How many years, and how many managers have Manchester United gone through, in the search for Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor?
The accurate answer is nine years, and seven managers (including caretakers), but really it’s much simpler: too many. And the truth is, what they’ve really been searching for is an identity as strong as Fergie delivered, a philosophy and style that defined the club.
I laughed this week when I heard Gary Neville shouting that his former club should make Diego Simeone their next manager. Honestly. C’mon. I’m not saying he’s anti-football, but some of the antics his team get up to, some of the horrible stuff they do, and the tactics they pursue. Not at Manchester United. The fans would be calling it out within weeks, and even if he actually won things with it, they wouldn’t put up with it for long. United have a certain expectation about how they should be playing, which was laid down by Sir Matt Busby and Ferguson.
Simeone doesn’t fit with that. He doesn’t fit with anyone who loves football, he essentially exists to stop opponents playing football. Which no one should welcome. And that’s what I mean by identity. It’s not enough to be simply winning - even if it helps, obviously. Jose Mourinho found that out at Old Trafford. Clubs need a fit with a manager, as well as a winning team, and his philosophy didn’t fit.
So we know what United don’t want... as we can see with the managers they’ve got through over the past nine years. The question now is what do they want, and what do they need? For me in their position, it is a proven manager with a winning record who can sort them out. In modern football, that means a structure which embraces the technical, medical, analytical and development departments and brings them together under a single philosophy and vision.
Look at Guardiola at City, Klopp at Liverpool, and at a lesser level, Arteta at Arsenal, Potter at Brighton, even Frank at Brentford. They have a clear identity which runs not just through the first team, but right through the club. Do United have that? I haven’t seen it. When they went out against Atletico in midweek, I couldn’t see what it was they were trying to do at all. I couldn’t really tell you what the gameplan was, how they intended to break down opponents they knew - and knew for weeks - would come with a singular approach.
Have Your Say! Who should Man Utd hire as their next manager? Join the debate here.
They’re not getting Klopp or Guardiola. Full stop. But that’s the type of manager they need. Someone who can come in, put his own imprint on the club, over a long period of time. Klopp took five years, and I believe it could take as long as that at Old Trafford. I’ve heard Thomas Tuchel, with Chelsea’s problems, touted as a real candidate. Would he be the right sort of manager, who can change the club from top to bottom. Yes, absolutely. Can they realistically get him? Honestly, I don’t think they can.
Chelsea aren’t simply going to roll over and let him go, no matter what their situation. Ok, if he has a break in his contract then he could leave, but will there be a scenario which allows that to happen? I very much doubt it. They will get a new - undoubtedly wealthy - owner, and life will go on. So do they go for a Potter, and take a risk he’ll turn into the next Klopp? Dortmund did with Klopp when they took him from Mainz. But United aren’t Dortmund. It would be a risk, any manager is a risk, as they found.
So would Ten Hag from Ajax. He’s done well with Ajax, but in Dutch football, just about any competent manager would do well there, because they have the most money and the best system, which remains after the manager goes. Pochettino? Well, if PSG let him go, it will be because they think he’s a failure.
And after Spurs let him go because they thought he was a failure, that would actually be a risk too. Beyond those, there are not exactly loads of obvious candidates. Whoever they choose, it will be a risk, and they will need good football sense and intuition - or an amazing analytics department - to find that candidate who has the record they need.
I have a shout for them though. Simone Inzaghi, the younger brother of Filippo. You can see with Inter he has taken them on beyond the dour football of Antonio Conte, despite the club having financial problems. They are in contention for the title, performed well - and I think above their level - against Liverpool in the Champions League, and all with budget constraints.
Before that he was at Lazio, where he won three trophies and was hugely popular with the fans. Would it be a gamble? Of course. But United need someone with an ability to build something now, not simply a ‘name’.
