The Jose Mourinho reign as Manchester United manager has come to end. The so called `special
one’ was given his marching orders on the morning of Tuesday 18th of December after a short
meeting with Ed Woodard.
The writing was on the wall for Jose after another well below par performance against arch rivals
Liverpool. That was to be the last time we would see Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager.
As the news broke, there where serval names doing the rounds on social media outlets from Michael
Carrick, Laurent Blanc and Gary Neville. Not long after the sacking Manchester United confirmed
that there would be a caretaker manager put in place until the end of the season.
To most people’s surprise, the name that was mentioned most was the Malmo manager and United
legend, Ole Gunner Solskjaer. The next morning it was confirmed that Ole Gunner Solskjaer would
be in charge until the end of the season. Along side him will be former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson
Mike Phelan and Michael Carrick.
The Right Man For The Job
With the Man Utd job up for grabs come the summer, is it still one of the most wanted jobs in the world?
world?
The short answer is yes. If you ask any manager in the world if Man Utd came calling they would be
very hard pushed not take up the offer from the biggest club in the world. Of course, they would find
it hard to turn down, because it might never come around again.
Who could end up in the most prestigious job in football?
At 5/2, the `Baby Faced Assassin’ has first crack at bringing Man Utd back where they belong. Let’s
be honest, he has an easy job coming into the role after Jose. When he gets them playing attacking
football and putting on performances that they should be putting in with the depth of talent in the
squad, then it’s not a million to one shot that Solskjaer could start next season as the permanent
manager.
Solskjaer, being a Man Utd hero, will hopefully be able to put across to the players what it means to
be a Man Utd player. The pride they must show when putting on the famous red shirt and remind
everyone that Old Trafford is a place no one wants to go.
He as iterated that he would `love the job, but it is something that have not talked about’. Only time
will tell if he has learned a lot from his stint at Cardiff and is good enough to fill the huge void that is
still there from when Sir Alex called it a day on his managerial career.
The one that every pundit and Man Utd fan thinks is the perfect fit for the job is current Spurs boss,
Mauricio Pochettino. Pochettino, who is 6/4 favourite to be in the Utd dugout come the first game
of next season is proven in the Premiership and will have no problem adapting to the demands of
the Premiership unlike so of the other names been mentioned for the job.
His philosophy of giving young players a chance, with his attaching style of play is something every
Man Utd fan wants to see. But, will he leave half way through a project with Spurs and about to go
into a brand new, state of the art stadium.
The pro of him moving will be he can be the man to turn Man Utd back to the attack force they
should be, and will have endless funds to get the players he thinks will improve the squad.
The pull of Man Utd calling for him at such a young age in terms of a manager, might be too much to
turn down. Spurs chairman Daniel Leavy is well known to be a hard man to deal with when it comes
to striking a deal.
Another name that is linked with every big job since he left Real Madrid in the summer is Zinedine
Zidane. No doubt he done an amazing job at Real Madrid in his 3-year spell, winning 3 Champions
Leagues in a row along with playing attacking and attractive football, he would fit the mould of what
is needed at Man Utd.
But the other side of it is, did he have one of the easiest jobs to come into with the squad at his
disposable with the likes of Ronaldo, Bale, Modric and Sergio Ramos making up the spine of his
team. Could he do the same with the likes of Sanchez, Lukaku, Rashford and Fred?
If he was to walk into the dressing room on his first day, he would have respect right away for what
he achieved in his playing days, but with the way players are now is it enough to be a former world
class player walking into the dressing room to lead a dressing room full of young players and older
egos?
Zuzu, if given the chance could bring the wow factor to the hallowed turf at Old Trafford.
Others to mention, Laurent Blanc who is 14/1. The former Man Utd defender has made a good
transition from player to manager with the likes of PSG and his home nation France.
Current Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is on the short list for the job at 6/1. But I think it would
not go down well with the Utd faithful because his style of football would be a typical Italian
manager, in where you don’t concede you can’t lose. Where what United want, as the fans have
shouted for the last few months, is `Attack, Attack, Attack’.
Verdict
I think at the end of the summer we will be seeing Mauricio Pochettino being revealed as the new
Manchester United. The way he conducts himself on and off the pitch, with his positive style of play
would set United on the road to recovery if given the chance.