Archive for the ‘Managers’ Category

Jose Mourinho To Take Over At Manchester United?

Posted: February 6, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion
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Leicester City v Chelsea - Barclays Premier League - King Power Stadium

If it is true that Jose Mourinho’s advisors have been contacted about him taking the Manchester United job, then the appointment needs to be announced fairly quickly.

According to the Manchester Evening News, talks have been held but nothing has, as yet, been agreed. Here’s the article.

Louis van Gaal has a little bit of credit in the bank thanks to the last two wins which, in my opinion, actually say more about the players taking control than the manager.

They went out to try and prove that they are not as bad as the manager appears to want to make them look. Van Gaal’s one good decision, (if indeed it was HIS decision), was to play players in their favourite positions, particularly Juan Mata.

Anyway, back to Mourinho. Apparently his heart is set on the United job and resistance to his arrival at Old Trafford is softening. This could be due to his polite and respectful silence since he left Chelsea, which could also be seen as a display of how much he wants to be the new man at Old Trafford. It could also be, however, that his detractors have seen the lack of any success brought by their first and second choices! (more…)

Wenger, Van Gaal, Pellegrini & Hiddink A Couple Of Years From Now!

Posted: February 5, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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In two years time in the Algarve, at the Vale de Lobo retirement complex for ex-Premier League managers, Louis van Gaal will sit down by the pool along with Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger and they will talk about the old days.

Louis will begin with how it can all go wrong. Citing the approachment of old age during his tenure at Manchester United, he will point out that, nowadays, this football management malarkey is a game for the youngsters.

Stressing that he tried to reproduce the successes he had enjoyed at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he will point out that tactics, which were winning titles many years ago, are not even staving off relegation at some teams presently. Just look what happened to big clubs like Aston Villa, Sunderland and Newcastle United!

The problem was that, with the onset of old age, he had to rely on the players coming up with training routines and tactics and, when he did, the team became quite good. They had left it too late to finish in the top four so Jose Mourinho now occupies Louis’ old seat. If only he would have thought of it years ago, he could have saved himself a lot of headaches and Advocaat. (more…)

Who Is The Biggest Team In Manchester? United Or City?

Posted: February 4, 2016 in Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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I read a rather silly article in the Daily Mail, which you may read here, if you so wish,which claims that, because Pep Guardiola has gone to Manchester City, this immediately makes them the biggest club in Manchester and, therefore, the Premier League.

Obviously written by a deluded City supporter, this claim is based on potential, nothing more.

They are certainly the wealthiest club in the division and they now probably have the best training facilities and the best youth set-up. How does any of that elevate them to the status of “biggest in the league?”

I will agree that if, over the next thirty or so years, they build their global fanbase to a size larger than that of Manchester United, which they will only do by beginning to match the on-the-pitch success of United, then they have a chance.

Manchester United have won the First Division/Premier League title on twenty occasions, the European Cup/Champion’s League on three and the FA Cup eleven times. Their Old Trafford ground has a capacity of 75,653 and is regularly full on matchdays. They claim a global fanbase of 659 million people but I am not sure that this figure has ever been ratified. (more…)

Would Manuel Pellegrini Be A Good Fit For Chelsea Post Jose Mourinho?

Posted: February 3, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Managers, Manchester City, Opinion, Premier League
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(Roman wonders whether Guus has sorted out Chelsea’s problems and whether Manuel will bring another steadying hand to the tiller!)

I suppose if you want a quiet, charming and polite man to take over a club like Chelsea then, yes, he would be ideal. A little like Hiddink in that he prefers to do his talking on the pitch and only appears at press conferences and on TV because his contract states that he has to, it would be an almost seamless transition from one to the other.

Having decided that Jose Mourinho was no longer the man to take the club forward, Roman Abramovich now has a decision to make. He can try and tempt a man who is eight years Mourinho’s senior but is a safer pair of hands in which to leave the grenade that is Chelsea football club, or he can try to attract a younger manager with potential longevity, such as Diego Simeone.

His choice may say a lot about his own long-term plans. If, for example, he opts for Pellegrini, this would be on a two or three year contract which probably wouldn’t be renewed, irrespective of success achieved. It would be viewed as a way to get Chelsea back on an even keel without losing the ability to compete at the top of the Premier League and in the Champion’s League. (more…)

Better From Van Gaal’s Manchester United

Posted: February 2, 2016 in Football, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Jesse Lingard takes the plaudits for his goal although he did very little else throughout the game and was extremely lucky to stay on the pitch for the entirety without being substituted)

If this is one of van Gaal’s “match-by-match” nights then he will still be in charge at the weekend.

Manchester United players played the first half as though they thought that Pep Guardiola was coming to Old Trafford rather than the Etihad. They certainly didn’t look like the players who weren’t interested in playing for their current manager just two or three games ago.

A headed tap-in by Lingard from a cross by Borthwick-Jackson opened the scoring and this was followed twenty minutes later with Martial ending an excellent move by placing a curling shot into the top left hand corner, leaving Butland spectating with the crowd.

So at half-time United, contrary to the majority of their other games at Old Trafford, had scored two goals, normally they can’t score ONE!

Hopefully Louis wasn’t going to spoil anything during his team talk such as telling Anthony Martial that he was rubbish or that De Gea only does what he is supposed to do. (more…)

Does Jose Mourinho REALLY Want The Manchester United Job?

Posted: January 31, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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If Jose Mourinho is serious about the Manchester United job he is remaining very calm and quiet about the fact.

It could be said that, by staying completely out of the limelight, he is adopting exactly the right tactics to secure himself the position.

Whether he likes it or not there are obviously detractors at Old Trafford and these are the people he needs to bring onside.

Of the people who matter the chances are that he would have the support of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill. This would probably be enough to secure the backing of Ed Woodward who, as somebody who knows very little about football, has to rely on the knowledge of others when making managerial appointments. It is also important that he trusts the right people because, at the end of the day, he is the one shouldering the responsibility, hence his reluctance to dismiss Louis van Gaal.

The biggest name in the anti-Mourinho corner seems to be Sir Bobby Charlton, if we can believe what we read in the noble press. Now, however, his dissenting voice is less likely to be heard. (more…)

Louis Van Gaal, The Modern Day Rasputin

Posted: January 29, 2016 in Football, Louis van Gaal, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion
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(Rasputin would have been proud of Louis’ survival instincts!)

Grigory Efimovich Rasputin was a Russian peasant, known as the “Mad Monk”, although he only spent three months in a monastery. He claimed he had powers of mystic healing and prediction. Using these powers he somehow contrived to heal the Royal family’s son of haemophilia. This elevated him into being accepted by Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Tsarina Aleksandra as, after four girls, this was their only son and heir who’s life he had saved.

The problem was that it made the other high-powered natives restless. They thought that Rasputin was using his new found influence to run Russia as the Tsarina was a really big fan and hung onto his every word. So they decided to do what was always decided to do back then, they decided to get rid of him.

After poisoning him with potassium cyanide, shooting him three times, (once in the head hitting the brain, once in the chest hitting the stomach and liver and once in the back hitting the kidneys), and beating him with a 2lb dumbell they finally managed to kill him by tying him up and throwing him over a bridge into the nearby river. Even then he only died because the river froze over him while he was unconscious, as they didn’t bother to weigh him down with anything!

2016 will be the one hundredth anniversary of his death so it seems only fitting to say a few words about the reincarnated version of Rasputin, namely Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal. (more…)

Is Jose Mourinho Distancing Himself From The Manchester United Job?

Posted: January 27, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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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. (more…)

Ed Woodward & Louis Van Gaal, Two Men Being Allowed To Ruin Manchester United

Posted: January 27, 2016 in Football, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Manchester United have given Louis van Gaal more than enough rope to hang himself. In fact, they have given him sufficient to ensure that his feet are able to reach the floor.

According to the Guardian’s Jamie Jackson, Louis van Gaal’s performance as a manager is to be reviewed on a match-by-match basis. The article is here, if you wish to read it.

Yesterday I wrote about the fact that the Manchester United Circus is being run by the head clown. Today, I wish to revise that opinion. It is now a pantomime being run by the Dame. How else can this ludicrous decision be explained?

Van Gaal’s record speaks for itself in it’s level of failure. Even van Gaal himself has finally admitted that he is failing and doesn’t know what to do.

If the press is to be believed he has offered to resign at least once, an offer which should have been welcomed by United, because it may not come again. A resignation would have meant that United didn’t have to pay the remainder of van Gaal’s contract which the, now inevitable, sacking or mutual termination means they will.

Still, for a man who has managed to waste the millions that Woodward has managed to waste over the last three years, this is only a minor detail. (more…)

Manchester United’s Problems Begin And End With Ed Woodward, They Just Include Van Gaal

Posted: January 24, 2016 in Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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It has reached the stage, at Old Trafford, where Ed Woodward has to put aside his pride.

Having employed David Moyes who, seven months into his reign, was deemed a failure then surely, eighteen months into his reign and with an inferior record, van Gaal must also be deemed a failure.

Up to now, van Gaal has had eleven months longer than Moyes in the job and roughly £200 million more to spend. Yet his record is worse. Why is he still there?

It has to be an over simplification to think that Woodward’s pride has anything to do with it, yet what is the alternative? It is understandable that he does not want to sack another one of his appointments, it wouldn’t make him look good with his bosses. Yet these are the bosses who put him in charge of football matters so this is also THEIR mistake. He has to do what is right for the club, not what is right for his ego.

Ed woodward is very successful in marketing. He has brought millions into the Old Trafford bank account through sponsorship deals with many multi-national companies around the world. He was responsible for the £750 million deal with Adidas. So his value, in that respect, should not be underestimated.

Where it started to go wrong was when the Glazers assumed, wrongly, that Woodward knew anything about the game. (more…)

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