Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho handled big players badly vs Hull
Manchester United's ninth
Premier League draw was tragicomically timed on the eve of Groundhog Day and another unwelcome recurrence was
Jose Mourinho's substitutions.
United supporters last season wondered whether there was a clause in
Wayne Rooney's contract which stipulated he had to start when fit regardless of his forlorn form and they might now wonder if Zlatan Ibrahimovic's and Paul Pogba's include an unsubstitutable one.
The only chance a Mino Raiola client who was not Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming off against Hull was if it was drawn out of Sir Alex Ferguson's Tombola. Mkhitaryan was listless in what was possibly his poorest outing since his full debut against City, failing to capitalise on the willing width Antonio Valencia regularly provided, yet the cases to hook Ibrahimovic or Pogba were just as great.
Ibrahimovic and Pogba are two of Mourinho's untouchables. They are almost always name-checked when the United manager discusses team selections, along with David de Gea and Antonio Valencia, and it appears they remain bullet-proof irrespective of how they perform.
It is curious with a manager as decisive as Mourinho. He has pricked egos as swollen as Cristiano Ronaldo's and Eden Hazard's, so should not hesitate deflating Pogba's or Ibrahimovic's. Mourinho has substituted Pogba just three times out of 31 this season - after he scored in routine routs of Fenerbahce and Swansea, and the enforced change in Istanbul. Ibrahimovic has never made way.
Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial are two examples of Mourinho ruthlessly penalising players for under-performing. Marcus Rashford encountered similar treatment following his harmless start up front against Arsenal - the only other domestic fixture he has lined up as a centre forward was against Reading. The 'big guy' always starts.
'You can't blame me for your finishing.'
The biggest issue with Ibrahimovic is he plays like he is 10 years younger. He was bought as a centre forward yet strays far too deep, congesting the middle and depriving United of a figurehead. It was particularly problematic at Everton two months ago, where Ibrahimovic dropped into the hole and was invariably dispossessed in a pragmatic second-half from United.
The upshot is Ibrahimovic can infuriate for 89 minutes but provide a finish in the other. That autumn drought he suffered was offset by him having chances to waste. Against Hull, he had one notable opportunity that was hardly clear-cut.
Mourinho was culpable with his first and final substitutions. In a match where Valencia was providing almost all of the width, two central players in Rooney and Juan Mata emerged and United reverted to their hackneyed Plan B of going long to Ibrahimovic as early as the 62nd minute. It was a self-defeatist tactic which also spurred Hull's promising counter-attacks.
Rooney salvaged his appearance at Stoke with a record-breaking free-kick which glossed over his dismal 23 minutes before that. Mourinho used to turn to Rooney as his impact substitute after he dropped him in September in what seemed to be a continuation of the diplomatic phasing out process. Then he realised Rooney was invariably as blunt off the bench as he was a starter. Now Mourinho is doing it again in a clear sign of regression.
Starting a third midfielder against Hull was needless and Mourinho belatedly recognised that with the half-time change, only he took the wrong man off in Michael Carrick and replaced him with the wrong man. Pogba was erratic and Ander Herrera nondescript again. Carrick was possibly United's stand out performer in a half the bar was set so low Danny DeVito could have leaped over it.
Rooney: The wrong substitute
Maybe Mourinho used a third midfielder since it is the formation Pogba demands. He is prone to tactical anarchy in a pair, like when he deserted Marouane Fellaini in the September derby, and Mourinho has settled on a midfield trio for the majority of United's matches during their 14-game unbeaten run.
It must be vexing that Pogba, the player for whom Mourinho altered United's formation, is still so maddening in games which merit one less midfielder. Pogba rallied late on against Hull but he exuded the hollow ostentatiousness that made him stand out in that shocker against Liverpool last month.
The only outstanding thing about Pogba was his hair
Ibrahimovic has surrounded himself with a set of players at previous clubs. With Sweden, it was Olof Mellberg, Christian Wilhelmsson, Alexander Östlund and Daniel Majstorovic, and then latterly Jimmy Durmaz, Erkan Zengin and Emir Kujovic. Mkhitaryan and Pogba - who nicknames Ibrahimovic 'Thor' - are members in what could be developing into United's own player-power clique. Mourinho had a similar faction at Chelsea, only they won the title in his first season.
A repeat at United is unlikely.
Source:M.E.N
