Jose Mourinho’s time at Manchester United has been very mixed. Loved by many and loathed by equally as many. However, here are seven reasons why the Red Devils should stick by the Portuguese man.
Success
The former Chelsea man has brought success to Manchester United. In his first season he picked up both the League Cup and the Europa League. Although some people do not class these as stellar trophies they are still major achievements for a club who have picked up one F.A Cup since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
He is a Winner
It is well known how much Jose Mourinho has won over his managerial career. He has won a trophy everywhere he has been and has league titles coming out of his ears. His work ethic is to win and there is no substitute for that. He might well tell the press differently when he loses but he wants to win everything and every game.
His tactics are often deemed anti-football, and they truly are sometimes, but his approach to games is evidently necessary in his mind to secure victories. Should he manage to strike a balance between playing attacking football and being defensive on the pitch he’s sure to become popular amongst football purists.
The Backing of the Fans
There are many fans of Manchester United that want Jose Mourinho out of Old Trafford but they are a minority. He has the backing from most of the crowd who constantly sing his name home and away. They do understand there are frustrations at Manchester United and are not blindly following the club towards an iceberg, they appreciate when they have a world class manager and can see the club are not in dire straits yet.
Respect
He commands and demands respect; as seen in the tirade after the Tottenham game. Mourinho expects people to show appreciation for what he has done. However, players respect him as well because why else would players like Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Henrikh Mkhitaryan join when the club were not even in the Champions League? He might have his differences with certain players but they ultimately respect him.
Perpetual Growth
Manchester United are making progress. It is tough to see that at the moment due to their recent results, but they are. Mourinho improved on his 6th place finish to 2nd last season, as stated they have won double the amount of trophies since the departure of Sir Alex and they have lost just four home games under his leadership. Mourinho can take them places but the players have to improve and take the game to the opposition in tough situations themselves.
Mastermind
There is no doubting his ability to defuse a situation. Manchester United lost 3-0 at home to Tottenham and Spurs were lauded. Instead of all the attention being on his sides poor second half performance they were talking about his press conference and the focus was taken off the players. What happened? They went on to win their next three games whereas Spurs lost their next three. Mourinho had won the media battle.
Who else?
At this moment in time who else could walk into Manchester United at this moment in time and improve the side? Arguably Zinedine Zidane could but would he want to do that? I am not too sure. Mourinho is a world class manager and as a manager he likes to rely on a strong defence, which some argue is not “the United way”. However, if you look at Ferguson’s title winning sides they all had a sensational back line. Mourinho needs the solid defence so his attackers can prosper.
