Is Mou still 'The Special One' for you all?

[Moonred]

Why could he not change that in one window? surely that's exactly what he could have done.
.

Because he misread United's problems and undoubtedly has regrets over that even though he wouldn't admit. Pre season it was evident that he was happy with the transfers but as it turns out we are far away from being a unit which is efficient and effective.

It's also rather amusing seeing people crib about the football in general. Expecting mourinho to serve a brand of football that he has never done is wishful thinking. It's like some people for weird reasons expect mourinho to behave in a certain way that he has never done. What he is supposed to be good at is winning and that's the only thing I would hope he gets back to rather than pandering to some mythical character building wishes of people.

Overall, I think he will learn and fill these gaps in the coming season(s), win some and then move on.

 

[SammyUnited_83]

It's certainly not great but, as we complete year 4 of relative mediocrity (3 of them under respected coaches), I am resigning myself to the fact turning around United is not something than can be solved by splashing the cash in one summer window. Something was (is?) quite rotten in the club and changing the culture will take time.

Sorry, I'm struggling to see how, that if we finished 6/7, scoring / winning feck all at home, don't win EL, lose loads of money from sponsors, miss out on our top transfer targets due to no CL (again), all this after spending (another ocean load of cash) and hiring the most expensive manager, can only be summed up as, "certainly not great".

All of the above could pretty much be thrown at LvG as well, which ultimately cost him the job... it was a disaster last season, and it would be a disaster this.

 

[royboy16]

Even if we end up winning the EL, from individual stand point, this season will end up being a failure for Mourinho.

He inherited a squad that finished level on points with 4th placed team last season and got 4th the season before. The announcement was made early so he had plenty of time to lay the ground work.

He himself said he got all his targets, so there's no excuses on that front.

His man management is still up for the debate, if he gets the credit for Herrera's resurgence this season, so should he take the flak for not getting the best out of Martial, Rashford and several others.

I don't agree with the Europa league fixture congestion nonsense either. LVG had to deal with it in the second season and he almost made the top 4 (It went right down to the wire, at least). We're still quite a while from the season's end, but a top 4 finish is almost out of the picture now.

Plus we are yet to see him winning it for us with an inspired substitution or a tactical master plan. Whatever entertainment was seen in the football during first few months has fully dissipated now.

If Antonio Conte can take Chelsea from 10th to 1st in his first season in England, you should atleast expect the special one to slightly improve our position and performance or at least hold on to what we did last season.


Nextseason, there will be nowhere to hide for him. Give him full support and ge him his targets.Then we shall judge him according to what he puts in front of us.

You raise some good points but I would disagree with the bolded parts though.

1.We've tightened up our defense and won a cup,I see that as progress.
2.He was appointed early on but he didn't get to actually work with the players and instill,let them adapt to his methods until the summer.

 

[Adebesi]

Sorry, I'm struggling to see how, that if we finished 6/7, scoring / winning feck all at home, don't win EL, lose loads of money from sponsors, miss out on our top transfer targets due to no CL (again), all this after spending (another ocean load of cash) and hiring the most expensive manager, can only be summed up as, "certainly not great".

All of the above could pretty much be thrown at LvG as well, which ultimately cost him the job... it was a disaster last season, and it would be a disaster this.

Arent you getting a bit ahead of yourself? We're still in the EL, so its reasonable to have that modicum of optimism, deriving from the reasonable chance we have of winning a decent trophy and qualifying for the CL.

 

[SammyUnited_83]

I don't know what to think anymore.



But why have another go last night? What did that achieve? You've made your point and now either give the lad a chance to react positively, or get rid in the summer. Don't play him 48 hours later just to have another public crack off him again.

There's enough going wrong at the moment to spread some blame around. The players need a fire lit under them, some of them simply need replacing, but Jose has a lot of improving to do as well.

Throwing Shaw under the bus again (presumably parked by Tony Pulis) was bizarre at best and signs of lunacy at worst.

 

[rocks13]

He isn't faultless but we are creating chances, little the manager can do if the players aren't finding the net.

Really?

You raise some good points but I would disagree with the bolded parts though.

1.We've tightened up our defense and won a cup,I see that as progress.
2.He was appointed early on but he didn't get to actually work with the players and instill,let them adapt to his methods until the summer.

We won a cup last season.

 

[GM K]

shamed to say this: we are playing that kind of football we would despise and sniff at under sir Alex.

No we are not.

I actually enjoy watching this team. As gutted as one was yesterday, the game against Everton was thoroughly entertaining.

You watch out next season. Once some of the current guys in the United team pick up form and more firepower is added to the attack and midfield, this team will win many more games.

Martial and Rashford needed a reality check season. Now they have one. Mikhi was average in Borrussia Dortmund in his first season before he exploded in the second season. You'll see the real Mikhi once he has fully settled in. People can mock Pogba all they want but carrying a 90m price tag on your head is not easy at all. That kid will show his worth next season. Someone is coming in to replace Rooney and someone else for Carrick. I am very confident this team will be a lot better next season.

 

[Dobbs]

Because he had the same opinion that you (and, admittedly, me too) repeatedly shared throughout last season. That Wayne Rooney wasn't completely finished as a top class striker.

You guys don't get paid millions to know better though.

 

[red4ever 79]

He seems more grouchy that ever this season. Like he has lost his spark. Our home form is dreadful no one can dispute that. It is so disappointing because traditionally Mourinho has a home fortress. He can complain about refs, about opposition goalies etc, bottom line is our strikers have been s*it this season exception of Ibra

 

[SammyUnited_83]

Arent you getting a bit ahead of yourself? We're still in the EL, so its reasonable to have that modicum of optimism, deriving from the reasonable chance we have of winning a decent trophy and qualifying for the CL.

As I have said, if we win it great, that's exactly what I want.

But, current results have got me expecting the worst, hoping for the best - one bad referee decision, one bad performance and it could all be over - by all accounts LvG was 20mins(?) away from a win at West Ham, which surely would have ended up saving his job.

That's why (as stated) this is a huge 6 weeks in Mourinho's career - because this season could end up worse than last, and last year the manager got the chop.

 

[King7Eric]

No we are not.

I actually enjoy watching this team. As gutted as one was yesterday, the game against Everton was thoroughly entertaining.

You watch out next season. Once some of the current guys in the United team pick up form and more firepower is added to the attack and midfield, this team will win many more games.

Martial and Rashford needed a reality check season. Now they have one. Mikhi was average in Borrussia Dortmund in his first season before he exploded in the second season. You'll see the real Mikhi once he has fully settled in. People can mock Pogba all they want but carrying a 90m price tag on your head is not easy at all. That kid will show his worth next season. Someone is coming in to replace Rooney and someone else for Carrick. I am very confident this team will be a lot better next season.

Isn't that what we all have been telling ourselves since SAF retired?? We are turning more and more into Liverpool with our eternal hope for the better next season that never seems to come.

 

[itso 7]

@itso 7 I dont think Mata, Martial or Miki are natural, touchline hugging wingers who wake up every morning excited about putting in crosses all day. The kind of players SAF used to love buying, regardless of what we actually needed. I remember in the old days people used to chuckle about it. In the umpteen "we need a centre midfielder" threads (those were the days), we'd say, "we SO need a midfielder now, Anderson is beyond past it... but we'll buy a winger instead!" It was a truism.

We dont have those players now. Well, we have a couple still hanging around - Young and Valencia - but theyve been converted into something else entirely.

Anyway, you talked about balance and that was what I was trying to get at in the first place. We lack balance. I put that down to the lack of a coherent strategy, which in turn comes from the fact we keep changing tack with our managers. Its like too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Oh my bad because when you alluded to Di Maria I assumed you meant in a game changing way not as a touchline hugging flying winger. We do need one of those but I think having a Martial type of forward on the other wing is also necessary.
On the bolded part I think its just an excuse that managers come up with to buy themselves more time when under pressure, football is football and in most cases players can function in multiple systems otherwise Mourinho's Real Madrid players would have struggled in the national team or Pep would only buy from Ajax and Barcelona.

 

[AN17]

You raise some good points but I would disagree with the bolded parts though.

1.We've tightened up our defense and won a cup,I see that as progress.
2.He was appointed early on but he didn't get to actually work with the players and instill,let them adapt to his methods until the summer.

Forgot about the Euros, so I'll give him that.

But winning a cup isn't that much of a progress. We won a better cup last season but even if you ignore that, for both our cup wins, we had luck of the draws. As soon as we got a tough opponent (Chelsea in FA cup) we got dumped out of it.

Plus we've gone from the best defence last season to the 2nd or 3rd atm.

I know I am sounding like a Mourinho hater atm, I really am not. Just cannot try to sugarcoat certain things.

 

[1974_Fergie_Time]

The Europa league always takes it out of English clubs at the end of the season and has done for last 5 years

The players are knackered but keep battiing but we needed a striker in the January window to see us over next few months in the league, it's obvious now Rooney is kaput. he never makes the goalkeeper make a save never mind score

Jose had same problem in his first season back at Chelsea, they just couldnt score in some games and he sorted that out by signing Costa.

I reckon if Jose could sign any striker in the world right now he would pick Costa if they ever became friends again.

The defence is looking good, ogranized, De Gea worries me a bit Jose don't look happy at him always using his feet and not his hands and being brave to dive for the ball.

People keep saying Jose record is worse than LVG but forget he had no European football to contend with , like Conte just now it's easier to play only have one game a week

We are not as good as we were and other clubs have loads of money too so it will take time but i'm confident we will win a title under Jose's Management

 

[MoskvaRed]

Sorry, I'm struggling to see how, that if we finished 6/7, scoring / winning feck all at home, don't win EL, lose loads of money from sponsors, miss out on our top transfer targets due to no CL (again), all this after spending (another ocean load of cash) and hiring the most expensive manager, can only be summed up as, "certainly not great".

All of the above could pretty much be thrown at LvG as well, which ultimately cost him the job... it was a disaster last season, and it would be a disaster this.

By United standards, it is poor and it is serious underachievement given our resources. Also, it is getting worrying as the post-Fergie malaise is clearly no longer a blip and who knows how much longer the Glazers are willing to sanction big spending for mediocre results. But, as far as the manager is concerned, it is year 1 and, therefore, just like LVG in his first season, he should IMO get cut more slack. If there is no substantial improvement next season, then Mourinho will also deserve the sack. I don't think it's fair to expect Mourinho to fix problems stemming from years of poor recruitment (going back to the late Fergie era) in 12 months no matter how much he spent last sunmer.

 

[gulli_G]

Isn't that what we all have been telling ourselves since SAF retired?? We are turning more and more into Liverpool with our eternal hope for the better next season that never seems to come.

Difference we have Mourinho now, he has made some good buys.

 

[sammsky1]

This. He fell into the same trap Van Gaal did believing there was still some fire left in Rooney. Although I am sure whilst Mourinho was out of work last season he was studying our matches, preparing so he should have seen that Rooney had lost a couple of yards of pace and his touch had gone.

We need 2 strikers to come in

To be fair I think the board (and many fans like me) would have forced him to try and revitalise Rooney whatever he thought. And he tried but Rooney has been finished for a long while now.

I agree we desperately need 2 fully developed strikers to add to Martial and Rashford. I even started a thread on it!

 

[SammyUnited_83]

By United standards, it is poor and it is serious underachievement given our resources. Also, it is getting worrying as the post-Fergie malaise is clearly no longer a blip and who knows how much longer the Glazers are willing to sanction big spending for mediocre results. But, as far as the manager is concerned, it is year 1 and, therefore, just like LVG in his first season, he should IMO get cut more slack. If there is no substantial improvement next season, then Mourinho will also deserve the sack. I don't think it's fair to expect Mourinho to fix problems stemming from years of poor recruitment (going back to the late Fergie era) in 12 months no matter how much he spent last sunmer.

But LvG did qualify for the CL in his 1st season, if Jose doesn't serious questions need to be asked.

 

[SammyUnited_83]

The Europa league always takes it out of English clubs at the end of the season and has done for last 5 years

The players are knackered but keep battiing but we needed a striker in the January window to see us over next few months in the league, it's obvious now Rooney is kaput. he never makes the goalkeeper make a save never mind score

Agreed.

Defoe

 

[amolbhatia50k]

By United standards, it is poor and it is serious underachievement given our resources. Also, it is getting worrying as the post-Fergie malaise is clearly no longer a blip and who knows how much longer the Glazers are willing to sanction big spending for mediocre results. But, as far as the manager is concerned, it is year 1 and, therefore, just like LVG in his first season, he should IMO get cut more slack. If there is no substantial improvement next season, then Mourinho will also deserve the sack. I don't think it's fair to expect Mourinho to fix problems stemming from years of poor recruitment (going back to the late Fergie era) in 12 months no matter how much he spent last sunmer.

He will get that by merely getting the chance to manage us next season. But not getting CL football next season is a big failure for Manchester United.

LVG didn't get shit after his first season because he got top 4 after we finished 7th under Moyes. Jose would missed out on top after we finished level on points with the 4th placed team last year. It would be hugely disappointing. And we've spent an absolute fortune on the world record signing who has been average too.

 

[VP89]

He was always known for his superb man management and great tactics. Real was a tough place for him to stamp his authority but he did so and I'd like to think he was a big success there despite turning parts of the dressing room.

It all changed in the last couple of seasons though. His constant blame on players is a worry (I don't think its a big issue if he did it once or twice but this is too much). His tactical brain is also up for question now - e.g. I have no idea why he rested Mkhitaryan in favour of Fellaini when we needed goals yesterday.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Certain myths that need to be dispelled:

We are good because we are unbeaten for 20 games

This is being overplayed so much. That's 12 draws (24 points) that we have dropped. Admit that we could not win them all, but at least 12-15 of those points were dropped because we didn't play well. They are winnable games that we goofed up. It's a meaningless stat if we can't translate that into something worthwhile before end of season.

We are missing 2 world class players

No we are not....Not necessarily. We need them if we are to compete against the other top teams in Europe, but not against the likes of Everton, Bournemouth and West Brom. No, seriously not. We have enough good players in this team to win most of the games we drew against mid-table opponents. We need those 2 world class players to compete for CL title, not to get a fecking 4th place in this league.

 

[red4ever 79]

To be fair I think the board (and many fans like me) would have forced him to try and revitalise Rooney whatever he thought. And he tried but Rooney has been finished for a long while now.

I agree we desperately need 2 fully developed strikers to add to Martial and Rashford. I even started a thread on it!

Im going there!

 

[GM K]

Isn't that what we all have been telling ourselves since SAF retired?? We are turning more and more into Liverpool with our eternal hope for the better next season that never seems to come.

But a credible argument can be tendered this time around that the team has actually improved in some areas this season.

 

[Dancfc]

Even in his prime he always had trouble with teams with a low block. The first time round with us when we broke the points record we still had about 5 avoidable home draws against mid table-relegation sides with about a further 2/3 narrow unconvincing 1 goal wins.

The main difference between United right now and his spells at Chelsea and Madrid is he doesn't have this special player to unlock the packed defenses like he did with Hazard and Ronaldo respectively. Martial has that potential but right now he is miles off being ready for such responsibility. He relied heavily on Hazard to create something out of nothing against packed defenses which is why he overplayed him to the point of burnout.

There also seems to be a conflict of what you want from Jose and what he can deliver. Given the alleged doubts Charlton had about him getting the job in the first place it wouldn't surprise me if Jose pledged to change his ways and start playing more attacking football that you were use too under Fergie and some of the performances this season that i have seen look like a team stuck in limbo between the United way and the Jose way. This is the 3rd time in his premier league career Jose has tried to play a more attacking style than he is suited to, the first time was Chelsea 07/08 and he lasted 7 games, the second time was when he returned to Chelsea but halfway through the season he reverted to type because top 4 was under threat and now he is trying it with United and you look almost certain to finish outside top 4.

 

[Champagne Football]

Because he misread United's problems

It was well documented over the summer that he was crazy to buy Fabinho from Monaco who has been the best defensive midfielder in Europe this season after Kante. It's also a fact that Mourinho wanted Kante who had already agreed to sign for Chelsea at the time. It's also very possible that after spending over 150 Million on 4 players that the Glazers and Ed turned to Jose to tell him that he already had the likes of Schneiderlin/Fellaini/Schweinsteiger/Herrera and that he'd have to offload a couple of them first if he wanted to start signing new central midfielders. Jose would have thought to himself also that he'd need to see some of these players up close to see who gets to stay and who needs to leave. So one season was never going to be enough for Jose to turn around 3 years of brain-dead zombie spending by Moyes and Van Gaal. I think Jose will get it right next season. We're only a few more top players away from turning those draws into wins. Imagine the difference with a Belotti, an Ndidi, a Perisic and a Giminez added to what we've already got?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Certain myths that need to be dispelled:

We are unbeaten for 20 games

This is being overplayed so much. That 12 draws (24 points) that we have dropped. Admit that we could not win them all, but at least 12-15 of those points were dropped because we didn't play well. It's a meaningless stat if we can't translate that into something worthwhile before end of season.

You seem to be confusing "myths" with "facts".

 

[Pogue Mahone]

He was always known for his superb man management and great tactics. Real was a tough place for him to stamp his authority but he did so and I'd like to think he was a big success there despite turning parts of the dressing room.

It all changed in the last couple of seasons though. His constant blame on players is a worry (I don't think its a big issue if he did it once or twice but this is too much). His tactical brain is also up for question now - e.g. I have no idea why he rested Mkhitaryan in favour of Fellaini when we needed goals yesterday.

We need goals in every game.

I presume he dropped Mikhi and played Fellaini because of their respective performances in our last match. The latter played well, the former didn't. That's been the pattern throughout this season. Dreadful inconsistency from all our attacking players. We've seen with the Rojones partnership that even unfancied players can lock down a place in the team if they put in a run of good performances. This isn't a huge ask but we're only seeing consistency from our defenders. Which is a problem.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

You seem to be confusing "myths" with "facts".

Not the fact in itself, but the myth that somehow that stat proves we are on top of the game or that it's something we need to be proud of.

 

[JPRouve]

Not the fact in itself, but the myth that somehow that stat proves we are on top of the game or that it's something we need to be proud of.

It's amusing to think that if you replace 2 draws with a win and loss in the middle of that streak, you end up with 1 more point but without the unbeaten narrative.

 

[VP89]

We need goals in every game.

I presume he dropped Mikhi and played Fellaini because of their respective performances in our last match. The latter played well, the former didn't. That's been the pattern throughout this season. Dreadful inconsistency from all our attacking players. We've seen with the Rojones partnership that even unfancied players can lock down a place in the team if they put in a run of good performances. This isn't a huge ask but we're only seeing consistency from our defenders. Which is a problem.

I don't think Mkhitaryan was that bad in the match against WBA. He actually pressed the most from the attackers and won a couple of deflections that put us in good positions.

Fellaini certainly had a better game but he operated in the position where we maximised use out of him. I don't get the logic in putting Fellaini in Mkhitaryan's position because he played better in a different, deeper role in the last game. Its really baffling and unsurprising that Fellaini didn't offer much in our attack against Everton.

I also don't think Mkhitaryan has been on a run of bad form either - just a below par game against WBA. Its surely not worthy of dropping him against Everton in favour of a deeper player who barely operates as the advanced midfielder for us anymore. On one side Jose says we lack confidence, conviction etc. and on the other he destroys the foundations of consistency for attacking players by dropping them sporadically.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Not the fact in itself, but the myth that somehow that stat proves we are on top of the game or that it's something we need to be proud of.

It is what it is. Very few teams have put together a run like that and it's a fact that is completely free of bias. We're very hard to beat. Takes more than that for a team to win the league but it's a decent foundation.

If we did it while creating hardly any chances then there's an argument that the run is unimpressive because we're massively prioritising defence over offence but we both know that isn't the case (with maybe 2 or 3 exceptions in that 20 game run)

 

[royboy16]

Really?

We won a cup last season.

We just won a cup in Feb.

 

[CS@SG]

Should close the thread after this post. This is all there is too it.

The problems stem back to LVG selling too many forwards and them not being properly replaced. Mourinho could not rectify that on one window, when we had many other issues as well as no CL football.

His playing style creates bucket loads of chances but we can't finish enough of them. That is not his fault. Its that's simple.

The selective recall of history and agenda led analysis of other teams is quite ridiculous and probably exists to attract notoriety on the Internet. If people can't see that, little anyone else can do really except say enjoy living with your unfounded angst.

Luckily the board and enough match going fans can see this so Mourinho rightly has the clubs absolute full backing. He has mine too.

Pure brilliance. Current players can't finish properly and you blame it on ex manager.

 

[rocks13]

We just won a cup in Feb.

But why do you regard the cup we won this season as progress from the cup we won last season?

 

[Moonred]

It was well documented over the summer that he was crazy to buy Fabinho from Monaco who has been the best defensive midfielder in Europe this season after Kante. It's also a fact that Mourinho wanted Kante who had already agreed to sign for Chelsea at the time. It's also very possible that after spending over 150 Million on 4 players that the Glazers and Ed turned to Jose to tell him that he already had the likes of Schneiderlin/Fellaini/Schweinsteiger/Herrera and that he'd have to offload a couple of them first if he wanted to start signing new central midfielders. Jose would have thought to himself also that he'd need to see some of these players up close to see who gets to stay and who needs to leave. So one season was never going to be enough for Jose to turn around 3 years of brain-dead zombie spending by Moyes and Van Gaal. I think Jose will get it right next season. We're only a few more top players away from turning those draws into wins. Imagine the difference with a Belotti, an Ndidi, a Perisic and a Giminez added to what we've already got?

Well those may well be correct but I can only objectively look at what has happened and reason. We are on the same page regarding the fact that it definitely isn't an easy job and Mourinho obviously would get the time and backing to go ahead and turn it around. At the same time there is nothing wrong in claiming that he has been underwhelming this season, just like Pep and the progression have taken a bit of a beating in the last month or so. We all can be patient though but at the same time criticize what seems off.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

It is what it is. Very few teams have put together a run like that and it's a fact that is completely free of bias. We're very hard to beat. Takes more than that for a team to win the league but it's a decent foundation.

If we did it while creating hardly any chances then there's an argument that the run is unimpressive because we're massively prioritising defence over offence but we both know that isn't the case (with maybe 2 or 3 exceptions in that 20 game run)

Not disputing that. I'm just saying it lacks perspective.

Arsenal 2003-04 (Invincibles - 90 points) had 26 wins and 12 draws.
Chelsea 2004-05 (most points - 95) had 29 wins and 8 draws.

An unbeaten run has no meaning if as you say it is not a foundation for win. An unbeaten run has meaning if we are playing against our peers. Against Everton, West Brom, Rostov, Bournemouth, Hull, Stoke etc is not something to be proud of. We need to feckin win these game. All I see is a bunch of 2 points dropped, not the unbeaten streak.

 

[King7Eric]

But a credible argument can be tendered this time around that the team has actually improved in some areas this season.

In some areas yes, the team has undoubtedly improved, we definitely don't seem as helpless as we did at times under the previous regime. But having said that I don't think we have improved our style of play very much. Under LVG it was possession just for the sake of it, but here we try to do the opposite too hurriedly. We go long far too quickly far too often, and as far as I can tell Mourinho seems to encourage it, he is always egging on the players from the sidelines to get the ball from back to front quickly. This is very concerning for me because we are not going to win titles playing like this. The number of games we draw at home is a direct consequence of this, look at the 2nd half yesterday, we were going for the long ball from the half way line, or trying to get it wide to put in a high cross despite their being other options available for the man on the ball.

During the broadcast last night, Phil Neville commented that some fan sitting close to him at half time said we need a Ryan Giggs tonight. I completely agree with this that we need a player who will draw opposing defenders and hence create space for the other players. Martial seems to be the obvious choice for this but he has not progressed to the levels expected. Rashford from time to time attempts to do it but fails far too often. Our attack especially when we start getting desperate is too focused on simply getting the ball in the box as quickly as possible, no attempt is made to draw players towards you and this quality is a requisite in any top side I feel.

So yes as much as the team has improved in defense and developing a mental edge when it comes to not losing, there are major issues in attack despite Mourinho buying 3 players to help with the attacking side of play. Most concerning for me is Mourinho seems to encourage this style of play and I fear this will not be good enough if it continues like this.

 

[King7Eric]

Difference we have Mourinho now, he has made some good buys.

Undoubtedly his 4 buys have been much better than any of LVG's or Moyes'. But the style of play we currently have is nowhere near good enough for a title challenging team and it seems Mourinho seems to encourage this style of play seeing as how the number of times he says the performance of the team was good and the result was due to poor finishing or the other team being unambitious.

It is this attitude of Mourinho that I find worrying and hopefully he privately feels differently from what he says about our performances.

 

[sammsky1]

Pure brilliance. Current players can't finish properly and you blame it on ex manager.

Yes, it has everything to do with our recent history as Mourinho inherited 3 of our 4 forwards who are unreliable for various reasons.

LVG got rid of Van Persie, Hernandez and Welbeck and thought he'd get by on Rooney, Martial and a newly discovered Rashford. Results show he couldn't.

Mourinho added Ibrahimovic but found Rooney as a dead duck and Martial and Rashford baby ducks not yet ready as reliable goal scorers. Mourinho has been reliant on an Ibra on his last legs + 3 lame forwards.

Its not brilliance, its simple logic. Try it sometime.