Manchester United: Jose Mourinho should take a hint from Antonio Conte
Jose Mourinho just can’t seem to get things right at Manchester United. Mourinho needs to look towards Antonio Conte for inspiration before it’s too late.
Jose Mourinho was brought in to Manchester United to guide the Red Devils back to the heights of years past. But so far, it’s only been a continuation of the drab times of the last few seasons under Louis van Gaal and David Moyes.
Mourinho spent a fortune in the summer and acquired some big name players in the hope of rebuilding United and returning the club’s status to the highest level, not only on the pitch, but off of it.
It does all start on the pitch, though, regardless. That’s what dictates how a club moves forward. And despite spending around £150 million in the summer, Mourinho’s United are just not getting the job done on the pitch.
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They’re not even getting results any more, even if the performances were bad. At least van Gaal could claim the results were decent, even though the team’s play was sleep-inducing. Mourinho’s got neither. No claim at all to make.
United lost to Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday. They now sit in third place in Group A, in danger of not even advancing to the next round. This is a competition that United fans don’t even want to be in. It’s embarrassing. It’s beneath them, almost, to even be in it.
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On recent evidence, it’s exactly where they should be. That’s the level United have slipped to. However, the loss against Fenerbahce has to be the last straw for Mourinho now. Things cannot go on like this.
The team does not work. There are some outstanding individuals in the squad, but the way Mourinho has the team set up is not getting the best out of them. Antonio Conte went through a similar situation at Chelsea early this season.
A poor start proved the Blues to be a complete shambles. It was embarrassing for their fans to watch, too. But Conte acted. He didn’t wait six months before trying something. He ripped up the team sheet and started again.
Changed the system to one which highlights the strengths of his squad and hides the weaknesses. Conte switched to a 3-4-3 formation, and since then, Chelsea have won four games straight, scored 11 goals and conceded none. It’s time for Mourinho to do the same thing.
Don’t change the wide players and hope for the best or switch one midfielder and see if that does anything. Scrap the lot. Clean slate. Select a formation that gets the best out of Paul Pogba, and fill in the blanks around him from there to make it work.
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It’s time for drastic measures now before the season totally ebbs away into a waste of a year. There’s still time, but that time is running out with each game. Mourinho needs to act. And as much as he may not want to, he needs to look to the man who replaced him at Chelsea.
Take a page out of Conte’s book before Manchester United end up looking like the train wreck that was left behind for the Italian at Chelsea last summer.