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Crossroads


Manchester United and Mourinho was always supposed to be a dance with the devil, instead it has turned out to be a deal with a crossroads demon, i.e, sacrifice your soul for a few moments of glory.

The two seasons of Mourinho are a vast improvement on the 3 seasons of Moyes and LVG put together, but then it is hardly a credible yardstick. United’s true football heritage is what happened during the days of Sir Alex and Sir Matt – enthralling football, engaging youth and an era laden with trophies.

The idea of Jose Mourinho as a Manchester United manager was simple – get the club back to winning trophies again, everything else was an afterthought. His struggles with talented players who have a soft mentality or his innate ability to stifle first and attack later – were all to be accommodated – as long as success was restored at the Theatre of Dreams. Circa 2016, a struggling club and a struggling manager were to enter into a mutually beneficial alliance – one which was designed to restore each of their dwindling reputations.

Circa 2018, despite a few honours in the first season and a good league position in the second season – both club and manager are a long way off from restoring their reputations. A resilience associated with Manchester United and all Mourinho teams is sadly missing. When a team lacks a football identity, trophies aid its transition, but what happens when season(s) go trophyless?

United may seriously struggle to find another manager as trophy laden as Mourinho. But, that doesn’t mean they bend to his will. He simply hasn’t earned the right to get the freedom of Old Trafford. United must protect their investments and ensure talented young players don’t leave the club. Modern football dynasties are no longer being built solely by managers, they are getting built around clubs who ensure they have a core of world class players and the right men to coach them.

For Jose, the time has come to realize that even the most of loyal of fans are now getting exhausted with his footballing logics. He can no longer complain about a lack of investments - when he goes a whole season without playing the two central defenders he bought – together! He can no longer talk about footballing heritage when he himself is close to finishing a decade without a Champions League Medal. He has to adapt to the needs of fragile but talented young players. A club like Manchester United cannot be in an endless transition and can definitely not continue to go to games with an inferiority complex.



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