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Manchester United today confirmed the sacking of 64 year old manager, Louis van Gaal, just days after his side lifted the FA Cup, leaving the door wide open for former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to take over at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman has been under scrutiny for the majority of his two year tenure at the club, despite leading the Dutch national side to the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup prior to his arrival.
Van Gaal led Manchester United to a fourth placed finish in his first season, qualifying for the Champions League, but despite an FA Cup victory, the club’s first silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson won the Premier League in 2013, van Gaal could only guide his side to a fifth place finish this term, qualifying for the Europa League.
It proved to be an uninspiring choice from the board as it turned out. After the disappointing saga involving David Moyes, the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager brought a wealth of experience to the club, but he failed to deliver the high expectations set by the Old Trafford faithful.
His transfers also seemed relatively lacklustre. After spending just under £60 million on Angel Di Maria, a relatively poor signing considering the price tag in the end, the Dutchman also failed to get the best out of the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin or Radamel Falcao to name a few.
That said, his faith in the youth has proved to be productive. The Dutchman has given debuts to 14 academy players, including Jesse Lingard, who netted the winner in the FA Cup final, and Marcus Rashford, who has scored eight goals since February and has earned a place in Roy Hodgson’s England squad for Euro 2016.
As for Mourinho, his likely successor, the Portuguese was sacked from Stamford Bridge in December, a mere seven months after lifting the Premier League title, and has been a favourite to replace van Gaal since his dismissal.
The 53 year old is expected to meet with senior Manchester United officials on Tuesday to discuss a deal with the FA Cup winners.
The club have also confirmed they have offered assistant manager Ryan Giggs a new deal, but a decision is yet to be made.
While United have handled the sacking and proposed appointment of Mourinho poorly, the club have appeared to have made the right decisions when necessary, replacing a manager who has struggled in his time at Old Trafford, replacing him with an experienced and successful manager in Mourinho.
The fact that the Red Devils have failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League could have been an issue for Mourinho, but that looks unlikely.
