Opinion: Jose Mourinho needs to go but so does Ed Woodward

Following a disastrous week for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United, which has seen them knocked out of the League Cup and their Premier League hopes seemingly over before we are into October, it is clear that changes are needed at Old Trafford.

Attention has inevitably been on the manager and rightly so. The team has endured a terrible start to the season and ultimately the buck should stop with the boss.

The curse of Mourinho's third season has struck again.

It hasn't been all bad - there have been some successes. Three trophies in his first season in charge (if you include the Community Shield), and a second place finish and FA Cup runners up spot, would be more than acceptable for most clubs.

But Manchester United aren't most clubs, and when your biggest rivals are hoovering up trophies and playing incredible football, the scrutiny will inevitably come.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that Manchester United are getting increasingly worse - not better. Results are poor and the style of football has rightly come under fire.

They have lost their fear factor and their identity. Players are out of form and seemingly on the brink of mutiny. It will cost United a fortune but with Zinedine Zidane waiting in the wings, it is surely time for Mourinho to go.

But so should the man who will be pulling the trigger. It is clear that United's problems run far deeper than Mourinho and Paul Pogba. Ed Woodward is the man that really needs to fall on his sword.

It wasn't just Ferguson that left in 2013 - his great ally and Chief Executive David Gill, chose the same moment to follow him out the door. This resulted in a promotion for Woodward which gave him responsibility for the overall running of the club.

In many respects he has been a great success - United's commercial revenue has continued to grow impressively under his watch, but the football side has suffered.

Woodward let down David Moyes hugely in his first transfer window in charge. Moyes wanted Cesc Fabregas and Woodward wouldn't pay the asking price. He left him with Marouane Fellaini instead.

His appointment of Louis Van Gaal was impulsive after a reasonably impressive Dutch performance at the World Cup and his choice of Mourinho seemed like one last desperate throw of the dice.

If only Woodward could have channelled his commercial brilliance to the football side things could have been very different. Contrast their approach with the measured strategy on show at Manchester City, where every player signed is considered meticulously by Pep Guardiola and the powers that be.

The difference between the two clubs was never more evident than in the pursuit of Alexis Sanchez who, it was widely thought, was heading to the blue half of Manchester when his Arsenal contract expired in the summer of 2018.

Rather than focus on what they were trying to achieve, United got involved and broke the bank to sign a player who they could have signed on a free transfer six months later.

They didn't sign him to improve their team - they signed him to flex their muscles and to stop Manchester City from getting him. City walked away from the deal and waited for Riyad Mahrez, who is enjoying an excellent start to his career at the club.

It's not hard to see which team got the better deal. United need a root and branch review. Pogba should be allowed to leave and Mourinho should be shown the door.

But for United to get back on top, it's vital that Woodward follows them on the way out.