Adam Dennehey WAFU manager
Here are the next two managers that came to mind as Sir Alex Ferguson’s replacement at United after Jose Mourinho, David Moyes, Martin O’Neill and Pep Guardiola do these names have what it takes to make it at Old Trafford:
Laurent Blanc, Manager of France
Girondins de Bordeaux were suffering a eight-season-lasting league championship drought, after failing to win the title in every single season after their silverware-containing 1998/99 campaign, and pointed out Monsieur Blanc to become their saviour.
In his first season, Les Girondins finished as runner-ups, and the gaffer won the Manager of the Year award. The following campaign swapped the two, with Blanc as the runner-up Manager of the Year, and the all-blues as league champions of 2008/09.
Bordeaux droppet to the sixth spot after the 09/10 season, which went out to become Blanc’s final one at the club before entering the national team job, where his side can find themselves in pole position of the Euro 2012 Qualifying Group D after eight games, 17 points and only one loss.
Pros
As a key part of France’s double-winning side of World Cup ’98 and Euro 2000, Blanc certainly knows the requirements of becoming a champion in world-class football. As a player he’s seen it all, won it ‘all’ (though not the Champions League) and he’s used to being in a situation where victory and victory only, are considered as good enough.
He proved at Bordeaux that he don’t need much time to build a title contending side, and his effort with France could hardly have been any better. As well, his Champions League CV contains two victories against Bayern Munich and one against Juventus in the group stages of 09/10, marching on through the last 16s and an unlucky defeat (2-3 on aggregate) to Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-finals.
With Bordeaux. In other words, Blanc knows how to win football matches, and at the highest level too. His date of birth is doing him a favour as well, as he’s a man of the same generation as Moyes and Mourinho (two years younger), which means he could be a man for the future.
Additionally, he has played under Fergie’s leadership, been a part of the winning culture at Old Trafford, and knows how Manchester United works out. Knowledge of the club is certainly an advantage, as long as he’s loyal to his own philosophy as well, and not trying to be a Ferguson replica.
Cons
Blanc has been under some serious pressure in his career in football but, this has mostly been as a player, and not a manager. So far, he has proven ability to handle this, but the pressure at Bordeaux and that at United simply can’t be compared, with no disrespect to the Frenchmen.
He’s completely inexperienced when it comes down to being a manager of a world-class club, and (mainly because of his short managerial career) the former Montpellier sweeper has never been in charge of a club for a long period.
Another point to question is whether he would bring in French speaking foreigners into Old Trafford like Arsene Wenger has done at Highbury and Emirates, or maintain the main part of the squad as (young) British/English players. That’s something we can only speculate about for the time being?
Felix Magath, Manager Of Wolfsburg
An outsider to the gaffer’s office at Carrington is VfL Wolfsburg’s 58-year-old manager. Since his managerial debut in 1995 at Hamburg, the German has been in charge of eight different clubs in his home country.
Pros
The former Hamburger SV midfielder entered relegation contenders Stuttgart in February 2001 and transformed The Reds to runners-up only two years later. The following campaign included a narrow loss (1-0 on aggregate) to Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League before his Stuttgart departure.
He was then appointed as the manager of Bayern Munich, where he reached his career peak by winning the league and cup double twice in two seasons, for the first time in the club’s history. However, during the 2006/07 campaign he got sacked by the Bavarians and faced a two-year tenure at Wolfsburg, where he brought both UEFA Cup and Champions League participation to the Volkswagen Arena faithful, the latter as Bundesliga champions of 2008/09.
Then he went to become manager of an ordinary Schalke 04 side, which finished eighth, and brought them to the runners-up spot the following season, behind Bayern Munich. This meant Champions League qualification, and Magath made them win their group and advance into the quarter-finals before he got axed due to poor domestic form.
In other words, Felix Magath is used to delivering the goods when given the task, and he certainly knows how to make positive impact at a club. His results can’t be questioned by anybody, and it’s hard to find a manager who gives a better ‘guarantee’ of success within such a short time.
Cons
Open a dictionary, look for the word ‘consistency’ and you’ll surely not find a picture of this guy. His longest time in charge of a particular club is three years (happened twice), and I reckon that’s not what the board at Old Trafford are looking for, as they are most likely to want a long-term deal with the next boss.
More on a negative note is his discipline, which simply may become too much. The nickname Quälix is a mash of his first name Felix and the German verb ‘quälen’ (to torture), as a result of his physical focus in terms of training and very strict internal rules.
A €100 fine is awaiting Wolfsburg players one minute late for training, and another hundred is added to the bill for every 60 seconds, and those who wear headphones better prepare for a life without €250.
If Magath enters Old Trafford while Michael Carrick’s still wearing our red shirt, the former Tottenham player might find himself in an economical crisis on the personal level, as every unnecessary pass backwards could (if you believe the rumours) make the player a €1,000 poorer and the club ditto richer.
What I’m trying to say is that there actually might be a reason of why his average spell at a club rarely lasts more than a couple of seasons, as he’s got to be demanding to have around, and, I don’t think any team can cope with Magath’s punishment methods over a long time. Another weak point may be his lack of knowledge to the English game, as he has spent his whole career in Germany.
