Manchester United have started the season with 3 losses in opening 7 games in the English Premier League to make sure it went down as their worst ever start in the past 29 years. 3-1 away defeat at the hands of West Ham in league fixture and 0-0 draw to Valencia in Champions League fixture further added to the woes of manager Jose Mourinho and it is evident that they are struggling to find the right rythm and tempo.
Q: Why are Manchester United having problems this season?
Jose Mourinho: For many different reasons.
Q: Could you outline some of the reasons?
Jose Mourinho: No.
Follow Jose Mourinho's press conference live here: https://t.co/uR6QckwyPh pic.twitter.com/8JvegeDkmE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 5, 2018
Former midfielder Paul Ince has given his verdict on the current situation at Old Trafford and it is exactly what most of the fans had been wanting to hear. He believes Mourinho will face the axe if United fail to get a result against a winless Newcastle United who are 18th in the table. Ince has laid down the blame on the players who are not giving their all to win games as what is expected from the Old Trafford giants.
https://twitter.com/Queensmail1/status/1048068726635937792
Ince shared his thought on situation with United and Mourinho to Paddy Power,
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“What worries me, is that Man United are losing their presence,”
“There’s no awe about them anymore.
“They’re there for the taking, and other teams know that.
“It’s the perfect time to play them.
“As much as it grinds me to say it, Manchester City have the wow factor now, so do Liverpool.
“Teams are looking and they’re worried to go to Anfield or the Etihad.
“The power has well and truly shifted.
“How many players from United’s team would get into City’s? One – David de Gea.
“In fact, he’s the only one that would make it into a Premier League XI.
“That’s simply not good enough.
“We shouldn’t be saying at this stage of the season that they’re out of the title race, but they are.”
– Ince on current United unrest[/perfectpullquote]
Four years to the day since #DaveSaves™️ took it up to level 💯 v Everton. 👐 pic.twitter.com/DaizLeQMl7
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 5, 2018
Ince alongside a few other fans believe that ‘The Special One’ has lost the dressing room and that the players are not performing well to see him get sacked. With Paul Pogba taking most of the criticism from pundits for below par performances from the team but it comes down to the players as well who lack the desire to win games.
Strong stuff! Former Man Utd man Paul Ince reckons some of the players are trying to get Jose Mourinho sacked… 👀#MUFC #UCL pic.twitter.com/rpBjwZgWHO
— GOAL (@goal) October 4, 2018
He has also scrutinized a few players in particular that are not quite up to the mark yet. Sanchez being the highest paid player in the league hasn’t hit the standards he was expected to. The man seems to be a shadow of what he was at Arsenal – “A player you woudn’t wanna come up against”. A feud with the manager has seen Paul Pogba under performing on certain occasions. Lukaku has been poor in front of goal, missing some good chances to score.
"He's chopping, he's changing, he's no idea what his best team is."
Paul Scholes says players like Rashford, Martial & Sánchez are suffering because José Mourinho still hasn't created stability at #MUFC 👇 pic.twitter.com/lKwHLR0AyX
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) October 5, 2018
Paul Ince while talking to Paddy Power News said,
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“Why would the supporters want to cheer the Man United side they’re seeing at the moment? The Alexis Sanchez situation, for example. He was a world class player at Arsenal. Now, it’s hard to believe he’s even the same person,”
“If I’m Ed Woodward, paying Sanchez the top cash, I’d be asking why he hasn’t even been making the team in certain games. If I’m splashing that kind of money, I want to see what I’m getting for it.”
“If the argument is that he has a bad attitude, then why does Mourinho still insist on playing Paul Pogba? There’s no one in the team has had such an openly negative attitude toward the club, yet he plays every game.
“This is Man United we’re talking about. Players must do better. Romelu Lukaku has been atrocious, against Valencia he was terrible to watch. His scoring record is phenomenal, and he’s evidently talented, but he must contribute more.”
– Paul Ince[/perfectpullquote]
Mourinho has quite often criticized the board for not getting transfers done specifically in the defense. However i believe this is debatable since the duo of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones were consistent in keeping clean sheets last season. Antonio Valencia’s time seems to be up as he isn’t the beast anymore at the age of 33 as he used to be. A true leader and a good crosser of the ball he does not have anything to offer now.
The left side of defence on the other hand has looked promising under Luke Shaw, our best player so far this season.
🔴 Paul Scholes said Jose Mourinho was "embarrassing" Man Utd – here's how the Portuguese reacted pic.twitter.com/4e6A4vde5x
— GOAL (@goal) October 3, 2018
Rumours of Zinedine Zidane taking over have gathered momentum but a change of manager might see them being at the same place in a year or two. Zidane had an elite squad and the world’s best player to win him the Champions League and also the team performance in the league can simply not be ignored finishing 17 points below leaders Barcelona in third place.
"We expect a difficult match [against Newcastle]," says the boss. "They are a team that is always very organised and their manager is always very well organised on his analysis of his opponents." #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 5, 2018
I think that Mourinho has very little time left on his hands and the next two or three games will decide his future at the club. United face Newcastle, Chelsea in league fixtures and then Juventus in the Champions League. How many points will they pick from the next three? Let us know in the comments below.
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