Bringing in the ‘special one’ Jose Mourinho
Looking at United’s current state of affairs and their seismic fall from the top ever since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, bringing in Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford looks to be the best and safest bet for looking forward to the glory days again. Because let's just accept this, the ‘special one’ is synonymous with success.
You just have to look at his record wherever he has managed and all you can see is an instant recipe of unprecedented glory. The biggest problem the current United team faces is that they have lost their winning mentality, which can only be restored by someone who is a born winner and is ready to give everything to win. Mourinho is the man.
The die hard United faithful and the board might be against this idea because of the negative criticism that the Portuguese brings with himself that may lead to tarnishing of the club’s image. Not to mention the lack of free flowing football and limited or almost no opportunities to young players that Mourinho’s teams are renowned for. But ask any of the Chelsea or the Inter fans – does that really matter?
Of course in the long term, it does. But right now, United’s present is shambolic and if they move in the same direction, the future seems dark too. What they need is a quick fix. The rest will follow.
Mourinho certainly does possess the required charisma and the repertoire of skills and knowledge to lead a club of the stature of Manchester United. He has the innate ability to bring the best out of his players and his man management qualities are second to none.
Any top player in the world would love to work with the Portuguese, something that cannot be said with either Ryan Giggs or Van Gaal. What he doesn’t possess, though, or rather hasn’t shown yet is the consistency of maintaining his winning streak at a club. Or in other words, the art of rebuilding teams over the years at one club and still maintain a high level of performance.
Mourinho needs to attain this in order to be truly considered in the list of the all-time greats. And United can be his perfect tryst with destiny where he can finally be at home after years of wandering. Both of them need each other at this moment in time and their communion would be mutually beneficial.
Summary
Manchester United need to set their priorities before they decide whom to pass on their throne. They need to ask themselves what they want. If they are looking for long term success, then they must remain patient and forget about winning championships and be content with either finishing in the Champions League places or winning the FA Cup or sometimes not even that.
For this, they should allow Van Gaal to run down his contract and then appoint Giggs as his successor. However, will that guarantee a long-term success is still highly debatable. The example of Liverpool is for everyone to see.
United has attained a stature in world football that they receive so much of media attention, the need for sponsorship deals, the inflow of money, the fans’ expectations that they are almost compelled to win something every season. And this very fact makes the idea of the club to remain patient almost futile.
On the other hand, if United want to regain their lost identity and get back to the pinnacle of European football as soon as possible, they must appoint Jose Mourinho as their manager next season. But with him, they should be ready to accept the negative criticism of the club and forget about club’s ethos and legacy and begin a new era altogether.
It is now up to United to decide which risk is worth taking.
