Why Man United fans should hold Mourinho responsible?

I have been vocally supportive of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho over the last couple of weeks. Even after lashing out at journalists after his team lost to Tottenham Hotspur at home, I thought that the chap deserved one more go.

Mourinho's antics, however, have gone from bad to worse and his press shenanigans suit no civilized man in the world, least of all the manager of the most successful club in English football.

Tactically, the man has given Manchester United some nightmares and his team selections will make waves like never before. People used to think that Mourinho parades this kind of a circus at press conferences to take the glare off his players and relieve them of pressure but recent results have suggested otherwise.

Tactically, the Jose Mourinho of 2018 is way behind other managers in the Premier League. In United's last league game, a 3-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium, he chose to strengthen his defense with a back five.

Three among them were proper defenders, one a converted winger and the last, Scott McTominay, a young lad of 21, a central midfielder by nature, played at center back. And after all that, United conceded a goal in the fifth minute of the game.

You would think that Mourinho would have learned his lesson from earlier this season, when, against Tottenham, he played Ander Herrera at center back. Then too, United had conceded three goals. But no, Mourinho left Eric Bailly and Phil Jones on the bench and started with a 21-year-old midfielder at center back.

As football writer Liam Canning puts it, "Here's a genius idea: Instead of playing a midfielder in defense, you play Eric Bailly, arguably your best central defender, there. Not rocket science." Why Mourinho chose to go for McTominay over Bailly is something only he can answer.

Manchester United possessed zero defensive discipline against West Ham on Saturday. They were caught on the brink and stood as still as statues while Mark Noble provided Marko Arnautovic with a brilliant through-ball and the latter obliged his captain by duly putting it away for the Hammers' third goal.

Chris Smalling was good in patches, but Luke Shaw and Ashley Young were found wanting many times during the game. If you used to think that Mourinho preached defensive discipline, then you were wrong. Manchester United have no proper defensive system at all and are in a complete shambles. The club is in a mess in its current state of affairs.

Another baffling strategy that one noticed on Saturday was that Mourinho played three holding midfielders- Matic, Fellaini and McTominay, although the latter played at center-back, against a team that was seventeenth before the game. What is Mourinho so afraid of? Most top-flight teams make do with one defensive midfielder (Chelsea- Kante, Man City- Fernandinho, Barcelona- Busquets, Liverpool- Henderson) while Mourinho wants three in his team.

His lack of interest in playing attacking football and trying to score goals is obvious. It might be all too easy to argue that this worked for him before and should work for him now. But the truth is that Mourinho's tactics are not working anymore and his methods fallen off the wagon in 2018.