Paul Parker: Charm and swagger are now distant memories at Old Trafford

I would be absolutely shocked if Jose Mourinho was Manchester United manager next season, judging both on performances and results. United have consistently played drab football under Mourinho but their stylistic failings were camouflaged by their relative success.

However, now there has been a drop off in results, what is left? Nothing. And the thing is, Mourinho has changed nothing – the tactics are the same. The de facto defence of Mourinho was that he was a winner but United have always been about much more than results; style was also so important.

The Manchester United of old were a team who played with no fear, full of players who could improvise. Now the Red Devils have a manager who demands his players are mad dogs, and we have players pulling the hair of opposition players.

United didn’t need mad dogs against Arsenal, they needed guile. Arsenal had cunning and guile but United had nothing. Yet, when Mourinho looked to his bench to change the game, on came Marouane Fellaini. Manchester United’s best performances in recent weeks have come about when a player of guile, Juan Mata, plays and plays in his preferred position of number 10. Yet he rarely gets an opportunity to play, presumably because he is not a mad dog.

Fulham this weekend becomes a huge game. They look far more solid under Claudio Ranieri, and will provide a stiff test to what is a functional United side. You’d usually expect Manchester United to be able to prise open the Cottagers and take three points but who knows what will happen. Their recent form suggests that United may struggle, they were held to a scoreless draw against a Palace team that went on to concede three goals against 10-man Brighton, they went two goals down to relegation-threatened Southampton and their game against Arsenal was chaos – it felt like Burnley against Arsenal rather than Manchester United. They have lacked intensity and it is the manager who sets the tone.

Mourinho dropped Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba for what was a huge game but it was all very predictable. If Mourinho was to drop a player on form then surely it should be Nemanja Matic but, truth be told, he is never going to be dragged off. He made a difference when he first came in but that just isn’t the case anymore. Why is he not being left out?

Leaving out Lukaku or Pogba was not headline news – it was sort of expected. Particularly considering that Pogba and Mourinho are reportedly not on good terms at all.

Mourinho has denied saying it would take a miracle for United to make the top four but the worrying thing for United is it seems completely plausible that he would have said it. The third season syndrome appears to have hit again and the players must have been as shocked as anyone that he got a new contract. Surely the senior figures at the club will have done their homework and will have been aware of his struggles in the third year. Questions must be asked about that decision. Baffling.

United have been known for their style as much as their success – think George Best, Eric Cantona et al – but now commercial interests seem to supersede the essence of what the club is. People loved the charisma of the club, the manner and the swagger but that seems a distant memory now. Sir Alex Ferguson played a fearless brand of football but now the win-at-all costs mentality has bred a destructive brand of football. It is easy enough to be destructive but winning via creativity is where a manger really earns their wage.

There seems to be some momentum behind the idea of Mauricio Pochettino becoming the next Manchester United manager but I would look to an individual who has won league titles and also managed a national team: Laurent Blanc. He is relatively young, hungry and had success. The argument against Blanc appears to be the fact that he has had some time out of the game – Pep Guardiola had time out of the game and he has done alright. Plus, at PSG, Blanc has experience of dealing with big stars.

On Twitter - @realpaulparker2