Manchester United sacked Jose Mourinho as the first-team manager on Tuesday on the back of a terrible start to the season which left Red Devils trailing huge 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool.
The Portuguese tactician was shown the door at Old Trafford just days after losing the derby match against Liverpool (3-1) and the news of his departure will have been long overdue to most Manchester United fans.
Jose Mourinho leaves Old Trafford with a 58.33% win percentage. During his time at Old Trafford he won 84 games, drew 32 and lost 28. The Portuguese also won three trophies – the Community Shield, the EFL Cup and the Europa League but numbers counted for little this season.
The former Real Madrid boss endured a difficult time in the 2018/19 season which highlighted many problems at Old Trafford. The Special One has been involved in constant drama, whining over the lack of transfer activity and chronic refusal to take responsibility over his side’s underachieving.
Instead, he would often point fingers towards his players while at the same time always reminding people of his remarkable trophy haul to prove he is still a managerial force to be reckoned with.
On the other side, his squad selection and tactical approach were under constant scrutiny. His defence-oriented football was arguably the ultimate proof of lack of ideas against more creative and forward-thinking peers such as (Pep Guardiola,) Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino.
Despite boasting better numbers that the former two, Mourinho has been deemed a negative presence in the dressing room and around the club, which ultimately forced the club to wield the axe. All of the aforementioned was more than what fans and the club hierarchy could take and the Liverpool defeat appears to have been the final nail in his Manchester United coffin.
With Mourinho already out of the club and Michael Carrick appointed the interim solution, Manchester United will not wait for too long to announce a coach that would take charge of the club for (at least) until the end of the season.
A list of potential candidates has already been revealed with former Manchester United player and club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer initially highlighted as a firm favourite to land the job on a permanemt basis. The list of top-five names and respective betting odds is as follows:
The Old Trafford favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in the meantime confirmed as an interim boss.
Manchester United have previously ‘accidentally’ revealed the Norwegian as the new interim manager in a video shared on the club website called ‘ The Most Famous Night of Ole’s Career”, depicting imagery from when Ole clinched his club’s treble with THAT goal against Bayern Munich.
This goal..The .
Solskjaer will be given a chance to prove his worth and will be in the running for a permanent role once the season concludes but the list of candidates is still very much alive with other names featuring heavily in bookmakers’ offering.
The French duo of Laurent Blanc and Zinedine Zidane is also on the cards and has been included with the bookmakers at 10/1 and 11/1, respectively.
Former Manchester United defender Blanc has not worked since being sacked by Paris Saint-Germain but remains a popular choice with the Old Trafford faithful after wearing the club colours for two seasons and lifting the Premier League title in 2002/03. Laurent Blanc would still be an odd choice, hence a bit higher price for the Frenchman.
Same could be said for Zinedine Zidane, however, who is available at even higher odds. The former Real Madrid manager has built his name in the managerial circles by winning the Champions League is his debut season as boss. It was hardly a flash in the pan as Zidane went on to do the same in three years, thus cementing his reputation and boosting his stock. As a footballing legend and one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane enjoys widespread respect from football stars around the globe and is great at managing big egos. The Frenchman would be available for free and is said to be keen on a move to Old Trafford. The only problem being, however, he appears unwilling to take charge of the club in the middle of the season but would rather arrive at the end of the current campaign.
Mauricio Pochettino is a name that’s highly rated in Manchester United circles. The Argentinean transformed Tottenham into title challengers and a side that’s played an attractive brand of football. Pochettino did all of that on a very tight budget and his stock is at a high at the moment. As a top coach who improves young players and creates a positive atmosphere in the locker room, Mauricio Pochettino is definitely a target United will consider. The Spurs will fight to hold on to him, however, while Pochettino himself is believed to be eyeing a future move to Spain.
Honourable Mentions
A couple of names deserve to be thrown into the mix. Bookmakers believe that Michael Carrick (20/1), Antonio Conte (22/1), Ryan Giggs (25/1) and Leonardo Jardim (30/1) should also be considered as potential Manchester United managers.
Who do you think will take over at Manchester United?
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