Manchester United
wish list for Jose Mourinho
So there
are things that I love about Jose coming to Manchester United. First, I expect
to be challenging for titles, possibly as soon as next season. His style may
not always be pretty, but I’ve dealt with unentertaining football for about 36
months now. Along with that, a team that
almost always finished 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. This
United team has finished 7th, 4th, and 5th.
I’m not mad; I just think Jose will fix this issue. Second, everything will be
entertaining on the sidelines. Ferguson
was successful, but he wasn’t the greatest sound bite, and he never ran from
end to end celebrating a goal. Moyes never moved and LVG flopped. Now, United
has a man whose theater is almost as good as the stuff on the field.
For the
negative, there is much. He’s never been interested in playing the young kids,
and if you look at his track record at Chelsea
this last time around, he really missed out on top talent (De Bruyne, Lukaku).
He didn’t care for it much at Inter either, and brought in Wesley Sneijder,
Maicon and Samuel Eto’o among others. Now, United is on a fast track toward
another group of successful youngsters. Anthony Martial scored massive goals
all season, he should be France ’s
first choice striker for the next 10 years (If Griezmann and Coman play wide).
Marcus Rashford probably saved the season with a few of his goals (Arsenal
comes to mind). Jesse Lingard won us the F.A. Cup. Luke Shaw will be great (and
Mourinho turned down a chance to bid before). I think that the short-term looks
prosperous, but if these kids plus a few others that I think would be great for
United get benched for expensive, premium talent, then I think we might just be skidding tires on a mud track. It’ll be
an interesting 3 years.
I know Jose
has the 3 player rule pretty much set in stone, and he’s done it wherever he’s
gone. That said, this is a Nate’s 9 and so I came up with a prettier and
lengthier list that I could hopefully see putting on the red of Manchester
United in the near future.
Note: It appears Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a real thing now, so
he won’t be included in this list. I’m not sure if he would anyway, because
with the correct right-sided midfield, United will be on the fast track toward
the world’s best youth in a matter of time. I’m not sure what Zlatan’s arrival would mean
for the teenagers.
Note 2: I know United have been linked with Neymar for quite
some time, but I don’t like it for 2 reasons. 1st: Why would anyone
ever leave Barcelona willingly? I
get the Alexis Sanchez and Pedro thing, because they got stuck behind younger
and better Neymar and Messi. But who’s keeping Neymar out of the squad? 2nd:
Martial plays on the left. Martial is our Neymar and he won’t cost 144 million
Euros. He’s only going to cost 80. (Up front fee was 37 million Euros, but when
League appearance and National Team appearance fees are met, it would take his
total up to 80).
Note 3: Sell Marouane Felliani, Marcos Rojo, Ashley Young,
Sergio Romero, and James Wilson. Think about moving Juan Mata. Loan Memphis
Depay back to PSV to see what he’s really about. Release Michael Carrick. This
should free up some of the wages due for next season.
#9. Youri Tielemans CM. If Mourinho decides to go for youth
in the starting 11, and that’s a big question, I think Tielemans is the easy
long-term answer for Michael Carrick. The role of the holding midfielder is
changing; no longer are players asked to intercept the ball and keep it short
and simple until the shape changes into an attacking preference. I think the
new holder is like Ivan Rakitic; they can come through the middle, hit a shot
from long-range, and run for the full 90. Carrick hasn’t run in 90 games. That
said, he was an asset to the old style, and he will be missed. Enter Youri. A
supreme Belgian talent and I think he could step into the United starting 11
from day one. Think Cesc Fabregas with a little more pace, and he can crack a
shot from distance as well (Made Dortmund look a little silly 2 years prior).
Jose can plug him in alongside Schneiderlin and let them harass attacking midfielders
for the duration of next season.
#8. Reece Oxford. CB/CDM He was destined to be a star one
day, and seemingly disappeared the next. Well it was tough for West Ham. About
halfway through the season, a realization came that they were good enough to
contend for Europe and so everyone on the fringes of the first-team squad lost
a lot of their playing time, because Slaven Bilic didn’t want to mess with a
working unit (Not that I blame him). But Reece could be a long-term answer next
to Chris Smalling at CB. Long and strong, he fits the mold of a new age Sol
Campbell. He shouldn’t get beaten very often for pace, and he can get up in the
air as good as most of them. Just ask Arsenal.
#7. Romelu Lukaku. ST This one is funny for me, because Big
Rom and Jose have been potentially heading towards a reunion for about 12
months now. I wouldn’t have imagined it three years ago. Jose looked like he
was about ready to punch Romelu in the face when they came on the U.S.
tour together at Chelsea . He looked
out of sorts, and even missed a penalty in a Super cup match against Bayern.
And then he was gone to Everton. Where he burst onto the scene as a large
superstar and really hasn’t stopped projecting that way since he left London. He
scored 18 goals this season, with a really underachieving Everton side. He
recently mentioned that he wants to play Champions League football in the
future; while Manchester United misses out now, an addition of Lukaku’s talents
to a front 3 of himself, Martial and Rashford could have United thinking title
as well as Champions League football in the near future.
#6. Antoine Griezmann. ST Most friends of mine know that I
am enthralled by this man’s talents. Not to often do I get excited about the
potential stars of the world, but I’ve been screaming this man’s name since he
came on the scene with Real Sociedad a few seasons ago. He can play on either
side of the field, can send in a nice cross or take on opposing fullbacks 1v1,
and as of recently, he can also play through the middle. For a United team that
struggled to come up with creativity at times over the last season, Griezmann
cries out as the answer. The only problem here is he extended his contract and
put in a minimum release clause of 65 million Euros. The answer to that
problem? I’d still pay that price.
#5. Riyad Mahrez. RM The reigning EPL player of the season.
And I love... I mean really LOVE the fact that Leicester City is the current
Premier League champion, but when it really comes down to it, the only player
that I believe holds value across Europe for all clubs, is this man. Jamie
Vardy’s story is beautiful, but will probably come to an end soon. Robert Huth
and Wes Morgan are crafty veterans and good locker room guys, but not much
more. Everyone else played their role, and did it well, but they had luck on
their side too. (Kante is relentless, but I’ll be curious to see if he can play
across multiple competitions). No massive injuries for anyone in the starting
eleven and they always seemed to catch their opponents at opportune times (i.e.
City, Chelsea , West Ham...). Yet, I
would sign Mahrez for United in a second. He is very capable on the right side
of midfield, which I think is United’s biggest weakness heading into next year.
He is a good crosser of the ball, but more importantly, can score from just
about anywhere. If United didn’t get it inside the 20 last yards, they
struggled. Mightily. Mahrez would make a difference.
#4. Raphael Varane. CB The other weakness in the United
squad. While I can appreciate the efforts of Daley Blind (he is one of my
favorite players in the team, and in the world for that matter), his biggest
asset to a team is probably not playing at CB for them. He should be holding
things down right behind a midfield #6, or on the left side offering service
and overlapping runs. Well, when the options behind him are Marcos Rojo, Phil
Jones (who I still think deserves one final opportunity) and Paddy McNair, he’s
going to be played out of position. Enter Varane. He’s worked with Mourinho
before, and probably played his best football under him. This is one of very
times that Mourinho splurged the cash on a young, up-and-coming player (Kurt
Zouma). Varane could also step into this United team instantly, and provide the
Nemanja Vidic to Smalling’s Rio Ferdinand. Of the 9, I think this is the most
realistic signing, and my feelings wouldn’t be hurt if he finally made the move
to England .
#3. John Stones. CB It might be laughable, but I think
Stones could be one of England ’s
greatest CB’s. He’s pretty much got everything that I look for in a central
defender, plus he has the makeup of it as well. He has a very short memory when
things go wrong (watch the United-Everton match earlier this year), and doesn’t
get too elated when things are going well (Except for that PK chip, which was
brilliant). He is almost like a midfielder on the ball, and doesn’t make poor
decisions when playing it out from the back (similar to Gerard Pique, who also
rated this highly as a youngster). He can handle bigger strikers, quicker forwards,
in-and-out strikers and even forwards that drop deep (watch his work against
Pedro earlier this year). So essentially every attacker in English football.
The price is high, but I think instead of being afraid of those expectations,
he has the type of personality that would want to exceed them. I imagine a move
to Manchester would make him a
future captain, not only for my favorite club, but possibly for his country
down the road.
#2. Jose Maria Gimenez. For as much as I gushed about
Stones, this is the CB that I would rather have. I can’t explain why, and I
don’t even know the right language to communicate how I feel about his game.
All I know is that there comes a time when one watches sports, and you just
know. It might have been LeBron James on the high school courts for you. It
could have been seeing Mike Trout running the base paths for the first time. Or
maybe watching Tom Brady run the clock down against the St. Louis Rams in the
Super Bowl. It’s as if these players just make you appreciate the sport that
you’re watching, but can get you to evolve as a fan as well. I’ve felt this way
about 4 soccer players prior to watching Gimenez (my first defender, no less).
Zinedine Zidane was the first (slowed the game down for me). Wayne Rooney was
the second (a kid can do it). Michael Ballack was my third (this is a game of
intellect). And Arjen Robben most recently (He can cut inside every single
time, and not be stopped). Now, J.M. Gimenez is my 5th. When and if
he reaches his potential (which I think could happen under Jose, because
difficult but talismanic personalities are his bread and butter), he might be
the Beckenbauer of our generation. The player that makes defending an art. In
the few times that I’ve had an opportunity to watch him, he’s been as dominant
as the greatest of our time. Luis Suarez wanted to bite his head off. Karim
Benzema wanted to be substituted. It would be to United’s advantage to get a
hold of this guy, before he shuts them down to lift future European trophies.
#1. Paul Pogba CDM To right Alex’s only wrong. Come home,
Paul.
