Jose Mourinho’s move to Manchester United is reportedly inching closer and though the poor performances of Louis van Gaal’s team merit the change of guard, United may be throwing themselves into the deep end by appointing the Special One.
While Louis van Gaal celebrates his first trophy as Manchester United manager and the club enjoy their first major success since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, reports are pouring in that club and manager could very soon be parting ways.
A number of reputed British mediahouses including BBC and Sky Sports have confirmed that Jose Mourinho will be announced as the new Manchester United manager early this week.
The FA Cup victory is small comfort for Manchester United after a poor season that has seen them fail to challenge for the Premier League, crash out of the Champions League and then get knocked out of the Europa League by arch rivals Liverpool. Their goal tally this season and uninspiring style of play under the Iron Tulip have also come under severe criticism, and the club hierarchy have now decided that change is the only way forward.
However, Jose Mourinho does have his critics and there are also a large faction of Manchester United fans who are against the idea of the Portuguese taking over at Old Trafford. Even influential figures at the club like Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton were initially against the appointment of Mourinho, but have been forced to change their views after witnessing the shoddy performances under Van Gaal.
The decision to appoint Jose Mourinho does not guarantee long-term success, as has been proven at Internazionale, and the appointment of the Special One could back-fire. Here are three reasons why Manchester United should think twice before appointing him as their manager.
1. No faith in the youth
Jose Mourinho hasn’t really made a reputation for himself as a developer of young players. His last stint at Chelsea saw few academy products see the light of the first team, while he let an array of young talent go including the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne. Mourinho is a manager who likes to use players who have already had a taste of the big leagues, rather than bank on unproven talent.
This ideology comes into direct conflict with the ideals of Manchester United, who pride themselves on constantly promoting youthful talent from their academy. While academy products like Marcus Rashford, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Jesse Lingard have showcased their abilities this season, their involvement under Mourinho would probably be drastically reduced.
2. Buses being parked at Old Trafford
A strong defence is the trademark characteristic of any Jose Mourinho team, and the Portuguese is known to demand a high work-rate from the entire team, including from attacking players. While this is a positive point, it must be noted that Mourinho sometimes banks everything on the defence, without emphasizing on the attacking front.
The lack of goals and exciting attacking play has been one of the major factors leading to the downfall of Louis van Gaal at Manchester United, but this could be a worry under Mourinho as well. Old Trafford will not warm much to overly defensive tactics, like the ones he used in the latter stages of Chelsea’s 2014-15 title triumph.
3. The loss of Juan Mata could be critical
Juan Mata is one of the most well-liked figures in the Manchester United dressing room at the moment. The Spaniard has been one of the few relatively successful transfer stories for United since arriving from Chelsea in 2014. He has grown into a dressing room leader and regularly puts in some good performances for the club.
Jose Mourinho was the man who sold Mata, then Chelsea’s reigning player of the season, and his arrival could signal the end for the Spaniard now as well. Mourinho is displeased by Mata’s defensive failings, and does not view him as the ideal team player. But the loss of such a well-loved and senior player could have a domino effect on the squad and Mourinho might find himself in troubled waters should he sell the Spaniard again.
