When Sir Alex Ferguson finally bowed out at Manchester United in 2013, most people thought that Jose Mourinho would take over. He was not quite at the peak of his powers back then, having endured his trademark ‘disappointing third season’ at Real Madrid, but he’d won a title there and a treble at Inter and a pair of Premier Leagues at Chelsea. He was arguably the second best manager in the world behind Pep Guardiola and it was rather endearing that he was reportedly heartbroken when they gave the job to David Moyes instead.
Whoever the second best manager in the world is today, they are unlikely to be too interested in replacing Ruben Amorim. Of all the bookmakers’ front-runners, Oliver Glasner is probably the only man worthy of a top ten place and he may feel that his ambitions are better served elsewhere.
The Manchester United job is not a poisoned chalice, but it’s a plastic beaker of six day old house red at best. It’s still one of the biggest clubs in Europe, they still have a vast supporter base and there’s still that tantalising prospect of being the one who fixes it all.
But there’s not going to be much money on offer. Partly because United’s net debt broke the $1bn marker last summer and partly because spending restrictions mean that even if United did have the cash, as Newcastle will confirm, they might struggle to spend it.
And this is not a good squad. It’s been half-built for Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation in much the same way that it was half built for Erik ten Hag and if you sniff inside the dressing room you’ll pick up faint traces of Ralf Rangnick, Ole Gunner Solskjaer and even Jose Mourinho signings in there too.
United have been so horribly broken for so very long that even if the owners tested out a ghastly experimental medical procedure on Sir Alex Ferguson and reversed his ageing process, Govan’s greatest would struggle to turn this around.
Darren Fletcher is the interim manager for now, soon there will be a caretaker manager to see out the season and then a new man will arrive in the summer. Because that’s what United need; two more managers probably with two different sets of ideas.
So who are the front runners for the real vacancy in the summer?
Enzo Maresca was bafflingly installed as the early favourite to take over, baffling because the manner of his exit from Chelsea was so similar to Amorim’s from United. Maresca has proved himself unable to operate in a sporting director-heavy environment and has also demonstrated that he’ll happily have three separate conversations with rival clubs, which is less than ideal.
Oliver Glasner is now the favourite and rightly so. He has performed miracles at Crystal Palace, he’s a good judge of player, he’s tactically brilliant, he’s man-managed Marc Guehi so well after his move to Liverpool broke down that the England defender’s form has barely wavered. Critically,
his contract at Selhurst Park expires at the end of the season. He is certainly good enough for United, but are United good enough for him? He will be one of Europe’s most sought after coaches this summer, does he really want the chaos and entrenched decay of Old Trafford? Probably, yes. Because everyone in football is mad.
Gareth Southgate has come into 6/1 in some places. He’s a good man, well liked by players and, lest we forget, he’s England’s highest achieving manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. But there are still some doubts over his abilities. The last time he was a Premier League manager, it was at Middlesbrough and he got relegated. It’s a very different sort of job, this one, and you could make the argument that he’s the sort of corporate-friendly, progressive CEO-like figurehead who would be perfect for a rebuild. Don’t expect everyone to agree with you though.
One interesting name in the mix is Kieran McKenna. He was the under-18s manager at United before taking the Ipswich job and winning back to back promotions. He was linked with the role last time, but opted to stay with Ipswich who were subsequently relegated, but are now up in third place in the Championship.
But for a real long shot, I do like the idea of Thomas Tuchel. He’s way out at 35/1 with some bookmakers which feels long for a man who is out of contract in the summer and has proven experience at big European clubs.
As for the caretaker position, that’s a hard one to call because it has to be someone capable of doing it, but not so capable that anyone wants them to stay. This is why the caretaker position is such a treacherous invention. It’s not going to be Sir Alex Ferguson, for the benefit of the chap on the BBC live blog who suggested it. Sir Alex is 84 years old and deep into his anecdotage now. Nor should it be Wayne Rooney, though I suspect this suggestion came direct from someone in the BBC podcasts department. Rooney is not a very good football manager.
Ruud van Nistelrooy wouldn’t be the worst decision, given that he did reasonably well in his brief period in charge last season. How he must wish that he’d just gone on a long holiday instead of destroying his reputation at Leicester City. He would be in the running for the real thing now.
But the fact that we’re talking about re-hiring a caretaker manager barely a year down the line really does illustrate that the problem at Manchester United isn’t necessarily restricted to the dug-out. If this is ever going to be the sort of job to again attract the attention of the best managers in the world, the boardroom is where the serious surgery is required.
FOOTBALL. FAST. NO FAFF 