I'm not convinced that Jose's history of "picking fights and alienating players" is down to him, rather than down to the clubs he was at. Chelsea and Madrid are known for allowing their players to communicate directly with the board, going over the manager's head with their gripes. It was never a big issue for him at Porto or Inter.
Having said that, perhaps there's an argument to be made for the Galactico approach after Mourinho goes. We've tried the sensible way, why not try the opposite? Let's sack managers after 6 months to a year and forget about giving them time. Let the star players have the sway that they seem to want. Fergie would certainly not approve, and it's not "The Utd Way" but it doesn't seem to have harmed Madrid and Chelsea's success rate over the past decade. Win the league or CL in your first season, or come mighty close, or you're out the door. Instead of spending 5 years giving 2 good managers 2-3 years each to see if they work out, why not try the chance of 5-6 good managers over the same period until one of them hits the ground running. Obviously using this model, City would have ditched Pep after his first season, but hey-ho, we don't have a great deal to lose at the moment and a lot to gain.
