If one more person says Mourinho will have HIS team built for his second year, they should be hit with a few home truths.
If Jose Mourinho is really hamstrung with what he has in this current United side, there should be serious questions asked of him.
If he can’t get these players to work in whatever system he wants, his system must be bloody depressing.
Are fans really going to accept a plethora of talent being chucked from Old Trafford because Mourinho has an idea of how to shut down space better with some worse players?
Imagine you were playing a game of FIFA or Football Manager now and you weren’t biased. Working with the 2016/17 United squad would be top of most people’s lists – top two at the very least. Granted, they’re computer games but it’s a good indicator of how the majority would view the individual talent at that club right now.
The manager has been complaining for the sake of it whenever it tickles his fancy. Fixtures, injuries, players, resources – whatever he can do to deflect attention away from his own performance.
He’s bemoaned playing nine games in April – identical to the like of Real, Barca, Dortmund and Bayern. The big question from that should be why he’s even bothered to try qualify for the Champions League then? He’ll only have to do the same next year – if, of course, he wants to be successful.
His apologists claim that it just isn’t a team in his mould yet but no other team in England has greater depth to work with and neither van Gaal or Moyes had a side anywhere near the potential of this current one. Sir Alex Ferguson’s was even worse again.
What Fergie did towards the end of his career was simply unbelievable.
He got to three Champions League finals in four years – the last of which was with a team that boasted Giggs at central midfield, Chicharito starting up top with Fabio at right back and Park on the wing.
Whatever side he was working with, he still rallied them and his effect has never been better demonstrated since he left when, despite the millions and millions being pumped in to help three different managers, only Louis van Gaal has been capable of breaking the top four on one occasion. And Fergie went out at the top with some relative duds in comparison to what Mourinho is working with.
Here’s a combined team of Mourinho’s side now and Fergie’s last team in 2012/13.
The names below in faded text are those missing out at each position.
The manager’s initials are beside each player to show the team they are from.
Seven players from Mourinho’s current team would take the places of those men back in 2012/13. And that’s even being generous when you consider a number of factors:
- Vidic missed half of that season (Jonny Evans had most appearances at centre back). Rojo would get in ahead of Evans.
- A younger Michael Carrick gets in ahead of what Mourinho has now.
- You could argue it’s a toss up between van Persie and Zlatan.
- Evra, like Ferdinand, was getting on at that stage too but he’d get in because of Mourinho’s apparent determination to ruin Luke Shaw’s career.
Sir Alex Ferguson won the league with his team. Mourinho is going to finish sixth with a much better team.
And he’s still going to be allowed to build HIS team – as if that’s going to do the club any good in three years time.
