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On 27th May 2016, when Jose Mourinho signed a three-year contract with Manchester United, words flown around Old Trafford that the Red Devils has finally got hold of their man who can resurrect their broken image since Sir Alex Fergusson retired.
Previously Jose has won everywhere he has managed. His first taste of major success came with Porto with whom he won the Champions League followed by two Premier League winners medal with Chelsea.
After getting sacked by the Blues, Jose won the treble with Inter Milan. He even managed to stamp his authority in Spain thwarting Barcelona and Pep Guardiola's dominance by winning the La Liga with Real Madrid.
Mourinho's second stint with Chelsea was also a success by winning the League third time with them. However, a fallout with medical staff and a run of mediocre games in his third season saw the Portuguese getting sacked and eventually signed by the Red Devils who themselves were struggling to find a top manager at that time.
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With records on his side and a set of expectations from the United faithful, Jose started his first season at United winning the Community Shield, the League Cup and most importantly, the Europa League which helped them secure a UEFA Champions League spot after finishing sixth in the Premier League. Overall it was a good season with the hope that the Premier League is the next title that Jose is eyeing for in his second season.
The second campaign is the Portuguese's favoured one as he usually wins the big ones in that season. But in Manchester, he went trophyless, lost the FA Cup final against Chelsea and finished second in the league behind Manchester City. Most notably, rumours started around Old Trafford that Mourinho might not be the solution to the problems.
The third season began with controversies with reports that Paul Pogba along with few other players are dissatisfied with Mourinho's policies and wants to leave Manchester United. The manager himself moaned about missing out on a defender in the transfer market which he desperately wanted.
United are currently tenth in the league and already out of the League Cup. The recent defeat against Juventus at home in the Champions League has highlighted the bitter truth that the Red Devils are not European Giants anymore.
The team which finished second last time out suddenly turned so miserable in a matter of few months which is down to many crucial factors. Here are the three main reasons why United are performing poorly this season.
#3 Starting games negatively
Jose Mourinho analyzes the opponent's strengths instead of his own and sets up his team to stop the opposition from playing their way and then rely on individual brilliance to win games. Manchester United's foundation is the attack which contradicts Jose Mourinho's philosophy.
The Red Devils have started most of their games on the back foot allowing the opposition to have more of the ball and wait for an opportunity to counter. As a result, they have conceded far too many goals than the manager's liking, and with lack of width in the flanks, it has been difficult to get out most of the times. Against Newcastle, it took Jose Mourinho's side to concede two goals to wake up and then put up a show in the second.
Similarly, against Chelsea and Juventus, they have done the same but both being a top opposition United didn't win any of those games after going behind. This lack of forward movement at the start of the games has drawn immense criticisms from the fans.
#2 Lukaku's lack of form
Any top club in the world needs a quality centre-forward who will bang in goals and win games after games for their club. At the time when Jose was signed, United didn't have that world class striker which the manager took into regard and immediately signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic who turned out to be a success in his very first season in the Premier League.
But a career-threatening injury to Zlatan in the later stages of the season saw the Portuguese buy Romelu Lukaku in the following season. The Belgian International made an immediate impact and performed relatively well in his first season with the Red Devils, and there were expectations that he would repeat the same form this season as well.
But Romelu has looked anything but his shadow so far for United this campaign. He is short on confidence and failing to convert easy chances. Even the physical side of his game is missing this season with people calling for him to be rested for a few games.
However, the lack of options on the bench has prompted Jose to play the Belgian continuously which has further hindered his chances to get back the form he showed last time out. Without a firing centre-forward, it's very likely that a team which is set up to play on the counter would suffer to score.
#1 Defensive mistakes
Probably the most pressing concern around Old Trafford right now is the number of goals the team has conceded in just over two months in the current campaign. Jose Mourinho's teams are built on solid defence, and notably, the manager did instil the same mindset among the players when he signed Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof respectively in two different seasons.
The previous two seasons United has been quite stable at the back. In their last campaign, they were only behind winners Manchester City regarding the goals conceded. But that defence has turned worse in a matter of few months.
The goals against count have already doubled what it was at the same stage previous season. Even the defensive midfielders like Matic is not doing enough to protect the back four, and there are a lot of spaces opening up between the defence and the midfield. Jose himself stated that he doesn't know his best centre-back pairing yet.
Mourinho wanted a central defender this summer, and his request has reportedly been turned down by the board citing the lack of big-name players that Jose was after and the failed transfers from the previous seasons. Against small teams, it's still possible to come back and score after going one or two goals down, but against top sides like Juventus, it's very tough to win after conceding.
