Hell No Mourinho

1 August 09 by Bill

Jose Mourinho

Once again Jose Mourinho has stated his ambition to manage Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson finally relinquishes the reins.

“I would consider going to Manchester United but United have to consider if they want me to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson” the self proclaimed “Special One” said.

On paper Mourinho looks like a fairly good choice. He has an impressive track record both on the pitch and off it in his dealings with the media. These are undoubtedly traits the United board will look for when filling the vacancy.

Other key factors to look for include tactics, the development of youth and modesty. And Mourinho falls way short on each of these.

Tactically, Mourinho is all about results. Even with a squad full of technically gifted players, his teams manage to produce some of the dullest and most cautious football around. Mourinho believes in defending first and scoring second. That is not the Manchester United way.

Whoever takes over will need to embrace the United mentality. We ~~want~~ demand free flowing, attacking football. Of course we want to win, but we want to do it in style.

It’s also necessary to invest in youth. Mourinho doesn’t seem to like putting his faith in the youngsters and that is yet another stumbling block. Remember the class of 99? That wouldn’t happen under Mourinho. Mourinho assembles teams. United develop them. Of course we make the occasional extravagant purchase but on the whole, we invest in youth.

These kids are the future of the game after all, how can Jose not see that?

Let’s put all that aside for a moment and move onto my biggest gripe with Jose; his attitude. No one loves Jose more than Jose and that doesn’t sit well with me. The guy loves the sound of his own voice. He wants to be a celebrity. How many products does he endorse? Mastercard, Sky, Setanta. These are just the ones I’ve seen the last couple of days. God knows how many there are worldwide.

Isn’t he supposed to managing a football team? Not jetting all over the world picking up cheques for TV adverts and product launches.

United don’t want celebrities. Look what happened to Beckham when he started building his brand. At Manchester United, football comes first, second and third. Go be a media whore somewhere else.