With
Jose Mourinho's long-rumoured move to Manchester United close to
completion, there are things that he must address immediately when he
arrives. Here are five:
1. Attacking firepower
The
obvious area of weakness for United this season has been a lack of
goals under Louis van Gaal, caused by their pedestrian style of
possession football. It has led to a paltry tally of 49 goals from 38
league matches. Mourinho needs to shed his reputation for functionality
and give a reminder of the goal-scoring feats of his more eye-catching
teams at Chelsea (in the early days) and Real Madrid. The arrival of one
of his allies from his Inter Milan stint, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, could be a
step in the right direction.
2. Defensive height
United's
defensive solidity has held the season together at times, with Chris
Smalling and Daley Blind having formed a usually impressive partnership
in central defence, but there are problems in need of remedy. The recent
habit of conceding set-piece goals has exemplified that, with a lack of
height and positional awareness being major issues; the likes of Blind
and Marcos Rojo have been caught out at costly moments. The signing of
Raphael Varane, a Mourinho protege at Madrid, would help in that regard.
3. Away day blues
Old
Trafford has remained an awkward venue for teams to visit this season,
highlighted by the club's late winning run on home soil this season. But
it is a stark contrast to what they have done on the road. United
failed to win back-to-back away league games all season, and there were
defeats against lowly sides, which ultimately cost them in the top-four
race. Mourinho's ability to instill shape, discipline and resilience
when sides attack his teams will be beneficial in this regard.
4. Nurturing youth
One
of the legacies which Van Gaal has left at United is giving valuable
experience to young players, most notably Marcus Rashford, and that has
laid down the foundations for what should be promising careers. It is
imperative that Mourinho continues the good work. United have a
tradition in this area, which needs to be revived again. The Portuguese
manager needs to avoid being tarred with his reputation from his Chelsea
days, when there was frustration over his failure to bring through
youth players.
5. Keeping key men
It
has often been worth wondering this season about what would have
happened to United had they not kept hold of goalkeeper David De Gea
after the bizarre falling through of his move to Real Madrid. The fact
that they did keep him means that they have had some joy in the FA Cup
and stayed in contention for a top-four place until the closing weekend
of the season. De Gea and other star performers from this season need to
stay again, and the spirit has to be kept high in training.
ESFNFC
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