If Manchester United are trying to distance themselves from Jose Mourinho and put him off the idea of becoming their manager, then they are probably being successful.
Mourinho, as manager of Chelsea, has been able to witness first hand the bungling Ed Woodward at work during the transfer windows. In his first one he managed to overpay for Marouane Fellaini, a player a lot of United fans still haven’t got used to seeing in a United shirt. He did this by missing a release clause expiry date in Fellaini’s contract with Everton, which meant paying £4 million more for a player nobody wanted except David Moyes.
In his second window, having announced that United could afford to buy any player, he then proved what a superlative negotiator he was by spending £15 million more than he needed to on Angel Di Maria, a fact proven when he was sold to PSG a year later for, guess what, £15 million less than was paid for him.
At this stage in his career Mourinho, secure in his job at Chelsea, would have just laughed at the incompetence of it all. It probably confirmed to him that he had made the right decision in returning to Chelsea. He would have been aware that the transfer window jokes would not have surfaced had his friend, Sir Alex, remained in charge and that Fellaini would have remained at Everton and Di Maria would probably have gone elsewhere. Ferguson wouldn’t have fallen for buying him for a year while PSG served their transfer ban and then letting him go to them at the first opportunity.
How glad he would be that he didn’t have to work alongside a glorified Marketing Manager who, carried away by his own self-importance, spent the club’s money as though it were water, (how do you spend water, by the way?)
No, Jose had made the right choice until it went wrong. Whatever happened and for whatever reason, Jose ended up jobless. This immediately sparked speculation that he would take over at Manchester United as not only was van Gaal not pulling up any trees, he wasn’t even picking any daisies.
So there was the answer to United’s problem handed to them on a plate by none other than Roman Abramovich! Just sack van Gaal and Sir Bobby’s your uncle!
This solution would have been ideal for all concerned and even the Mourinho detractors would have come round as soon as United started adding to their points tally at a rate of knots.
Remember that these detractors were the ones who wanted Moyes, then van Gaal along with the boring football and losing mentalities that accompanied both of them to Old Trafford.
For whatever reason, Mourinho to United hasn’t happened yet. Whether or not it will happen remains to be seen. Why van Gaal is still in charge is a complete mystery to all outside the walls of Old Trafford!
One theory is that Guardiola has agreed to take over in the Summer. The knock-on effect of this is that Giggs does not want the job on an interim basis, he wants all or nothing. Mourinho is not the type to take the job until the end of the season either. He also wants all or nothing. So they will stick with van Gaal whilst coming up with various excuses as to why they are doing so, to cover the real reason, until the end of the season.
Whatever the explanation this is yet another mess overseen by Ed Woodward. He has proven to be way out of his depth when dealing with transfers, he is now proving to be way out of his depth when dealing with managers.
To be honest, if I were Jose Mourinho, I would think long and hard before I went anywhere near Manchester United at present. It would appear that he is doing exactly that, a fact which can be attributed directly to one Edward Woodward.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 