Jose Mourinho's Manchester United stint hits new low

Jose Mourinho may not agree, but his first couple of years at Manchester United have been very ordinary.

A man billed as 'specialist in trophies', United have won three trophies, all of them coming in the 2016/17 campaign. A first UEFA Europa League title was a major achievement, which came after he led the team to EFL Cup and Community Shield. But on the Premier League front, United finished a lowly sixth, their worst raking since 2013/14 season. This despite Mourinho spending nearly 145 million pounds, and getting in the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. 

The playing style of United wasn't swashbuckling, but the fans kept their trust behind the 'Special One' in the hope that things will change in the 2017/18 campaign. But all their hopes crashed down the window.

Mourinho again spent heavily on the transfer market, and got in Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof. Their signings, followed by Alexis Sanchez's arrival in the winter transfer window, paid little dividends though. 

United finished second in the Premier League. It was definitely an improvement. From sixth to second, from 69 to 81 points, there was definitely improvement in terms of numbers. But that was about it!

On a whole, Mourinho's United made little improvements in terms of playing style. Many of their matches witnessed them breaking the deadlock or winning it very late on. While scoring late has always been United's forte, especially under Sir Alex Ferguson, never did it happen with the team playing so bad for the rest of the match.

Even in terms of results, they finished an astonishing 19 points behind champions Manchester City, this in spite both the the teams spending almost equally in the transfer window. City were extraordinary throughout the season, there's no denying. But finishing 19 points behind them cannot be justified, especially for a club of Manchester United's stature.

While Mourinho can be defended on the basis of league, results in other competitions brought down United's season. 

United started their season with a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup. That was acceptable, given the Spanish team have been the best side in the world in the past three years. 

But Mourinho can have no defence to his side getting knocked out in other competitions.

In the Carabao Cup (formerly EFL Cup), United were beaten by Championship side Bristol City in the fifth round. This came despite Mourinho playing a strong side, which had regulars like Pogba, Rashford and Martial.

As for the UEFA Champions League, they sailed through the group stage round. But in the round of 16, they were under shocking circumstances knocked out by Sevilla. This is the same Sevilla side who have finished seventh in the La Liga table. The matter took turn for worse, after Jose Mourinho's shocking explanation after the defeat.

And on Saturday night, Mourinho's ordinary time at United hit a new low, after Chelsea beat them 1-0 in the final of FA Cup. This is the same Chelsea team which finished the season in fifth place, and has been struggling. 

The defeat was terrible for United, but even worse for Mourinho, given Chelsea have now knocked him twice in two seasons out of the FA Cup.

It isn't much about United failing to get the desired results under Mourinho. But the real problem lies in the way manager is handling the issues. After every defeat or poor performance, Mourinho blasts his squad, and refuses to take the blame upon himself.

There's no denying Mourinho is a special manager. With two Champions League and numerous trophies in his resume, one would be a fool to question his managerial ability.

But based on his two seasons at United, and the amount of money he has spent, it won't be wrong to say, "Mourinho, you are failing."