If There's One Manager Who Can't Blame Luck, It's Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho once again spun his wheel of excuses and came up with a new one. "We all know inside that in this moment we are the unlucky team in the Premier League," he moaned after Manchester United's 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Nov. 19.
After everything that's happened this season, the United manager decided to offer the flimsiest of justifications. It was all down to misfortune.
"If we just focus on [draws against] Burnley, Stoke and Arsenal...nine points easily," he continued after seeing his side concede a late equaliser having dominated Arsenal for much of the game, per BBC Sport. "If we had those six points more, we are top four and close to the top of the league."
But they don't. Instead, United are slumped in sixth place, a full nine points off the top of the table.
If there's one manager who can't blame recent results on a lack of luck, it's Mourinho. He might have been able to fall back on such an excuse after one or two disappointing games, but is the United boss trying to put such a dismal start to the campaign, of which nearly a third has now been played, down to something as intangible as fortune?
Mourinho doesn't get to use luck, or a lack thereof, as an excuse after everything he has been given as Manchester United manager. The Old Trafford club has the highest wage bill in Europe, yet Mourinho still can't find a way to string together a series of even credible performances and results.
Some say league positions are decided by who pays the most money, whether that be on wages or transfers. That progress is incremental, with the glaring exception of Leicester City last season. By that measure, Mourinho isn't getting the best out of his squad but the worst.
United should be challenging for the title on the basis of their financial might. Instead, they are scrapping to just finish in the top four.
Of course, it makes a change from Mourinho blaming referees and officials for his team's bad results, and he managed to bite his tongue after Saturday's 1-1 draw against Arsenal, insisting Andre Marriner "did his best" despite his refusal to award what appeared to be a clear penalty kick for a foul on Antonio Valencia by Nacho Monreal, per Stuart Mathieson of the Manchester Evening News.
However, United should have ensured fortune was not a factor by the time Olivier Giroud headed home a late equaliser. They had enough chances in front of goal to be out of sight. In what has become a common theme for Mourinho's side, United didn't do enough to make sure of the result. They, not anybody else, should have eliminated luck as an aspect.
It was the same story against both Burnley and Stoke City, when they couldn't convert their opportunities in the final third, dropping points when they shouldn't have. The Arsenal result means United have drawn three successive league games at home.
Whether it's through blaming a lack of luck or offering up his own players as public scapegoats, Mourinho seems to have lost his capacity to make players better. That's a fundamental skill for an elite coach, yet he appears to have lost it. That is of grave concern to anyone with the interests of the Old Trafford club at heart.
By blaming luck, Mourinho is effectively denying that anything needs to change in his management of the team. There's been nothing unlucky about United's defensive frailty. Mourinho's side has conceded 14 times in just 12 Premier League fixtures this season. Chelsea, in contrast, have let in just 10 and had kept three consecutive clean sheets prior to Saturday's victory over Spurs.
While much of their inconsistency can be blamed on the sheer number of injuries they have suffered over the early part of the season, Mourinho is still trying to find balance at the back. That is not down to luck. That is down to the manager and his failure to adequately drill and organise an effective defensive line.
Mourinho made his reputation as a practical coach. While others deal in grand projects and principles, the Portuguese was always a pragmatist, simply doing what was required to win regardless of what that was. So far at United, though, he has gone against the grain of his own billing.
It shouldn't be understated just how big a job Mourinho has on his hands at Old Trafford. The entire club is in desperate need of a new identity in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson age. United had taken on the personality of their Scottish manager over the course of his 27 years in charge at the club, and when he left in 2013, so did their character. Mourinho is charged with giving them one again.
He should be afforded time in delivering that because, apart from anything else, United have nowhere else to turn if it doesn't work out with Mourinho at the helm. He might only be on a three-year contract, but having worked through three different permanent managers in three years, the Old Trafford hot seat is about as hot as it can get. They need to show the Portuguese patience because there is no other option.
United were at times impressive against Arsenal, with certain signs hinting at better things to come. Mourinho finally seems to have settled on a midfield unit after months of shuffling and shifting. He has made tough calls in dropping Wayne Rooney and ignoring the clamour to play summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan in a team that doesn't have a natural place for him.
However, there must be progress in the way of results, and when they don't come, Mourinho can't get away with blaming that on a lack of luck.
United probably should have had a penalty against Arsenal, who were distinctly second best for much of the match. But they did what their Old Trafford hosts didn't. They took their chance to ensure fortune didn't come into play.
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