Way back on 6th November 1986, Manchester United hired the club’s sixth manager after the great Sir Matt Busby’s retirement in 1969. The five previous managers before Alex Ferguson took the job all had been unable to win the prestigious league title, despite winning some FA Cup glory.

Just like Sir Matt, Ferguson was a Scottish as well and with his achievements of bringing League and Cup Winners’ Cup silverware to Aberdeen in mind, the board at the time decided that he could do something similar at Old Trafford. History has told us that he has gone way beyond the success he had up in Scotland at United and there’s no doubt that he has proven to be one of the best managers football has ever seen, period.

Being the manager of Manchester United is not an easy job (there’s an understatement) and replacing Sir Alex (just as it was replacing Busby) will be anything but easy for the next manager of our club. Aside from selecting the team on a weekly basis and deciding which players, the manager must cope with the huge pressure from the media, fans, sponsors, the Glazers (or whoever the owners are) and from himself to succeed.

In other words, this job isn’t for the man in the street, and special attributes (both footballistically and personally) are required for one of the most difficult jobs in worldwide football. The following articles will be an overview of some men that have been linked to this managerial post, including some reasons why we should try to sign the particular manager (listed under ‘pros’) or look for a different one (‘cons’).

Summary

Now, well, who and what do you want? The instant impact from Mourinho or Magath, a British focus by Moyes or O’Neill, a Barcelona-esque style signed Guardiola, a return from Club legend Solskjaer or someone else?