The date was the 20th May 2016, the day before the FA Cup Final. Louis Van Gaal's men were preparing for a massive game at Wembley hoping to win their first major piece of silverware since Alex Ferguson's retirement. "Can Martial be the player to save Louis Van Gaal?" asked The Telegraph. "No-one is talking about the 61 million pound fee any more" reported James Ducker. Fast forward 18 months later and it is obvious that no matter the results that day, LVG was finished at Old Trafford. However, what is more surprising is that the game might also symbolise the peak of Anthony Martial's United career. What once seemed to be a figure destined to shine as bright as any other player, Martial is a peripheral character at Mourinho's United, hauled off at half time after a torrid first half against Huddersfield in a 2-1 loss.
It all seemed to start so brightly for Mourinho. His first season's league form was abhorrent, however two cup wins in his first year seemed to indicate that Mourinho could push on for his famous second season. With a warchest of 160 million to his name Jose promised to push on United into a title challenge that has evaded every United manager since Sir Alex.
However as the season goes on, United fans initial worries about Jose seem to becoming to the forefront once more. His much maligned record with youngsters seems to have continued, with former talented youngsters Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial and Timothy Fosu-Mensah all having their careers stalled in different ways by the enigmatic Portuguese manager. United fans have thrived off Marcus Rashford's excellent performances, however opportunities for his fellow youngsters seem to have come few and far between.
None of these examples is more pronounced than Alex Tunazbe. The youngster first handed starts by Louis Van Gaal two seasons ago is still struggling to make his mark in front of the Old Trafford faithful. However his place in the squad is limited, seemingly behind Mourinho's forty million pound man Victor Lindelof. The defender has struggled to establish himself in the United defence and he has once again let his teammates down in defeat to Huddersfied. But while every manager is allowed to make mistakes in the transfer markets, doubts have also been raised over other Jose arrivals Mkhitaryian and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. With United's wage bill increasing by 20% since Jose taking over, United's owners the Glazer family will be expecting more return for their outlay.
But all of these issues would be ignored if Jose delivered the trophies so many of his acolytes claim he always delivers. But with an appalling display versus Liverpool followed by a humiliating loss to Huddersfield, questions are arising whether Jose's formidable resume belongs in Old Trafford past, along with any memories of Louis Van Gaal's reign.
This week Mourinho started openly flirting with the PSG job. Many United fans are upset by this, many United fans still excuse this behaviour. But the circus of Jose Mourinho only stays in town as long as his many negative points don't start to outweigh his positive points. United fans will be hoping that moment is a while away yet, because if Jose isn't the man to put Manchester United back on their perch... who is?
