“I’ve had a season ticket for 40 years and I’ve never seen it this bad,” one man explained at half-time as Manchester United struggled to make any kind of impression on a solid Southampton back line in January. Midway through the second half he said his farewells and headed to the exit, a full 20 minutes before Charlie Austin’s inevitable winner for the visitors. This was Louis van Gaal’s United in microcosm form.
Jose Mourinho’s United promises to be a very different animal. After a summer’s worth of statement signings there can be little doubt that the Red Devils mean business again. Over the past few years visiting clubs have arrived at Old Trafford full of belief rather than the fear with which they greeted Sir Alex Ferguson’s United teams, but the Portuguese has overseen a revolution which suggests they are about to become a machine again.
It is not just that the United board have addressed the four key areas that Mourinho raised as needing improvement. They have filled the gaps with a mix of big names, big personalities, big talents and big figures.
Paul Pogba’s arrival from Juventus for an initial £89.5m was the biggest headline-grabber, bringing one of the world’s best midfielders back to the Theatre of Dreams at a time when he looks ready to take his game on to a new level. With his huge stride, big heart and ever-increasing physique the Frenchman has the ability to dominate midfield.
In Zlatan Ibrahimovic, United have a player who has made winning look easy over the last 13 seasons. In that time he has won the league title 12 times, covering four championships and six clubs. Wherever he has gone his immense presence, irrepressible belief and willingness to try everything – anything! – has caught the imagination of supporters. There is nobody in the game today with his character, and it is second nature for him to pull out game-changing moments such as the one which won the Community Shield against Leicester in his United debut.
Such players, of course, reflect the traits of their new manager too. Last season United had a boss who was busy talking about processes, philosophies and the the dangers presented by the likes of Bournemouth, Midtjylland and Shrewsbury, but this time around there will be no acceptance of anything but the best.
Mourinho will push them until the last minute, he will demand they give their all and follow his orders to the last. There will be no sitting passively in the dugout, he will be up on his toes doing his part to see United over the line in every moment of every game. Just as his substitution of Juan Mata in the 93rd minute of the Community Shield underlined his reluctance to leave anything to chance, Mourinho will do whatever it takes to help see his side fulfil their potential.
Even in the signings of Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan there is evidence of Mourinho forming a machine out of Van Gaal’s previously soft-centred squad. Mkhitaryan will give United a more direct threat from the attacking midfield line with his desire to run beyond defences, and he won’t shirk responsibility off the ball either.
Bailly, meanwhile, has the power, poise and personality that has been missing from the defence since Nemanja Vidic’s decline began. Raw he may well be, but with a frame as huge as his potential much of his make-up seems ready-made for the Premier League.
While Mourinho’s style has obvious divergences from Ferguson’s, this United promises to look far more like a Sir Alex side than they have over the last few years. There will be no more boredom, no more mass exoduses long before the final whistle, no more talking-up of opponents to mask United’s own failings.
Most importantly, there will be no more talk of “progress” at each league place gained and League Cup round negotiated. Mourinho simply wants Manchester United to win, and the squad he has helped to assemble looks more ready for the challenge than at any time since 2013.
The dull, lifeless, ponderous football of Van Gaal is a thing of the past. United now have power, pace, personality and a thirst for Premier League titles. And with Mourinho, Pogba, Ibrahimovic et al, they have the men to deliver in every department.
>
.....
- Goal