The Roar
The Roar

Football
Advertisement

The Manchester United conundrum
Vance Abreu
Roar Rookie
11th August, 2016
4
Join the conversation
Advertisement
Write for The Roar

Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work featured alongside some of Australia’s most prominent sports journalists.

Jose Mourinho (Supplied)
Vance Abreu
Roar Rookie
11th August, 2016
4

The arrival of coaching sensation Jose Mourinho signified the start of a new era for the illustrious club that is Manchester United.

After three torrid years under David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal, United floundered; struggling for both domestic and continental success. The period dubbed the ‘Post Sir Alex era’ reaped a mere three titles – two Community shields and an F.A Cup.

Widely regarded as a failed period in United’s history, Louis van Gaal and Moyes both placed an emphasis on youth talent. A mixture of injuries and experimentation resulted in the likes of Marcus Rashford, Adnan Januzaj and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson emerging as potential top tier players.

However the hiring of Mourinho has indicated United’s impatience to rebuild and their desire to win now.

Mourinho gained a reputation for stunting the growth of young players as he sought out experienced, world-class talent in order to have short-term success, sacrificing the long=term stability and development of his previous clubs.

Youth players such as Luis Barker, Nathan Ake and Javi Garcia have all had their careers stunted to an extent due to this regime. United youngsters will also be likely to struggle.

Mourinho only intends of carrying a playing squad of 24 people. The squad will most likely feature the following:

Goalkeepers
David De Gea and Sergio Romero

Advertisement

Defenders
Antonio Valencia, Matteo Darmian, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind

Midfielders
Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Ashely Young, Morgan Schneiderlin, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini

Forwards
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay

The squad above will result in studs such as Andrea Pereira, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Axel Tuanzebe missing out on frequent game time at the premier league level unless they reluctantly are loaned out.

Furthermore, as the squad is assessed in depth it becomes apparent that United’s star power is featured heavily in similar positions.

The combination of Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Mkhitaryan, Pogba, Martial and Depay will all not be able to share the pitch together without becoming a defensive liability.

The issue wouldn’t be heightened if United featured a pair of experience elite centre backs.

Advertisement

Smalling, now 25, will have to assume a leadership role at the back as he is most likely to be partnered with 21-year-old Eric Bailly.

Along with Bailly, Shaw and Darmian creates a youthful defence that was torn apart at time last year’s against the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham.

Don’t be fooled by United’s league-best 35 goals conceded. The defence was inconsistent and lacklustre frequently through the year with only the heroics of De Gea preventing multiple embarrassing losses.

United’s failure to focus on improving their defence will be highlighted multiple times during the year, especially with both Fosu-Mensah and Borthwick-Jackson showing a lot of potential last season it seems necessary that Mourinho exposes both players to frequent top flight football in United’s system.

In conjunction Rashford will have his minutes up front slashed exponentially due to Ibrahimović’s arrival.

Mourinho will deploy a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 meaning Rashford’s minutes will come out wide; a position he is unfamiliar with.

In essence, Rashford’s development will also be stunted. After his breakout year and solid performances for England, United should have emphasised on building the attack around Rashford and Martial respectively.

Advertisement

The signings of Mkhitaryan and Pogba were smart and suited the direction United was heading in however the Ibrahimovic signing is somewhat of the opposite.

There is no doubt he will dominate in England and provide Manchester with domestic success but fans of the game and the club must question if this short-term signing is really worth the potential long-term repercussions it may have.

4
Join the conversation

Are you the ultimate team manager?  Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars.  Imagine what you could be buying instead.  Set a deposit limit.

Related Posts

close