An Open Letter to José Mourinho

Somewhere in the year 2005, a boy was watching a Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea.

Back in the day, he didn’t have a clue about the extent of reputation amongst the European Leagues or about the teams that played in those leagues nor had any knowledge about the players of both the teams except Wayne Rooney, for he was a young prodigy at that time, with incredible flair in his feet. The hype created by the English media anytime such a talent emerges is immense even now. And for some reason unknown to that little boy, he was fairly disappointed at watching United lose out to Chelsea. Melancholy had struck him for the first time! Somehow, the team featuring Wayne Rooney caught up his attention to a level that he started following their matches. The enjoyment of watching that team, wearing red jersey play increased with every match. And then, the enjoyment became excitement and the excitement in no time, developed into love. Chronologically, the sight of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney along with a few others like Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Edwin Van Der Sar and the vision of the great theatre of dreams, Old Trafford gave him immense goosebumps! And that feeling remained intact even with the retirement of the great Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2013. The last few years have been quite a letdown in terms of the quality of football being played at Manchester United and with hopes still held high, he has been patiently waiting for the same class of football to be played as had been over the years. Yes, that little boy is me and the little boy has been drowned in an array of emotional context following the latest Premier League match against Chelsea.

Mr. Mourinho, when you were finally appointed the manager of Manchester United, after three horribly slow years under David Moyes and Luis Van Gaal, my optimistic mind had taken firm seat. Even though personally, I would have liked to see Ryan Giggs take up the managerial post, your appointment didn’t entirely baffle me out. After all, you are ‘The Special One’. Interestingly, you were managing the Chelsea side in the first ever Premier League match I had witnessed. In the starting few matches of this season, my faith in your system of management was quite livid upon. Even with the exit of Ryan Giggs from the managerial staff, I put my conviction in your method, which was mainly being too strict with whatever didn’t please your way. You even sidelined Bastian Schweinsteiger, one of the many high profile players at United and one of the very few footballers, who is loved by all. I had just hoped the new young prodigy Marcus Rashford didn’t lose out his place under your draconian system. Fortunately, he is surviving and one of the many reasons I still love watching Manchester United play. Herrera is thriving in excellent and De Gea is transforming into something much bigger.

But one thing is that I haven’t quite understood your actual aim in these last few matches. You have the power to select a team, out of a bunch of expensive and well-groomed players. And still you put your credence on players like Fellaini, who is in no position in the current affairs to be defined as a professional footballer. I understand a few of the players are not fit but Fellaini’s place in the team has world-class alternatives with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin to name a few. And why is Pogba playing in the no. 10 position, when it is quite clear Mata is the God in that spot? Besides that weekly mystery, what has happened to your style of football? Why are you not employing the same class of football we had seen in Inter Milan, when you led them to win the Champions League trophy in 2010? Where has that counter-attacking play been hiding that you successfully employed at Real Madrid, where you were the only manager to win the La Liga in the last 8 years?

This match against Chelsea was a wake-up call for everybody. We can’t just sit back and play defensive football all the way. The United philosophy has been something which Sir Alex built over the years and which we fans got quite used to it. It is still not late to save the ship from sinking. I hope the anchors are just fit for you to steady it and lead us to a season to remember, rather than forget. There is still time. With the class of players Manchester United are possessing at the moment, it is particularly disheartening to witness such lethargic and horrendous shows week in and week out. Dropping points against teams like Stoke City, Watford, Liverpool or even Chelsea was just a hilarious fantasy back in the day. Now, it has become an abominable reality! I just hope the ego, which everybody identifies within you gets shrinked with time so that you select players based more on their talents and abilities on the field, rather than your own personal choice.