If Reds had gambled on Jose?
How would things be different if the Old Trafford board had gambled and gone for Jose Mourinho instead?
Anyone who witnessed Mourinho’s press conference at Old Trafford last year when Real Madrid visited in the Champions League was left in no doubt that the Portuguese was courting the job — even if he has since suggested Chelsea was always his first choice.
Mourinho’s ‘performance’ that day was something to behold; deliberately understated, deliberately reverend, almost painfully well behaved — a man desperate to underline that he had enough stature, enough understanding of the United brand to do the impossible and replace their greatest-ever manager.
The story was further strengthened by a growing off-field relationship between Ferguson and Mourinho — one the Special One has more recently been keen to make public; remember he even claimed Ferguson told him in advance about his plans to retire and swore him to secrecy.
So it is almost certain the opportunity was there for United to turn to Mourinho if they wished; surely the only man in football who would genuinely have the ego to believe he could take Fergie’s legacy and match it.
But they didn’t. Too much of a gamble, too risky for their reputation, too many question marks over whether Mourinho really could be ‘a United man’ who carried their reputation around the world unharmed and unblemished.
Reportedly, it was a controversial moment during an El Classico match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in 2011 when Mourinho famously poked his fingers into the eyes of Tito Vilanova , that scuppered his chances despite a glowing reference from Ferguson; that one incident stuck in the minds of directors such as Bobby Charlton who hold the reputation of their club so dear.
It is hard to criticise — if only clubs such as Hull and Cardiff showed as much respect for their history and legacy — but nevertheless it was a pivotal moment because in choosing a safer option United opted for the long game over quick returns; and in football that is an increasingly difficult route to take.
Moyes, unlike Mourinho, couldn’t arrive at Old Trafford and put his medals on the table in front of a team of champions, had no experience of how to win a title and lacked the personal stature in world football to achieve things as quickly as he would like.
Certainly his lack of experience at the top end of the transfer market was highlighted in the summer as United failed miserably to attract their main targets, while Mourinho’s instant buys at Stamford Bridge, made with little fuss, have steadied a wobbling side enough to turn them into title contenders.
Even the much-maligned Samuel Eto’o proved his worth here with three goals that set the tone for a game in which Willian, yet to reach his best form since a summer move, was also pivotal.
Yes, United have been hit terribly by injuries — missing both Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie for this match and, until now, Michael Carrick in midfield too; but it’s hard not to imagine Mourinho would have done a better job with the players available at Old Trafford — and his defence would certainly have been more organised than the one that let in three sloppy goals at Stamford Bridge.
When you consider Chelsea also took a point from the away match at Old Trafford then the decision to overlook Mourinho is always going to be revisited with a sense of ‘what might have been’.
That match in August, in fact, highlighted another of the Chelsea’s manager’s many qualities; pragmatism. It was, for anyone who was there, one of the most awful, dull and tedious matches of the season — but Mourinho, who knew he simply couldn’t afford a defeat against bitter rivals so early in his new tenure, got what he wanted and ensured his team didn’t endure the same kind of miserable start that went on to haunt United.
On reflection that is probably why the United board simply couldn’t afford to choose him; going away for a 0-0 draw simply isn’t the ‘United way’. But is adopting 4-4-2 and sliding out of the title race by January any better?
United started well enough against their old rivals this time but were well beaten by a Chelsea side that still has a lot of growing to do; and a late red card for Nemanja Vidic, for a relatively routine foul on Hazard underlined how low things have sunk. No wonder Chelsea fans sung ‘David Moyes, we want you to stay’.
Moyes, who has often blamed poor refereeing decisions for bad results this season, shook his head on the bench; and perhaps it summed up a feeling that without Fergie in the dugout United are no longer getting the rub of the green they always used to enjoy.
Not so Mourinho, whose powerful reputation carries just as much weight as it has always done; and while United are heading downwards, Chelsea — with Mourinho the quickest ever manager to reach 100 Premier League wins in just 142 matches — are very much on the up.
Moyes’ stats don’t make such happy reading because in 48 Premier League away matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United over 11 years he hasn’t won a single one of them.
“I’d hoped I’d be in a far better position than this, but we’re not,” said the clearly flustered United manager. “But it is a project I’m going to improve as we go: it’s a massive challenge.”
United, of course, knew that when they made their decision and remain resolved to stick by it; but football will inevitably continue to ask ‘what if’.
Right now it looks like not gambling was a gamble in itself.
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