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Mourinho: a risk Man Utd have to take

Mourinho: a risk Man Utd have to take


Mourinho: a risk Man Utd have to take

The Portuguese is the man to get United back to where they need to be

José Mourinho is brash, arrogant, egomaniacal and self-obsessed. He courts controversy wherever he goes, at times bringing the reputation of his employer into disrepute. Whether it’s post-match comments questioning the allegiances of referees, or press conference baiting of opposition managers; a lot of the Portuguese’s antics are far from savoury.

But one thing that cannot be questioned is Mourinho’s almost unparalleled record of success on the field. That is exactly why he must be the next Manchester United manager – and the sooner the better.

Under Louis van Gaal, United are falling way short of even the most modest of expectations. At the beginning of the season -- following a reshaping of the squad which saw some high-profile departures, along with some high-expense incomings – expectations within Old Trafford would’ve been that the side should be within touching distance of a title push, and perhaps a quarter-final place in the Champions League. Considering last season’s fourth place finish and qualification back into Europe’s premier competition, these goals would represent progress -- achievable and reasonable.

Yet by late December it was clear that re-evaluation was required. Van Gaal’s men had crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage, failing to progress despite what had seemed to be a favourable set of opponents. United were also off the pace in the Premier League; their slow, uninspiring football may have been admissible among fans were it yielding results – it was not. Defeat to Norwich at Old Trafford marked a turning point for many United supporters. Enough was enough, it was time for a change.

But no such change was forthcoming, United plodded on. They even strung together some decent results; victory over Swansea, Liverpool and an impressive display against Derby County in the FA Cup. However, it was a case of one step forward, two steps back. Losing away to Sunderland and Danish minnows FC Midtjylland in the Europa League has marked the nadir of an already desperate season.

It is true that there is much wrong with United aside from the manager: the Glazer family took over more than a decade ago, saddling the club with debt while extracting as much as £700m from the coffers during their time of ownership; Ed Woodward, the Executive Vice Chairman, has done wonders in increasing revenue through commercial deals, yet his transfer dealing have at times bordered on comical, making the need for a director of football, or something similar -- someone with the football business experience that Woodward lacks -- very apparent.

But the Glazers aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and they remain loyal to Woodward. You can only control the controllables, fix the fixables; that starts with appointing Mourinho.

Mourinho comes with many caveats: there are questions over his reputation, or lack thereof, for giving first team chances to academy graduates; there are doubts about his style of play; Sir Bobby Charlton, who occupies a position on United’s ‘Football Board’, has publicly questioned Mourinho’s behaviour in the past. The former Chelsea manager is most certainly not the perfect fit for the United job, but he absolutely represents the best option for right now.

For one, Mourinho is desperate for the job, and a manager with his illustrious CV is not something United are in a position to turn their noses up at. Yes, at times his antics and publicly-waged wars against whomever he has decided is his enemy are grating, but is that really much different to the kind of moves Sir Alex Furguson used to pull during his dictatorial rein in Manchester? And as for the style of football Mourinho espouses; he is the ultimate pragmatist. He constructs his strategy based on the tools at his disposal. Give him the right players, and he’ll produce entertaining, attacking football. Just as he did when he guided Real Madrid to the Spanish league title in 2012, setting all-time La Liga records for most goals scored, highest goal difference and most points in one season. His Chelsea team last season were also capable of some eye-wateringly exquisite football, with the likes of Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas combining to great effect.

There is also the small matter of who will be in charge of the ‘noisy neighbours’ – as Ferguson called them – at the Etihad. Manchester City’s appointment of Pep Guardiola – arguably the best manager in the world right now – represents a huge statement of intent. If United intend to compete with City in any meaningful way, they need to appoint a manager who not only has the tactical know-how to match the scheming Catalan, but also the personality to deal with the inherent pressures at the top. Mourinho, thanks to that 2012 title win with Madrid, is still the only man to have gone head-to-head with Guardiola over the course of a season and come out on top.

Of course, United do have other options. Their current assistant manager and club legend, Ryan Giggs, is known to want the job. The Welshman has been number two at Old Trafford since the summer of 2014. Giggs would be the purists’ ideal candidate; a man who has only ever know life inside the Old Trafford bubble. But to appoint someone whose only managerial experience is a four-game spell as caretaker boss following the dismissal of David Moyes in April 2014, would be to take a massive risk. It would also be unfair to Giggs. The unstable situation United find themselves in both on and off the itch, is not the type of environment in which a rookie manager can flourish; there is no scope for a settling-in-and-learning-the-ropes period -- that could set club back too far, likewise Giggs’s fledgling reputation.

Mauricio Pochettino is another name that has been mentioned in connection with the Old Trafford hot seat. The Tottenham manager has earned rave reviews for the way he has moulded Spurs into title contenders this season, and doing so with a base of young, British talent. The Argentinian could well guide Tottenham to their first league title in over 50 years -- making a title win even a possibility is a superb achievement. But it might be prudent of United to bide their time, allow Pochettino to finish what he has started with Spurs before judging his suitability. After all, Mourinho tends to only stay at a club for three seasons, at which point Pochettino may represent the best long-term solution.

Mourinho is a whirlwind of a manager. He comes, he wins, then he leaves – often with a trail of devastation in his wake. But that’s not always the case: at both Porto and Inter, Mourinho left behind a successful, harmonious group of players who had been schooled in winning. Hiring the box-office Portuguese would represent a risk; but it’s a risk United must take.