Another transfer window would not solve our footballing, It's all about Mourinho's approach.

[groovyalbert]

Any team on paper which includes midfielders such as Matic and Pogba behind attackers like Sanchez, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Mata should be playing a much better brand of football than we currently are.

Our lack of width, which should come from fullbacks, is an issue which needs to be addressed this summer and Sanchez needs time to settle, same with Pogba finding form. But it really should be better to watch than it currently is. LVG was dire to watch but our team, on paper, was miles weaker than it currently is. The last few performances have been evocative of LVG.

 

[breakout67]

How convenient that it's all about one factor. When LVG was stinking up the place it was all his fault. 'Mourinho is a serial winner, he'll get us back to the top'. Now that our football is deteriorating it's all Mourinho's fault. Repeat Ad Nauseam.

Director of football, young and hungry manager, long term plan. We have none of those. Mourinho is a short term fix, he isn't going to be the new SAF.

All the top clubs in the world have their own independent structure; the manager is actually a 'coach'. He can have his say on players but it's the club that decide the direction of the football.

 

[Canagel]

Not saying I agree with everything Mourinho has done or is doing but who on Earth are we going to get instead? I see people here mentioning the likes of Tuchel, I mean are they actually serious? Are people actually convinced a manager of that calibre would do a better job? What the feck has Tuchel done to warrant the United job? There is simply no one else available.

Ancelotti perhaps? There will be plenty of managers who'll want the job. Managers will make themselves available to take a job like this. Off the top of my head I can name Tuchel, Jardim, Zidane, Ancelotti. Its Manchester United we're talking about. The board won't want to sack Jose ofcourse but I don't see how he warrants another season if he takes us out of the top 4. He may not leave for another 2/3 years maybe and I'll still support him but I'm still counting the days before he's gone. Whether that's this summer or in 5 years time who knows? Just like LVG before him. Because I've become resigned to the fact we aren't going to progress under his management. There's no point holding on once you reach that stage. I'll thank him for steadying the ship after the disaster that was LVG but I want new life in this club.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

How convenient that it's all about one factor. When LVG was stinking up the place it was all his fault. 'Mourinho is a serial winner, he'll get us back to the top'. Now that our football is deteriorating it's all Mourinho's fault. Repeat Ad Nauseam.

Director of football, young and hungry manager, long term plan. We have none of those. Mourinho is a short term fix, he isn't going to be the new SAF.

All the top clubs in the world have their own independent structure; the manager is actually a 'coach'. He can have his say on players but it's the club that decide the direction of the football.

Exactly I wish we had a structure where the manager was of less impotance.

 

[Redphantom]

There's concerned and then there's being over-dramatic at every available opportunity. How many threads are there saying x is awful? You'd think we were staving off relegation reading some of this.

Our football is a bit flat of late, and we've had a couple of bad results. No denying that. But seriously. 2nd in the league and still in the CL and the FA cup.

We need to improve in certain areas but so does every team. A few weeks ago Liverpool were down in 6th place or something, Spurs and Chelsea run hot and cold, and we are plodding along and getting to where we need to go. The only team in the country that's not having some sort of problems is City and they just got put out of the FA cup by a league two side, and I can them starting to slow down now that they have other competitions to focus on as well.

Of course I'd like us to start winning games 4-0 again but at the same time I'm happy enough with how this season is going, and so should most unless you're comparing it against City's season or some sort of imaginary football utopia where we win every game 4-0 and have 20 shots per game and everyone plays a 10.

To be fair I'd be very happy to be in this position, but you're now coming to a defining moment in the season and the goals seem to be drying up. Now you've got 4 big games coming up and I think you'll find out over these games whether Jose is up to the task and some of the players that have been bought. Nobody has got a crystal ball but I've got a sneaky feeling (and it sickens me to say this) Jose might just pull it off. If not, I can't see him at your place next season.

 

[L1nk]

I'm glad there is a seperate thread for this because all i see in other threads are people seeing "well he needs to buy more players in the summer" "he needs to get his team these players are from xyz manager" and no matter how much you say that the answer isn't to just keep throwing money at all it until something sticks it gets ignored. If you cant get a decent rhythym out of the squad you have, which already includes over 300million on his own players might I add, you don't deserve another transfer window, end of story.

 

[tclark2323]

Hi. I'm considered a newbie in here, although I've been reading for several years. I'll tread lightly and thank you for the opportunity to post.

With regard to the original poster, and after a number of years of reflection and literally watching every single press conference over the past 5 years, I've come to this point of view on Mourinho:

• It's not that he's 100 percent tactically inflexible. It's that he's so cautious that balance on the pitch must be perfect before he'll risk utilizing what we'll refer to as his Plan B -- a more attacking setup. Not just formation (4-2-3-1), but positioning on the pitch and nuances like whether both fullbacks are forward at the same time.
• In his second stint at Chelsea, during the 2014-2015 season, we saw just 5 months of Plan B -- Diego Costa brand new and interested and firing; Oscar still believing in himself; Cesc just having arrived and been given his preferred deep-lying playmaker position; Hazard and Matic in top form.
• Then after a thumping by Spurs, he reverted back to Plan A, his normal footballing DNA -- suffocating; let the other guy have the ball and wait for him to make a mistake; clean sheet; never commit too many men forward against anyone in the top 6.
• Let's be honest: It has often worked. Not always, but regularly throughout his history dating to Porto.
• But his success rate, as measured by league titles -- managing in the grind -- is waning. This is not an opinion; it is a fact: He has won 2 leagues of his last 7 (counting this season) after winning six of the previous seven.
• Why? Just a theory, but I think he has either aged or soured out of his prime. His time as a man manager has come and gone. He appears to have become extremely impatient/angry with players of a certain generation/type.
• Anyone watching Kevin DeBruyne for more than 10 minutes at Chelsea, even several years ago, knew he could be a worldie. Mourinho never gave him more than 10 minutes, and I'm convinced it was because DeBruyne isn't "Mourinho tough".
• After 6 months of pure grind for dull 1-0 results in his last winning season at Chelsea, the players turned on him the following preseason, lost their desire to run. Didn't want to play in his Plan A anymore, and it was so obvious. And they did him in, same as Madrid. "Palpable discord," all that.
• Not saying it was all his fault. There's so much about him I enjoy, starting with the intelligence. I think he's smarter than most, including Conte. But I think he lacks sincerity, and that ultimately wears people out, even if they are fine playing in a boring setup.
• So, as I see it, Mourinho is at approximately the median point of his time with United. He hasn't yet imploded, but there are signs that it's coming. Still, you might win the Champions League before it happens. Because knock-out football is his thing.

 

[carvajal]

@tclark2323 Good post.About the last point,What do you mean with implosion?in a positive or negative way?.

 

[tclark2323]

@tclark2323 Good post.About the last point,What do you mean with implosion?in a positive or negative way?.

Hi and thanks kindly.

To answer your question: I meant negative.

And remember, I couch all of this not as "knowledge" but as one guy's somewhat educated theory: watching the results, the interviews, the ups and downs, the sour moods, the playing style.

I'm referring to the point at which he alienates enough players (or enough players turn on him, which is also a reasonable way to look at it) that sustained success becomes impossible. It usually comes after some significant, extremely taxing achievement, like winning a title.

I remember watching CR7 when Madrid played Chelsea in the USA the summer before Mourinho's first season back in London. My recollection is Ronaldo scoring and either staring coldly or running toward the Chelsea bench to taunt Mourinho and thinking to myself: No love lost there.

There seems to be a tipping point. Maybe first he loses a Juan Mata or David Luiz and the rest of the squad is still with him. Ultimately, a majority are not. Hard to say whether Pogba is a leading indicator, a trailing one, or nothing at all -- just a player in a bad spell.

(By the way: Because of my newbie status, I think this was my last post for the day. So nice chatting with you).

 

[Santoryo]

Not saying I agree with everything Mourinho has done or is doing but who on Earth are we going to get instead? I see people here mentioning the likes of Tuchel, I mean are they actually serious? Are people actually convinced a manager of that calibre would do a better job? What the feck has Tuchel done to warrant the United job? There is simply no one else available.

OK here is what baffles me about these sort of statements? Since when was the prerogative of being United manger having a resume full of trophies spanning several decades or something?

What has Tuchel or (insert any other prospect top managers with modern, attacking philosophy ) done to warrant the United job? These question are beyond odd.

The likes of Barca are bringing in managers without any so called heavy resume but ones with a certain profile to take charge and they generally succeed.

Acting as if there is nothing beyond Mourinho for us is quite deluded if I'm being honest. One would think Mourinho lurks around the caf and write some of the things written on these boards. The simple truth is that there are plenty of options out there to take us forward and get us playing decent football, at least far better than what we're being served.

Barca have appointed managers(2 in a row) coming from lower teams yet faired very well. They identified a profile and took their man. There wasn't any nonsense about looking for big names who happen to be past their best, at least most of them out there.

There are simply several better managers than Mourinho out there currently and would have us playing far better football, something we can't even dream of right now.

 

[mynamejeff]

I don't mind him being pragmatic but the problem is it seems he is not spending enough time with our attackers. Our attacking football is regressing as the season is ending and that is not right.

Also, he should play his best 11. It's like he signed a world class player in Sanchez and benched another top player in pogba and our best attacker martial . He has to figure how to attack also. Otherwise all this defensive work is one gigantic waste of time.

the "best 11" should be the team best suited to win. not a team with the most talented 11 players in the squad

 

[Pete Dahh Sneak]

Playing shite, boring football, being a little stubborn about the formation, relying on individual brilliance and making fans think there’s literally no training done on the attacking side of the game. It’s the same...exact...things Chelsea fans were discussing, then 15/16 happened.

 

[Nytram Shakes]

I would be vary wary of giving Mourinho money to spend, how many of his signings have been a roaring success?

 

[Nuts]

Hi. I'm considered a newbie in here, although I've been reading for several years. I'll tread lightly and thank you for the opportunity to post.

With regard to the original poster, and after a number of years of reflection and literally watching every single press conference over the past 5 years, I've come to this point of view on Mourinho:

• It's not that he's 100 percent tactically inflexible. It's that he's so cautious that balance on the pitch must be perfect before he'll risk utilizing what we'll refer to as his Plan B -- a more attacking setup. Not just formation (4-2-3-1), but positioning on the pitch and nuances like whether both fullbacks are forward at the same time.
• In his second stint at Chelsea, during the 2014-2015 season, we saw just 5 months of Plan B -- Diego Costa brand new and interested and firing; Oscar still believing in himself; Cesc just having arrived and been given his preferred deep-lying playmaker position; Hazard and Matic in top form.
• Then after a thumping by Spurs, he reverted back to Plan A, his normal footballing DNA -- suffocating; let the other guy have the ball and wait for him to make a mistake; clean sheet; never commit too many men forward against anyone in the top 6.
• Let's be honest: It has often worked. Not always, but regularly throughout his history dating to Porto.
• But his success rate, as measured by league titles -- managing in the grind -- is waning. This is not an opinion; it is a fact: He has won 2 leagues of his last 7 (counting this season) after winning six of the previous seven.
• Why? Just a theory, but I think he has either aged or soured out of his prime. His time as a man manager has come and gone. He appears to have become extremely impatient/angry with players of a certain generation/type.
• Anyone watching Kevin DeBruyne for more than 10 minutes at Chelsea, even several years ago, knew he could be a worldie. Mourinho never gave him more than 10 minutes, and I'm convinced it was because DeBruyne isn't "Mourinho tough".
• After 6 months of pure grind for dull 1-0 results in his last winning season at Chelsea, the players turned on him the following preseason, lost their desire to run. Didn't want to play in his Plan A anymore, and it was so obvious. And they did him in, same as Madrid. "Palpable discord," all that.
• Not saying it was all his fault. There's so much about him I enjoy, starting with the intelligence. I think he's smarter than most, including Conte. But I think he lacks sincerity, and that ultimately wears people out, even if they are fine playing in a boring setup.
• So, as I see it, Mourinho is at approximately the median point of his time with United. He hasn't yet imploded, but there are signs that it's coming. Still, you might win the Champions League before it happens. Because knock-out football is his thing.

Fantastic post. Thanks, and welcome aboard.

Really interesting to hear your thoughts on his management of de Bruyne at Chelsea. Would you say the same about Salah at all?

 

[El-Manos]

OK here is what baffles me about these sort of statements? Since when was the prerogative of being United manger having a resume full of trophies spanning several decades or something?

What has Tuchel or (insert any other prospect top managers with modern, attacking philosophy ) done to warrant the United job? These question are beyond odd.

The likes of Barca are bringing in managers without any so called heavy resume but ones with a certain profile to take charge and they generally succeed.

Acting as if there is nothing beyond Mourinho for us is quite deluded if I'm being honest. One would think Mourinho lurks around the caf and write some of the things written on these boards. The simple truth is that there are plenty of options out there to take us forward and get us playing decent football, at least far better than what we're being served.

Barca have appointed managers(2 in a row) coming from lower teams yet faired very well. They identified a profile and took their man. There wasn't any nonsense about looking for big names who happen to be past their best, at least most of them out there.

There are simply several better managers than Mourinho out there currently and would have us playing far better football, something we can't even dream of right now.

Barca were in a much more stable situation than us, pointless to compare in my opinion.

Tuchel was sacked by Dortmund but somehow would be good enough to manage United ? Why, because he plays attacking football? So in other words Tuchel is a better manager than Mourinho? If you say so...

 

[Garethw]

So do I, not because he is a threat but because every time I see a game like United v City, United v Madrid, I should look forward to these type of games but Mourinho stinks them out with his tactics.

The game at Anfield, a lot of your fans told me that the reason you played like that was because Pogba was injured. I think that is nonsense, he would of still played the same way. I have never once in my lifetime seen a Mourinho team go toe to toe with a good side. Even Burnley showed more ambition at Anfield.

Your squad is good enough to be playing much better football, the idea of him saying that the reason City are so far ahead is down to resources is ridiculous. It's down to tactics.

Spot on mate. I can’t disagree with any of that. The manager is a coward and his tactics are flawed.

 

[Mozza]

Mouriniho is a fecking disaster, he has got to go

 

[tclark2323]

Fantastic post. Thanks, and welcome aboard.

Really interesting to hear your thoughts on his management of de Bruyne at Chelsea. Would you say the same about Salah at all?

Thank you!

I think there’s a difference in the de Bruyne and Salah cases.

KDB:

For me, and for a lot of Chelsea fans I know, Kevin was so obviously talented that it was stunning Mourinho consistently chose others over him. It became an issue in the press conferences. Mourinho got very irritable and walked out once.

The word from Cobham was de Bruyne didn’t take well to sitting on the bench, and so wasn’t training very hard. I think he needed a cuddle and this isn’t Mourinho’s way. In fact, I once heard Mourinho say emphatically that he refuses to explain his decisions to players. (You can find it on YouTube somewhere).

Salah:

Also didn’t get many chances. Unlike de Bruyne, however, he didn’t make the most of his very limited chances. Looked like a speed merchant, but not much more. The fans weren’t baying for Salah.

FWIW, Cuadrado got the same treatment. Would have been nice to have him as one of our wingbacks, but can’t really fault Jose for sending him packing.

 

[The Mad Manc]

His tactics are generally used by lower teams playing against us. We have so much quality up front, but he chooses to park the bus. Yes, it's pragmatic, but it's quite boring.

I think pragmatism and boring go hand in hand. Can't be pragmatic and sexy

 

[Sky1981]

Even moyes weren't this hated back then

 

[mu4c_20le]

Even moyes weren't this hated back then

Yes he was....the man was widely regarded as a joke, and a clown. Even by those who gave him a chance at first. But his body language on the touchline and his pressers exposed him quick.

 

[Sky1981]

Yes he was....the man was widely regarded as a joke, and a clown. Even by those who gave him a chance at first. But his body language on the touchline and his pressers exposed him quick.

He didn't get 5 threads created slagging him even when he's solidly 6th

 

[Raoul]

First of all, I don't care if we need another transfer window to spend a lot of money or so on new players such as CM to partner Pogba and Matic in 4-3-3 and fullbacks but Mourinho won't change his approach against opponents even though if he had Messi and Ronaldo at his disposal.

I'd be happy with 0-0 if we created a lot of chances but we didn't and that's a problem. Mourinho is delighted with our performance and said beautiful football is not giving our opponents what they want. Wtf is that? Parking the bus against the team like Sevilla is too vulnerable at the back which we should exploit. We look like Everton side with many great talents individually at our disposal, it's unacceptable for a club like Manchester United who happens to be one of biggest and wealthiest club in the world.

Since Mourinho took over United, he added Pogba, Lukaku, Matic, Bailly, Lindelof, Sanchez then apparently, it's not enough, given our performance against a quality team, it's not because of the players that are not good but it's all down to Mourinho tactical. LVG didn't have Pogba, Lukaku, Matic, Bailly, Sanchez at his disposal in 2014-16 but he outperformed Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and City in big games.

LVG's first season against Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs, he picked up 18 points from possible 30 points and same in 2015/16.

Mourinho's first season against top 5 sides, he picked up 10 points from possible 30 points

Does our squad is not enough to challenge City or Liverpool? LVG has beaten them multiples time without Lukaku, Pogba, Matic, Bailly in his starting lineup team. LVG also has beaten Arsenal with half our reserves team, we don't need a top player/world class player to challenge City, Liverpool or even Spurs in games but it's Mourinho, even if he sign better players, he still won't change his approach.

LVG haven't had a instant success in the transfer window, whereas Mourinho does. One of LVG's biggest weakness is due to his record against 10 bottom teams in the league and always vulnerable to counter-attack, this is the reason why United was underperforming in 2014/16.

Having said, I don't think we should give Mourinho another transfer window to improve otherwive it'd be waste of money we would spend on but will always behave like the underdog and bullied into submission by a team like Sevilla. Mourinho needs to change his footballing tactic. I'm tired of hearing often from many people begging for new world class CM like Kross and fullbacks, claiming if we sign them, we'd be a lot better and will be a lot stronger, this is not the first time people actually said that but it is same as in 2016 when we signed Mhki, Pogba and Zlatan.

There's no excuse for Mourinho needing another transfer window, all I want is Mourinho to change his tactical, this is all I'm asking for because I can't stand his tactical anymore.

Completely agree. The problems is Mourinho's approach not a lack of players.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Except we didn't park the bus against Sevilla. We actually did nothing and were generally terrible. If we had parked the bus, Sevilla wouldn't have 21 shots against us.

It wasn't vintage Jose, it was just pure trash.

Worryingly, we see less and less of vintage Jose and more and more of trash

 

[MDFC Manager]

Mouriniho is a fecking disaster, he has got to go

Disaster was giving him the contract extension. Which was celebrated by some on here like a world cup win.

 

[ghagua]

Shite football, boring to death. Mou's 100% responsible. Looks like he is just throwing money at the problems. Well, anyone can manage like that. Just spend tons of money replace all the players and hope for better without any plan. Do we look solid defensively? No. Do we look more fluid in attack? No. Making top 4 is not the aim. The aim is to win a major trophy. To all those, who say that we should be happy with EL cup, my reply is that I'd happily trade all the trophies that Mou won last season for Conte's or Pep's prem trophy.

Agree with everything, but a leopard is not going to change his spots. City have set the bar so high this season and I do not see Mourinho changing or adapting to meet that bar, no matter how he spends. I have resigned myself to just being in the top 4 until he is replaced and we start with a vision for something different.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Pretty much.

I'm just hoping he steadies the ship and all, but he'll need to be replaced for us to truly get back on top IMO.

At this point, it looks obvious we won't win the Prem or CL under Mourinho. He's too stuck in the old days. Proactive teams are(and will continue to do so) winning the CL now. He's far too reactive.

 

[ghagua]

Any team on paper which includes midfielders such as Matic and Pogba behind attackers like Sanchez, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Mata should be playing a much better brand of football than we currently are.

Our lack of width, which should come from fullbacks, is an issue which needs to be addressed this summer and Sanchez needs time to settle, same with Pogba finding form. But it really should be better to watch than it currently is. LVG was dire to watch but our team, on paper, was miles weaker than it currently is. The last few performances have been evocative of LVG.

 

[ghagua]

Any team on paper which includes midfielders such as Matic and Pogba behind attackers like Sanchez, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Mata should be playing a much better brand of football than we currently are.

Our lack of width, which should come from fullbacks, is an issue which needs to be addressed this summer and Sanchez needs time to settle, same with Pogba finding form. But it really should be better to watch than it currently is. LVG was dire to watch but our team, on paper, was miles weaker than it currently is. The last few performances have been evocative of LVG.

But, we don't have quality players like they do at Spurs or Liverpool to play any decent football let alone match City. We need world class players in every position for our manager to make it worth his while to actually bother coaching.

 

[The Mad Manc]

Not saying I agree with everything Mourinho has done or is doing but who on Earth are we going to get instead? I see people here mentioning the likes of Tuchel, I mean are they actually serious? Are people actually convinced a manager of that calibre would do a better job? What the feck has Tuchel done to warrant the United job? There is simply no one else available.

In Moyes, LVG and Jose, what we haven't done is hire someone that ticks all the boxes of a Utd manager whose beliefs/philosophy match that of the club. Moyes = potential long-termer but no charisma, never won trophy, out of his depth. LVG = big character, developed youth but patient, possession-based game bored everyone to death. Jose = serial winner, doing ok with youth development but pragmatic style is making us as boring as LVG and blunting what should be a very sharp attack.

If Jose went, thinking about who is very difficult. Personally, I would sacrifice a track record of trophies (LVG, Mou have it) for someone that either knows what's expected (Giggs) or someone who ticks every other box but the trophy one (Pochettino).

The only reason I want Jose to stay is I believe the upheaval that yet another new manager would bring will do more harm than good. But, if we are not challenging for the title next season, Mourinho has no excuse. The buck stops with him. Adiós Jose.

 

[Water Melon]

Agree with everything, but a leopard is not going to change his spots. City have set the bar so high this season and I do not see Mourinho changing or adapting to meet that bar, no matter how he spends. I have resigned myself to just being in the top 4 until he is replaced and we start with a vision for something different.

Agreed. Enough of excuses. Firstly they said that Conte walked the league because of the brilliant squad he inherited from Jose, while Jose left the Blues in shambles. Now it is Pep walking it and the excuse is that we cant compete with him money-wise. Next season, it will be Pep again most probably, so the excuse is already there. I do not see this team getting better despite tons of money being thrown around, I still do not know what our best starting lineup is, I have no idea what our tactics are. I hope Woody has plans B and C, because if the aim is to get back to the very top, Jose is far from there.

 

[Z1L3]

Any team on paper which includes midfielders such as Matic and Pogba behind attackers like Sanchez, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Mata should be playing a much better brand of football than we currently are.

Our lack of width, which should come from fullbacks, is an issue which needs to be addressed this summer and Sanchez needs time to settle, same with Pogba finding form. But it really should be better to watch than it currently is. LVG was dire to watch but our team, on paper, was miles weaker than it currently is. The last few performances have been evocative of LVG.

I tell you, I keep hearing this argument about all the fantastic players that United have, and I just don't see it. and Martial is always mentioned. How is it Jose's fault that Martial can't dribble anybody in big games, keeps losing the ball, his passes and crosses are off, etc.? How is it Jose's fault that 3 against 2 counterattacks are squandered because these fantastic attacking players either make bad decisions or miss 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper? Martial belongs in the football version of Harlem Globetrotters, until he decides to grow up and do the basics consistently.

Matic, Sanchez, Lukaku, and Mata are consistent performers, what I would call reliable professionals you can always count on to do their thing, even if some of them have their limitations. The rest are still a work in progress.

 

[zenith]

Why are there so many different threads on similar topics for everyone's individual opinion. It makes following topics on the forum quite difficult

 

[zenith]

Why are there so many different threads on similar topics for everyone's individual opinion. It makes following topics on the forum quite difficult

 

[Hamadovich86]

The good thing about our transfer windows under Mourinho is that we brought in some players who would flourish under any manager some of whom are actually world class. For me its time to prepare for after Mourinho, I hope Ed takes more charge of who we should buy since it seems we'll never have a DOF he should take up that role and be more strict in terms of who we buy. All this so that we have a minimal transition time when we move on to the next manager.

 

[liamp]

Disaster was giving him the contract extension. Which was celebrated by some on here like a world cup win.

The extension was really just for an additional year with an option for a 2nd. It's not a disaster. I have a feeling what was more important to Mourinho was bumping his salary to be aligned with Pep's.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

We only have one fullback in the squad. Shaw. The rest are converted CB's, converted left sided players, converted wingers and a jack of all trades master of I don't know what in Blind. Our fullbacks are literal "I dunno, we've literally got nobody else so Young, Valencia.. Throw on the guernsey and give it your best" level fullbacks.

There is no frontal structure to the attack. We have the single striker nailed down, we've got one more new wide player in Sanchez but the rest of our wide players are converted 10's, converted strikers, Pogba who needs to be shoved in there somewhere.

I get that people don't trust Jose, that is natural until he wins a league and gains the trust of the fans but he squad is still a jumbled mess and beyond just the literal numbers there are still gaping combinations that need addressing. I think once Jose wins something people will peel back and relax a little bit and stop going looking for problems that can't be addressed in the extreme short term.

All problems look like a nail when the fans turn into transfer muppet hammers. But we need to be patient and realistic and let Jose work. It is cyclical and it will continue he can't go out there and play the game for these players and they need to take responsibility.

 

[yo@Kirk]

Imagine the comments at the Caf if it were not for the heroics of the best goalkeeper of his generation, David de Gea. United need a manager who can coach a team to be better than it's individual parts instead of depending on the heroics of a great goalkeeper to be competitive. I think trying to shoehorn Sanchez into a well stocked LW position instead of using the world class RW to fill the gaping hole on the right side has just about used up whatever confidence the players had in Jose's decision making.

United should appoint a Director of Football Operations so the club manager can concentrate on coaching the first team squad. The DFO should hire 43 year old Leonardo Jardim, Monaco, who has proven his coaching ability by taking his young 2016/2017 team to the League 1 championship and a semi final place in the Champions League while playing quality, entertaining football. On the way, Monaco beat Spurs twice in group stage and knocked out City in the round of 16. Following the season, the club sold four starters for 300m pounds in transfer fees, a testament to Jardim's coaching abilities. Despite losing four of his best players, Jardim has Monaco in second place in League 1 in 2018, behind only PSG's galacticos.

 

[Jinn]

I see this playing out like this:
Let him fix the midfield and defence in the summer. Put up with him till the end of next season, then bring in a new Manager.
However, the new manager must be someone willing to work with the majority of the players and just add 1 or 2 of his liking.

 

[Revaulx]

I honestly think Manchester United have become obsessed with Galactico kind of signings, yep you know the one, the one that sell shirts and is very very high profile. Let me guess at some of the signings that are been spoken about for next season: Griezmann, maybe an ageing Ronaldo, Kane, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, yes all very high profile and all of them potential game changers but without a vision of where they actually fit within a team structure mean yet more money thrown at the problem. I know the market is insane but when was the last low priced gem brought into the team.

On a side note, Pogba reminds me of a certain Sebastian Veron who came from the Italian league (slower pace) and couldn't hack the pace of the Premier League. Maybe Fergie got it wrong with Veron but got it right with Pogba.

I think there’s something in this. Some of our recent signings have been most un-Mourinho-like: Mhkytarian certainly; Pogba probably. Who’s calling the shots here? Ed, influenced by certain agents?