Jose Mourinho was fired by Manchester United on Tuesday, two days after English soccer’s biggest club reached a new low in its disappointing season by losing to Liverpool in the Premier League.
Assistant coach Michael Carrick will take charge of the team on an interim basis. United said it will appoint a caretaker manager until the end of the season, but didn’t say who it will be.
United made its move with the team in sixth place in the league, 19 points behind first-place Liverpool and 11 points off fourth-place Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification. It is United’s worst 17-game start to a league campaign since the 1990-91 season, and the team currently has a goal difference of zero.
Mourinho started his two-year tenure at United by winning two titles in his first season – the English League Cup and the Europa League – but failed to win a trophy in his second season and was criticised for the team’s pragmatic playing style and his treatment of some players.
His relationship with Paul Pogba, the club’s record signing, appeared broken after leaving the France midfielder out of the team for its last three league games.
Mourinho had also been unhappy that United’s board failed to back his wish to sign a central defender in the offseason. United has already conceded more goals in the league than it did in all of last season.
Mourinho’s final match in charge was the 3-1 loss at Anfield, after which he said his players were brittle and couldn’t cope with the intensity and physicality of Liverpool – historically United’s biggest rival.
Mourinho lasted the same length of time at United as he did in his previous job at Chelsea, when he was also fired just before Christmas in his third season. He signed a new contract in January until June 2020 and will reportedly receive compensation of 24 million pounds ($A42.18 million).
In his six major coaching stints – at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea again and United – Mourinho has only lasted more than three years once. That was in his first spell at Chelsea.
United reached the last 16 in the Champions League, where it will play Paris Saint-Germain over two legs in February and March.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
I’m looking forward to the revolution at the club Woodward needs to stay away from football matters If they lure potchetino to United, they are also able to get in a technical director too , according to the bbc this might be Paul Mitchell.
jamesb
Roar Guru
I don't think Arsenal has been mediocre over the last 26 years. Perhaps maybe the last 8-10 years, but even then they still regularly finished top 4 and regularly won the FA Cup. With Man U, they have gone back to where they were as a club before SAF turned up in 1986- a big club that's underachieving.
Nemesis
Guest
Very amusing to read some of the knee jerk reactions from people who pretend to be Man United fans & those who support rival teams. Man United this year are very poor in the EPL. They're currently amongst the Top 16 in Europe. The problem is United have had such huge success over the past 26 years that people expect it every year. Teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs have been mediocre for the past 26 years and it goes unnoticed. United will be back near the top in England. Depending on the manager it might happen this season. Otherwise it will be next season.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
...and? They could have sacked him well before Pep was signed too.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
They have good kids coming through Get the right man in charge of recruiting and the right coach , focus on the right kind of payers rather then any old signing . Might be a 3 year process back to the top , but at least I can look forward to watching man utd again.
marty beauchamp
Roar Pro
United will have caretaker management for the long remainder of what will become a pointless season once PSG get to illustrate how far behind the Red Devils have fallen in the Champions League. What next? There is still enough in the brand to attract the very best managers. The recruitment since Ferguson retired has been so scatter gun and ineffective that the defence and midfield could almost be sold en masse and any manager will have to be given the ability to buy big. The biggest fear I have is that so much has gone on since Ferguson that maybe the best players don't really want to come anymore.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Guardiola was already signed up at city well before Louis Van Gaal got the sack at United.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Useless manager. It wasn’t so much the loses, rather the dire style of play that would bore the most hardcore fan to death. I said it three years ago when Pep was available. They should have gone all out for him but went with Mr Negative. United are the most powerful footballing club in the world. A game style to match should always be part of their mantra first and foremost. The A-League can also learn a lot from this very principal, i.e Sydney FC, a team that is destroying the competition with boring unattractive football. Anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves - a team that’s playing the best football in A-League history (according to some) yet cannot draw a decent crowd over the past few years.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Laurent Blanc to return to Old Trafford as interim manager?? Good for Martial and Pogba
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Was time to go Jose Still he won 2 trophies in 2 1/2 years at United, while klopp has won zilch in 4 years at Liverpool. Let the rebuild begin , heaps of good juniors at United . Time for the current players to enjoy playing football again.