Dear Jose Mourinho,
First of all, welcome to Manchester United!
So after months of speculations, rumours of a six-page letter to the club, and talks about a pre-contract, you were finally announced as the successor to Louis Van Gaal. At the end, it was only a question of, ‘when will it happen?’ rather than a, ‘will it happen?’. Jose Mourinho to Manchester United was destined to happen. The whole world knew about your love for the club and you were never shy about saying it aloud in public. So when it happened finally, fans like me were ecstatic.
The last three seasons have been very hard for the Manchester United faithful. The departure of Sir Alex (Ferguson) left a massive void and David Moyes was brought in to fill in his shoes. But despite being the ‘Chosen One’ (a moniker you bestowed upon yourself as well), he failed miserably. We finished 7th that season and put up one of the worst title defenses in recent history.
I remember crying after that humiliating 4-1 loss to (Manchester) City. Old Trafford wasn’t a fortress anymore and smaller teams came to the Theatre of Dreams confident of getting 3 points. It kept getting worse till finally Moyes was rightfully shown the door. I was desperately waiting for the season to end. It was painful to see the team struggling against the minnows of the league.
Louis Van Gaal was then given the task of restoring the glory days which the club had last seen during the Fergie era. Although he led us to a respectable 4th place finish in the next season, the year can still be deemed a failure. (Angel) Di maria, a record signing failed to adapt to the Premier League and eventually departed for Paris. The Champions League was back but a 4-0 defeat to MK Dons was a new low. Everything was far from right for the red side of Manchester. Ironically, your Chelsea team were on a dream run and spent most of the season at the summit of the table before grabbing the title.
The second season of the LvG era wasn't a different story either. Players looked tired and fatigued all season. Injuries were a common sight. Depay was busy emulating Di Maria on the left. The football itself was so boring that I fell asleep during the late night games. Chants of “Attack ! Attack ! Attack !” echoed at the Stretford end. Results were underwhelming considering the money spent on transfers. Fans like me were far from happy. Van Gaal's’ antics on and off the field made the already bad season worse. Although the rise of Martial and Rashford were a silver lining, it was hard to digest the fact that we had to play for 4th spot and console ourselves with an FA cup win.
So when you were announced as our Manager it was relief finally. With our rivals having some of the best managers we could not afford another Moyes. We have very high hopes of you. You’re a proven winner. You have a hunger to win. Winning trophies in 4 countries is a feat not many can achieve. United is famous for it's ‘Never Give Up’ attitude and attractive playing style and needless to say we want you to follow the same philosophy. You can restore that winning mentality in the squad.
We have some young talent like Martial, Rashford, Borthwick – Jackson and Fosu – Mensah. Please give those guys a chance! United is famous for making stars out of raw, young talent (Cristiano, Rooney,Class of ‘92 and more) and it wouldn't hurt much to give these lads an opportunity.
The squad needs to be improved in every department and your name will attract a lot of big names in the Transfer window. Zlatan has signed and Mkhitaryan is to sign in next few days. You’re more than capable of building a squad which can challenge for the title and not fourth place or the FA cup.
You’ve asked for the support of fans and I assure you the fans will not let you down. I can’t wait for the season to start and see you at the touchline at Old Trafford. You’ll get a reception like you’ve never experienced before. You said, “There is a romance and mystique about being the manager of this club.” Let’s make this romance a ‘Fairy Tale’!
Regards,
A Red Devil
P.S – Please don’t sell Mata! I’m sure you both can sort out your differences.
