If I was a Man Utd fan, my only concern about Mourinho would be how long he was likely to stay at the club for, assuming LVG either resigns or is sacked later in the season. I have heard it said that Mourinho has never stayed a club he's managed for all that long, even going back to his Porto days before his first spell at Stamford Bridge.
Originally Posted by: David M Porter
I agree. There's no denying his management qualities, even with the Chelsea decline, but the guy seems to attract controversy wherever he goes, and like you say, I'd be concerned over his longevity down the line.
If I were a Man Utd fan, God forbid, then I'd look no further than Guardiola, and I'd hope the club would pull out all the stops to attract him to the job. I think he'd suit the Premier League down to the ground, and he'd be a massive coup for the club, with Chelsea and Man City sniffing around as well.
The other candidates I'm not so sure about. There's Diego Simeone, who is doing a great job at Atletico Madrid, but his style is very containing, and not exactly full of swashbuckling attacking entertainent, which has been the problem for Man Utd this season. To back this up, just look at the stats for Atletico this season...
Atl Madrid P2: Pl16 W11 D2 L3 F22 A8 GD14 Pts35
That's not even 1.5 goals a game scored, and although their defensive record is second to none in that league, I don't think Man Utd fans are after 1-0 wins, as a) it's not entertaining, and b) is their team capable of regular clean sheets right now?
I do think Simeone's style is a deliberate counter to the more fluid, goal-happy tactics of Barca and Real Madrid, and it's mighty effective, but it's a big risk to assume it would translate successfully to the Premier League.
The other candidate is Ryan Giggs, but understandably there are big questions marks over his lack of experience, and his underwhelming spell as caretaker boss a few years ago did him no favours. He'd be a very popular choice, but I feel he'd need management experience at a smaller club elsewhere before taking on such a big responsibility as Man Utd boss.