Jose Mourinho Continues To Show Why He Is Still A Top Manager

Jose Mourinho Continues To Show Why He Is Still A Top Manager

United this season have played good games but have gone to being uncertain, tentative and prone to costly defensive lapses and they have suffered from slow starts to virtually every game. The massive injury list effecting the squad was a huge matter for discussion in the buildup to the game as many pundits and fans thought Arsenal had a good chance of rolling Manchester United over. The distinct lack of goals from throughout the team has been a big surprise and worry for Jose Mourinho. On the plus side they have delivered some rousing second half come-back performances like when United came back when Sanchez headed home the winner to rescue the Red-Devils and lead them to a 3-2 win over Newcastle in injury time.

United will be looking for more of the same against lowly Fuham who look slightly better under Ranieri and if you analyse what bookmakers think of the game you can see from the comeon voucher code that if ever there was good value available on both teams this would be the match particularly with Fulham available at 7-1 with Royal Panda.

If it was not for Anthony Martial’s continuing scintillating form with 7 goals in his last 8 Premier League games this season and he will be hoping to add to that total, United would be even worse off than than the -1 goal difference they still have – a concept which is very hard to comprehend for a team with so many goals in its DNA but such has been this season for JM.


United pulled off the 2-2 tie with Arsenal on Wednesday night and the game could have gone either way with both teams attacking with intent and as the Guardian reported United manager Jose Mourinho says he is “happy with the soul, the commitment and the bravery” of his team but laments their failure to win. “We made two big mistakes for their goals”. And while praising his players’ attitude, he takes the opportunity to hint they still don’t have the quality he needs. “It’s a positive sign [that they fought hard] but there are things I cannot get from them and I cannot say much more than this.” Pressed, he says: “Everybody gives everything and that is for sure. And that is a positive. I cannot tell you much more.” 

Looking at it though Romelu Lukaku has been battling form and fitness while always showing willing, Marcus Rashford continues to score enough top goals to show he is the real deal as his talent clearly shows he has. There may be some similarity to Raheem Sterling’s development however and Marcus Rashford’s as it may well take time for United’s man to be more clinical in front of goal and improve his overall end product delivering goals and assists a plenty and being a real handful for any defence.

Rashford can follow Sterling’s lead and take his game to the next level and use his explosive pace the way Sterling now is. Jesse Lingard has had a slow start to the season after the World Cup but his fine tying goal which locked the teams at 2-2 vs on Wednesday showed he is coming back into good touch. 

As we know Rashford gets lots of chances in the first XI under Jose Mourinho but needs to now repay his manager more consistently.

Juan Mata scored a stunner the other week in Juventus and still looks a class act but the huge miss and frustration for Man United has to be the form of massive January 2018 signing Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez.

Sanchez has been such a massive disappointment at Old Trafford as you can see that the player himself is genuinely beating himself over his poor form which is not helping plus a current hamstring strain is only hindering his hopes of coming back in to the United first XI when all the other players are head of him.

With Nemanaja Matic holding in midfield it was good to see Ander Herrera giving another top performance in the team and it was he who set up Jesse Lingard with the equaliser in the minute after Rojo’s upsetting OG. 

United to a man played well the other night with the defence of Damian, Dialot, Rojo, Smalling  and Eric Bailly all totally committed. While United looked like a serious, dominant opponent for periods and then they suddenly make simple defensive errors which are costing goals with the errors even slipping down and effecting David De Gea but there is no definitely not a doubt at Carrington that the team are still totally playing for the manager and the fans are completely 100% behind him.

Say what you want, but for Mourinho to produce that performance and result vs Unai Emery’s High Flying Arsenal team was remarkable with players who were not fully fit and showed what a tactician he is.

It has to be said Arsenal, Emery, Auba, Laca, Mkhi and the boys would have been fancying getting some kind of a result at Old Trafford based on their own form and United’s injury form.

Everything last night pointed to a possible Arsenal win over Jose Mourinho’s injury ridden United side especially with them coming off Aubameyang’ double leading the Gunners to the 4-2 win in the North London Derby last weekend but United were tenacious and resilient an we can only hope for more of the same against Fulham.  United need to take maximum points from the so-called winnable games over the season.