United players trudged off the London Stadium at the weekend, heads down after West Ham inflicted a third loss in only seven games for Jose Mourinho’s team.
In what can be only described as a listless performance, West Ham out-worked a Manchester United team that failed to perform. It showcased the mental fragility that has hindered them in the early part of the season.
The calls for Mourinho to be sacked will only be heightened after this defeat as United matched their worst start to a Premier League season, a record which occurred in 2013-14 under David Moyes. This loss though is tinged with a sadder demise as the surrounding infighting between Mourinho and Paul Pogba as well as the blind transfer policy led by Ed Woodward has left United in disarray.
Jose Mourinho, manager of Manchester United (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
United through history have provided teams and managers that have encouraged attacking enterprising football from Busby’s Babes to Sir Alex Ferguson. The fabric of United was lived out through these managerial figures and teams wherein, ‘the theatre of dreams’, encapsulated a club which caught the imagination of its vast fan base.
Iconic figures from George Best to Eric Cantona to more recently Cristiano Ronaldo have lit up Old Trafford through the freedom and unpredictability of their play.
This imagination though has been lost from the current United team which plays with fear and a structure which stifles the individual talents within the squad. Mourinho must take the blame for this loss of confidence as he is responsible for instilling a belief and style that encourages the talents and strengths of his players.
The bond Mourinho used to carry with his players seems to have been lost and is echoed in this famous quote by legendary basketball coach John Wooden, “A good coach can change a game; a great coach can change a life”.
Mourinho forged a relationship with his players far beyond the football pitch. This was highlighted after Inter Milan’s treble winning season and the tearful embrace between Mourinho and Marco Materazzi after Mourinho announced he would be leaving the club.
Mourinho’s demeanour has dramatically deteriorated as the joy and exuberance that once endeared him to the media has now been replaced by a sceptical and joyless character. Mourinho seemingly is more interested in creating division within the Manchester United organisation as opposed to unification.
Throughout pre-season his constant criticism of a board and Ed Woodward for their lack of support in the transfer window covered over the fact that Mourinho has spent over $300million since taking over.
Mourinho’s relationship with his players has also seemed to have reached a breaking point as his constant criticism of individuals has failed to inspire or drive his team to the levels expected at Manchester United. The lack of improvement within the squad has also been pointed to especially through the performances of Alexis Sanchez and stagnation of young talents in Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
The criticism of Mourinho though is only part of the issue at United as was reiterated by club icon Gary Neville who said “It’s not the manager it’s the lack of football leadership above him. They are bouncing over the place with no plan”. Chief Executive Ed Woodward seems more concerned with the profits and turnover of the club rather than results on the pitch and has publicly echoed this sentiment.
Can Paul Pogba and the Red Devils turn it around? (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
United’s transfer policy has also been poorly executed with money spent on players that are just not good enough for the United badge. Alexis Sanchez who was seen as a massive coup for the club after rejecting Manchester City, has proved to be an expensive flop while Mourinho signings in Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly have never truly settled.
The players through all of this must also take responsibility for their individual performances as no one player is bigger than Manchester United. The lack of leadership within the squad though has been highlighted through the players inability to forge a unity on the field.
The toxic environment that has been created around the team must dissipate first before United are able to take positive steps forward.
Through history United has established a clear identity which has kept them at the top of the English and European game. This identity though has now been lost through a manager whose own ego has highlighted his inability to progress as a manger and explore new ideas.
Football is a game which needs to be played with love and imagination. Until Mourinho and United rediscover this, the club will continue to slip further behind the progressive movement of football. Maybe we are witnessing something more complex than the darkening of a single identity.
Kafka
Guest
MU will continue to slide for sometime yet. The structure of the club from its owner’s through to each of its echelons of infrastructure are out of balance...& sadly even a character as strong as Mourinho could not compensate for the range of disconnects that currently have spiralled the club into a dark place. Ultimately the football of the first team will suffer and in the process bring tremendous grief to its true supporters. The solution will only emerge out of the wilderness experience of the club’s own creation... & as Mourinho experienced it cannot be willed it existence. The resurrection of MU will appear in its own time and maybe in an unexpected new form of the beautiful game. For the present we wait and absorb the emptiness of it all with unrelenting faith that the beautiful game will once again return to this once glorious ‘Theatre of Dreams’ that graced the presence of Bobby Charlton , Dennis Law, George Best , Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs , Christiano Renaldo & many more.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Just bear in mind that there is an awful lot of drivel written by journalists in the UK who need to sell newspapers - yes they still buy them in huge numbers in the uk and just like in Melbourne where the back half a dozen pages will tell you what the Hawthorn captain spread on his toast at breakfast and that the Geelong coach is a nice guy who visits his grandma every weekend after a game, the UK papers need stories real or imagined and the Man Utd story makes for good copy, if for no other reason than the fact there are plenty of MU fans who want to read about what is happening at their club. There are those of us who remember days before EPL when United were not the dominant side. They won some trophies but were inconsistent in the league for 25 years or so. Then it all changed and I’m fairly sure that many believed it would last forever but the owners and senior staff at the club forgot that legacy planning is necessary and things don’t happen on their own. Liverpool have gone through something similar and only now do they appear to have learnt the lessons and put the building blocks in place. MU is chaotic, uncoordinated, lacking cohesive plans and prone to,panic buying. JM was never the right personality for the club even if his track record says he is successful and will bring trophies. I suspect right now nobody cares he delivered 2 trophies to the club last season. There are only two measures that count. The League and champions legue and there is strong competition in both. It is no good looking down the rod to the neighbours and feeling envious. Whilst they were able to attract players for huge wages MU could attract players just for the name on the shirt. Buying the right pkayers as part of a plan is the key though. Just because the lollies on the top shelf are the most expensive, doesn’t mean to say they are the best tobuy and you will like them. Meanwhile everyone outside of MU is enjoying all the entertainment their current predicament provides.