Posts Tagged ‘Martin Edwards’

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The Manchester United I began supporting as a boy were far removed from the Manchester United of today.

I first started going to Old Trafford in 1965 and sat in the Stretford End whenever United were at home. Deemed too young to go to away games, (that was the excuse anyway), my father would take me to Maine Road to watch City whenever United were away.

City never held the same attraction for me as United. It could have been that they were in the second division, it may have been that they had no “star” players, (although they were to acquire some in the near future). The atmosphere in the Platt Lane End of Maine Road didn’t seem to have the same intensity as Old Trafford. So I looked forward to United’s games with far more excitement than those of City. (more…)

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If, as is widely expected, Jose Mourinho becomes the next Manchester United manager, he will take over at the start of next season.

This is the only logical explanation as to why Louis van Gaal is still there. It would appear that Ryan Giggs has turned down the opportunity to take over until the end of the season, having decided that he wants the job on a permanent basis, or not at all.

This looks like leaving him with his second option, at least for the time being so, unless Mourinho wants him as a coach, Giggs may have to leave to come back. This is not necessarily a bad thing as nobody really knows if he is up to the United job or not and, as Wilf McGuinness proved when taking over from Sir Matt Busby, a loyal ex-player is not always the best choice for the Manchester United manager’s job, particularly when it is his first managerial appointment.

This leaves United with two further options. Either keep van Gaal until the end of the season, risking further wrath from the supporters and probably ending the season trophy-less and outside the top four, or fire him now and bring in Mourinho while there is still a chance of winning the Europa League and/or the FA Cup, even finishing in the top four would be looked at with renewed optimism if there was a change of manager. (more…)

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…)