Who replaces the irreplaceable?

In my last blog I asked the question, who will Manchester United look to replace Sir Alex Ferguson when he finally leaves the position on first team manager? In this blog I will give you some suggestions and my best bet.

If we take the examples of Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and United themselves, we can see two trends: promote from within or look to an ex-player. Only Leeds United initially bucked the trend by appointing a high profile ‘outsider’ in Brian Clough. History tells us this was a huge failure as less that 7 weeks later Clough was out the door with a big pay off. Looking at the success Clough had later at Forest it could be argued that he was the right man but it was the wrong time, and as we all know everything in life is timing. After Clough Leeds turned to Jimmy Armfield another ‘outsider’ who kept them competitive and in the top ten, but when you have been at the top, then the top 10 isn’t good enough. Ask any Arsenal fan about that. Ultimately Leeds were falling off their perch and when they turned to a succession of ex players it was all over for them.

So, where does that leave Manchester United? In a tight spot if you ask me.

If they choose to follow the route of promoting from within, they currently have two choices. But before I look at those choices its worth taking a look at the careers of two of SAF’s previous assistants once they left United.

Brian Kidd, a Busby babe, was Alex Ferguson’s right hand man from 1991 to 1998 and at the time he was seen as a natural successor to SAF. Unfortunately, for Kidd, he left United to take charge of Blackburn in December of 98 and the following spring Rovers were relegated and before the December of that year he was out. Kidd has returned to being an assistant manager and now occupies a spot on the bench at Manchester City.

Steve McClaren was Ferguson’s assistant from 1999 to 2001. He left United to become the most successful manager in Middlesbrough’s history, but one good season in Holland and a number of disasters with England and Wolfsburg in Germany have blotted his copy book.  

Now the current insiders:

Mike Phelan, also an ex-player, in the assistant manager and Rene Meulensteen is the first team coach. Phelan is an interesting option as he would draw comparisons to Bob Paisley, Shankley's immediate successor at Anfield. Quiet and unassuming and as with Paisley an ex-player who didn’t fulfil his potential at the club. Phelan may stay with the club after Ferguson departs but I don’t see him as an option as a successor. A quiet unassuming ex player may have been able to step into the bright lights in 1974, but I don’t see Phelan being able to withstand the spotlight of managing Manchester United

Rene Meulensteen on the other hand may be a different story. In his second spell at the club Meulensteen is responsible for the high level of technical excellence we see from United every time they step on the field. Highly respected in the game, Ferguson has hired him twice, Meulensteen may be the man United are looking for. However, as with Phelan, the question remains will he be able to handle the pressure of being the top man at United.

When it comes to ex-players it’s hard to see the heir to the throne. When soccer players retired in the 60’s and 70’s and into the later 80’s they became coaches or bought a pub. Now they generally criticise others on TV or disappear into the sunset with a very large bank balance. Paul Ince, Brian Robson, Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce have and still are doing the rounds in England and you really don’t see any of them as the next Manchester United manager.

So if you are the Glazer’s and you are looking for the next boss of United experience tells you that you probably should look to an outsider to take on one of the biggest jobs in the game. At the moment in world football, there are 3 clubs that stand apart from the rest.  Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United in terms of current squads, brand power and fan base have separated themselves from the rest. One or two in-different seasons can change that and a year out of the Champion’s League can trigger a meltdown as we saw with Leeds United around 10 years ago. If United make the wrong choice and they slip then their neighbours Manchester City are in prime position to become England’s club champions and that will hurt.

For me there is only one person that United should be looking at to take over when Sir Alex Ferguson finally calls it a day. The ‘special one’ Jose Mourinho is the natural successor. A friend of Sir Alex, Mourinho may be the only person on the planet who thinks he can go in to the club and do a better job! He will command the respect of the players as he is a player’s manager and a master of taking the focus away from the team in order to protect his players. He will immediately endear himself to the fan base when he declares this job as the biggest and best job in the world, putting United on a pedestal above his former employers, Madrid, Barca and Chelsea.

As I mentioned before, the key to life is timing and if the timing is right I expect to see the phrase ‘Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho’ in the not too distant future.

In closing, the next Lower Island Soccer Coaches Association meeting will take place at the Lakehill Soccer Associations Braefoot fields on Friday 30^th September at 6.00pm.  The topic of our session will be ‘Using conditioned small sided games’.