Manchester United faces a potential nose dive down the League table if Mourinho fails to get the team back on track.
There was a massive media frenzy surrounding the Red Devils at the start of the season, primarily due to Mourinho’s arrival and his rivalry with Guardiola in what was perceived to be “the battle of Manchester”, but that battle is pretty one sided at the moment.
United’s noisy neighbours look more likely to clinch the title when the season draws to a close, as a matter of fact, there are a handful of teams that have a better chance of winning the league – based on what we’ve seen thus far.
This brings us to examine why United won’t win the league, and we’ll be providing you with four solid reasons;
Bang for Buck
Arguably United’s biggest problem for the last three years has been their signings. The past few seasons has seen the Manchester giants acquire a host of big name players for millions of pounds with most of them failing to live up to expectations.
The mood at Old Trafford has changed from optimism to pessimism due to the team’s lacklustre performances thus far which currently sees the “title favourites” sit at 6th place on the table.
Two consecutive defeats against Manchester City and Watford respectively highlighted United’s inconsistency. Their last outing saw them held to a 1-1 draw by a Stoke side yet to win a game this season. That says a lot about United’s supposed title bid even after acquiring players for large sums of money.
Paul Pogba, United’s £89m signing, hasn’t kicked things off in the Premier League, the French midfielder has registered just one goal and no assist in six league appearances – it won’t be long before the English media dubs him a flop.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is another player that is yet to prove his worth for the Red Devils despite being one of Europe’s most highly rated midfielders.
The Wayne Rooney Conundrum
Wayne Rooney’s time at the top is evidently coming to an end – he’s been criticised by many for his lacklustre performances which can be attributed to his ageing legs. He simply isn’t cut-out to be a regular starter at United anymore, but for some reason, Jose Mourinho keeps on giving him chances to prove himself even with the presence of better alternatives.
Mourinho himself has criticised Rooney in the past, but he clearly sees something in England’s record goalscorer which prompts him to include Rooney in the lineup.
The top 6 factor
At the moment there are six teams with the resources and players capable of clinching the league title this season - that has created a no-nonsense approach across the top teams in the league.
Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and of course Manchester United are all title contenders this season with all teams harbouring a secret or more obvious desire to secure the crown.
The ability present within the ranks of the teams above creates a stiff sense of competition that leaves all teams vying to pick up as many points as possible.
Judging by their recent performances, Manchester United doesn’t seem capable of securing a win against any of the top sides in the league.
Zlatan’s decline
Ibrahimovic is one of the greatest players to have ever graced a football pitch. Nonetheless, he’s 35 and past the peak of his powers.
Perhaps Zlatan would be able to hit the 20 goal mark if United’s midfielders can feed him balls consistently, but we all know consistency is one of United’s biggest issues hence Ibrahimovic can’t be relied upon to be the Red Devils’ main threat going forward.
He can’t muster up his chances – Ibra also isn’t known for creating opportunities for his teammates – what he does offer, though, are goals but he won’t get many if United keeps on playing like this.
The Swede has bagged four goals in seven league appearances with a 33% shooting accuracy. He has also wasted five clear-cut opportunities thus far which more or less highlights his decline.
He hasn’t scored in his last three appearances and if that run continues against Liverpool's eyebrows will indeed be raised.
