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Mourinho would be worse than Van Gaal for Manchester United fans

By Rucker Haringey

Jul 22, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Manchester United head coach Louis Van Gaal talks to the media during a press conference a day before the game against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 22, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Manchester United head coach Louis Van Gaal talks to the media during a press conference a day before the game against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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United fans chant “attack, attack, attack” during the game, not “park the bus.”

While selfishly as a media of the member I’d love to see Jose Mourinho manage Manchester United for story line purposes, it would be a comically poor fit. United fans crave a manager with infinitely more style than current gaffer Louis Van Gaal and Mourinho is one of the only managers in the world who plays with less.

The idea of United fans uniting behind Mourinho is utterly laughable. Reports have come out today that claim Mourinho wants United to be his next job, and I’m sure a portion of their fans will start to get behind that idea. These fans might want to go to see Eva Carneiro to get their head examined immediately.

Mourinho is undoubtedly one of the best football managers in the world. He would be an exceptional fit for a team that is solely focused on end results. He is an incredible pragmatist that can transform any team into a title contending side in reasonably short order. That is not enough for Manchester United. If it were, the fans would be wholly united behind their current manager. Instead, even when he has the team near the top of the table the fans don’t seem to be satisfied with the quality of play at Old Trafford.

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What makes the situation especially hilarious, is that I think Mourinho could come to United and lead them to a Premier League title pretty quickly. Unfortunately, United fans might revolt in the process. If they can’t stand Van Gaal’s system of sideways passing, how can we expect them to respond favorably if Mourinho arrived at set the team up looking to play on the counter attack? Fans might actually riot when they watched a club like Aston Villa dominate possession against a Mourinho-led side.

Please understand that I’m not saying the way that United fans who crave a certain attacking style of their club are in the right. I think that subset of the fan base at Old Trafford is being rather ridiculous. They should be more concerned with winning football matches than looking pretty while doing so. Perhaps they can quibble with the style of play on the pitch after they find a manager in the post-Ferguson world who win them a Premier League title. If their fan base was thinking clearly they’d desperately want a man like Mourinho to come in and restore their club to the top of the Premier League. Sadly, they are preoccupied with replicating what’s happened at their club in the past as opposed to building its future.

Even putting aside the obvious discord between Mourinho’s style of football and the “United” way of playing, Mourinho’s personality is the opposite of what the club stands for. Manchester United has always regarded itself as the distinguished Premier League club. Mourinho’s antics and insufferable arrogance would turn off droves of traditional United fans. His personality is just the antithesis of the club’s philosophy.

I’ll pull for a Jose Mourinho arrival at Manchester United because the entertainment value to journalists would be through the roof. Their fans should not be in agreement with me. A Mourinho era at Old Trafford might even be more conservative than the current Van Gaal era that many United fans can’t seem to stand.

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