Following on with our RoM Contributors, here’s another piece written from a Red who isn’t me, which should be fairly obviously a few paragraphs in!
I have one observation I’d like to make ahead of tonight’s game with Inter, and one fairly controversial view on the topic of Mourinho as a future United manager to share with you.
First, the observation. I am scared senseless by tonight’s game. Terrified. We played Inter off the park in the San Siro, but without a goal to show for it we are hugely vulnerable to the “nick-an-away-goal-and-defend-for-our-lives” strategy. If any team is capable of scoring an early goal and then defending it then it is an Italian team managed by TNSSO.
Our defence has been pretty jittery recently. Spurs, Blackburn, Newcastle and Fulham could all have scored more than they did, and there was a concerning combination of individual errors and lack of conviction in our defending.
I haven’t seen Evra run as ragged as he was by Lennon since his first few games for the club. EVDS presented Newcastle with the first goal at St James Park and almost got caught out by Johnson at Fulham – that’s how easy it is to go 1-0 down tonight.
O’Shea was lucky not to be sent off against Spurs. Rio certainly isn’t at his commanding best. Thank God, then, for Vida, who has been flawless throughout.
Onto the Mourinho management point. Scott has made his views very clear on this issue, and his analysis of Mourinho’s track record is entirely accurate. But, but. But Mourinho might be the ideal interim manager, the ideal person to take over for a couple of seasons immediately on Ferguson’s departure.
Finished throwing things at the screen? Still reading? OK then, bear with me.
I will go on record and say that I think United would be barking mad to appoint anyone other than Martin O’Neill. That is my considered opinion which I have held for about 5 years, and I will justify it in a later post if necessary. However, there is an argument to say that nobody is capable of succeeding as Fergie’s immediate successor.
The next manager will inherit a football club (as opposed to a business) that is built around Fergie. Around his personality, his beliefs, his habits, his strengths and (whisper it) his weaknesses. With Fergie’s trusted lieutenants in charge of all sorts of important and secondary roles. The next manager will also inherit a club whose business model (and this is the reality, however much we all hate it) requires success to support its finances.
So on the one hand, there needs to be a period where the club weans itself off Fergie, and learns to function without him in his office from 6am every day. Where the lieutenants take charge of their areas, and the players get used to Fergie not being around. This will be best done without the added pressure of media scrutiny.
And whilst all this is going on, the team need to keep winning, regardless of what is going on around them. They need to for their sakes, for our (the fans’) sakes and for the sake of the business model.
Mourinho’s weaknesses are many. A poor record in the transfer market, no interest in youth players, less than enthralling tactics. Well, he shouldn’t need to venture into the transfer market with the squad we will have, he will have the best crop of youth players for a generation coming through and the infrastructure in place to continue that conveyor belt (no £10m signing of Spurs scouts). And the football United have been playing this season has been on the efficient side of exciting – not hearing too many complaints.
But what he undeniably did at Chelsea was take an already strong group of players and make them win things. At the same time his media antics focussed everyone’s attention on himself and away from his players and the internal chaos at Chelsea – he took all the pressure on himself. Take tonight’s game as an example of those talents continuing – where in the papers this morning did you read a headline about Inter’s defensive crisis? That’s right – in a sentence at the end of paragraph six in particularly small font.
So for a maximum of two seasons, immediately on Fergie’s departure, he might be the ideal candidate. Then we could bring in the guy who will be in charge for the next 20 years (Martin O’Neill) in an atmosphere of considerably less pressure and give him a real chance to make his mark on the club. And if that doesn’t give you comething to discuss to take your minds off the tension of the next few hours, nothing will..
Rich, Penguin United
Man Utd News 24/7
i had thought along the exact same lines. it’s not really a bad idea. but god only knows how the Ronaldo-Maurinho equation will work out.
Plus, we wouldn’t want to lose the likes of the da silvas for his whimms regarding more defensive minded full backs! :O
Very good article and worth thinking about. Jose would be ideal as an interim Manager but would his ego allow being just that?
Maybe he’d adapt and evolve into the United style of play and make taking over from SAF a seamless transition which would exclude the need for MON who i do rate highly but hasn’t really cut his teeth at the top level ala Maureen!!
Only time will tell who follows the great man….lets hope they get it right!?
Oh and Scott you never let me know about the F365 article that was Plagiarised by danny from WILMSLOW on MEN?
He’s adamant he wrote it -the Knob!!
Maureen would destroy all the flair players — the Da Silva would be nipped in the bud. Not worth it. Hope O’Neill wins a couple of pots before SAF goes.
It takes less than a single season to ruin a team and run it into the ground. Remember, Juan de Ramos at Spurs ? Maureen will never give our up and coming players a chance to play. He did very well at Chelski because he had millions/billions to play with. Who wouldn’t do well with that kind of money ? He has absolutely no long term vision. Could you imagine our manager saying something like, ” Well, I wouldn’t rule out being Inter Milan Manager one day.” ? He is egotistical enough to ruin the long term vision that SAF has-say good bye to Welbeck, De Silvas, Evans …etc. If he takes over get ready for a mass exodus of Manchester United Players over the coming years (maybe Carrick, Anderson, Foster..etc. If what we are looking for is an interim manager I would rather go with someone like Alan Curbishley.
Ah The Penguin is back, missed you legend!!! Missing your great articles! Scott is filling the void though, well done again lads, keep the good work up here on the websites.
As for the manager issue….Jose is no way for me, not ever as he has a cockyness that is not Manchester United’s way, look how fergie and his men conduct themselves, they would never do what Jose does.
he has many weaknesses too, not just his way of playing the game is somewhat Rafaesque!
The great Bobby has said in a previous interview that Jose will never manage United so we stop talking about it & hopefully it wont happen!
As for the options – two at this moment Martin O’Neil & David Moyes.
Martin for obvious reasons and what has being said before but Moyes is included as I read an article recently that had Fergie being the asked the question, what manager has done very well in his mind and he said david Moyes on limited funds……..
So in my mind its those two and a would not mind either.
Please Fergie dont go for a while yet!
Couldn’t agree less! Whoever gets the job will `get time to settle in becouse the squad is good enough to survive some bad managerial decisions. Why give that pillock a couple of seasons to ponce off Fergies good work? Get the next manager in and let him settle. Does anybody here REALLY want somebody like him to represent us? Today the pathetic prick was complaining about the colour of the stars on the balls for tonight! Apparently we are allowed to use gold stars on our balls for home matches becouse we are the Champions of Europe everybody else has blue and maureens players are used to blue so he has complained to uefa. Stop this nonsence please he is not the man for us.
O’niell any day.
He makes the best out of what is in front of him, let’s staff get on with their jobs and make few, but calculated, signings.
He likes good football, isn’t scared to attack and has an eye for flare players.
He’s done as well as he could in Europe and is over-achieving again in the Prem.
He’ll be the best to maintain continuity, even though he’s an outsider.
I just wonder if he’d cope with the pressure.
Whoever gets the job will have to accept the fact that there’s a big shadow over the title of “Manchester United Manager”. One that will deflect credit back to Fergie for a while to come. Just as people argue that Chelsea is still Mourinho’s team, and therefore not a true indicator of the managerial skills of his successors, the same will be said of the next man- he’ll be labelled a coattail-hanger. It will take a thick skin to accept those challenges and just get down to the job.
Can you imagine “look at me” Mourinho stepping into a position where he can’t claim all the glory for himself? A situation where people could possibly say to him, “yeah, but look at the groundwork laid for you”? He’s managed to blow off the massive contributions of Ranieri and Mancini (not to mention the Juventus match fixing scandal) in the improvement of his clubs, but there’s no way on earth he’ll be able to get us to forget Fergie so quickly. The idea of sharing or giving credit where it’s due will drive him absolutely bonkers and will end poorly for both him and us.
Under no circumstance should rent boy Mourinho be given the United job.
He would fucking destrouy all that United stands for. All his teams paly boring, boring football. I wonder what would he achieve with a small club on a limited budget.Yes, you are probably right, nothing at all.
i am scared shitless as well on tonites game….c’mon UTD…DICK THE CUNT.
Sir Alex and Carlos Queroz have worked tirelessly for such a long time to finally put together a group of players who will come through our youth ranks and be our new generation of sorts.
As soon as Mourinho joins he’ll undo all of that
Wake the fuck up lads
tHIS MORNING REMINDED ME OF EXACTLY WHAT i HATE ABOUT MOURINHO…HIS TEAMS ARE THE BIGGEST BUNCH OF CHEATING THUGS… sorry bout caps.
Still i reckon five years with mourinho might be ok but it could easily turn into twenty due to his young age…He might be succesful??
I am glad its not my decision…which is saying something due to the fact that I love making decisions.
these are the exact sentiments i was feeling about mourinho as the next manager and very candidly and clearly put forward. I’m pleased you’ve put this post up Scott because it suggests you give the arguments some credit too…Can’t forget the Portuguese factor either, it’s so important for our club over the next few years to keep the portuguese-speakers ticking over until/if they become more settled in England…P.S. The branching out to look for good arguments is something I think you should do more of Scott as it increases the variety of the blog. cheers
Mourinho let himself down tonight by coming out before the teams to grab some attention!He needs to learn that the team and club are bigger than him!!Well played tonight with Giggsy and Scholesy rolling back the years!I would of brought Berba off at half time and put Carlito on!What does he have to do to get a game?Hope he and Rooney lead the line aganst the scousers!!
Someone asked “who wouldn’t do well with billions in the bank”, well Mark Hughes is one for sure, and look at what kind of money Real Madrid spends and they still can’t even get to the quarter-finals. It’s not as easy as FM if you have loads of money, that is important to remember.
And about Mourinho not giving the youth a chance, well Balotelli and Santon played tonight at Old Trafford, the thing about Mourinhos time at Chelsea was that they had rubbish youth players.
Btw I really, really want Moyes as our next manager, O’Neill is a nutcase according to many former players of his, I’m sure he could do a decent job but I’d prefer Moyes any day.
Tonight:
Evra = Solid
Ferdinand = Commanding
Vidic = Same
O’Shea = Dependable (No Figo meg tonight though)
Van Der Sar – fucking spectacular, the perfect goal keeper performance, even Figos dangerous free kick he palmed away with a crowd of players around him, we should really build on this performance, sure Inter got a chance or two but who wouldn’t they get a chance against? They’re a top class side, at one time or another they’re obviously gonna break through to get a chance. Tonight we were fantastic, Scholes wasn’t at his best and Berbatov wasn’t there (sadly) but we still did the job.
I would say Moyes. If I’m not mistaken he was under Fergie at one point during his career. Even if Fergie retreats though I think he will still have massive influence in the way the club is run and what’s happening at the club ala Sir Bobby Charlton.
As for Morinhio I liked the way his team played the first year he was there, robben and duff flying down the flanks – that was his greatest team. After that it appears Abramovic started meddling with the team – as far the transfer market goes – and with Abramovich I don’t think a manager ever really has/had control of the transfer market. Some of the players he did bring in the likes Carvalho and Essien (stole from us) were quality players. Alghough again with Robben, Mikel, Essien etc Chelski were just going after all the players united were going after.
With Inter will be good to see what Morinhio is about, he won’t have as much money as some of the other clubs in Europe, he will have to rely on youth to a certain extent; I think at Inter he doesn’t inherit a team – (ie. one that’s ready to win in Europe) he will have to on build that – so let’s wait and see what he does. To be fair he did play Balotelli (who has quality) and Santon, and Rivas in the first match who was shambles. He brought along Joe Cole to an extent. Everywhere else as has been pointed out he inherited teams. And at Inter it won’t be as at Chelski – he has full control.
I dont think the special one should be even considered. How about Carlos Queiroz to take over?
i wud like Ole to succeed Fergie.Solskjaer knows d ManUtd way & can gain valuable knowledge wit d reserves.been impressed wit pep guardiola at barca who also was an unknown
Interesting article.
This analogy can only work if Maureen decids to be a puppet and follow as written here, i.e. without interfering with everything else apart from managing the team. Are we sure he will be like this? Are we sure he wont interfere in anything else in his capacity as the Manager? How can we think, he, with all his ego, will sit back and let the flow continue from Fergie to MON (or whoever) on its own, while just winning?
I say give Giggs a shot, whether he initially wants it or not! He has the respect of the players & a player-manager is the best interim there is.
Mancini and Quaresma were Morinhio buys and they are /were shiite
Mourinho does have a problem with bringing up youngsters but his signings are rarely wrong.Look at what he did with players like Drogba and Essien.Mancini and Quaresma are not bad signings since he wanted to bring in wingers.Who was he supposed to bring in?World football doesn’t have many great wingers at the moment.Of course he has got it wrong with signings(ahem Boularhouz) SAF has also got signings wrong.Anyway,i think that last night the MOurinho ghost was slayed for good.We move on to bigger things now and we have a manager who almost admitted that they are going to carry him out of Old Trafford horizontaly.So Mourinho was right when he said that we could be looking at 20 more years of Fergie.Next in line should be Ole or Moyes.But if Ryan does do well in his first managerial posts,then without a doubt give it to Giggsy.I know many people would like Eric or Roy as a manager,but at the end of the day Ryan Giggs might go down along with Sir Bobby as United’s best ever.
Quite enjoyed that post. I can see where he is coming from.
“massively” off subject but i had to share an interesting quote i found on the bbc football gossip section….. nearly pissed myself laughing
Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook says Kaka would have struggled to oust Stephen Ireland from the team if the Brazilian playmaker had moved to Eastlands from Milan. (Daily Mail)
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
What the fuck is going on!?! I couldn’t bring myself to read that shite, i got the jist, and its bollocks, Mourinho is an egotistic twat that never played football, and more importantly… IS AN ENEMY!!
Stop all this bollocks please! It’s gonna make me cry.
HE’S NOT SPECIAL ANYMORE!!
“So for a maximum of two seasons, immediately on Fergie’s departure, he might be the ideal candidate. Then we could bring in the guy who will be in charge for the next 20 years (Martin O’Neill)”
Martin O’Neill is as old as Fergie was when we won the treble.
Well said Wazza. Ole could do the job with good back-up. Even if he was to be given caretaker status for a season, just to see if he can handle it. Remember how he use to watch the opposition from the bench, then come on and know exactly how to play them. Fergie must recognise the genius in the man to give him the reserve team job. He’s already an embassador for football and has total respect from everyone connected to the game. This guy could even become Pope if he put his mind to it. No way for Jose. O’Neill is a bit flaky, Moyes looks too much like Gollum.
Step forward OGS. The man for the future.
I agree with the OGS shout….. get the backroom staff sorted…. i am sure players like scholes and giggs are going to stay in some sort of coaching role at the club, we could have a brilliant backroom team built after the boss leaves. but i think he will find it very hard to leave the job totally (maybe some director of football role)… i could see him moulding OGS for the job over the next couple of years
Maureen’s being investigated for common assault after allegedly punching a United fan after last nights game.
kidmeister, giggs was fantastic but I’m afraid scholesy struggled with the pace of it all last night…A couple of years ago, you could have bet your house on Giggs finishing his career before Scholes but it’s starting to look increasingly like it’s going to be the other way around…I think Anderson has come back and is looking really good, he brings another dimension to the midfield when he runs at players and is a good foil for Carrick’s passing ability..I don’t think Ferguson should have started Scholes last night and said to everyone who could be bothered to listen to me before the game that Anderson should start. I was pleased to see that he recognised that it was probably his toughest decision when he brought him on for him for last 30mins but we can’t afford that again..The reason you have the best players in the world playing for your team is so they can pull you out of trouble when you make a bad decision and the players got Fergie out of jail a bit last night.