The days of Louis Van Gaal as the manager are over now. Manchester United’s net spend during Van Gaal’s reign was around 150 million as he signed 13 players during his two years in charge. His philosophy was hugely criticised as United failed to create many clear cut chances even though they had the majority of the possession. He played his players out of their favoured positions and was largely at fault for United’s failure in the past two seasons.
So Ed Woodward decided that a change in the management was necessary to turn the club’s fortunes around. After the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United have struggled to find an ideal successor. And many believed that in Mourinho, the throne would finally have a worthy heir.
The “SPECIAL ONE” is back in business. The long awaited appointment of Mourinho as the manager of Manchester United has finally been confirmed. He is one of the best coaches in football at the moment as he has already coached the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid, Porto and now Manchester United. But is he the right man for this job?
Short-term solution
The era of Sir Alex Ferguson was a golden era for Manchester United. They were the best team in England and one of the best sides in Europe. There are very few coaches of SAF’s stature at the moment in world football, except maybe Arsene Wenger.
David Moyes was seen as a long term successor of SAF. But the Scot couldn't deliver and was sacked within 10 months of his tenure. With the club in turmoil, their club legends retiring and lack of quality players in the squad, they decided to appoint Van Gaal in order to bring some stability to the club in the short term. But that experiment failed too.
Now that Mourinho's appointment has been confirmed, he too offers only a short term solution to their ongoing problems. Going by his past record, he hasn't lasted more than three seasons at any club – he has either been sacked or has left by mutual consent. He will surely be successful in winning some silverware at United, but at the moment the club requires a long-term solution to their problems.
Philosophy
Every big club has its own philosophy, and the owners try to find the players and managers to fit to their system. Manchester United's philosophy over the years has been attacking football. They try to have the majority of the possession and score as many goals as possible. But Mourinho’s appointment might raise some questions.
He is a defensive minded coach who believes in parking the bus and preventing the opposition from scoring. This tactic will reap rewards in the short term but the opposition will eventually find a way to counter those tactics and Mourinho as always will run out of ideas.
Moreoever, United fans are used to seeing free flowing football and enjoying the major share of possession. But under Mourinho they likely won't get to see their team playing beautiful football.
Bust-ups with players
Players always like to work with coaches who believe in them, and they always try to speak with them about how they can help the team and improve their own game. Internal stability is essential to any club. A healthy relationship between players and management is always preferable and helpful.
But Mourinho has a history of having bust-ups with the star players of the team. At Madrid he had a bust-up with their club captain and legend Casillas and this season at Chelsea he lost faith in one of his favourite Chelsea players – John Terry.
Mourinho's off-field problems might not help United's cause in this period where they are struggling to become one of Europe's best clubs again.
What about the future of Ryan Giggs?
United need a manager who can create a legacy and who better to do that than Ryan Giggs – a player from the Class of 92 under the great Sir Alex Ferguson. Giggs has been assistant manager for almost three years now. He already knows how this club runs as he has been associated with it for almost three decades.
He might not be ready at this moment, but he surely deserves a chance. Just like Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane, he can turn the club’s fortunes around with his knowledge and experience.
Giggs might not provide United with quick solutions to their problems but he is the right man to take United forward. But after the appointment of Mourinho he likely won't stay as his assistant manager, as he would like to have a bigger role at any club.
Mourinho’s problem of promoting and developing young players
The Red Devils have one of the best academies in world football. With players like Rashford, Fosu-Mensah, Borthwick-Jackson, Januzaj and many more coming through their system in the previous season, the appointment of Mourinho would have raised some questions in their mind considering his track record at previous clubs.
The youngsters at the moment require a vote of confidence from the management and be given opportunities when the situation arrives. Mourinho is a coach who believes in players who have already proven themselves on the bigger stages. He'd rather have a small squad but one with a lot of talent in the ranks. But United's philosophy over the years has been about developing players from their youth academy.
At Chelsea in the previous two seasons, Mourinho hardly promoted any players from their youth ranks, despite the likes of Loftus-cheek, Musonda and Bamford being at his disposal. He chose to send those players on loan instead of giving them some minutes in the first team squad.
At the current stage, Mourinho might not be the right man to take United forward as he only offers short term and temporary solutions to their problems. But only time will tell if the decision to appoint Mourinho is correct or not.
Let's hope that he can break his jinx of not able to manage a team for more than three years, and will stay here at United for years to come and leave a legacy behind.
