Is sooner rather than later better for the Special One?
It seems a silly question, one with an answer so obvious its almost rhetorical, after all regardless of hw much you may or may not rate Jose Mourinho, there’s no denying that Sir Alex Ferguson is the greater manager and hardly likely to step aside for anyone.
Why would Sir Alex stand aside for a less gifted man? Normally I would never pose such a pointless question: for several reasons. Mourinho is usually not available Sir Alex Ferguson has still got several years left in him. Pep Guardiola is my own personal choice to succeed Fergie as United boss.
So why have i bothered to ask such a seemingly absurd question now? Well allow me to elucidate, point by point.
For starters there’s a good chance ‘the Special One’ may be available this Summer, as reports in the Spanish media suggest he’s finally had enough of Real Madrid and they’ve finally had enough of him. There’s been a report in Madrid’s very own paper: Marca of a training ground row between Mourinho, Iker Csillas and Sergio Ramos, both players have subsequently denied there is a rift.
Then there’s the feeling that even if Mourinho was to deliver the La Liga to the capital, it still wouldn’t silence his critics, unhappy with the fact that he’s already been beaten three times by arch rivals Barcelona this season, and barring a surprise may well face a quartet of defeats in tonight’s Copa Del Ray semi final second leg at the Nou Camp. There’s also reports of a split within the Madrid team, with the Portuguese and Spanish players not always gelling as they should be.
The main reason Mourinho may leave this Summer, though is if Madrid win La Liga- which they could well do, they’re currently five points clear of Barca, then it would give the Special One the chance to leave with his head held high and not consider his time at the Bernabeu a total failure.
Now more than ever the chances of Mourinho leaving Madrid in the Summer seem very real- if you’ll pardon the own.
That brings me to my next point, ‘Sir Alex has several seasons left in him,’ well does he? At the end of the season, Fergie may only have two more seasons at Old Trafford. Of course theres no way of knowing that and he may well go on for another five years- when he’ll be 75. All I’m asking is ‘if Mourinho were to become available, would Sir Alex feel it’s better long-term to step aside and allow one of the most gifted managers on the planet the chance to perhaps take over for the long-term?
As I stated earlier, my own preference is Guardiola, who Ive always felt would leave Barcelona around the same time Sir Alex decides to retire, after all even the most successful Barca bosses don’t stay around for more than five or six years. There’s nothing to say that Guardiola couldn’t break the mould however and actually end up being the first Barcelona boss to actually stay on past a decade.
If United were to wait for Guardiola, then it could be a very long wait that takes us well past Fergie’s retirement. So my question is simple- if Mourinho was willing to commit to a long-term deal at United this Summer, could Sir Alex step aside and let the younger man take charge? It may not be better in the short-term but longer term it could be beneficial, after all love him or hate him, there’s no denying the ‘Special One’ has an amazing managerial record. Sir Alex always puts Manchester United first and he may well think a manager he’s long admired is the man to cary the club forward.
Personally, I think Sir Alex should stay on as long as possible no matter who’s available, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be given pause for thought should his ‘good friend’ Jose Mourinho join the dole queue.
Have I gone in off the deep end even asking the question? Do you agree with me that ultimately Sir Alex should stay on as long as possible? Would you want to see Jose at United this Summer? Feel free to comment, suggest and abuse below:
It hurts me to say it but Guardiola would be crazy to leave Barca. I’m not sure i agree with Mourinho, he may be the only other Manager with enough talent to replace Sir Alex but he never stays anywhere long enough. We need a long term solution & we need & manager with a bit more class. I’m not sure Mourinho’s tactics would fit the united mould
Please go fergie and let Jose in , nothing lasts forever and mourinho in , he’s the best manger around, everones on about pep but he’s managing the greatest club side ever, put him as manager of Porto , Chelsea, or inter , and I bet he wouldn’t win half of wat Jose has won!!!
Jose is the best manager in the world. Pep is unproven outside idilic surroundings. Jose loved fighting and winning, which is premiership football in a nutshell. He’d be soooooo successful United would have 30 leagues before he’d retire / leave for Portugal. It’s a match made in heaven and Fergie must realise it. What he did with Porto, with Inter, and ready to step straight in and win the premier league. Fergie would step aside for that.
Real Madrid are infamous for their fickle temperament towards their own managers. They still gave Capello the sack despite him winning the liga so no surprises for Mourinho. History has repeated itself many times over there.
As for SAF leaving this summer; unlikely imo. There is no way he is going to leave MUFC with a bunch of developing youngsters. It’s obvious to me that the MU team of today is patiently being moulded for future seasons. He’s rebuilding a team again and I do not think that he is going to abandon the project in its infancy.
Mourinho, Guardiola or anyone else for that matter can wait. They are still young anyway. I do not think that we should really ‘panic buy’ a manager just because he happen to be available at a certain point of time. SAF is still going strong. I think that we, as fans, should be patient in this regard.
Big NO NO to see the Portuguese at United ..
Oh god please no
Mourinho verry good succeed Sir Alex!
Maureen has a massive ego problem ! Id prefer the calming effect of Ole .The Management team is in place at United .If its not broke don’t fix it .
I’d lyk 2 c sm1 who knows the club inside out.a giggs,scholes or a solksjaer.not sm1 who all he cares about is his name,fame etc.after all barca appointed pep when he was inexperienced.btw fergie stil has atleast 5years
Id rather have mourinho than guardiola he inherited the best team in the world so it’s hard to rate how good he is personally though I think our next manager will be solksjaer
Id rather have mourinho than guardiola he inherited the best team in the world so it’s hard to rate how good he is, personally though I think our next manager will be .