With reports that Jose Mourinho is set to be sacked on Saturday, regardless of the result against Newcastle United later in the evening – though that has since been denied – it’s time to look at who could be the next man in the Manchester United hot seat.
Zinedine Zidane has been the name most mentioned, but a few other candidates could be under consideration if Mourinho is indeed let go.
Here’s a look at three potential new United managers.
OBVIOUS: Zinedine Zidane
Zidane’s record speaks for itself. Three straight Champions League titles with Real Madrid, an unprecedented achievement. The second of those came along with a La Liga title, Madrid’s first in five years, and a first league-and-European double for the club in 59 years.
His resume is not the question. The doubts with Zidane come, firstly, with his supposed lack of tactical acumen, and secondly that his only success came with a ready-made, star-studded squad.
Then again, Mourinho didn’t win three straight European titles with Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, and the rest of that squad. He couldn’t win a single one. Nobody could, apart from Carlo Ancelotti.
United’s squad is undoubtedly not as good as the one Zidane had at his disposal in the Spanish capital, but given that he extracted more from Madrid’s players than anyone else had, there’s a good bet he can manage something similar with players like Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, and the rest of the attacking players at Old Trafford.
As for the criticism of Zidane’s tactical chops, while it’s valid, it’s as much a strength as a weakness. He simplifies things for his players, giving them the freedom to express themselves. There’s many at United who’d love that right now.
Zinedine Zidane.
LONGSHOT – Mauricio Pochettino
From a United standpoint, there are likely no arguments against a Mauricio Pochettino appointment. Sure, the Argentine is yet to win a trophy in his managerial career, but the work he’s done at Tottenham, turning them into established members of the Premier League‘s “Big Six” and making them regular Champions League participants and league title contenders is remarkable.
The difficulty in appointing the Spurs boss is the resistance they’ll face from his club. Daniel Levy is already known as a hard negotiator when it comes to any of his players. How much worse will he be when it comes to the man, who, at the moment, is basically Tottenham’s own golden goose?
Levy will likely dismiss any United approach for Pochettino out of hand, and on the off chance they are actually able to get in the door and begin negotiating, he’ll extract a king’s ransom as compensation.
Ultimately, if United are desperate enough and convinced enough about Pochettino, they’ll make it happen. But the process will be painful, and just that thought might put them off from even trying.
Pochettino masterminded a 3-0 win over United earlier this season.
WILD CARD – Michael Carrick
There’s been talk of appointing former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte – what a slap in the face to Mourinho that would be – but, though the Italian has a good relationship with Pogba from their time together at Juventus, he grated on the Blues’ board during his two-year spell there, something United would want to avoid.
Plus, Chelsea’s own attacking players seem to have been stifled under him, which would mean he would be no different from Mourinho at Old Trafford.
It may be too hard to tempt Ryan Giggs away from Wales so soon as well, so that option of turning to a club legend is, for the moment, closed.
But a different United stalwart is already on the club’s books. Michael Carrick went straight from the pitch to the backroom – though in fairness, he barely played last season – and though his apprenticeship has only been a few months long, there’s long been a thought at United that the Englishman is managerial material.
Whether they’d take a risk on someone with no experience is a separate question, but there are plenty of points in Carrick’s favour. He has a relationship with everyone in this current squad, and he was both well-liked and well respected by those players.
Carrick also has a deep understanding of the United ethos, and will likely try to live up to the players’ and fans’ desire for attacking football.
The boardroom may also think of him as a safe candidate who won’t rock the boat and mouth off when things start going wrong – though, they may be in for a surprise in that case. Understated though Carrick may be, he’s also no-nonsense, as future employers will no doubt discover.
It’s an unlikely appointment, but it would also be a throwback to the “United Way” that seems to have been lost. Would the club take the risk?
Carrick is a respected figure at United.
