Manchester United lifted the FA Cup title last weekend after a two hour showdown with Crystal Palace but that was not enough for Louis Van Gaal to keep his job. The Dutch manager was sacked and it seems Jose Mourinho’s appointment is a formality. The Portuguese manager won the Premier League just last season only to be sacked by Chelsea earlier this season. There is no doubt of his ability to win trophies but is he the right man for Manchester United?
Sir Alex Ferguson had thought that his replacement David Moyes will stay at the club for a long while but things went downhill in his first season and a similar scenario caused Van Gaal to be shown the way out in the second one. Now with Jose Mourinho stepping in, we can assume that Manchester United’s long-term planning is well off the cards. Mourinho is a champion but he is not a man that can last long at a club like United and his experience at his previous clubs shows that he is a ticking bomb.
Next season the Premier League is going to be far more competitive than it was this season. All of the big clubs are determined to bounce back from their shambolic seasons. New faces like Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte could shift the balance back to the two blue teams: Manchester City and Chelsea while teams like Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspurs and West Ham United are going to be extra unneeded competition for Mourinho’s team. United will need to step up their game if they are to win the Premier League or even finish in the top four.
If there is a manager that can take United out of the crisis, then it is Mourinho. He knows how to get the best out of his players but his type of football is not more entertaining than that of Van Gaal. His defensive strategy may win him games but it will bore the fans on the long run. He can attract his favorite players and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be the next man in red but what about United’s young talents? Do they have a place in the team? History says otherwise, Jose rarely gives young players the chance and he let go of players such as Mohamed Salah, Arjen Robben, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Brunye in the past.
One thing we can bet on for next season is that United will be one of the best teams in defending. Everton’s John Stones or Roma’s Kostas Manolas could be possible candidates to take over Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind’s position in the back alongside Chris Smalling. Marcus Rashford has shown plenty of potential this season but the new manager is intent on bringing Karim Benzema and that could mean much less playing time for the youngster. United may have Mourinho now, but the perfect manager for the Red Devils is in the blue side of Manchester
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