Louis van
Gaal could be kept on at Old Trafford even if he is replaced as manager by Jose
Mourinho, according to an eye-catching report in Friday's papers.
THE STORY
Friday's Sun
claims that after two disappointing seasons in charge of the
Red Devils, Van Gaal will not be fired but instead moved upstairs into a
director of football role. That raises the prospect of the Dutchman effectively
being Jose Mourinho's boss, should the Portuguese manager get given the job he
has been linked with ever since his sacking byChelsea in
December.
"SunSport
understands the Dutchman will be given a director of football role at the
club," the report runs. "That will see Van Gaal complete his
three-year contract at the club and leave next summer
" Despite this season's poor campaign Van Gaal
remains popular with executive vice . EdWoodward who still wants to use
his vast
footballing knowledge at the club. But
Woodward accepts there has to be change now in the managerial seat with
Mourinho available."
MADNESS OR GENIUS?
At
first glance, this seems a ludicrous story: why would Mourinho, a man who
relishes and indeed insists on control of the clubs he manages, want to be
overshadowed by Van Gaal?
With
several big players - including David
de Gea, without whose brilliance United would have been mid-table at
best this season - reportedly threatening to leave if Van Gaal stays, keeping
LVG could backfire spectacularlyFullscreen
Then
there's the fact that Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes has seemingly been
agitating behind the scenes for months - with report after reportclaiming
how United could be better off in the transfer market with a new manager.
Yet
look a little closer, and there are several good reasons why it might just add
up.
In
the first place, Van Gaal is a hugely-experienced football man – and United's
reluctance to sack him suggests that his contract will have to be paid up
regardless of whether or not he continues to work at Old Trafford.
He's
also proven adept at blooding United's latest crop of youngsters, showing an
eye for young talent and the courage to let new players shine in his side – as
the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jess Lingaard will testify. Keeping that
influence at the club when Mourinho takes over could be hugely important: the
Portuguese has all-too-often been criticised for failing to make the most of
younger players, ostracising even the likes ofKevin
de Bruyne.
WILL MOURINHO GO FOR IT?
He might just. You'd think that two iconoclasts such as this pair would mix about as well as concrete and spaghetti Bolognese, but actually they've enjoyed a warm relationship stretching all the way back to their days together at Barcelona.
Furthermore, Mourinho might actually realise that he now needs help. The seeds of his departure from Chelsea appeared to be rooted in the demands and restrictions he placed on his players, and talk of mutiny and betrayal rumbled along in the background throughout the ill-fated first few months of the Blues' season. Who can forget the BBC report last year quoting a top Chelsea player saying that he'd, "rather lose than win for Mourinho"? An extra man in the hierarchy could help defuse such explosive situations, a cool head to help calm tempers.
And then there's the question of Mourinho's own capacity to take on work. Running United is an enormous job – Alex Ferguson survived for so long only be leaning heavily on a succession of brilliant coaches to ease the burden – and that will surely worry United's board somewhat given that, as Martin Samuel pointed out last year in an insightful piece in the Mail, Mourinho was showing more than anything classic signs of burnout.
SO WILL IT HAPPEN?
We're still far from convinced. And given the trouble Van Gaal has famously had in similar situations - not least with his run-ins with Ronald Koeman at Ajax - we'd still expect him to run a mile from anything like this.
But in a world where Donald Trump might genuinely become the next US president, who knows what might happen.