MANCHESTER UNITED MUST SEIZE MASSIVE UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THIS SEASON

        
     What changed in Jose Mourinho to spark such drastic, positive, change in strategy? Was it fear, was it coercion or was the reason for Jose Mourinho’s recent change simply because the manager has been backed into by the Manchester Board and Manchester United fans combined creating a situation where Jose Mourinho has no choice but to dance to the beat of the drum.

       Up until middle to late October 2018, Jose Mourinho appeared to be an untamed Manager with total authority to run the Manchester United any way he wanted with the total backing of the Manchester United board of directors. As witnessed by any Manchester United observer, the Portuguese manager's complete decision to substitutes Manchester United's usual attacking flair for a rather stagnant, defensive strategy did not pan out quite as well as the required Portuguese manager had hope.

      With Manchester United operating with a defensive strategy, Manchester United frequently found themselves constantly swamped in an attacking frenzy which the club found almost impossible to control or almost impossible to respond to. Naturally, questions surfaced as to why exactly such a high caliber team such as Manchester United, a club known to be one of the best in the world at successfully operating with attacking football, suddenly made a U-Turn to favor a more intense defensive approach to their football.

       A lot of suggestions, such as Manchester United having an unstable midfield and the possibility of Jose Mourinho being drunk with the power and the trust that comes with having to run such a massive club, were given as reasons that would explain the lack of success produced by a manager known to own one the best track records as a manager. Turns out the answer to explain Manchester United's recent, positive, turn around the team performance, prior to last weekends defeat in the Manchester Derby, was both suggestions.

      Last season the talk on the lips of most people who track Manchester United's development was that Manchester United's midfield was not producing enough quality or enough class expected to be seen from the midfield of any team aspiring to be crowned champions with most of the blame for Manchester United failure to succeed unfairly falling on the shoulders of one particular French midfielder Paul Pogba.

 Now with the addition of creative midfielders such as Fred and Andreas Perera added to Manchester United's esteemed midfield roaster, will Jose Mourinho be able to continue hiding Manchester United's weak backline behind such an array of attacking midfield talent  forced to sit back and defend deep on Manchester United's own half limiting Manchester United's attacking creativity ?

       Jose Mourinho himself all but completely admitted that he is well aware of the teams quality on the attack leading to Jose Mourinho sequential confession of deploying a deep, defensive, strategy because of Manchester United’s lack of trust on the team’s defenders. Jose Mourinho himself almost adamantly admitted in a recent interview during the month of October that the reason for the clubs lack of attacking threat seemed to be unending last season was as a result of Manchester United constantly remaining in a defensive state as a way of protecting the team's fragile defense. 

     As disappointing as the idea of absolute defense appeared to be for Manchester United supporters to witness last week, Jose Mourinho headed to the Etihad Stadium and just simply sat back and defended for a vast majority of the recent Manchester Derby match which completely eradicated Manchester United's chances of victory on the night.

         Let’s think about what happened these past few weeks against Juventus as an example. During the first leg of this seasons UEFA Champions League group stage match held on Old Trafford, Juventus took hold of the game and subjected a mediocre Manchester United side to a subsequent defeat by a goal to nothing, which truth be told, should have been more because Juventus was simply fantastic at Old Trafford. The second leg arrives and you will think that after the humbling first leg defeat Jose Mourinho will allow his Manchester United troops to come out in the start of the second leg attacking Juventus but instead Manchester United starts off the match in a possessive, defensive, hold the ball on our own half mentality even when Juventus was operating in an incredibly uncomfortable high press strategy. Operating from a defensive manner even when the opposing team is attacking at a minute level seems to be the first option Jose Mourinho will continue to turn to from the start of most games and this defensive strategy might be one strategy Manchester United supporters might have to get used to witnessing from Manchester United in the future.

 

     Having the entire Manchester United team operate in a defensive manner might support the theory that has been directed at Old Trafford within the past two seasons at least: the theory that paints Manchester United as a team in desperate need of a rock solid, dependable, back line.

     The aforementioned dependable defense currently missing in the Manchester United team has persistently been the catalyst which forces Jose Mourinho to result to making the entire Manchester United team operate in a defensive state for prolonged periods in a match as a way of hiding Manchester United's defensive vulnerability.

      If that is the case, then what happens to Manchester United during this weekends match against Crystal Palace? a team that can be dangerous against opponents who are willing to sit back and absorbs pressure. Let’s not forget that Manchester United will soon be due to face Arsenal, another difficult team that loves to relentlessly attack teams that sit back and defend until  Arsenal`s opponent concedes defeat? Should Manchester United's best cause of action, not just for this Sunday but for the future matches as well, be to attack and defend at the same time throughout 90 minutes in future games. 

     Surely,  Manchester United must be advised to integrate strong defense in future strategy, as a strong defense has proven to play a vital part for most teams whom have recently succeeded in being crowned champions. However, Manchester United must remember that increased defensive level without increased level in attack is hardly a recipe for success.

      In other for Manchester United to succeed in coming out with a victory not just against Crystal Palace this Sunday but also against a very inform Arsenal team whom is simply on top of their game at  the moment and scheduled to face Manchester United at the start of December, Jose Mourinho has to rally up his men to come out onto the pitch and actually attack the opponents.

       Manchester United's December schedule appears to be one packed with winnable games guaranteed to see the Red Devils make their way the Premier League ladder. Also, after the impressive the impressive victory over Juventus last week, Manchester United should have no problems gaining a victory over Swedish side Young Boys in next weeks Champions League match, right?

     Manchester United's upcoming schedule, from this coming Sunday up until the end of December, provides  Manchester United with a massive opportunity to place themselves in a position that will enable the Red Devils to make a strong push for the second spot in the Premier League table. The fast-approaching December schedule for Manchester United might ultimately play a massive factor at the end of the season with Manchester United prepared to take on teams such as Southampton, Fulham, Cardiff, and Huddersfield. Matches Manchester United should categorize as Must Wins by the end of December 2018.

      Manchester United might be a long way away from being at the position which matches the clubs standard, nonetheless, Jose Mourinho comments during the pre-match press conference prior to this past Wednesday's Champions League match against Juventus, might serve as a source of encouragement for Manchester United fans as to how the season can unfold for Manchester United:
 

         “Does not matter what the result of the Champion League match against Juventus or what happens against Man City. There is still a long way to go until the end of the season and we have to fight till the end.“

                                                                                                  (Jose Mourinho paraphrased)