4 ways Manchester United can save their season without any more signings

Jose Mourinho's red army were going to face a lot of problems in this campaign and after just four games into the new season its been quite clear to the fans and the board alike. With two big losses out of four thus far and many reported player-manager and board-manager clashes already, it is highly unlikely that the United board would hand Mourinho a war chest the next January or the next summer. This would also be the case if Mourinho is replaced during the course of this season.

So we look into the ways in which they could salvage or even bring some gold into the trophy cabinet without spending more in the transfer market.

#1 The French Revolution

United are a team with a rich history with world class players showcasing their talent in the Theater Of Dreams but they have often been criticized for their inability to hold on to some big names in the past. There has already been news of some players turning down a move to Man United in the past few transfer windows. This can only be solved by keeping their big names in the club. Coutinho would have never moved to Barcelona if it wasn't for the star-studded Barca squad. Money was not the issue there. It's the player wanting to leave to join a bigger club with higher ambitions and to play with some of Football's greatest.

Paul Pogba is the only player in Manchester United history to score in a World Cup final. If Man United don't learn from their mistakes and keep players like Pogba unhappy in the squad, it could affect the morale of the whole club. The same is the scenario with Anthony Martial. He may not have played the World Cup but he was one the club's high profile signing back when LVG signed him from Monaco. He is a fan-favourite and it would be disappointing to see him leave without unlocking his full potential.

#2 The Center Back Solution

With Luke Shaw finally firing on all cylinders, Antonio Valencia fit again and further options like Diogo Dalot and Darmian, the full-backs have done their part for United thus far. So now would be a great time to get a good, stable and lasting centre-back partnership to be the backbone of that back four.

With all the options that Mourinho has at the moment the partnership of Bailly and Lindelof looks to be the more promising one. They may not have the best record at Man Utd when they started together but if they could find the right rhythm they could be the solution to United's defensive problems. Mourinho should be patient with both of them giving them more time on the field and on a week-to-week basis. Vidic and Ferdinand didn't happen in a day so it would be ideal for United to stick with Bailly-Lindelof at the back for the foreseeable future.

#3 Tweaking the formation

The main issue that Man United now faces is a lack of shape to the team when they go out on the pitch. The right flank is left empty at most of the time leaving a huge gap in the attack. Players like Lingard and Mata tends to move more central leaving a whole portion of the field vulnerable.

Mourinho is a manager who would like a 4-3-3 holding midfield formation. So his ideal midfield would be Pogba and Fred with Matic holding down the fort. Sanchez has occupied the left wing with Lukaku up front. So players like Rashford and Martial should play at the right wing rather than Mata and Lingard simply because of their pace and the width they could bring to United's game.

A rather unusual choice to change their formation is to try the 4-4-2. During the first four games we saw teams like Watford and Arsenal using the 4-4-2 formation with Watford using a classical wide 4-4-2 while at Arsenal we saw something which was more central like a 4-2-2-2. But in any case United could try changing to that with Pogba and Matic(or Fred) at central midfield, Rashford and Martial at the wings and Sanchez and Lukaku staying up front.

#4 Style of Play

It could be quite odd for a Mourinho team but with the players that he currently has, United's answer to their defensive problems could be in their attack. Attacking football is something that the Man United faithful have been dreaming for quite some time now and with all these defensive issues it may be the right move. Mourinho can't "park the bus" or take the sting out of the game with the current United defence. So sending more bodies forward and choking the opposition defence could be the way to bring success back to Old Trafford and could even help the team and the manager gain some public and media image.