to turn such horrendous form around and Jose Mourinho is one of them.
If keeping Jose Mourinho is the board's decision then they must back him to the hill. The board does not have the expertise to tell the coach whether the players at his disposal are good enough or not. If they trust him with the job, they must also trust his assessment of the squad.
They also have to back him when he decides to let players leave. If the likes of Martial, Pogba and Fred do not meet his requirements them they must back him if he wants them gone.
However, it must be pointed out that the board have already backed him to the sum of about £391million. This sum was used to acquire Pogba, Fred, Lukaku, Bailly, Lindelof and some other members of the current United squad.
Whatever option the United board decides to take, a decision has to be made quickly because Manchester United are rapidly sliding down to irrelevance in a league they have dominated more than any other team. Ed Woodward, it is over to you and the board.
