Why imminent Mourinho arrival is good for Man United

When a manager who has recently been sacked after a string of horror results is linked with your club there is understandably some trepidation.

However, that is exactly what is happening in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s exit from Stamford Bridge, with the Special One now at short odds to take charge of Manchester United for their upcoming game with the Blues.

While Mourinho was handed his P45 for a string of poor results, including nine defeats already this season, he was not the only manager to struggle at a big club with Louis van Gaal’s United now winless in six games including a premature Champions League exit and successive losses to newly-promoted Bournemouth and Norwich.

With rumblings of player unrest at Old Trafford growing louder by the day Ladbrokes have installed Mourinho as the overwhelming favourite to replace Van Gaal should United’s owners decide to ditch the Dutchman and the bookie has gone 5/2 that the Portuguese is in charge in time for the Blues visit to Old Trafford on December 28.

Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said: “It looks like a case of when and not if The Special One takes charge at United. Fans are convinced he is making the move and the odds of his first game being against Chelsea are shortening by the hour.”

“United’s title price is already coming under pressure as punters put full faith in Mourinho’s Midas Touch returning at Old Trafford.”

Mourinho’s stock may be at an all-time low but with United operating a boring, possession-based, safety-first approach under Van Gaal there should be plenty of United fans who would leap at the chance to land the two-time Champions League winner while the club can.

The former Porto and Real Madrid manager may have a reputation for not staying at a club for longer than three years but there is a belief that he wanted to lay this to rest at Stamford Bridge until the wheels came off.

Van Gaal has insisted that he will not stay at United beyond his current contract leaving the club in danger of falling into the same sort of pattern that has plagued Chelsea in recent years with the managerial merry-go-round seemingly always turning.

Ironically it is the notoriously impatient recent Chelsea sacking that could return United to the stability to which the players and fans have become accustomed.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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