Manchester United: 5 mistakes Jose Mourinho has made already

2. Keeping Wayne Rooney as captain

Mourinho making Wayne Rooney his captain has had one knock-on effect after another. The first thing it did was invite questioning about the wisdom of such a move, given the level Rooney is now playing at. Although, Mourinho stoutly backed his man.

Maybe Mourinho thought publicly backing Rooney would serve as a confidence boost for the 30-year-old? All it really did was put Mourinho’s back against the wall. Now the United boss fields questions on Rooney’s form and selection after every game.

And still, Mourinho continues to back his guy. He won’t budge. Which is a problem because United have a better player for the role in Henrikh Mkhitaryan. However, the Armenian, instead, gets shunted onto the right wing. If he’s lucky to get a game, that is.

Pogba, too, would be massively helped by playing as a number 10 with two midfielders behind him doing the defensive work. But nope. We have to get Rooney in the team. We need them eight Premier League goals he scored last season. Or those six assists.

United don’t have a huge choice when it comes to appointing a captain, but you need your best starting XI out there first. Then you worry about a captain. Is Rooney really in United’s best starting lineup now?

Rooney’s passion is one thing his teammates could learn from, however. Against Manchester City, Rooney played angrily and that was because he’s a winner. He genuinely cared about winning against the club’s closest rivals. He understood the situation.

But that aside, in terms of playing as a dangerous, creative number 10, United have better options now. Is Mourinho willing to drop his captain? Or is that a perch he now does not want to back down from?

Next: A player short, Jose?