Woodward & Mourinho: Why Man Utd exec must back himself over Jose critics
COMMENT: If Ed Woodward feels it. If it's there, deep down. He needs to act.
Forget the consulting. Or at least, pay it little more than lip service. If the executive vice-chairman feels Jose Mourinho is the right manager for Manchester United, then he should back himself and bring him in.
Today, it's being claimed Louis van Gaal has two games to save his skin: away at Mark Hughes' Stoke City and against Chelsea at Old Trafford. But, for whatever reason, the prospect of Mourinho finally landing the United job is seen as remote.
The apprehension inside United that denied Mourinho two years ago, still exists. And for those whom Woodward will turn to for advice, the Special One should be ignored.
If the axe is to fall on Van Gaal, it's claimed Woodward will speak to Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Charlton and his predecessor David Gill about the Dutchman's replacement. But this is a different Ed Woodward to the one whom accepted David Moyes as Ferguson's successor.
He's gone head-to-head with Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, over David de Gea - and won. He's managed to rattle Bayern Munich's outspoken board by ferrying Bastian Schweinsteiger away for next-to-nowt. And he hasn't blinked in a square off with Barcelona over Neymar's buyout clause.
The people he'll speak with about Mourinho are good, proper football men, with the best interests of United at heart. But they can be wrong - which they are when it comes to Mourinho.
Mourinho had made mistakes at Chelsea this season. Absolutely. But if the board had listened to his concerns before preseason kicked off, Chelsea would today be in the top four and Mourinho still in place as manager. He wanted a new striker to compete with Diego Costa. He identified Gianelli Imbula as the defensive midfielder to compete with - and cover - Nemanja Matic. And he pleaded for a new centre-half.
Instead, Mourinho was forced to convince Loic Remy, with one foot inside Crystal Palace, to stick around. And had Papy Djilobodji foisted upon him via Nantes president Waldemar Kita. That's right, it was actually Kita who initiated the deal on deadline day.
And if you're anti-Mou, then please explain below how you square the news that Pep Guardiola has told Chelsea reps they need TEN new signings?
Last summer, Mourinho was ready. He was about to smash the myth that he was a three-year manager. But he was either ignored by the board, or those in charge of negotiating transfers failed him. Let's not forget, Pedro was on his way to United before Mourinho intervened with a phone call and a chat with the then Barcelona winger. Not Michael Emenalo. Nor Marina Granovskaia. Mourinho.
As Mourinho told Roman Abramovich in Wednesday's board meeting - the last time the pair have spoken - there was plenty of blame to be shared for this season.
In the same situation at United, where there's now a willingness to spend big, you wonder if the outcome would have been different.
As for the constant battles, the confrontations, the so-called paranoia. Erm, did any of us live through the Fergie era? Forget Mou, Fergie was the original "us against the world" manager. The BBC ban. Remember that? What about Arsenal, Arsene Wenger and pizza-gate ? Or Wayne Rooney? Jaap Stam? At least Mourinho keeps his player rows in-house!
United not only survived such a culture, they thrived in it. Fergie was the king of confrontation. There was no hiding in the dugout. No clipboard. And Mourinho is the same.
United have been meandering since Ferguson's retirement. The fear factor at Old Trafford has long gone. They're a big club in danger of becoming a 'sleeping giant'. Falling behind PSV Eindhoven and Wolfsburg in the Champions League has them teetering towards such status.
It's actually been Woodward, with his attempts for Neymar this year, who has maintained their cachet. The Galacticos attempts the only reminder that United are still a world power. It can't be the football. Nor a silent Old Trafford. And the XI on the pitch today lacks star dust.
Twelve years ago, Gill was appointed United's chief executive and the club's most significant partnership was formed. Within five years, Ferguson was lifting the Champions League and twice more would lead the club to the final.
Such times appear a bygone era compared to the present day.
But the combination of Woodward and Mourinho can stop the slide into mediocrity. They both have an eye for the headline. The understanding that football is more than tactics and systems.
Big deals. Big stars. For the biggest club in the world. That's what Woodward has been striving for since succeeding Gill.
And in Mourinho, no matter the opinion of the football people, he'd find a manager capable of restoring that vision.
