This was the season José Mourinho aimed to make Manchester United credible title challengers. Instead, the defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday leaves them 16 points behind Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. After an identical number of games last year Mourinho’s team were 17 points adrift of Chelsea, so their progress has stalled, at best. Here are some reasons why.
1) Too one-dimensional
Under Mourinho United are often stodgy to watch – the diametric opposite to Guardiola’s thrill-a-second team. There is a struggle to recall many dazzling displays and when they turn it on occasionally this illuminates how safety-first they generally are. An illustration is the 3-1 hounding United gave Arsenal on 2 December at the Emirates Stadium. That day the Mourinho order seemed to be to go for the jugular in a manner that is rare. Jesse Lingard led a high-energy pressing approach that allowed their opponents no time to breathe. Yet it proved a false dawn: this has hardly featured since.
2) The manager is becalmed
Has time gradually turned Mourinho from the man with fresh ideas to a more handbrake-on adherent, or has he been overtaken by others to make the same trusted methods less effective?
Mourinho has certainly fallen away if measured against direct rivals. When in charge of Chelsea from 2004-07 his record against the rest of the big six – City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and United – shows 18 victories from 31 games and only four defeats: a 58% win return. In his second incarnation at Stamford Bridge and now with United Mourinho’s numbers – despite winning the title in 2014-15 – against the same group is 16 wins from 40 matches: 40%.
Whatever the view on why Mourinho is a becalmed Premier League force, what seems clear is that, although Guardiola may in time be blunted too, the football City’s manager orchestrates is irresistible and shining an even harsher light on United’s deficiencies.
3) Paul Pogba’s form
For £89m Mourinho – and United supporters – would expect the Frenchman to turn up on a consistent basis in the big games. Sometimes he is not making his presence felt even in bread-and-butter contests, as at Newcastle. On 66 minutes Pogba was replaced for the second time in his past three appearances, Mourinho once more confirming this was because of the player’s contribution. The first occasion came at Tottenham when, against opponents the midfielder is charged to take the game to, he proved as feeble as on Tyneside. So bad was he against Spurs that Mourinho dropped him for the next outing when Huddersfield Town were the visitors. Pogba has to step up.
4) Can Mourinho elevate players as Guardiola has done?
In Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Pogba and Luke Shaw Mourinho has a mix of young and established talent who are failing to return the regular eight- and nine-out-of-10 displays any champion outfit needs. At City Guardiola has enhanced a similar experienced and callow band. This would include Fernandinho, Sergio Agüero, Nicolás Otamendi, John Stones, Leroy Sané, Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph: all are performing impressively enough for their quality to be freshly assessed, and that is a prime reason why City are tearing the 2017-18 campaign apart.
5) No overarching football structure is allowing on-field drift
Might United benefit from a director of football who ensures the club’s ethos is always adhered to, whoever is manager?
The majority of fans, those within the club, former players and seasoned watchers can speak of the ‘United way’ with ease. This is the scintillating attack-first style of the glittering sides put out by Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Yet as there is no football executive in place to employ a manager who will play in this manner, United have lost their way since Ferguson retired. The drift began with David Moyes, a pragmatic coach, and continued with Louis van Gaal’s laborious approach. The hope in summer 2016 was United were appointing the Mourinho of Real Madrid’s 2011-12 record-breaking La Liga champions or his first Chelsea side. He may still appear but at some point it may be time for Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, to reconsider whether there should be a bespoke role at United for an employee who makes sure all managers fit into the desired mode and all players signed to so too.
