Back four have Jose flustered
– Jose Mourinho’s defence is causing him headaches as he tries to turn around a woeful start to Manchester United’s season against a struggling Newcastle United.
United have not been this badly off seven games into a league campaign since 1989 but Saturday’s visit of a Newcastle side in the bottom three offers a chance to lift the mood at Old Trafford.
Mourinho’s team are languishing in 10th spot in the Premier League having already conceded 12 goals.
A large part of the problem is the manager’s seeming inability to settle on a first-choice defence. He has started with nine different defensive combinations in 10 competitive fixtures across three competitions this season.
Mourinho (above) does not appear to have complete confidence in any of his four senior centrebacks – Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof – despite the fact that the latter two were his signings.
The Portuguese manager has come up with some interesting attempts to solve the problem, including leaving Bailly on the bench and drafting in midfielder Scott McTominay as one of three centre-backs against West Ham last week.
It is not the first time this season that Mourinho has thrown a selection curveball. Ander Herrera, another midfielder, was used in a three-man back line as Tottenham won 3-0 at Old Trafford in August.
There was speculation after the Tottenham defeat that Mourinho’s selection might have been a protest against executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward’s refusal to sanction the signing of defender Harry Maguire from Leicester.
Woodward was apparently reluctant to pay a reported asking price of more than £70 million for the England man.
The club were also linked with Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld and Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng but ended up with no central defensive signings this summer.
Their one defensive addition was teenage rightback Diogo Dalot, who was brought in from Porto for £19 million as a longterm acquisition. –
We don’t have the technical quality at the club to build from the back.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager