BBC: United hold talks with Mourinho

[Catt]

Are you serious? He's our manger and has a year left on his contract?

Yes I'm serious. You really think there's a massive chance he'll continue? I mean, whatever little snippets of info we get points to Lvg being gone after season ends.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Yes I'm serious. You really think there's a massive chance he'll continue? I mean, whatever little snippets of info we get points to Lvg being gone after season ends.

Yes I do think there's a massive chance, unfortunately. He appears to have weathered the storm. At the start of the year the pressure was coming from all sides and his departure looked imminent. Since then, things have been very quiet on the LvG front. Yes, these Mourinho stories won't go away but who's spinning them?

Unfortunately I have no faith whatsoever in our board. LvG's reign has been a disgrace and he should have been sacked a long time ago but he hasn't. It's lovely to just assume he'll be gone at the end of the season and I hope that's the case, but forgive me for not getting my hopes up.

 

[Judas]

I have literally no doubt in my mind that Mourinho will be in charge next season.

 

[Catt]

Yes I do think there's a massive chance, unfortunately. He appears to have weathered the storm. At the start of the year the pressure was coming from all sides and his departure looked imminent. Since then, things have been very quiet on the LvG front. Yes, these Mourinho stories won't go away but who's spinning them?

Unfortunately I have no faith whatsoever in our board. LvG's reign has been a disgrace and he should have been sacked a long time ago but he hasn't. It's lovely to just assume he'll be gone at the end of the season and I hope that's the case, but forgive me for not getting my hopes up.

As has been pointed out, there are probable reasons why he's still here. Mourinho can't or wont start until the summer and Giggs don't want an interim job.

 

[Summit]

Since then, things have been very quiet on the LvG front. Yes, these Mourinho stories won't go away but who's spinning them?

So in other words...things haven't gone quiet?

 

[JohnnyKills]

Yes I'm serious. You really think there's a massive chance he'll continue? I mean, whatever little snippets of info we get points to Lvg being gone after season ends.

Yeah there really is nothing coming out to the contrary at the moment, it's all suggesting Mourinho's signed or the board are undecided.

 

[Robbie Boy]

As has been pointed out, there are probable reasons why he's still here. Mourinho can't or wont start until the summer and Giggs don't want an interim job.

Before Mourinho was available, LvG should have went but he didn't. He clearly has support from someone (several people) at board level. I want the man gone, and I have done for a long time but I think this Mourinho talk is far from a guarantee. Maybe LvG has turned me into a pessimist but I have no confidence that our board will make the right call.

 

[Robbie Boy]

So in other words...things haven't gone quiet?

As I said I want him gone. It's that simple really. From my own personal perspective, I can't get my hopes up until there is definitive clarity on the matter. Well yeah, talk of LvG being sacked is far quieter than it once was. There's lots of Mourinho talk but since he's not employed by our club......

 

[DomesticTadpole]

If LvG stays our club could be years away from the top. Also the fan base might be beyond repair.

 

[Robbie Boy]

If LvG stays our club could be years away from the top. Also the fan base might be beyond repair.

It would be a catastrophe alright.

 

[devilish]

Well I 'd rather take one of those three than Mourinho. Mou is an arrogant bitch who think he is the most important man in the world. To be honest I want Warren Joyce or Giggsy

It would be interesting to see the 'United' way which took la Liga by surprise at OT. Do you support Liverpool btw?

 

[Rado_N]

Are you serious? He's our manger and has a year left on his contract?

Moyes had five left on his.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Moyes had five left on his.

That's great. Anyhow lets hope LvG gets the ouel heave ho at the end of the season.

 

[Catt]

Maybe LvG has turned me into a pessimist but I have no confidence that our board will make the right call.

Think this is your issue. And regarding the board, they may not all agree with who should take over, but there's no way they are satisfied with the work Lvg's done.
They are also smart people and probably see Mourinho as the most logical choice to get us back on track.

 

[Judas]

Contracts mean nothing in modern football.

 

[Rado_N]

That's great. Anyhow lets hope LvG gets the ouel heave ho at the end of the season.

Well you pointed to his contact as being reason for him still being here next season.

The writing is on the wall, he's failed at his task and he'll be gone in May.

 

[Rado_N]

Contracts mean nothing in modern football.

Aside from how big a termination payment might be. Or transfer fee in the case of players.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Think this is your issue. And regarding the board, they may not all agree with who should take over, but there's no way they are satisfied with the work Lvg's done.
They are also smart people and probably see Mourinho as the most logical choice to get us back on track.

Absolutely it's my issue. The shambolic decision making since Fergie retired has turned me into a pessimist regarding decision making at our club. I see no reason how or why LvG has survived as long as he has but somehow he has. Rewind to January; it looked like he was 100% gone and he's still fecking here! I mean, it's madness. Now he has the possibility of an FA Cup win and maybe even a chance at Top 4 (due to the lack of quality of others). It seems he somehow keeps finding ways to get a stay of execution.

I hope the board make the right call on this one as if we feck this up, there will be massive ramifications. As I said though, I'm just not confident. When he finally leaves, I'll be as elated as anyone else and getting Jose would be a real coup.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Well you pointed to his contact as being reason for him still being here next season.

The writing is on the wall, he's failed at his task and he'll be gone in May.

Not really no? I said that's a reason why he might still be here as he's under contract. It's kind of an obvious point really. I hope he goes but as he's under contract, he'll have to walk or get the sack.

 

[Magnus]

It would be interesting to see the 'United' way which took la Liga by surprise at OT. Do you support Liverpool btw?

Yes, YAWN

 

[Magnus]

LVG is as successful as MOURINHO but they both play boring shite. If you prefer this boring football than so be it, fair enough since atleast Mou will probably bring us trophies. I prefer entertaining football, with or without trophies, but each to their own. It was Nice to have a bit of discussion

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Not really no? I said that's a reason why he might still be here as he's under contract. It's kind of an obvious point really. I hope he goes but as he's under contract, he'll have to walk or get the sack.

As others have said I think there is a reason why he is here to the end of the season, that we can still get 4th place and are still in the F.A. Cup (if hanging on by our fingertips). Also that if there wasn't something with Chelsea about Jose not taking another job in PL this season he would be in work already either here or abroad. If one of the big clubs abroad knew Jose was available they would have made a vacancy for him. LvG will be gone at the end of the season.

 

[Robbie Boy]

As others have said I think there is a reason why he is here to the end of the season, that we can still get 4th place and are still in the F.A. Cup (if hanging on by our fingertips). Also that if there wasn't something with Chelsea about Jose not taking another job in PL this season he would be in work already either here or abroad. If one of the big clubs abroad knew Jose was available
they would have made a vacancy for him. LvG will be gone at the end of the season.

I'm hoping this is the case alright.

 

[Mainoldo]

LVG is as successful as MOURINHO but they both play boring shite. If you prefer this boring football than so be it, fair enough since atleast Mou will probably bring us trophies. I prefer entertaining football, with or without trophies, but each to their own. It was Nice to have a bit of discussion

We should hire Martinez then. Furthermore why not go watch Everton.

 

[devilish]

Yes, YAWN

I thought so

 

[JPRouve]

LVG is as successful as MOURINHO but they both play boring shite. If you prefer this boring football than so be it, fair enough since atleast Mou will probably bring us trophies. I prefer entertaining football, with or without trophies, but each to their own. It was Nice to have a bit of discussion

For you, who can guarantee entertaining football? I see Paco Jemez, Klopp, Gourcuff, Bielsa, Zeman, Guardiola, Wenger, Tuchel and Favre.

 

[Seij]

Do you guys think Mourinho will be a long term solution at United? What if he comes and buys players he likes or were there with him at his previous clubs which might stagnate the growth of players like Rashford etc or WORSE what if he keeps Rooney as the captain and continues playing him?

For me he is the obvious choice if the other option is Giggs but i wish we had someone for the long term who will sort out the issues in the team.

Rooney will be dropped if Mourinho doesn't see him as good enough.

One thing about Mourinho is that he doesn't like to play into his clubs' politics. He dropped Casillas at Real when Casillas wasn't playing well enough and that caused a massive fallout which eventually led to Mourinho being sacked. He dropped Terry last year and I don't doubt it was a major part of what caused the fallout between him and the squad this season. This stubbornness to refuse compromise and drop star players to bench, is actually similar to how SAF dealt with Beckham, RvN, Rooney, etc.

On the other hand, We've seen how Moyes and LvG coddled and refused to drop or sub Rooney no matter how badly he was playing.

If Rashford continues his productivity and Rooney continues his decline Mourinho will not keep starting Rooney.

I don't dislike the guy but for me (i could be wrong) it feels like his only way to solve problems in the team is to throw money at a new player and if he doesn't get his way, he will create a fuss and end up quitting.

People like to say this about Mourinho a lot, but look at his career path. He got sacked at Chelsea x2 and Real x1. He left Porto and Inter to take jobs at higher prestige, better paying places after achieving huge success with them. I don't know if he's ever thrown a fit and quit because he didn't get what he wanted. He gets stereotyped here a lot and I think that is unfair.

 

[Red_toad]

If LvG stays our club could be years away from the top. Also the fan base might be beyond repair.

This is a club that had the highest attendances in the country the last time they were relegated. Beyond repair is a lot dramatic. There will always be a fantastic local contingent & the plastics will support the club again once it starts to win.

 

[devilish]

LVG is as successful as MOURINHO but they both play boring shite. If you prefer this boring football than so be it, fair enough since atleast Mou will probably bring us trophies. I prefer entertaining football, with or without trophies, but each to their own. It was Nice to have a bit of discussion

Not really. LVG has won 1 CL and that happened more then two decades ago. Mou won 2 CL with two different clubs in two different leagues. LVG won his last league title (in a top league) 6 years ago. Mou is the EPL reigning champion. LVG has never won anything in the EPL. Mou won 3 EPL titles, 3 League cups, 1 FA cup and 1 Charity shield. So there's a big difference between LVG and Mou. One is a football dinosaur who has no idea of the EPL, the latter knows the EPL inside out and is currently the biggest guarantee of success.

LVG took football by surprise by playing some of the most attractive football with Ajax. Same as SAF. However both resorted to boring football in their last years of their career. A manager can only play the football his players are suited for and we do lack the talent to play top quality football

 

[DomesticTadpole]

This is a club that had the highest attendances in the country the last time they were relegated. Beyond repair is a lot dramatic. There will always be a fantastic local contingent & the plastics will support the club again once it starts to win.

I think back then the club and players still had a pretty close relationship with the fans and they knew that Tommy Doc would bring them back. At the moment the board are taking the fans for granted and the club could be on the road to nowhere if they don't make the right decisions.

 

[JohnnyKills]

This is a club that had the highest attendances in the country the last time they were relegated. Beyond repair is a lot dramatic. There will always be a fantastic local contingent & the plastics will support the club again once it starts to win.

Completely agree. The fan base will always be there, we shouldn't worry about plastic fans leaving for other teams,

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

The long term factor shouldn't remain on the managers but on the club structures. Sometimes managers lose dressing rooms and there's no way back. They can get exhausted at some point, especially the ones with more pressure around, or maybe they have problems with the board, or any other thing. 3 years for a manager is a good and healthy amount of time. My problem with 'long term' and 'Mourinho' is about his contributions to the club in a more deep level, results aside.

I see clubs like Barcelona, Bayern, who know what they want in terms of style. They are ambitious tactically and they develop along the years, building at the same time they try to fight for trophies. When a manager leaves and a new one takes over, he has a developed team and they don't need to work from zero. And Mourinho, to my eyes at least, is not a manager who builds anything solid or complex during his tenures.

His short-term management is excellent, because he knows how to extract 120 % from the squad both physical and mentally. He analyzes every detail about the opposition, so he sets the team differently depending on what's needed. You can go sure to every match, because he'll know how to face it. But I think all his teams lacked tactical deepness, they remain basic even if he makes some improvements. When they drop the levels of intensity just a little you don't have anything solid there.

And it's very difficult for a team to keep the level of focus, hunger, aggression, and the physical demand he normally sets to be competitive. In the last 6 years in 2 different clubs he's won two leagues. After the first one at Real, he started the next season and he lost the chances of winning it in September. After winning his last league with Chelsea, we all know what happened.

We can say he knows how to make a team to achieve even above their expectations. But I don't find interesting to reach a high competitive level, if you can't keep some minimums after that. He's lost two dressing rooms in a row after achieving in his second season, and I don't think his aggressive management is sustainable in the long run.

Some people say that "maybe he's thinking long term now". The key to remain for more time will be to reduce his short term demands, and this will have a negative impact on immediate results. He's been successful in the past because he's an 'explosive' manager, and this is his style. He's not a builder, or someone who works with slow fire. If he changes his methods we'll be hiring a different manager, a total unknown.

If we're going to sign him I'd rather he keeps doing the same he always did. If our current board don't have a clue of what to do, and how to build something properly, let's get someone at least who can make us competitive, unlike the last clowns we appointed. But I think the Mourinho signing would be something to accept with resignation, not something to celebrate.

This is not the way of doing things for a club like us, and I find this decision amateurish, irresponsible and based on desperation. A decent club works in a more professional manner, with football people, 'tunned' with the modern times, ruling the destinies. A more solid plan and better definition in term of ideas, values, tactical ambitions. Our club is empty and we look for someone who can fill it all by himself. If we sign Mourinho and he ends being a failure or not convincing us, he won't be the one to blame.

I think this post is very interesting and I must say this matches a lot of the fears that I have with the Mourinho appointment. I have always thought that Mourniho is the complete opposite to what we believe in as a club and for that reason I've never been happy about the thought of him as manager. I've now accepted that he will come in (99% sure) and I think I'm living more in hope that he can somehow fix it all but I fear the reality will be nothing close. If he isn't a success what then? I've only seen people say he will make us brilliant once again but I think there is still a good chance he could fail and from there the future looks very uncertain.

 

[Red_toad]

I think back then the club and players still had a pretty close relationship with the fans and they knew that Tommy Doc would bring them back. At the moment the board are taking the fans for granted and the club could be on the road to nowhere if they don't make the right decisions.

The Glazers & Woodward won't always be there. The fans & the history of the club will remain no matter what. If the club takes a big downturn, we'd probably end up with more fan friendly owners & there would be a lot of managers who'd want to turn the club around.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Completely agree. The fan base will always be there, we shouldn't worry about plastic fans leaving for other teams,

I don't worry about the plastic fans, I worry about us losing a generation of kids to other teams. Where I live you are seeing more and more City shirts when there were hardly any before.

 

[Judas]

Like how we have the Mourinho plays boring football myth wheeled out every page.

 

[Invictus]

For you, who can guarantee entertaining football? I see Paco Jemez, Klopp, Gourcuff, Bielsa, Zeman, Guardiola, Wenger, Tuchel and Favre.

Slightly pedantic tangent, but Bielsa does not guarantee entertaining football IMO. Guaranteed entertainment on the sidelines, and in front of media? Absolutely. But not always on the pitch. I'd class him in the same bracket as Van Gaal, infact. When his system takes a hold and the players are in tune with it, they can play decent to good stuff. But, when there's a dissonance between the two (which is always a worry with prickly characters like Marcelo), the teams can look rubbish for months on end, much like with ole' Louis. Infact, not only are they poor to watch at times, his 'philosophy' isn't statistically productive in terms of consistently yielding returns at the highest levels - eg. Athletic Club scored an average of less than 50 goals per season in his first couple of seasons, and while they were energetic (moreso in Europe - the wins vs United pronouncing the impression), the execution wasn't always aesthetically pleasing.

 

[devilish]

The long term factor shouldn't remain on the managers but on the club structures. Sometimes managers lose dressing rooms and there's no way back. They can get exhausted at some point, especially the ones with more pressure around, or maybe they have problems with the board, or any other thing. 3 years for a manager is a good and healthy amount of time. My problem with 'long term' and 'Mourinho' is about his contributions to the club in a more deep level, results aside.

I see clubs like Barcelona, Bayern, who know what they want in terms of style. They are ambitious tactically and they develop along the years, building at the same time they try to fight for trophies. When a manager leaves and a new one takes over, he has a developed team and they don't need to work from zero. And Mourinho, to my eyes at least, is not a manager who builds anything solid or complex during his tenures.

His short-term management is excellent, because he knows how to extract 120 % from the squad both physical and mentally. He analyzes every detail about the opposition, so he sets the team differently depending on what's needed. You can go sure to every match, because he'll know how to face it. But I think all his teams lacked tactical deepness, they remain basic even if he makes some improvements. When they drop the levels of intensity just a little you don't have anything solid there.

And it's very difficult for a team to keep the level of focus, hunger, aggression, and the physical demand he normally sets to be competitive. In the last 6 years in 2 different clubs he's won two leagues. After the first one at Real, he started the next season and he lost the chances of winning it in September. After winning his last league with Chelsea, we all know what happened.

We can say he knows how to make a team to achieve even above their expectations. But I don't find interesting to reach a high competitive level, if you can't keep some minimums after that. He's lost two dressing rooms in a row after achieving in his second season, and I don't think his aggressive management is sustainable in the long run.

Some people say that "maybe he's thinking long term now". The key to remain for more time will be to reduce his short term demands, and this will have a negative impact on immediate results. He's been successful in the past because he's an 'explosive' manager, and this is his style. He's not a builder, or someone who works with slow fire. If he changes his methods we'll be hiring a different manager, a total unknown.

If we're going to sign him I'd rather he keeps doing the same he always did. If our current board don't have a clue of what to do, and how to build something properly, let's get someone at least who can make us competitive, unlike the last clowns we appointed. But I think the Mourinho signing would be something to accept with resignation, not something to celebrate.

This is not the way of doing things for a club like us, and I find this decision amateurish, irresponsible and based on desperation. A decent club works in a more professional manner, with football people, 'tunned' with the modern times, ruling the destinies. A more solid plan and better definition in term of ideas, values, tactical ambitions. Our club is empty and we look for someone who can fill it all by himself. If we sign Mourinho and he ends being a failure or not convincing us, he won't be the one to blame.

Mou is not perfect but I find some of your comments hilarious. For example you said that Mou won just 2 leagues in 6 years. I wonder why 6 years had become a magic number all of a sudden. Why not 7 for example? You see that sort of filtering can be quite deceiving. For example SAF won just 3 league titles between 2002 and 2008, which is just 1 more league that Mou did. That's hardly a big difference between the two considering that Mou was new to La Liga and had to compete against the best team in the world while SAF knew the EPL inside out and had just lost his biggest competitor ie Mou a man who clawed from the old man 2 of the 3 league titles they both competed in. Also if you remove those who has managing the top 2 clubs in the world (Bayern-Barcelona) or are managing clubs who have total dominance over their league (PSG, Juventus etc) most of the managers have around the same record in terms of leagues. Ancelotti won 2 league (one in the richer version of the Scottish league), Klopp has 2 leagues as well, Simeone has 1 and Wenger has none. I wonder how many league titles have top r*ds favourites Pocchetino, Tuchel, Giggs and the pundit has won in the past 6 years.

Also note that Mou had managed 3 of the most difficult teams in the world, clubs who no one was able to build a legacy with. I am not a big fan of Mou however lets criticize him on his achilles heels (his inability to develop youths) not on biased arguments which aren't then applied to his rivals

 

[JPRouve]

I wonder why 6 years had become a magic number all of a sudden. Why not 7 for example?

Hi Jorge, I answered why 6 years, it's the number of seasons that he started in his last two jobs.

 

[devilish]

Hi Jorge, I answered why 6 years, it's the number of seasons that he started in his last two jobs.

So its just a coincidence that you're removing that season were Mou won the treble with a team which falls short in terms of money to most of the top clubs in Europe? Also if we're focusing on 6 years then we can add the treble in it since Inter won the treble in 2010

 

[JPRouve]

So its just a coincidence that you're removing that season were Mou won the treble with a team which falls short in terms of money to most of the top clubs in Europe? Also if we're focusing on 6 years then we can add the treble in it since Inter won the treble in 2010

Seasons not years, when I talked about the 6 seasons it wasn't to have a dig at Mourinho or pretend that he isn't the best manager around with Guardiola but just to point out that he doesn't guarantee to win a lot on a short period of time, he did it with Chelsea and Inter but didn't with Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Once again some of use aren't against Mourinho but we don't see him as the golden ticket, he is just a very good ticket.