Marching papers for Mourinho as Manchester Utd try to stop slide

Inside Track with John McIntyre

MANCHESTER United, probably the most famous football club in the world, are in a mess. The gradual decline in the team’s fortunes since the departure of the long-serving and legendary Alex Ferguson as manager shows no signs of abating as the Red Devils continue to fall further behind the pace-setters in the Premiership.

United may have staggered into the knock-out stages of the Champions League this season, but it can’t camouflage the ongoing difficulties at Old Trafford. Struggling in sixth place – just a solitary point ahead of newly-promoted Wolves – Jose Mourinho has now paid the ultimate price for promoting the type of sterile football which is an anathema to the great club’s principles and tradition.

Ferguson, who didn’t suffer fools gladly and possessed a ruthless streak – look at how he got rid of Roy Keane when the Republic of Ireland midfielder became a toxic presence in the dressing room – was always going to be a difficult act to follow. The Scott may have had a ropey start to his United tenure when he joined the club from Aberdeen in 1986, but he went on to become the most successful manager cross-channel soccer has ever seen.

His United legacy will stand the test of time. In 26 seasons at the helm, Ferguson delivered a staggering 38 trophies, including a remarkable 13 Premier titles, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues. The Manchester club were top of the pile in England during his era and, through initially, Arsene Wenger and Arsenal were worthy adversaries, it was successive Ferguson’s squads which generally ruled the roost.

Naturally, Ferguson was always going to have an influence on who would succeed him, but his pushing of another craggy Scott for the position was the start of United’s slide. David Moyes was the chosen one and though he had won nothing in his 11 seasons at Everton, the perception was that he had turned them into a consistently competitive force while working with limited resources.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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