Manchester United Boss Jose Mourinho’s Key Decisions Ahead of 2016-17 Season

Paul Pogba’s arrival has sent expectations around Manchester United skyrocketing, so how can manager Jose Mourinho ensure that his team are as successful as possible in the 2016/17 Premier League season?

REUNITED: https://t.co/VFkDJ05zuf #POGBACK https://t.co/y68rpT0dob

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 8, 2016

Football management is all about decisions. There are choices to make at every level, from the biggest macro-calls about the direction of the club to the minute, out-of-sight micro-decisions about travel, coaching, diet and tactics. Successful managers are made by getting more of these right than wrong.

He does not have to get everything right, but let’s take a look at some of the most pressing decisions facing Mourinho—the ones that will likely define his, and United’s, season.

   

Tactics

The big tactical question is a simple matter of formation.

Does he play a 4-2-3-1 with a central midfield spine made up of what he would describe as a No. 6, a No. 8 and a No. 10, or does he play a 4-3-3 with a No. 6 and two No. 8s?

For the purposes of this discussion, No. 6 represents the holding midfielder and No. 8 represents the more box-to-box, attack-minded version. This is a little confusing at United in terms of actual shirt numbers—the No. 6 is a No. 8 and the No. 8 is a No. 10.

Of course, no one seems to quite know what the No. 10 is, but we will come on to that.

There should really be no debate here. There are not too many downsides to choosing 4-3-3. Mourinho has ample attackers to pick from in all the necessary positions in either formation, but the balance of United’s available midfielders screams 4-3-3.

He could play Michael Carrick or Morgan Schneiderlin—or even occasionally Pogba—at No. 6 and Pogba, Ander Herrera or Schneiderlin as the two No. 8s.

What is much more likely to happen, though, is that he will play two of the above in a 4-2-3-1 to accommodate Wayne Rooney into the side at No. 10.

Love everything Jose says here about future #MUFC tactics: https://t.co/YmbukqsWIO

— Rob B. (@_Rob_B) August 7, 2016

Assuming that is the case, he needs to decide the primary partner for Pogba. Of course, there can be some variation for specific opposition, or to adapt to the vagaries of form and fitness, but some kind of first-choice partnership will need to be built.

This is especially true given Pogba’s capacity to be effective in the final third, meaning he needs to build an understanding with a partner that will give him the freedom to properly express himself. Add to that Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s shared tendency to drop deep, and it becomes abundantly clear why some stability of personnel is needed.

Footballers need to be able to predict their team-mates’ movements, and with movement as unpredictable as that which is on offer in the current squad, regular playing time together will be crucial.

Will Mourinho opt for the experience of Carrick, the energy of Schneiderlin or the attacking prowess of Herrera? There are pros and cons to each choice, and none seems obvious, hence the advantages of 4-3-3.

This …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com