As much as he looks like the last man mentioned above to succeed, I think the United execs will likely fall all over themselves when the time comes and stump for Keane as he would be the most “secure” option, he has done some good things as Manager (obviously they wont remind us how crap Sunderland were at the end) and he is by far the most respected of those names amongst the United faithful, for that reason alone the execs would feel comfortable giving him the job, or Eric Cantona, a man with no experience (beach football doesn’t count) but a god to the United crowd, even I’d be over the moon if he got the job although I have no idea how he’d do.

Unfortunately I can’t see it going to Wenger or Mourinho, the two other good candidates for mine. Wenger I’d love to see in the hotseat, if he’d had the academy that United had he could have done anything but there is too much hate towards the man that he’d never take the job if offered it and Mourinho is too much his own man, he needs a blank canvas, that’s why he was successful in Porto and Chelsea, he came in and took them to the top, at Inter he already had a top team and couldn’t stamp his authority on the team the way he wants.

Further, if you’ve seen Bordeuax in the CL then you’d know that they aren’t playing schoolboy football, they are playing some beuatiful, free-flowing attacking football, better quality than the German teams and the Spanish sides (outside Real and Barca) even.

Blanc might have a chance in eight years, but not before. I’d stick my money on Mourinho. United won’t be looking for potential – they’ll demand the finished product; someone who can guarantee trophies. Mourinho is the nearest thing you’ll find to a toaster in football management.