Manchester United qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League last night but the joys of jubilation were nonexistent at the final whistle after yet another underwhelming nauseating performance from those in red.
The club failed to sell out the game with some supporters walking out of Old Trafford before the 90 minute mark with chance after chance wasted by the under performing Manchester United side where they lacked imagination and struggled to break down a united Young Boys side and in truth stole the game at the death with a last minute strike by Marouane Fellaini.
Mourinho's side made it through to the knock out stages despite only winning one home game and scoring one home goal. This is not Manchester United.
The Red Devils had David de Gea to thank once more after he pulled off a miraculous save when the ball was all but over the line before he somehow clawed it out and to safety. The Spaniard is out of contract next summer with the club holding the option to extent that by one year. It is clear the club at the moment are not worthy of holding onto the best goalkeeper in the world and no Manchester United fan can dare criticize the player should he wish to depart.
The Manchester United board face a struggle to hold onto their stars but the biggest problem they face is deciding what to do with their under fire, under-performing and out dated manager.
Jose Mourinho is quick to tell us what he has won in the game and how special he has been, "has been" being the two crucial words. His ideas are outdated, his methods no longer work and it is clear for all to see nothing is going to change at Old Trafford with the Portuguese in charge.
Sure enough he may win a cup here and there but Manchester United are nowhere near Liverpool or Manchester City and should they continue to play as they have been they will be humiliated in the last 16 of the Champions League just as they were last season with Sevilla.
Jose's day is done his time is up. Manchester United have had a disastrous five years since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson but most damning of all is they have lost their identity. David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have ripped the soul out of the club with their respective philosophies.
Yes there is more than one way of playing football but Manchester United's way has always been positive and always should be. Fans want trophies but will always back their manager if he has the right positive attitude in his team methods. Just ask Liverpool or Tottenham fans who hail Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettinho despite the pair not collecting a trophy between them, yet they have a clear vision for the way the want to play and success is coming.
Jose Mourinho still does not know his best starting eleven, doesn't play the players he supposedly signed and never fails to put down his own players and make it all about him.
Manchester United are seventh in the league and are miles off the pace. Another manager is needed and sooner than later the board will realise this. They have tried getting the man Sir Alex Ferguson recommended and then chose two of the most experienced men in the history of the game. All three failed to sit comfortably in the Old Trafford hotseat.
The board now must appoint a director of football to oversee the transfers to and from the club which have been nothing short of disastrous since Sir Alex retired, the clubs best player is still David de Gea, signed by the Scot in 2011.
There is also a need to clear out the deadwood at Old Trafford with talk of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia signing new contracts a complete joke. Pep Guardiola went to Manchester City and decided which players were not to his standard with the likes of Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksander Kolorov shipped out to make way for better quality players.
Manchester United's policy seems to lack a clear vision with Mourinho still selecting players signed by four different managers, many nowhere near the standard required.
Above all the board must appoint a football man who loves to attack, has a clear vision for the future and respects his players and their development.
That man is Eddie Howe of Bournemouth, who sooner or later will be in charge of a top four side in the Premier League leaving Manchester United to rue missing out on yet another quality manager who plays the game the way it should be played.
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