Ed Woodward Backs Jose Mourinho and Talks Manchester United's Falling Revenue

Jose Mourinho and his Manchester United players are "fully united," despite the club's slow start to the Premier League season, according to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. 

United are eighth after 12 matches and 12 points behind leaders Manchester City. However, Woodward told investors on the New York Stock Exchange the club is meeting targets in other competitions, per Sky Sports:

"On the pitch, we remain well positioned in the Champions League, and although we've had a mixed start to our domestic campaign, the squad and manager are fully united in their determination to regain our momentum in the Premier League."

Speaking of targets, Woodward said United "remain on track" financially, despite first quarterly results showing falling revenue and profits, per Joe Shread of Sky Sports.

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Woodward reassured investors after the figures were released on Thursday: "We remain on track to deliver our record full-year revenue guidance, underpinning our long-term, strategic plan to create sustainable growth across all areas of the club."

It's a tough sell since United's wage bill rose by more than 10 percent, according to James Ducker of the Daily Telegraph. He cited the deal to sign Alexis Sanchez from rivals Arsenal back in January as the chief reason for the increase.

Chile international forward Sanchez, who has largely struggled since swapping north London for Old Trafford, is said to earn "£350,000 a week, rising to £500,000 a week with bonuses and image rights."

Sanchez is already being linked with a move away from the red half of Manchester this winter:

The wage bill, along with United's overall expenditure, was also swelled by the deal to pay £52 million to sign Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer. He's played sparingly since his arrival, with Mourinho "highly unimpressed," per Miguel Delaney of The Independent. 

Struggles experienced by recent signings raise questions about what level of investment Mourinho can expect Woodward to sanction in January. Woodward cited the recent success of United's academy, referencing the progression of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford as something to hail.

However, Woodward also maintained United have the fiscal power "to continue to attract and retain top players." Mourinho may be inclined to put these words to the test during January.

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If Mourinho is left to rely on promoting from within, he'll surely face a hard task keeping the Red Devils competitive. Specifically, he could miss out on making up the ground to the top four and earning a place in next season's UEFA Champions League

A second season in Mourinho's tenure spent outside Europe's lucrative premier club tournament would be bad news for a club still saddled with debt worth £242.7 million, even if Woodward expects "record revenues" over the entire year.