da dobrowin： Jose Mourinho is actually quite a good manager again, apparently. Although his Manchester United side are lingering outside the top four like bouncer around a dodgy night club, their remarkable unbeaten run of late has drawn plaudits across the footballing world. This immensely expensive, vastly gifted group of players are now performing somewhere near their potential in the Premier League and they now look like a force to be reckoned with. This is after a period where they looked like a group of misfits, as if Mourinho had sapped their talent away in some sort of Space-Jam-inspired witchcraft.
da dobrowin： [ffc_insert title=”Cantona: The Iconic and the Ironic” name=”Golden Goal” image_ link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/manchester-united/golden-goal-king-eric-and-a-story-of-delicious-irony” link_text=”The King’s greatest moment” ]
He hadn’t. It took some time for the players to gel, that was all. Well, not quite, Mourinho also took several months to figure out how to balance the team. The answers were staring him right in the face, but the ever-stubborn Portuguese coach was unable to find a way to make it work. Now, though, the old Mourinho has returned. The self-assured winner whose teams become a force of sporting nature with a couple of wins on the bounce. Manchester United have more than a couple of wins under their club-sponsored belts, they are becoming a juggernaut and that juggernaut is bundling its way towards the top four with the sort of momentum that looks irrepressible.
Currently only two points behind Arsenal and five behind second-placed Liverpool, Manchester United have returned to the title race. They are the sharply-dressed underdogs, somehow, but they are now back in the right room to put pressure on the other clubs. The fact that such a run of form has not even seen them break into the top four is a reflection of just how poor they were earlier in the season, but the way it has been turned around is testament to Mourinho’s ability. After his disaster at Chelsea and poor start at Old Trafford, a lot of people wondered if he had lost his magic touch (including me); he has quashed those doubters emphatically.
[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]
Manchester United are on a six game winning streak in the league. Paul Pogba is playing like a superstar, Juan Mata is continuing to pop up at crucial times, Wayne Rooney is reinvigorated, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is performing at the level so many expected and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is being Zlatan Ibrahimovic. A star-studded attacking line-up is playing as a unit and it has been a joy to watch. Pair that with the textbook Mourinho defensive solidity, the industry of Ander Herrera and calm, tempo-controlling of Michael Carrick and you have quite a team on your hands.
Spending money does not make a team – as United proved at the start of this season – you need a manager capable of motivating and balancing those players, however well paid they are. Yes, success is expected after such outlays, and yes, this season will probably end as a bit of a disappointment now, but Mourinho has flipped the situation into his favour once again. There are few managers in the recent history of this lovable sport who are as good as riding a wave of winning momentum as Jose Mourinho.
The title is probably just out of reach for Mourinho’s men, not because of the point differential but mainly because of the number of teams that stand in their way. That said, however, a Manchester United with momentum must be feared. A Jose Mourinho team with momentum must be feared. That’s a deadly combination.
[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]