Why Jose Mourinho should not be blamed for Manchester United's woes

Manchester United are struggling after a bad start to the 2018/2019 Premier League season. Having won one of their three Premier League games, Jose Mourinho has come under intense scrutiny and criticisms with many suggesting that he should be sacked because he is the main cause of Manchester's problems. However, a critical look at Manchester United reveals that Jose Mourinho is not part of the club's problems. A comprehensive look at Mourinho's record reveals that his performance as a Manchester United manager has not been as appalling as many people make it seem.

Mourinho has spent a total of 818 days at Old Trafford and has managed a total of 122 matches. Out of those matches, he has won 75, drawn 25 and lost on only 22 occasions. He has a win percentage of 61.47% and, under him, the Red Devils have an average of scoring 1.72 goals per game and conceding an average of 0.72 goals per game.

The former Chelsea manager's records show that he is the best manager United has appointed since Alex Fergurson's departure. He has a better record than David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, who won just 50.98% and 52.42% of their encounters respectively.

Here are Manchester United's main problems.

The quality of players

To be frank, the current crop of Manchester United players do not make the cut. Some seven years ago, none of these players would have earned a start for Manchester United but today those players are the starters for the team. Today, Romelu Lukaku, who is not the best striker in the league leads United's attack. Compare this team to the last team United won the league with under Sir Alex Fergurson and you would appreciate the difficulty of Mourinho's task. That team had Van Persie in the attack, but today it is Lukaku who leads the team. With the exception of De Gea, none of these players would have commanded a starting lineup.

The difference between United and others is starker than it has ever been. Compare United's players to those of Man City, Liverpool or Chelsea. Compare Lukaku to Aguero or Harry Kane; compare Rashford to Willian or Salah; compare Fellaini to Kante or Fernando. The difference is clear, United does not have the better squad in the Premier League. In fact, the quality of United's squad pales in significance when compared to its main rivals. Gone are the days when United's players were among the best in the league. Today, they face stiff competition with other teams for the best players, and United is losing out on quality.

Transfers

It is an obvious fact that Manchester United was unable to sign most of their transfer targets this summer, and that blame rests solely on Ed Woodward, who refused to allow Mourinho spend excessively in this transfer season. The result is that United trail behind its main competitors. Chelsea went for Jorginho, Arsenal went for several players, Liverpool went for Allison, but Mourinho was denied most of his top transfer targets and had to improvise and sign different players. It is a known fact that Mourinho wanted to sign Ivan Perisic of Inter Milan, but the deal never went through because United was unwilling to pay. And the result is that United's rivals have a much better squad to compete with.

To be frank, only De Gea may make the best XI squad of current Premier League players. No other player from Manchester United deserves a spot. United is uncompetitive and they cannot expect to win a league with this team even if Mourinho is sacked and Fergurson returns.