fergie whispers

[steven1976]

Plenty of rumours that fergie is on his way out. Glory days are over?

[LeTiss]

Yep, gone

[stevequal]

Surely you would have to lay Mourinho at 2.14

I can't see that for all his success that he is the type of manager the board will be looking for.

Moyes fits the profile of manager they are looking for. His lack of trophy success isn't down to his ability, more a case of the budget he has had to work with.

[LeTiss]

I suppose it boils down to who makes the decision!

If the Glazers are heavily involved, they might want a global name to fit their global brand

This would rule Moyes out & throw Mourinho in

[Euler]

Usually succession has been sorted before these sorts of announcements are made. I think with Chelsea stuttering over Jose this feels like a tactical announcement.

[hgodden]

The glory days might not be over but the days of good football from Utd may be if Moyes or Mourinho

[LeTiss]

I'll be very surprised if it's Moyes

Everton, despite their restricted budgets, are still a big club with big expectations. To go 10 years at a club like that without winning a trophy, doesn't strike me as being the perfect choice for a club of United's standing

[freddy]

Depends if they are looking for another long term manager or not really,
Mourinho's the best option for instant success yes, but he's only going to want to stay for 2 or 3 season if history is anything to go by.

So i can see why Moyes is being linked.

[mugsgame]

Moyes has the profile to be Utd manager. Well respected in the game. Jose is bigger than the club, he even overshadowed Madrid. Plus he never seems to stay anywhere more than a few years. Utd will want stability. Like my mate just said to me when we were discussing it. "What about Moyes lack of European experience"? This is a good point.

Utd drifting in all the markets for next years honours already. Moyes into 1.4. It's a done deal.

[LeTiss]

I wouldn't be so sure

I've seen some major gubbings on manager markets

[steven1976]

Jose all the way. He made it clear years ago he wanted to be fergies successor and fergie made it clear he was a big admirer.

[Euler]

Moyes really getting backed in heavily.

[herbie]

Personally, Im hoping Alan Pardew will get offered it

[steven1976]

howard webb at 20s has got to be good value

[hgodden]

I agree about Moyes' potential limitations, but I have heard that the Utd board have in the past been reluctant to consider appointing Mourinho in the past due to his behaviour and the impact it could have on the club from a worldwide PR perspective, as well as wanting someone for the long haul rather than a short burst like Mourinho would provide.

I think they like the idea of having a 'new Fergie' in Moyes... similar backgrounds, he almost looks like a younger fergie, sounds like fergie when he speaks, similarly respected etc. Sounds like potentially dangerous and lazy thinking to me. When Moyes was linked with Arsenal a couple of months ago my first reaction was 'no bloody thank you!' but somehow he's good enough for Utd because he reminds people of Fergie?! No offence to the bloke, he has done a decent job at Everton punching above their weight a little bit, and he might prove to be a success, but he has only really done it at one club (unless you count his time at Preston) which was built around him and supported him in everything he did. You could argue that Alan Curbishly did a similarly good job at Charlton by getting them to mid table for consequtive seasons in a club that suited him and was built around him, look at him now. Going into a new club where things are different will be an enormous challenge for him I think.

It wouldn't surprise me whoever takes over, if they struggle initially and Fergie recovers well from his hip surgery, the media at least will link him heavily with a return and make things difficult for his successor. We might not even have seen the last of him.