Mourinho outlines his Man Utd plan - 'I want to win'

Mourinho will wait for Man Utd, but where now for Giggs?

24 February

In a rare public pronouncement, one of his first since he was sacked by Chelsea, Jose Mourinho has opened the door to Manchester United and at the same time eased the immediate pressure on the club's present manager, Louis van Gaal, by declaring he would prefer to start his next job at the end of the season.

The Portuguese (pictured above) is widely expected to take over from Van Gaal at Old Trafford, and there had been calls for him to be installed as soon as possible, particularly if United continue to disappoint.

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However, Mourinho is in no rush to start a new job.

"I always feel that it is better to wait and not to rush. It is better to wait for the right moment and the right move," he told students in Singapore. "I think starting next season with a new club and project is probably the best for me."

He also banished any lingering doubts about his return to football and ruminated on the vagaries of a career in management.

"I'm travelling, enjoying my family, enjoying my friends and my life and I wait to see what happens," he said. "The reality is I like football so much, I miss football and when I have the chance to be back I will come back.

"It's quite a funny career. I am the English champion and I still have no job."

Mourinho had been looking for an immediate return to management, says the Daily Telegraph, and his "revised" plans have "opened the door for Manchester United to appoint him at the end of the season".

The comments could be seen as a message to Old Trafford that their "gentlemen's agreement" will be upheld. The Manchester Evening News reports Mourinho "received managerial offers from Italian and Chinese clubs but is holding out for United".

That will go down well in the city, reports the local paper. Fans in Manchester were polled over their choice of manager and came down on the side of Mourinho, rather than United star turned assistant manager Ryan Giggs.

A similar poll in the Telegraph also found a surprising lack of support for the former player.

There are several reasons, suggests the paper. He could have been tainted by association with Van Gaal and many fans now "consider Giggs part of the problem, rather than the solution".

Giggs's lack of experience is also in stark contrast to that of Mourinho's and giving him the job "smacks of giving a learner driver the keys to a supercar".

But it leaves the club legend in a quandary as he is likely to be sidelined if he stays at the club when Mourinho arrives.

Leaving would be a "bold, brave move that might win admirers outside the bubble of Old Trafford", but would also be the "nuclear option" for a player who has been with Manchester for 30 years.

Man United must call Mourinho if Van Gaal fails in FA Cup

22 February

Shrewsbury Town are not a team accustomed to the limelight, but the League One strugglers will be centre stage as they take on wounded Manchester United in the FA Cup tonight.

The two sides have never met in a competitive fixture before and with United in disarray after defeat to Danish minnows FC Midtjylland in the Europa League last week, the match could be one to remember.

United manager Louis van Gaal (pictured above) is close to the sack and another setback could mean the end, two years after his predecessor, David Moyes, was relieved of his duties.

Things have gone badly wrong for the Dutchman this campaign and "as United prepare to take on Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup to night, it feels like Moyes' successor is a lame duck just waiting for the one shot to tip him over the edge into oblivion", says The Times.

He has spent £300m on new players but an injury crisis means his current team, shorn of leaders including Wayne Rooney and David de Gea, have "frighteningly little experience".

And in a season of woe, even Van Gaal's strengths have become weaknesses, notes the paper. His famed attention to detail "is cramping the United players", it says: "They don't seem to play with any imagination or freedom. They seem to be scared of going against Van Gaal's possession-based 'philosophy'."

So dire is the situation that paradoxically, anything other than an upset would be something of a shock.

"United should be murdering teams like Shrewsbury and it really underlines how bad the situation is that we are all talking about a potential upset," says former Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp in the Daily Telegraph.

Even the Shrewsbury Town website is feeling bullish. "We should be under no media induced illusion believe [sic] that we have more than a chance against such good quality opponents," it admits, before noting that the Shrews have a record of giant killing.

"On our day we can beat anyone, especially a team that may well be feeling jaded after difficult away trips to Sunderland and Denmark," it says, before predicting a 1-1 draw, which could be enough to signal the end for Van Gaal.

Claims that former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is increasingly anxious about his future could also prompt United to act soon, reports The Guardian.

Mourinho, widely expected to take over at Old Trafford, is "mindful he cannot wait indefinitely to be formally approached by the club", says the paper.

"[United executive vice-chairman Ed] Woodward is under pressure to make a firm decision regarding who is to take charge of the club. If he does not act quickly enough he faces the prospect of losing Mourinho, whose track record suggests he is a manager who can make United serious title challengers once more."

Jose Mourinho to Man United: deal is done – but is it wise?

10 February

Jose Mourinho will replace Louis van Gaal as manager of Manchester United this summer, reports the Daily Mail. The Portuguese coach, who was sacked by Chelsea last December, "has told associates that the move to Old Trafford is done and he is set to take over at the end of the season".

The appointment will rekindle his "bitter rivalry" with Pep Guardiola, who will be in charge of Manchester City next season, but could also have wider repercussions for the club.

After the feud that developed between the two managers when they were in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona, the idea of having Mourinho and Guardiola in charge of the two Manchester clubs will certainly guarantee global interest in the city's derby. "The prospect of the pair locking horns once again is hugely appealing to the Premier League and its global audience," says the Daily Telegraph.

But the newspaper adds: "Doubts remain within the corridors of power at Old Trafford over Mourinho's combative approach and his style of football, but the need to win and to try to stop City and Guardiola dominating English and European football appears to be outweighing the traditionalist views."

Many observers, including Oliver Kay of The Times, have baulked at the idea of Mourinho at Old Trafford, with Charlie Eccleshare of the Daily Telegraph the latest to take umbrage.

He is an "arch-pragmatist" who will not win over fans fed up with Louis van Gaal's boring style, says Eccleshare. Nor does he have a track record of developing young talent. There is concern at Old Trafford over the youth set up and "if United have any interest in retaining this fundamental part of their identity, then hiring Mourinho would be a disastrous move".

In a similar vein, Mourinho has no track record of building dynasties and the rivalry with Guardiola could do more harm than good. "Mourinho is almost universally disliked by neutrals, especially when placed next to the comparatively saintly Guardiola," says Eccleshare. Nor has the Special One proved himself so special in the last few seasons. Since winning the Spanish Super Cup in 2012, he has lifted two trophies - and missed out on 11.

It has also been widely reported that Ryan Giggs, who is waiting in the wings at Old Trafford, could walk away from the club is Mourinho is parachuted in above him.

There is also a growing fanbase for Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino that includes Sir Alex Ferguson, according to The Times. The former Man United boss rates the Argentine as the best manager in the country, according to MP David Lammy, says the paper.

Sir Alex is also an advocate of Giggs, continues The Times. "Ferguson has championed the claims of Giggs, but it is thought that [United's executive vice-chairman Ed] Woodward is more convinced of the merits of Mourinho's experience, despite the Portuguese's attritional play and combative personality. Pochettino could emerge as a compromise candidate as he has experience and champions attractive football."

While Sir Alex's influence at Old Trafford is on the wane, it is now Woodward who now pulls the strings. But he may begin to feel the heat when he faces investors worried about the club's early Champions League exit and poor league form when United post their first-quarter earnings of 2016 on Thursday.

Guardiola causes panic at Man Utd - time to call Mourinho

02 February

Manchester City's announcement that Bayern Munich's Pep Guardiola will become their manager in the summer not only means fans can start dreaming of a glorious future, it also acts as a statement of intent that leaves their rivals under huge pressure.

This is their big play for "superpower status", says Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph, adding: "Only by buying [Barcelona star] Lionel Messi could City have made a grander statement to the Champions League elite."

The effect will be immediate, even if Guardiola's arrival is not. Title rivals Arsenal must now go head-to-head with a highly-motivated side playing to impress their incoming coach. Further ahead, Gunners' manager Arsene Wenger also faces the prospect of being sent to his dotage by the man many believed would one day succeed him at the Emirates.

Chelsea, too, will have concerns. Are the original big-money club in danger of being left behind by the City juggernaut? Guardiola's arrival in Manchester could coincide with the Blues' departure from the European stage.

Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool will publicly welcome the arrival of his old adversary from the Bundesliga, but will not much fancy his chances, despite his decent record against Bayern Munich with Borussia Dortmund.

But the jeopardy is greatest for Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson's noisy neighbours have cranked the volume up to 11 and the Red Devils are in danger of being drowned out.

United are limping along under the moribund reign of Louis van Gaal and the confirmation of Guardiola's arrival across town will have sparked "corporate panic" at Old Trafford, says Hayward.

"Already alarmed by City's lavish campus and academy (and the tendency even of United legends to send their sons to the Etihad complex rather than Carrington), the more famous Manchester club now face the possibility that City will attract more attention – and more commercial deals," he writes.

A "dynasty" appears to be forming at the Etihad, adds Hayward. The threat from City is suddenly real.

If young fans and players remain unsure which of the Manchester clubs to choose, then "Pep's arrival is the closest thing to Lionel Messi or [fellow Barcelona player] Neymar pitching up as the marquee signing to make the decision easier", says Jamie Jackson of The Guardian. "United need a similar appointment and whatever the club’s reservations there may be only one man: Jose Mourinho."

Mourinho, not 64-year-old Van Gaal, is the man to challenge the likes of Guardiola, Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino of Spurs, he argues.

"United’s global profile and commercial riches are a product of the club’s long tradition of winning. City are now serious players in this game. If they fail to act decisively, United will be left behind."