Caution: The content/takes in this post are extremely hot. Proceed at your own discretion.
Let’s call a spade a spade here. The Manchester United-Jose Mourinho relationship is going to end when United eventually fire him. Maybe they’ll say it was by “mutual consent” but if history is any guide, their working partnership will end sometime in the year 2019. If we’re still using history as a guide, then Manchester United will likely be in worse shape in 2019 then they were in the summer of 2016 when Mourinho took over.
So the question is, why wait until 2019 to pull the plug on Mourinho? Why not do it sooner even if things are going well?
I know that sounds like one of the most ridiculous questions ever but think about everything else at play. Manchester United pride themselves on being one of the biggest clubs in the world, a club that no one is bigger then. Then there’s Jose Mourinho. He’s not at Manchester United to try to help United win their 21st league title. He’s there to prove to the world that he can win with any club in the world. He’s there to win his fifth Premier League title. The fact that United get to claim a 21st league title and 14th Premier League title is just a bonus for them.
Fans were excited when Mourinho was hired by United as many knew it would translate to a Premier League title eventually. But Jose Mourinho has a shelf life. He’s never lasted more than three years at one time at a club and he always seems to leave the club in a bigger mess then he found it in. If that holds true, then in his time at Manchester United they’d be able to win a maximum of three league titles. Are those three league titles worth it if in 2019 the club is in an even bigger mess, with aging veterans and no youth players to build around because Mourinho didn’t develop any?
Suddenly this doesn’t seem like a ridiculous idea anymore. Instead of letting the Mourinho cycle play out, just pull the plug on it when it’s still going well and a new manager can continue to build on a team before that team starts to decline.
Jose Mourinho has already done all the hard things that United’s previous two managers in the post Sir Alex Ferguson have failed to do. He went out in the summer and bolstered the team’s back line. He went out and signed some big time players that not only scare opponents when you see their names on the team sheet but give United depth in the squad that they haven’t had since Fergie was around.
It might only have been two weeks but Jose Mourinho has given Manchester United their swagger back. The team isn’t close to firing on all cylinders and yet they’re back to the point where fans can expect them to win every game.
This team has scary amounts of talent. When they start firing on all cylinders they won’t need a tactician manager per say. Rather they’d simply need someone to pick the team every week, let Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic do what they do best, and have the other nine players support them. They need someone who will mix in some younger players with substitute appearances here and there to give them some first team experience to supplement their reserve games so they can be ready in three years when you need them, because you don’t need them now.
You don’t need a big name manager to do that, you can turn the reins over to Ryan Giggs to accomplish this. If you still think that’s crazy just think about how Real Madrid did the exact same thing last year with Zinedine Zidane and won the Champions League. Zidane did manage the reserves team so if you want to go the more experienced route how about another former Manchester United legend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer?
Jose Mourinho is using Manchester United right now. Right now he’s just another notch on his belt, another club that he’s won at, another battleground for his war with Pep Guardiola. Manchester United are not a club that gets used, at least they didn’t used to be. They’re a club that prides themselves on being one of the biggest in Europe, a club that no one person is bigger than.
You’ve already gotten great benefit out of Jose Mourinho. He’s brought you in world class players, he’s brought your swagger back, and he’ll probably bring you a league title this year.
He’s using you, so why not use him. Take your league title and then play Mourinho the same way he’s played every other club. Wouldn’t that be the best move long term?
