Mourinho Is Making This One Big Mistake With His Team Selection
Reuters / Russell Cheyne
Rio Ferdinand has questioned Jose Mourinho’s team selection, claiming that the Portuguese is making a big mistake by not starting Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford together, alongside Romelu Lukaku.
Mourinho has opted for a more pragmatic approach, often bringing on one in place of the other. The pair has not started a single Premier League game together so far, and this is primarily because he feels they would not offer much cover defensively, and it would destabilize the team.
However, both players have an incredibly similar record when on the pitch, and fans are crying out for them to be played together and let loose. United legend Ferdinand echoes these cries, saying Mourinho is making a huge mistake by not starting them together.
“I’m desperate to see Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial playing together,” Ferdinand wrote in his column for The Times.
“Mourinho has never used them as a starting forward line and every time he submits a teamsheet that doesn’t include a Rashford-Lukaku- Martial front three, every defender in the opposing dressing room breathes a sigh of relief and says thank goodness for that.
Reuters/Carl Recine
“You’re talking about three players with ridiculous pace, who are direct, can run with and without the ball, and are hungry, young and fit. As a centre-back that’s the combination I would fear if I were facing United. Pace kills in the modern game and those three could destroy you.”
United play Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge today, and Mourinho usually tends to go for a more defensive approach against big sides away from home. However, the Blues have been shocking defensively of late, and Ferdinand believes this would be the perfect opportunity to unleash his two jaunty youngsters against a side that shipped 11 goals in just six games in October.
“With Chelsea in such a state, today is an opportunity to go for it a bit more,” he added.
“Maybe Mourinho worries that as a unit they wouldn’t offer enough defensively but for me, especially away from home, you could secure the midfield, keep your defensive shape and leave those three up together to run amok.”
Manchester United fan, Wayne Rooney is his role model. Passionate writer who has written for several sites in the past. He’s also an aspiring pianist and creates background music for BlameFootball’s Youtube channel.
Mou, please give this a try….. Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez used to tear teams apart on a counter attack based purely on pace. When one passed the ball, he would sprint forward and receive it. In one fast attacking move that lasted a minute there would be a goal…..