What Does Jose Mourinho Bring To Manchester United?

When Jose Mourinho reappeared through the front door at Chelsea, he  claimed he would have failed if Dominic Solanke, Izzy Brown and Lewis  Baker do not become England players.

The trio played a combined total of 20 minutes for Chelsea while Mourinho was in charge and have watched the likes of Marcus Rashford and Dele Alli develop at a faster rate elsewhere.

Nobody expected Mourinho to fill his title-chasing team with kids, but there was a frustration that he often overlooked  opportunities to blood youth.

Against Walsall in this season’s Capital  One Cup, Mourinho started with Radamel Falcao, John Terry and  Branislav Ivanovic while the likes of Ola Aina and Bertrand Traore  watched from the bench.

Rashford is now Mourinho’s responsibility and his move for Zlatan Ibrahimovic should already sound alarm bells. For all of Louis van Gaal's Old Trafford idiosyncrasies, the promotion of youth — either by design or injury-hit necessity — was certainly not one of his weaknesses.

With a busy summer in the transfer market likely, Mourinho's starting lineups in August will be under immediate scrutiny — if he couldn't find space for Chelsea's trophy-laden youngsters, what hope is there for the United production line?

Start building a dynasty

Mourinho is the master of making an instant impact. His intensity often brings swift results and players are prepared to give him their all in the early days. But history shows that fatigue, both physical and mental, sets in during the third year and individuals gradually begin to switch off.

Mourinho’s track record virtually guarantees trophies, but offers little encouragement that what makes him so successful will not at some point blow up in his face.

The Portuguese shouted ‘Are you trying to kill me’ at his under-performing Chelsea  squad during the final weeks of his second reign and the suspicion remains that some players were trying to do exactly that. It’s all or nothing with Mourinho, as Manchester United’s staff and players will quickly find out.

The 27-year unbroken managerial spells such as that of Sir Alex Ferguson are almost certainly a thing of the past, but various United stakeholders — the players, the fans, the board and not to mention the myriad commercial partners — will want to see signs of stability at Old Trafford.

Early results will be an obvious and welcome boost but Mourinho may finally need to put down some roots for what is his eighth job in 16 years.

Keep things under control

From the first day of the season when he publically rebuked doctor Eva  Carneiro, Mourinho picked fight after fight during his final campaign  at Chelsea and controversy undisputedly overshadowed what he was  trying to achieve on the pitch. Some of his grievances with the  Football Association and authorities were valid, but the way in which  Mourinho went on the attack became repetitive and tiresome for all  involved.

One of Mourinho’s first public appearances as United manager  may well be at a June 6 employment tribunal defending his actions over  Carneiro. The case could well prove to be embarrassing for the  53-year-old and United will hope it proves to be the end of his  controversies, rather than the beginning of a new chapter of  fall-outs.

The Old Trafford hierachy would have been forgiven for any reservations over Mourinho, given the undignified way his second Chelsea spell unravelled. While a fresh start is a priority for both parties, the Portuguese is no longer untouchable - the rest of the Premier League has witnessed his frailties and has located his breaking point.

Attack Attack Attack

The Old Trafford faithful like to chant ‘attack, attack, attack’ at the United players and Mourinho will come under pressure to add style to his substance. But his ‘park the bus’ reputation is not altogether accurate, as Mourinho’s Real Madrid team outscored Barcelona in two of the three seasons he managed in Spain. He also tried to bring a more expansive style of play to Chelsea, highlighted by the signing of Cesc Fabregas whose strengths lie in his distribution of the ball, rather than in his running and tackling.

It should not be forgotten, either,  than it was Mourinho who brought out the brilliant best in Eden Hazard  during Chelsea’s title-winning season. The change came after  Mourinho’s team were well beaten at Tottenham Hotspur and they could  never quite get going again. 

Sideways and backwards, the ponderous football at Old Trafford in recent months proved to be Van Gaal's ultimate undoing. United fans will surely gather together some renewed patience for Mourinho's methods to take hold but, whatever style his football revolution adopts, nothing unifies a club better than winning.

The arrival of Mourinho may have ramifications for some of the United squad. Juan Mata was swiftly cast aside at Stamford Bridge two years ago and would justifiably be concerned about his role now. However, the disappointing, peripheral Memphis Depay — yet to gather any momentum since his £26m signing — could well be Mourinho's next Hazard-style pet project...if he's prepared to track back.

Be more flexible with his tactics

One of the most ignored elements of Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea  was his over-reliance on one formation. He quickly decided that his  squad would be most suited to play in a 4-2-3-1 formation and it  worked brilliantly for him during his first two seasons back.

But when  things started to go wrong, Mourinho largely stuck with the same  set-up in which many of his players were being found out.

All of a  sudden Nemanja Matic did not look capable of protecting his back four,  but still he was sent out to partner Fabregas as the deep-lying  midfielders and Chelsea’s opponents had a field day. It was puzzling  that Mourinho never seriously tried to change to give his defence  better screening or give Diego Costa a proper partner up front when  the striker went through a goalscoring drought.

Likely to be backed with significant transfer funds, Mourinho will have  plenty of options at United, but can he use them all? Van Gaal's tactical tinkering - which included a dalliance with 3-5-2, the curious sight of Ashley Young up front and an obsession with substituting his full-backs — proved to be several experiments too far for the Old Trafford purists.

Just as with the youth players and his own post-match behaviour, Jose Mourinho will need to strike the perfect balance.