The Days Of Red Wine And Roses

Any notion Manchester United ever dared to shout about being different. Even above other clubs in how they treat their managers, ended when they brought to a brutal end, David Moyes’ short but dismal reign. Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson apart, United have always acted without mercy in ridding themselves of coaches they deemed not up to the task. Since the war Wilf McGuiness, Frank O’Farrell, Tommy Docherty, Dave Sexton, Ron Atkinson, David Moyes and surely soon to be Louis Van Gaal confirm this. That they were blessed with long standing maestros’ in the shape of Busby and Ferguson has always helped only to cloud this matter.
Make no mistake United when needed swing the axe.
The days of empire building in which the Old Trafford club have been blessed with under these two great legends of the game no longer exists in the modern world. No coach, no matter how brilliant, Pep Guardiola included will ever last at any club no more than four years. So to still carry the banner and scream and shout of the ‘Manchester United way.’ That they must plan and look long term is a notion alien and indeed unworkable today. And to even attempt such will see the reds be left even further behind the Blue Moon juggernaut under Pep when it gets ready to roll.
Face it, when your biggest nightmare is just off Oldham Road behind the gasworks and in your face, the thought of things may get better in five or ten years’ time is not a feasible option.
A quick fix may sound cheap and even a panic measure but in all reality it’s simply now the way of things. If United want to be the best or at least attempt to be amongst them once more. The Barcelona’s, Real Madrid’s, Bayern Munich’s. Ardwick’s finest. Then there can be only one man. Controversial as it may be and no doubt causing the smile to be wiped off Ferguson’s and Sir Bobby Charlton’s faces. Jose Mourinho, in my opinion, needs to be brought in, not at the end of the season, but soon as possible.
Tomorrow even.
The fragility of Louis Van Gaal’s rule is such now it’s broken and his popularity amongst United supporters rates alongside that of someone in a Liverpool shirt singing ‘You’ll never walk alone’ on the Old Trafford forecourt. Undoubtedly a decent bloke, and genuinely desperate to do well at United, Van Gaal’s standing has seen him torpedoed from his perch faster than he could write down the name of a player who dared to play the ball forward on his damned clipboard.
The arrival of Mourinho at Old Trafford will immediately elevate not only supporter’s hopes for the chance of better days but immediately cause dread twenty miles away across town. Manchester United are in the midst of a battle to retain former glories not seen since the immediate aftermath of Munich sixty year ago. Though never to dare to compare events, more to the fact of what lies ahead in terms of walls to climb and enemies to beat. And that our biggest foe probably still resides behind closed walls in Florida is not lost on me or I’m sure red supporters of similar thinking.
Jose will delight, anger, cause heart attacks both good and bad with his antics. He will enthral, exhaust and ultimately explode leaving behind undoubted debris, but I’m certain as is his way, trophies also. So don’t despair! The days of red wine and roses are not yet completely lost. But to ensure we get back there it’s time to simply wake up and join the modern world.
United can rise again. We can be better but not different.
Those dreams are gone forever. Time to smell the roses and give the chosen one the keys to the kingdom.