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Having had his fair share of success over the span of his career in some of the biggest European clubs in Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho has acquired a reputation for himself only few others in the world of football can compare themselves to. For a manager of such stature, it was only fitting for a club as big as Manchester United to sign him, still trying to find the right man to continue the legacy of the club in the post-Ferguson era.
However, into his third season as Manchester United manager, Mourinho has not been able to create the juggernaut of a team that was expected, especially after witnessing how he managed to create some of the most successful teams in the past in similar time frames.
Here are some significant differences from the situation at Manchester United compared to his previous clubs.
#4 Centre back pairing
From Walter Samuel to Sergio Ramos to John Terry, Jose Mourinho has always had some of the best centre backs in the world to work with, and has arguably made them seem a lot better under his management. However, he has not managed to get the same kind of response from the current crop of centre backs at the club. The absence of a reliable and commanding leader at the heart of the defence is a situation Mourinho is not really used to.
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While Chris Smalling is definitely the most experienced centre back currently at the club, he does not seem to be the commander Mourinho would have hoped to have in his defence. It is no surprise why the 55 year old was desperate for a big money signing in the summer transfer window to fill in that role in his team. He also went on to admit that the club will have a difficult season ahead after the transfer window closed without the major signings.
The partnership of Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelöf has been his go-to centre back pairing this season, and while it seems to be the most stable pair under him at the club so far, it is still way short of the levels maintained by the players in his previous clubs.
#3 Ball player
This is arguably the biggest crisis Mourinho has had to face so far. Having always favoured a playmaker with an exceptional passing range in his midfield duo, or sometimes trio, it is no surprise why Esteban Cambiasso, Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas were the ones responsible for maintaining the rhythm of the teams during his times in Italy, Spain and England.
However, Paul Pogba has struggled to fulfill this role at Manchester United for most of his stay at the club. The Frenchman has a more direct and incisive style of play, preferring to take the ball forward himself rather than keep the team ticking with his ball distribution.
The £89.3 million midfielder's 63.74 passes per match in the 2017-18 league season is well short of the 80.68 passes per match Fabregas made in Chelsea's title winning 2014-15 season. Pogba's numbers in chances created, crosses, through balls and accurate long balls are also vastly inferior to those of the Spaniard.
For a manager that has always depended on a world-class ball distributor at the heart of his midfield to keep the team together, Pogba's unique set of characteristics have forced the manager to try different styles and formations to get the best out of him. However, there has been little success on that front so far.
#2 World class attacker
It is well-known that Jose Mourinho is not a big fan of academy products, and always prefers experienced stars to lead the attack. In Wesley Sneijder, Cristiano Ronaldo and Eden Hazard, the Portuguese had some excellent attacking players around whom he built his teams in such a way that it complemented these players. However, he has not managed to find that player so far in his stint at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho would have expected winter transfer signing Alexis Sanchez to be that man for him at Manchester United, but for some reason the Chilean has not managed to fulfill expectations. With Anthony Martial not showing the consistency Mourinho asks for, and Lingard and Rashford not having the courage and maturity he demands, it is clear that the manager has struggled to find players to build his team around.
#1 The formation and starting line-up
A characteristic feature of Jose Mourinho teams is a settled line-up, which practically remains unchanged throughout his stay in a club. The Portuguese even termed many of his players as "untouchables", as they were the first names on his team sheet. Some even blamed this habit of his for the poor form his teams generally showed in the latter seasons. However, with the various issues Mourinho has in his team, he has not been able to settle on to a stable line-up at the club.
His favoured 4-2-3-1 formation caused a lot of defensive issues last season due to Pogba's forward forays, and attempts of playing him in the number 10 role also didn't work out. This has forced him to adopt a 4-3-3 system for most games, and at times even a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2.
With the Old Trafford faithful witnessing different starting line-ups almost every other week, it is obvious Mourinho is still slightly uncomfortable with the squad at his disposal. The lack of untouchables in this Manchester United squad is a telltale sign that things haven't gone according to his plans so far.
