Manchester United should have hired Mourinho

Post Ferguson’s announcement to retire on 8^th May 2013, there was lot of speculation about who will be Manchester United’s next manager. There were a lot of names in the contention (David Moyes, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunner Solskjaer) for the top job. The soccer pundits and die hard Manchester United fans were divided on who should replace Ferguson at the helm of affairs at Manchester United.

As time passed, it became clear that only two names were at the top of the list to succeed Ferguson (David Moyes and Jose Mourinho). It was also clear that eventually, Ferguson will have a major say in who will succeed him as the manager at Old Trafford. Within the next 48 hours a decision was made, “David Moyes will become Manchester United manager after signing a 6 year contract with the club”.

As soon as the decision was announced, I was very disappointed that Manchester United let go a golden opportunity to get Mourinho’s signature on the contract. I would have dearly loved if he was the man to replace Ferguson as the manager at Manchester United. His name had been previously linked with the manger’s job in past seasons also, however unlike the past he was interested in occupying the manager’s position this year and with Madrid failing to win a trophy this season it was understood that Mourinho would leave Madrid.

Statistics never lie and Mourinho’s credentials as a manager are very difficult to replicate for any manager (past or present). In a total of 10 seasons of club management, he has led his club to win its domestic league 7 times, 2 Champions League and 1 UEFA Cup. An even bigger feat is that Mourinho’s teams have remained unbeaten at home for a total of 150 league matches from 23^rd Feb 2002 to 2^nd April 2011. One more feat Mourinho has achieved is that he has won the league competition with 4 different clubs in his managing career.

He is a man with strong tactical acumen and is a shrewd manager especially when it comes to knock out matches , where he can get results and get the job done. One more special quality that Mourinho brings to the table is his inspiration and leadership skills. He commands respect which is evident by the fact that generally some of his players (Carvalho, Ferraira, Essien, Deco) follow with him when he moves to a new club.

David Moyes is a “decent manager” but has nothing great in his CV which suggests that he can take United to English and European glory. He approaches games with a defensive mindset which was evident throughout his stint with Everton F.C. Under Moyes the club has this dubious record for the maximum no. of draws (in 2012-2013 season) which emphasizes my point on his attitude/style of play. Although he would be having an attacking United team at his disposal, I am little skeptical on how he will approach the games. Also with Everton, he has had only 1 season in Europe where Everton got knocked out in the qualification stage only. Thus he lacks the pedigree and the experience in handling/facing situations in European matches.

If you keep Mourinho’s antics, comments and interviews away, he was the real deal and United would have reaped the benefits if he was signed as the new manager. The much discussed negative about Mourinho is his stability and loyalty towards a particular club. People argue that he is unstable and moves to different clubs, however if you keep Ferguson, Moyes and Wenger out of the equation none of the present managers have had long stints(6+ years) with a particular club.

I would have preferred Mourinho staying put for 3 years, delivering 3 titles and then moving on rather have Moyes who may not deliver a single title in 3 years. It was a big gamble to sign Moyes, however the players must back him and supporters must give him atleast 2 years to prove his mettle. In case he does not deliver he certainly will be facing the sack come the end of the 2014-2015 season.