Manchester United had made a decent start to the season before the past 10 days, with Paul Pogba settling in and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring goals for fun, so now is not the time for a complete panic, but Jose Mourinho’s tactics to turn it around seem familiar.

Rewind to last year and he was calling players out whilst at Chelsea, and we all know how that ended. He hasn’t quite got to the extent of insulting Steve McNally, the club doctor (as he did with Eva Carneiro) but pointing the finger at certain players in public will only end one way.

Usually, Mourinho keeps a relatively low profile for the first year, the consolidation year, before increasing his influence and power from thereon in. Year two is a huge success, usually with a title victory. By year three, the tensions overspill and he is sacked. This time, he seems to have gone into that final 12 months straight away – that could be a fatal mistake.

Luke Shaw, a potentially very important player for the club over the next few years, seemed to have the finger pointed at him against Watford – not ideal for any player, especially not someone still young and growing in confidence after such a long injury.

Last season the likes of Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic fell out with Mourinho, and their form dropped off a cliff. Players will always outlast managers, and the two have been nearly back to normal levels this year now he has gone.

Mourinho has almost all the power at his club, but if he loses the respect of top players so soon into his reign he might not last too long. Big egos will not take much to turn on their boss.

Of course, it’s early days. The public criticism and calling out of players might just die down and be forgotten about, but once it starts it generally tends to just get worse and worse until the end. Last season is a perfect example – right from day one it went quickly downhill.

This might be an overreaction, but unless the drama and public criticism ceases, it could be the beginning of the end.

If results turn and Manchester United go unbeaten for ten or so games, the situation will change – results will mean the criticism naturally dies down. But unless the criticism stops – one way or another – the next few months could be difficult.

Only time will tell as to whether Mourinho will learn from his previous failures – right now he doesn’t seem to be. It’s too soon to tell for certain, but Mourinho needs to change, or he won’t be around much longer.

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