Why Jose Mourinho’s juggernaut is beginning to hit full pace at Manchester United

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Jose Mourinho, ‘The Special one’, has a knack for building title-winning teams. Juggernauts, I’ll call them. He has done so at every major club he has managed. Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea (again). He is faced with his toughest task yet at Manchester United and skeptics and critics, alike, are waiting on the sidelines to mock him if he fails. The problem for them is United aren’t far from another ‘Jose Juggernaut’.

From the rear, which Mourinho usually builds his teams, United possess immense talent in David De Gea, Eric Bailly, Antonio Valencia. Though the club’s defending has been lax this season, there does seem to be a marked improvement since the New Year. In 2017, United have played 19 games, conceding 11 and scoring 35. That’s a goal difference of plus 24. In comparison, the last 19 games of 2016 reads; goals against 16, goals for 32. United have improved defensively while increasing their attacking output (they need more goals, though!).

United’s defensive personnel have improved on an individual basis. Marcos Rojo has been rejuvenated at centre back, Bailly is a synonym for rock, and Phil Jones has had a good run of games this season, when injury-free. Chris Smalling appears to be the only centre back to have regressed. At full-back, only Valencia seems to have the full trust of the manager. None of Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind and Timothy Fosu-Mensah have nailed down a starting spot this season.

This shows how impressive United’s defensive statistics are. With an inconsistent back four, they’ve held their fort in defence rather impressively. Mourinho appears to know who he wants and who he doesn’t and arriving at a consistent back four over pre-season would be a priority and this should scare the rest of the league.

‘Unbalanced’, an ’89 million mess’, ‘slow’ and ‘unproductive’ – United’s midfield has been called many things this season. These, though, grossly exaggerate the case. Paul Pogba has been unfairly scapegoated for United’s incessant draws this season. Admittedly, the Frenchman’s big game influence, finishing and defensive nous need to improve, but his achievements belie his relative youth. At 24, he’s achieved more than most elite midfielders, past and present, achieved at his age. Midfielders, unlike attackers, rarely peak young as they learn with experience. Pogba is such.

Ander Herrera, the Frenchman’s midfield partner, is United’s Arturo Vidal and, dare I say it, N’Golo Kante. Per Squawka he has made 67 interceptions, 51 tackles, 29 chances, 1418 completed passes, with 88% accuracy at an average pass length of 17 meters, in 1819 minutes of Premier League football. One word: imperious! Herrera’s performances have improved as Mourinho’s trust in him has grown. United have been fortunate with the lack of injuries to their midfielders this season, and need reinforcements as they are bereft of quality replacements. Fellaini and Carrick are uninspiring and tiring respectively. Mourinho, though, has a good base to build on in Pogba and Herrera.

Just like last season, United have struggled in attack. More goals and a better style of play have come under Mourinho, but poor finishing has been their undoing. In the Europa league and Premier league, United have created 469 chances, scoring a mere 60 goals. Just 12.7% of their chances have been converted. That’s poor, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s efforts won’t suffice if a title challenge is to be made.

Attack is perhaps United’s worst area owing to inconsistency. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney, Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have scored a meagre 41 goals in all competitions. United need players who can share the goal-scoring burden and cannot be reliant on Zlatan for long. All Mourinho’s teams had players who could change a game on its head and, sans Zlatan, United don’t at the moment.

However Jose, just like Alex Ferguson, knows how to get the best out of his players and Martial, Rashford, Mkhitaryan et al. are no pushovers. They possess world-class talent and, under the right environment, will rip defences apart. The Portuguese head coach usually wins league titles in his second season at a club, this should be no different. The Red Devils have all the pieces needed to put the puzzle together. Quality players, a winning mentality, cash to splash and a genius coach. It would be folly to be shocked if United win the league next season. In fact, the surprise would be if they don’t. The rest of the league better take note, Jose’s Juggernaut is coming through.

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