Can Mourinho get back in the winning habit at Old Trafford?
JOSE MOURINHO built his career on a phenomenal ability to win matches in front of his own fans.
As he faces his old club, Chelsea, this afternoon, that reputation for home invincibility is on the brink of collapse.
Mourinho is statistically the worst Manchester United manager in more than 40 years when it comes to results at Old Trafford.
Until the start of last season, he had won an incredible 201 of 247 League games over his two spells at Stamford Bridge, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Porto, Uniao and Benfica.
He’d tasted defeat only five times on his own territory in 14 years.
But since Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Swansea in the opening match of last term – the day he had the row with club doctor, Eva Carneiro – the Portuguese’s home record is far from special.
When Chelsea sacked him in December, 2015, he’d lost four of eight home games – the same number as he’d lost in 209 before his return to The Bridge.
He’s been beaten only once at Old Trafford since he arrived but he’s won just six of 15 League games.
Hull City, Bournemouth, Watford and Burnley have all won more.
That gives Mourinho a home win rate of 37.5%, the worst record of any United manager since 1974.
It compares with Sir Alex Ferguson’s 72% win rate and the 68% of his predecessor Louis van Gaal.
Ron Atkinson, Dave Sexton and Tommy Docherty all won more than half their home fixtures and even David Moyes was sacked
Marcus Rashford.
with a better home record than Mourinho’s.
The Portuguese has sought to explain United’s chronic inability to turn draws into victories at the Theatre of Dreams by claiming that opponents have no ambition to win. That his team has been unlucky and that no one has stepped up to assist Zlatan Ibrahimovic in front of goal.
United legend Gary Pallister endorses Mourinho’s justifications, insisting there has been an overall improvement compared with the Moyes and van Gaal tenancies.
“The problem before this year was the style of football,” says the defender, who made more than 300 League appearances for the club.
“It wasn’t conducive to scoring goals, more to not conceding. It was a case of being strong defensively and hoping to nick something. That’s never been the United way.
“The football has improved a a lot. We now look like a team that wants to score goals but we’re just finding it difficult.
“Everyone knows we have missed chances to win games all season, so teams we traditionally beat at Old Trafford have got away with draws.
“It’s going to be tough to finish in the top four now. We’ll have to beat Chelsea, then City and Arsenal to give ourselves a shot at it.”
Pallister is also convinced that Marcus Rashford is the long-term answer to United’s scoring problems, despite the drought he’s experienced following his initial impact last season.
“Zlatan has scored the majority of goals and he’s had a bit of a dig at the forwards for not producing,” he says.
“It’s something that will be looked at in the close season. There’s talk about other forwards coming in, notably Antoine Greizmann.
“It’s always been the case at United that if you’re not doing it, the manager will bring in someone who will.
“If Zlatan stays, great. If not, the club moves on. It is not about one player.
“With Marcus, the second season is always more difficult. Last year he was the new kid on the block, but defenders are more aware of him now.
“He’s not had the headlines he would have wanted. But I don’t think there is too much doubt he is the real deal.
“I watched Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham come through and, as talented as they were, you have to be careful about blowing these kids up with the hype.
“But Marcus is a terrific young man and he’s being nurtured the right way.”