Yes. Can the real Manchester United stand up please?
Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down from the reins of power after the 2013/14 season, Manchester United, you could say, lost their way.
Neither David Moyes nor Louis Van Gaal managed to clinch meaningful silverware at Old Trafford and immediately the board saw this, they went for the man himself, the ‘special one’, Jose Mourinho.
In 2016, as Mourinho signed for the club, there was a renewed sense of hope, a sense of optimism…a sense of pride.
Indeed, Mourinho did not joke. With the acquisition of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he guided Manchester United to an EFL Cup and a Europa League in his first season.
Many imagined that things would only get better after this, I mean…Man United were the second best team in Europe, right?
The season 2017/18 saw Mourinho sign Victor Lindelof from Benfica, Romelu Lukaku from Everton and Nemanja Matic from Chelsea. On paper, these are big names. The feeling among fans at this point in time was that of elation. Finally, Man United had the guys they needed to win the league again.
But no.
In that season, Man United finished a distant second in the league, 19 points behind city rivals Manchester City. They also lost an FA Cup finals to Chelsea and to make it worse, were eliminated in the round of 16 by a weak Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League.
Yeah, Mourinho worked so hard for what? - Another trophy-less season at Man United.
Again, a dark cloud had covered Old Trafford and the ‘special one’ was tasked with eliminating the gloom – restoring the trophy-winning tradition at Man United.
In less than a year, Man United went from the second best team in the world to the worst performing ‘big’ side in England. For a club of Man United’s caliber, this was unacceptable.
So enter season 2018/19 – Mourinho’s third season. Even before it started, he made the board know that the coming season was going to be difficult if they did not back him and sign players.
Man United Chief Executive Ed Woodward was on the spot for not supporting the manager during the transfer window but publicly backed Mourinho – insisting the club was committed to attracting world-class talent and delivering trophies.
However, the only notable signings during this period were Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, Diogo Dalot from FC Porto and Lee Grant from Stoke City. Not the typical ‘big names’ in football.
So Mourinho had to soldier on with the squad he had at his disposal. Early season defeats to Brighton and Tottenham threatened his position at the club. But Woodward still backed Mourinho.
Talks of a possible Zinedine Zidane intervention were inconsequential, as the board were fully in support of one Jose Mourinho.
Fast forward October 31st 2018. The Red Devils sit 8th on the Premier League log, with 17 points after 10 matches. Their city rivals, Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens have 26 points and are joint top of the league with Liverpool.
Is it Mourinho’s third season syndrome? Has he fallen out with players? Will he turn it around in time? If he leaves, who replaces him? These are the questions millions of Man United fans ask themselves week in week out, as the drama surrounding Mourinho’s dressing room unfold.
Man United used to be a club that would wipe the floor with other clubs, top flight or not. The class of ‘92 raise the bar so high that it’s now worrying if the current squad can replicate this.
Can they?
I believe so…why not?
Think about it, these are the players that attack for Manchester United: Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. On paper, this is an attack that would trouble any team in the world. And even though Mourinho constantly laments his side’s defensive fragilities, he should be well aware that the best way to defend is to attack.
But with caution, like Sir Alex Ferguson said, “Attack wins you games, but defence wins you titles.”
So can the real Manchester United stand up?
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