You can understand why most people are drooling at the thought of Mourinho arriving at Old Trafford. The most recognisable manager in modern football being united with one of the globe’s greatest football clubs makes an awful lot of sense to an awful lot of people.
Yet the feeling around Manchester United right now is that the board of directors would prefer not to move for Mourinho. Van Gaal will take charge of the first team as usual for the Christmas fixtures against Stoke on Saturday and Chelsea on Monday, and there is a strong hope within the club that they will not be left having to decide whether to swallow their pride and give Mourinho a call regarding the job longer term.
There are a number of key stakeholders who will be affected by
United’s next move. Should they decide to bite the bullet and go for
Mourinho then there could be wide-ranging consequences across the board.
Failure to see the job out should result in Van Gaal calling it quits a little ahead of time and heading for his ‘Paradise’ holiday home in Portugal, but being the proud man that he is he would no doubt be tempted to return for one final tilt at management away from Mancheaster.
The succession plan that Manchester United have in mind involves Van Gaal handing over to their record appearance-maker in 18 months’ time, but the current on-field troubles could bring about a change of mind which brings the Giggs question into focus.
If United do sack Van Gaal and give the job to Giggs, then they are making a huge statement to overlook Jose Mourinho for the Welsh former wing wizard. That would be one almighty vote of confidence for the 42-year-old.
But a decision in favour of the Portuguese will leave Giggs wondering whether he will ever get the job. United will clearly want to give him a go when the time is right, but there has to be some concern as to whether the time will ever really be right. Van Gaal’s retirement plan offered them their best option in terms of blooding Giggs, but the appointment of Mourinho could well close off Giggs’ hopes once and for all.
The appointment of Mourinho would bring Woodward’s role into focus once more, with the Portuguese’s modus operandi having thus far been to spend big on short-term solutions rather than building from the bottom up. There is also the small matter of Sir Bobby Charlton’s opposition to Mourinho, and the former England star also knows that Sir Alex Ferguson is no fan of Mourinho as a person despite being an admirer of his managerial qualities.
There is already a great deal of concern around Carrington regarding the change in emphasis, and the arrival of Mourinho will put few fears to rest for those with the youth development close at heart. It is vital that Woodward steers the club in the right direction for the club’s continued success in the future.
He wouldn’t necessarily get the final say on the matter, but another managerial appointment which promotes the splashing of cash above the nurturing of local talent will leave Woodward under significant pressure the moment results become hard to come by.
What Rooney needs right now is a change. A change of club? A change of atmosphere? A change of role? A change of manager? Who knows which will work best for him, but the England captain needs something to break his current cycle of decline. Whether playing as a main striker or a number 10, Rooney has fallen short of the mark far too regularly this season.
Often on the back foot both physically and mentally, Rooney appears to be short of confidence. Even a player with 305 senior goals to his name needs to have people believe in him sometimes. On the face of it, Jose Mourinho might be just what he needs.
Mourinho has made his name as a man who backs his players to the hilt. He will attack everyone and everything outside of the club in order to throw his weight behind his first-team squad, and the results have been clear for all to see. He might have discarded that approach to huge cost at Chelsea this season, but it is very much Mourinho’s selling point.
After months of being restriced tactically by Van Gaal’s ultra-structured approach to attacking, the high-motivation, low-specifics style of Mourinho might be more what Rooney needs.
The chants of “attack, attack, attack” which have reverberated around Old Trafford at regular moments this season have been one of the sticks with which Van Gaal has been constantly beaten over the past few months.
The Dutchman’s claims of “domination” have fooled few at the Theatre of Dreams, and the thought of Mourinho’s cynical approach to football might well have some season ticket holders worried. One thing the 52-year-old will not provide is “football the Matt Busby way” about which United fans constantly sing.
However, many also realise that United are in danger of watching their years of success fade completely out of view if they do not start winning trophies again soon. Football England striker Gary Lineker recently asked United old boys Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes whether there is a chance the club will “do a Liverpool” by squandering their position among the world’s greatest clubs with years of mediocrity, and that is the last thing United fans would want to contemplate.
A couple of years of unattractive football might well be accepted so long as United get winning again.
The thought of Mourinho managing Manchester United must be a tantalising prospect for the Premier League big-wigs who are constantly looking to maintain the division’s position of superiority among the world’s top football attractions.
With a £5 billion TV contract about to kick in and fans across the globe to satisfy, a potential line-up of Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Diego Simeone on the benches of the country’s biggest clubs would surely justify the league’s claims to being the most fascinating contest in modern football.
While La Liga retains the very biggest stars in Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale, the Premier League’s attempts to court the most notable names in management could well present the opportunity in the coming years to attract some of those star players into the English league.
There is little wonder so many people want Mourinho at Manchester United. Now it is up to United themselves to decide whether he is the right man for them.
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