3 Reasons why Manchester United should fire Jose Mourinho sooner rather than later

Manchester United have struggled in the 2018-2019 campaign due to a shocking magnitude. The team has one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League. Nothing seems to be fully functioning at the club. Losses to minnows Brighton Albion, West Ham and Derby County in the EFL Cup are just examples of dismal performances by the Red Devils.

Old Trafford was once a fortress during the Sir Alex Ferguson era. He instilled a sense of fear factor whenever teams visited. Even the biggest of teams could struggle to get results in United’s territory.

Ever since Ferguson retired, the element of fear factor has left gradually. Nowadays, United are vulnerable wherever they play. Teams such as recently promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace have earned draws at Old Trafford. Derby County, on the other hand, eliminated United in their own backyard.

United manager Jose Mourinho has played a huge role in United’s downfall this season. United may not be a complete squad of world-class players but surely they should be performing better than what we have seen. Ferguson had some average players who could turn in performances week in, week out. The current squad has decent players but Mourinho has failed to inspire them to fight for the true Manchester United pride.

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#3 His monumental ego

Ego has got in Mourinho's way when it comes to selecting players.

Mourinho has one of the biggest egos in world football. Well, it may have worked in his favour in the past in terms of inspiring pride and getting results. However, the modern game is more demanding and his ego has brought disunity to the team.

Very few players in the team are motivated to play under the Portuguese. This season, Mourinho has picked fights with some of the top players in his squad. How will the team function when the few leaders are put on the spot by the manager?

Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia have all fallen into Mourinho’s bad books. These are key players who the manager has criticized or fallen out favor with. Mourinho has only played some of them out of necessity. All in all, he has let his personal disagreement with some of these players come before the team.

#2 Wrong tactics

Matic has been overworked this season.

The United manager has refused to evolve his tactics in line with the current demands of the game. United have been overly dull and unpredictable this season. United play their best football when attacking.

Mourinho has drilled a system of defending, defending and more defending. A vulnerable team like Southampton scored two goals inside 20 minutes because of Mourinho’s tactics.

He played two holding midfielders as centre backs. United should have set up to attack at St. Mary’s Stadium. Martial, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard were all benched. Mourinho’s belief in physical players over technical players has been one of his shortcomings. Manchester City play with only one holding midfielder with attack-minded players around him. We all know where City are placed in the Premier League standings.

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#1 Results

Manchester United has tasted defeat far too many times this season.

Could it be more obvious? Real Madrid sent their manager Julen Lopetegui packing over results. At this stage of the season, David Moyes had better results for United than Mourinho. United’s results in the 2018-2019 campaign have been one of the worst in the last three decades. That alone warrants Mourinho’s sacking at the earliest opportunity. He has been given more than enough chances to turn their fortunes around.

United will likely face a scenario where they will have no option but to fire Mourinho. Only difference is that it may be too late in the season for United to salvage anything. They will still have to pay Mourinho that huge amount that they are hesitant of losing right now. Top clubs know when it is time to pull the plug. Would Mourinho have been on the job if he was at Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester City or Real Madrid? Probably not if the same circumstances applied.