All of those Manchester United “supporters” who want José Mourinho to be shown the door marked “do one”, should be careful what they wish for.
We here at WSA are United through and through and it is difficult to watch this team most of the time, but patience is required.
We also found it very difficult to watch teams assembled by Wilf McGuinness, Frank O’Farrell and Dave Sexton. The team managed by Sir Alex Ferguson for the first five years of his tenure was an awful sight to behold and lost regularly.
Then we got David Moyes and Louis van Gaal so, if you think this is bad, where have you been for the last 50 odd years?
So all of these clown supporters, many of whom have recently jumped on the bandwagon due to the success of the club rather than any affinity with it, should pipe down and get on with supporting the team. If they have chosen to support Manchester United then that is their job, support Manchester United.
Even The Guardian agree that Mourinho should be given longer to turn things around.
If Mourinho were to leave tomorrow who would replace him? The only manager with a better record in England than him was Sir Alex. Somehow we can’t see him “doing a Scholes” and coming back.
Then there is Pep Guardiola. He won’t leave City and, even if he did, he couldn’t then go to United.
Would Maurico Pochettino leave Spurs? Even if he would why should United want him. He has now been in London for FIVE years and, although having improved his team, he has won absolutely NOTHING. He wouldn’t be allowed five years at Old Trafford.
So who is actually available? Well, there’s Zinedine Zidane for one. A new-ish manager who cut his teeth entirely at Real Madrid and is only used to managing star players who can regularly win the Champion’s League. He has no track record at all of taking a team of average players and turning them into Champion’s League winners.
He also has no history of winning La Liga regularly and only managed the feat once during his time as coach despite the only serious competition being Barcelona along with a token effort from Atlético.
A good fit for United? Not at present as he doesn’t have the experience.
Laurent Blanc – One of a very few managers who would be available if Mourinho were to leave
What about Laurent Blanc? He actually played for United 48 times so knows a bit about the club. He has won Ligue 1 with both Bordeaux and PSG and has twice reached the Champion’s League quarter-final with PSG, (no PSG manager has been good enough to win the competition to date).
During his time in Paris, as well as winning the French title, he also won the Coupe de France twice, the Coupe de la Ligue three times and the Trophée des Champions three times.
He has also managed France and took them to the quarter final of the Euros in 2012.
So, from an experienced and winning point of view, maybe Blanc would be a better fit. Who knows?
The point is that, other than these two, who else is available who would want the job? Alternatively, who else isn’t available but would leave their current club to join United?
Answers on a postcard or, alternatively, in the comments section below.
Sticking with Mourinho now is the right course of action. It would have been nice if he had been backed in the transfer window but that is typical of the United board who know absolutely nothing about football. Back him or sack him is the usual expression in these circumstances and Ed Woodward, as usual, sat on the fence and did neither.
If reports that he vetoed buying a central defender because HE thought the ones wanted were no better than those at the club then he should resign. He is not there to give opinions he is there to make sure the manager is provided with the correct tools for the job.
To say, again reportedly, that Mourinho had already bought two central defenders so didn’t need any more is just plain wrong. Lindelof does not appear to be up to the task. Bailly, Rojo and Jones keep the medical staff busy 24/7 and Smalling is a donkey.
OK, Mourinho or his scouts may have got it wrong with Bailly and Lindelof but it happens. Manchester City bought Claudio Bravo and Nolito. They could hardly be described as the “buys of the century” and one has now returned to Spain whilst the other sits on the bench every week, (when he isn’t injured).
Nolito left City to return to Spain after failing to make the grade in England
In conclusion, we do not think that United, with either Harry Maguire or Toby Alderweireld, would have fared much better against Tottenham on Monday. They may have only lost by the odd goal but, despite their dreadful defending, they just didn’t look like scoring and this is something just as serious and needs addressing just as urgently.
José Mourinho needs time and even more money with which to do so.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 
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So how much time and money do you give him to “turn things around”? At present it looks like we are going backwards and the scene was set before the season even kicked off, with Mourinho complaining about this that or the other. Despite his past successes, which no one can deny, he has form in respect to getting people offside and creating controversy where none previously existed. Anyone can be allowed some slack if it can be seen that he is sincere, competent and can display qualities of humility, graciousness and generosity. Mourinho has yet to show that he has the qualities of a true leader for whom his players would die for, as they would have for Ferguson. Mourinho is an extremely dislikable, narcissistic human being, and for that alone he needs to go before he loses the dressing room, if he has not already done so. Finally, I wonder how many Spurs fans would swap Pochettino for Mourinho, despite Poch having won nowt?
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And do you think that Pochettino could do something with this bunch of losers?
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That’s the primary function of the coach, to get the very best out of his players, as Ferguson used to do. In that respect Pochettino seems to be getting the best out of the players he manages at Spurs, so one would assume he would do the same at United. In any case Mourinho is defintely not getting the best out of his United squad, so Poch would definitely be an improvement.
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But he could get the best out of players at Chelsea. When Ferguson was in charge, playing for Manchester United was enough motivation. Most of the players we got now are just in it for the money. No pride in wearing the shirt thats why they don’t sweat the shirt. The manager is not the problem at United, it is the players and Ed Woodward.
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