"The hallmark of champions" is a phrase commentators and pundits throw every now and again during the course of a season. Terms like grit, desire, will to win, win ugly, never give up, finding a way, etc., will often be used in context to the phrase "the hallmark of champions" for the team that eventually wins a major competition.
Leicester City had all of these qualities in abundance last season as they marched to Premier League glory. These terms have often been used to describe Jose Mourinho's teams as well in the past. His teams do not always play swashbuckling football, but will be effective. In his final season at Chelsea, all this deserted him and his team.
He lost his job and then was appointed Manchester United manager ahead of the 2016-'17 season. He persuaded the club to buy big and got all the four primary targets he wanted, including the most expensive player in the history of football. The season started well, which included a few late winners. "The hallmark of champions" term was being used again. But then United started dropping points on a regular basis.
After starting with three wins on the trot, United lost 1-2 to Manchester City, 3-1 to Watford, won 4-1 against Leicester, drew 1-1 with Stoke City, drew 0-0 with Liverpool and lost 4-0 to Chelsea. The last result has sparked many debates. Among those, the most important one is: Does Jose Mourinho know his best XI for Manchester United?
The answer, as of now, is no. Watching games live and re-watching key moments on replay suggest that there is not much cohesion or fluidity in the United starting XI. This is not to do with putting players in positions not suited to them. Mourinho usually fields players in their best-suited roles. Injuries and suspensions can obviously change that a bit.
Selection and positional gaffes
But when a club buys Paul Pogba for a world record fee of £89 million, you have got to build the team to get the best out of him. On paper, selecting Pogba, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini in a midfield three seems fine. But in this combination, Pogba plays as a No. 10 – effectively a playmaker pitched further forward.
In his final two seasons at Juventus, Pogba played in a midfield three, but with more players ahead of him rather than just a centre forward. This allows him freedom to roam in midfield and then join in attack. Now, at United, he is having to constantly take the team forward with only Zlatan Ibrahimovic to use as a target point.
Ibrahimovic is relatively immobile and needs players to feed the ball into him. Players like Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and to a lesser extent Jesse Lingard are more direct and want to receive the ball as well rather than be just providers. Players like Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are more akin to being the link between midfield and attack.
Mourinho has to incorporate some combination of the latter three somehow. They have the vision and passing ability that the first three lack. Herrera is a good passer but he is not a defensive midfielder. Fellaini's best games and seasons have come as a second forward. He cannot play as a defensive midfielder either.
Defensively, Pogba is not the best. Players like Daley Blind and Morgan Schneiderlin are proper defensive midfielders. They will sit tight in front of the back four and allow Pogba to go ahead. Pogba might wear the No. 6 jersey at United, but positionally he is a No. 8. He is an attacking midfielder and he scored eight and assisted 12 goals in Serie A last season.
No more a big-game player
Mourinho used to win all the big matches in the past. He has played three this season and got one point out of a total nine available. His teams did not particularly play enterprising football in the past, but were cohesive. They seemed like they knew what they were doing. This United team does not seem like they know what they are doing.
Mourinho has not started Mata in any of the big matches so far and Mkhitaryan seems to have fallen way down the pecking order. Michael Carrick has been overlooked and Bastian Schweinsteiger has been effectively exiled. Mourinho has a very good squad, but seems reluctant to use it properly.
When a team keeps winning, it is very difficult for a manager to change his lineup. But United have won only once in the last six Premier League matches. And Mourinho seems to be playing a similar team week-in week-out. He clearly wants the team he picks to be his first XI and click into gear. But it clearly isn't working. And it is hurting United.
Learn from Conte
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte suffered a 3-0 loss away to Arsenal a month ago. Since then, he has reverted to a back three and found a way to get the most out of their best player, Eden Hazard. If that meant dropping their best passer Cesc Fabregas, then so be it. Following the Arsenal defeat, Chelsea won their next three matches, scoring nine goals and conceding none.
Manchester United's 0-4 defeat at Chelsea is a similarly chastening result for Mourinho in more ways than one. He went back to the club where he won three Premier League titles. But right from the first minute — 30 seconds actually — United weren't up for it. Defensive errors cost United dearly, but they never looked like getting anything from the game even without the mistakes.
United seemed like a collection of players just fit into the starting XI. There wasn't any cohesion in the team. Once the team is functioning well and each player knows what he and his teammates are supposed to do, there will be cohesion. And with that comes terms like grit, desire, will to win, win ugly, never give up, finding a way, etc., which will be associated with the team.
Mourinho needs to make big calls and get his starting XI sorted. If this means dropping Ibrahimovic and playing Rashford through the centre, then so be it. Conte has already made big calls and found his ideal starting XI. It is time Mourinho does the same.