WHY SAY ANYTHING?

When David Moyes was appointed Manchester United manager to follow in the footsteps of the great Sir Alex Ferguson, everybody at Old Trafford, including the most important people, the fans, were prepared to give him a chance.

He was christened “The Chosen One” because, in a deed which seemed very unlikely, it was said that Fergie had chosen him as his successor. The reason it was unlikely is that a club like Manchester United does not allow one man to make decisions which affect the whole future of the club and it’s employees.

So, after 26 years of one manager there was optimism and a great deal of interest to see how the new man would fare. Personally, I did wonder what qualified him for the United job other than being a dour Scot from Glasgow!

He immediately set about dismantling the fans trust by making stupid statements about “aspiring to be as good as City” and making Liverpool favourites in a game at Old Trafford. As expected, he didn’t last long but, at least, neither did the sadness.

Enter Louis van Gaal. Winner of leagues in several countries and far more positive in outlook than Moyes. He started off by saying all the right things and quickly had the fans singing his name. Again, it wasn’t to last. He adopted a style of football which bored the fans who managed to stay awake and gave nightmares to the ones who didn’t.

By the end of his reign, he had turned into a pale imitation of his former self and even resorted to saying that expectations at United were too great. The fans, by now, had had enough and van Gaal became history.

Manchester United finally turned to the man they should have employed when Sir Alex retired and, having been sacked by Chelsea, Jose Mourinho arrived with a reputation to restore.

Jose immediately set about telling all who would listen that Manchester United were only in competitions to win them and, as if to prove his intent, set about spending millions on just three players. His theory simple, better to buy two or three world class players knowing they will do well, than buy six or seven good ones hoping they will be OK.

When the arrival of Mourinho was announced it had split the fans and the board. Most were in agreement that he was the right choice but there were some doubters. He is very quickly turning those doubters into believers with his style of play, his dealings in the transfer market and, most importantly, his results.

He is the first United manager in 79 years to win his first three competitive games in charge and he has done it with a certain amount of style. Not yet the scintillating football which may very well come at some stage but, as United fans will agree, it is the result that counts.

He has brought in Eric Bailly, who has quickly cemented a place at centre back with his displays. Zlatan Ibrahimović has already scored four goals in the three games and Paul Pogba made his second debut in the win against Southampton and looked every inch the world class midfielder that he has become.

Poor old Henrikh Mhkitaryan can’t even get in the team yet, but that situation will change. His appearances as substitute have given us an idea of what an outstanding player he is and he is far too good to be left out for long.

At present nearly everybody loves Jose Mourinho. The way things are going it is difficult to see that changing. The caveat is, however, that he only seems to spend two years at a club, so his third year is an unknown quantity. On that basis, United are in for two very good years then a mystery.

There is a very strong possibility that, if Jose can achieve the success he craves during his first two years, he will not want to leave. He is getting older and the wanderlust isn’t as strong as it once was. He wants to stay in England so to which other club would he go? As he has said, he has reached the pinnacle, so why would he want to go downwards?

It looks like 2019 could be an interesting year!