Confirmed and Official - Welcome to Old Trafford José Mourinho

Van Gaal might have won the FA Cup the season he was let go, but the general style of play did not cut it either, plus we didn't make the CL. So his departure was entirely justified. It's not even a question.
But to me, Mourinho was never really the solution either, considering what we knew about him. He would provide results and have us generally closer to where we needed to be. But it always going to be in a manner that is not in line with United's traditions or expectations.
And it's bearable at best as long as we are winning things. But it's not sustainable at all if we're not. There is no real surprises in what's happening with Mourinho ATM and either he delivers the title next year or I think he'll be gone, unless he drastically change his approach, in regards to how the team plays...

 

Van Gall (spelling mistake intended) clearly needed to be sacked.

The choice of Mourinho is fairly questioned, but one has to ask who at the time was a better choice. And don't come back with Guardiola -- he was already taken. As was Klopp. Allegri was never going to leave Juve at that point, nor was Zidane. Or Wenger.

It's absolutely fair game to argue that we could have done better than Mourinho, but only if we submit who would have been better.

 

Mourinho is has finally provided stability. Our next manager needs to bring the style to our play coupled with maintaining a level of success.

 

Mourinho promotes Kieran McKenna as part of the overhaul of his staff following Rui Faria's departure.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/jose-mourinho-promotes-manchester-united-12574259

There's the matter of replacing McKenna at youth level, since he was an excellent coach, but this, hopefully, will turn out to be a good thing for Mourinho and the senior squad.

 

No more excuses for Mourinho, who needs to prove himself truly worthy next season.

www.goal.com/en-gb/news/no-more-excuses-mourinho-needs-to-prove-himself-worthy-of/1qqi1ee1yliqx1bw8rrcg1f9dl

 

Yep.

Mourinho is like the ballbreaker, controversial CEO at a publically traded company. If results are forthcoming, the negatives are tolerated. As soon as they're not, it's time to go.

Unless there is a clear and obvious replacement that we're very confident can deliver, I think Mou is safe.

As I said in the FA Cup thread, our stats skew to the bottom of the top 6. In some aspects, we play more like an underdog than an elite club.

Indeed, without De Gea, we would probably have dropped a notable amount of additional points. I was ultimately pleased with Lukaku. After his drought, he seems to have really turned the corner. He's finishing well and his hold-up play has come into its own.

 

Jose is perfectly safe for the coming season since he has the full backing of Woodward and more importantly, there aren't really any viable candidates to replace him at the moment.
So he has a reprieve of sorts, but it's a crucial season for him: it's imperative for United to be in serious contention for the title at least. That's first and foremost but we have to hope for some improvement in our way of playing. What we've seen this past season is just not good enough. Hopefully, some key additions, plus with the changes to the coaching staff, will start showing improvement in that department.
Allegri electing to stay in Juve is huge for us potentially IMO. Pochettino has always been a solid candidate for the United job, but because of his recent palmares, his age and so on, Allegri is the best candidate possible at this time. He obviously stayed to fulfill his CL promise, but he's clearly ready to move on and he could be teed up perfectly for us next summer, if we're looking for a new manager. And as easy it may be to turn down Arsenal, I imagine it would be impossible for him to turn his back on the chance to manage a club of United's stature.
All that to say that Jose is under pressure to deliver this coming season.

 

A look at the 3 men joining Mourinho's staff for the coming season.

www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/11384519/jose-mourinhos-coaching-reshuffle-at-man-utd-kieran-mckenna-stefano-rapetti-michael-carrick

 

Credit where it's due to Jose. The assembly of his new-look backroom staff could very well be his response to criticism from United fans. McKenna and Carrick will both have a positive impact, particularly in training, on the style of football we play. I believe Rui Faria was probably a very tactically gifted coach - given the style of play Mourinho teams have always played. Carrick and McKenna will bring a technical influence to the training ground. Hopefully we will see that reflected in our play and movement next year.

 

Lets hope so.

It's a big jump for McKenna, I assume.

 

Yes, he has indeed stabilized our shit style of play.

 

I expect Mourinho is shaking in his shoes worrying about what Kris Voakes (had to go check for the name) thinks.

 

Mourinho is tolerated as long as he wins. Otherwise, what's the point of him?

www.espn.com/soccer/club/manchester-united/360/blog/post/3504974/jose-mourinho-at-manchester-united-if-hes-not-winningwhats-he-good-for

 

Mourihno went from being compared to Ferguson to being compared to David Moyes and LVG. What an embarrassment

 

#ZidaneIn

 

Zidane is being linked with the France job straight after the World Cup ..

Chelsea and PSG are also options

 

PSG after they just named Tuchel as their new manager. Well that makes sense... Smart money is the France national team job after Deschamps steps down or gets fired this summer. Someone like Zidane is exactly what that group needs.

 

Agreed

 

Mourinho has to deliver another chapter to United's rich history.

www.espn.co.uk/football/club/manchester-united/360/blog/post/3514423/jose-mourinho-needs-to-deliver-another-chapter-in-manchester-uniteds-rich-history

 

Do we know if he's that good though? He's only managed Real Madrid and while he had success, he inherited a very strong team.

This is a sincere question, btw.

 

Pep was an unknown quantity, aside from what he did with Barca. There may be legitimate questions about Zidane (especially about his capability of building a team up). But they will not be answered unless he tests himself elsewhere.
The bottom line remains, I don't care how strong a team you have, winning 3 CLs on the trot speaks volume about his abilities as a man/big ego manager and tactician. The last 2 CL wins, where Real were outplayed in the first half, only to roll over their oppo in the 2nd half prove he's tactically strong, able to make the correct adjustments to get the win.
I'd take Zidane without hesitation personally, as he'd be well worth the gamble, IMO.

 

It proves he's a good coach but to be great, he needs to build a side and win without clearly the strongest squad. This is why I think Pep is overrated. He's never won a title without far and away the best squad.

 

A big summer in store for Jose Mourinho.

www.skysports.com/football/news/15115/11393735/big-summer-for-manchester-united-manager-jose-mourinho

Without a doubt this is the most important summer he's facing since being with United. It's make or break for him, in terms of having us in the hunt at least for the big trophies (and deliver a more positive style of play, more in line with United's tradition).
On top of that, with rivals making big moves if their own, it only amps up the pressure further. The margin of error for him is very thin, practically down to zero.

 

Do you think a very close title push would be acceptable or do you think it's "Premiership or bust"?

I'd say "close contention with a better playing style" but Mourinho has never truly delivered the latter over the course of his career.

Does a good UCL run buy him time?

 

For me, it almost has to be "Prem title or bust" but to be fair, the Prem is looking like it could be a real slog this coming season (and we have no real claims yet to be anywhere near favorites). So if we're in the running, at least until the last month of the season and really giving it a good try, I could live with it. Sometimes you're just beaten by the better team and you have to put your hands up. If we are playing in a more positive manner on top of that (doesn't have to be like City or Pool, but just more bearable to watch), then there could be life at United beyond this season for Mourinho.
But if he doesn't win and we play in the same manner we have for the majority of this past season, then surely he'll be done IMO. As previously mentioned, that style is sustainable only if the team is winning. The majority of the fans will be done with him and that will be a voice too loud to ignore.
As far as the CL s concerned, it takes a great deal of luck to go all the way in that competition, but a repeat of last season will not be acceptable. Barring facing one of the favorites in the first knockout round, a 1/4 run at minimum will be what is expected.