Tinkerman Mourinho is suffocating his players

JOSe Mourinho talked about his team’s fragility when trying to explain Manchester United’s defeat at West Ham. He should have apologised for setting up his team in a way that led to their downfall.

The system a manager chooses is the platform from which the players succeed or fail. Mourinho moved to a back three of Scott McTominay, Chris Smalling and Victor lindelof and it was clear not enough time had been spent working on the roles and responsibilities of each player.

McTominay, a 21-year-old midfielder making his first league start of the season, played at right centre half with eric Bailly on the bench. ashley young was United’s third right back in as many games. Neither wing-back knew when to break forwards or track back.

The muddled tactics were exposed by West Ham’s third goal. By then, United had reverted to a back four but instead of taking off McTominay, he withdrew lindelof. When Mark Noble threaded a ball between Smalling and McTominay, the chasm was so wide that Marko arnautovic simply strolled through to score.

McTominay was caught out of position but a recognised centre half would have known to come across and cover the space. By hooking lindelof, Mourinho was clearly trying to send a message. Why else would he have kept on a player who lacked experience as a defender? Then there was the substitution of paul pogba. He may not have had his best game but none of United’s midfielders covered themselves in glory. Mourinho seemed to be using pogba as a scapegoat. His decisions did not seem rooted in common sense.

Contrast this with Chelsea and liverpool. Both displayed a freedom and certainty at Stamford Bridge that comes when managers trust their players.

at full-time, a beaming Maurizio Sarri and Jurgen Klopp embraced.

I see no such freedom at United, no structure, no clear plan. Mourinho keeps ripping things up and starting again. He has made 19 changes to his starting XI this season, with only rafa Benitez at struggling Newcastle making more.

Mourinho is becoming the Tinkerman and seems to have lost the respect of the group. These constant tweaks are suffocating.

The least successful team I played in was the aston Villa side who were relegated in 1987. There were times when I felt embarrassed by our tactics. With every change in formation and personnel, we kept losing our way.

In the end, nobody believes in what the man in charge is trying to achieve and that is what it looked like with United at West Ham. That is a dangerous position for a manager and it usually suggests the end is close.

Mourinho is wasting so much energy on proving he is top dog off the pitch that performances are suffering on it. He said recently that no individual is bigger than Manchester United but that applies to the manager, too.

If Mourinho is to turn things around, he must stop blaming individuals and start taking responsibility.